Yes, that’s right. You read that correctly. From now to the end of the month (that’s October for those keeping score at home) I am offering a free review of your résumé. Simply fill out the form below and submit it and I will get in contact with you within 24 hours. Don’t wait, act now!
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In the words of the great Jedi Master Yoda, “make one smart, using big words does not.” OK, maybe he never actually said that, but if he had been a high school English teacher, I like to think he might have. The point I’m trying to make is that simply using a big word in your writing (or in conversation for that matter) doesn't make you the smartest person in the room. Oftentimes when people use big words with many syllables, it has the opposite effect from what was intended. Big words used unnecessarily can clog up the conversation and interrupt the flow ending up with the key thoughts being lost. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for big words but you must make absolutely certain that it is needed. Unless you’re being graded on the size and complexity of your words, keep it simple to make sure you get your point across. Perhaps Yoda would complete the thought with this…”Make one smart, using big words does not. When used correctly, powerful any word can become.” As a writer, I compose short stories as well as poetry. One question that has come up in conversations about writing poetry is how it should be edited. My personal feeling is that poetry should come from the heart. This being said, the best poems are those that run in some form a stream of consciousness. There can be sentences of sorts, even if they cross line breaks, but the thoughts simply flow from the poet. If authors start to tinker too much with their poems and make them “just right” in their own mind, the spontaneity of the poem begins to be lost. Now, does this mean that you shouldn't edit your poems at all? Absolutely not! I urge you to read through your poems just like any other piece of writing. Print out a copy so that you can see it printed on a page and above all, read it out loud. Poetry and song have long been intertwined, so hearing how the words sound against one another can be a powerful tool for a poet trying to figure out if a poem it “done.” (If you have ever read Dr. Suess out loud you know exactly what I mean) One last note about poetry that I’m sure everyone has heard but not every quite agrees with. It doesn't have to rhyme to be poetry. Just because Shakespeare, Coleridge, and Poe all did it, doesn't mean you have to. Use your own style and don’t be afraid to experiment.
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One of the most overlooked things in the world is saying “Thank you.” It seems so simple, yet people don’t do it often enough. When you’re done with your interview, handwrite the interviewer(s) a short thank you note, and make sure it IS handwritten. Keep it brief (2-3 sentences) and simply thank them for the chance to meet them and let them know that you hope to hear from them again soon. Send it in the mail a day or two after your initial interview. Once they receive it, they will be forced to revisit your information and think back to your interview. If you and another candidate are both on the verge of being selected, this simple action could be the thing that tips the scales in your favor. Thank you!
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I posted a few weeks back about preparing for an interview and wanted to offer a bit more insight here on that topic. My main point here is to make sure that you are prepared to answer any question that the interviewers will throw at you. Of course we can’t predict every question, but I’ve listed some samples of popular questions below along with explanations of what interviewers are often looking for when they ask them.
I mentioned in the Job Hunt Series last week that it is important to have a master résumé that has your entire work experience on it. The question I have received is “should I keep my entire work experience on me résumé when I submit it for a job?”
The short answer is “No.” Let’s look at a few examples.
The other piece that should be updated for each application is the Objective or Introductory statement. Putting an objective that simply states “To obtain a job where I can succeed and make money” is not enough. This too needs to be tailored to the job. Gone are the days of one size fits all résumés. If you really want to be noticed, you need to customize all parts of your résumé to the job that you want.
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One of the most common grammatical mistakes I see people make it misusing “its,” “it’s,” and “its’.” I can understand the confusion and honestly it is sometimes hard to determine which one is correct so I hope this brief overview can help clear up the confusion.
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Everyone wants to sound smart. Being smart can help you get ahead in the world but being smart and using big words do not necessarily go together. Take a look at the previous short paragraph. The longest word was “necessarily” and I would argue that nothing in those two sentences was very fancy. You can find all of those words in normal conversation. Using common words makes the reading easy to understand and quickly gets the point across. Let me try to re-write that first paragraph in a way that tries to “sound smart”:
We have all heard the saying “addition by subtraction.” I propose a new saying here; “addition by simplification.” Complication is sometimes just that and ends up confusing the reader. Remember this simple rule: “If I need a thesaurus to find the right word, chances are the reader will need a dictionary to figure out my meaning.”
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Congratulations! You've finally landed yourself a new job! My last piece of advice is to keep updating your Master Résumé on a regular basis. Set a reminder for the first of every month or every six months and when the reminder comes up, pull out your master file and make sure everything is still accurate. Don’t stop preparing for interviews either. Put in a practice round every few months to keep your skills sharp. If you are lucky enough to be in a position to conduct interviews, pay attention to people that you interview and what catches your attention in their answers. You can learn just as much from being on that side of the table as well. Don't forget to read the previous parts of this series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
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We've all heard the saying “practice makes perfect” but when was the last time you practiced a job interview? If you’re like most people, it was probably DURING your last job interview and you were sweating the entire time because you felt you were out of practice. Don’t let that happen again. If you’re on the hunt for a new job and see yourself interviewing in the near future, set some time aside to do some practice interviews. It doesn't have to be anything too structured. Ask a trusted friend or mentor to be the interviewer and generate 5-10 sample questions. Make sure it’s someone that will not go easy on you since the actual interviewers sure won’t. Practice this even if you are only looking at a phone interview to start with. Having possible answers lined up for questions that might come your way will make a better impression on the interviewer whether you are meeting with the face to face or just speaking with them over the phone. When you’re on the phone, you can also use any notes that you may have made prior to the interview. (I recommend NOT bringing a list of notes to a face to face interview however) Finally, regardless of the interview being in person or over the phone, do jot down some questions to ask the interviewer. Keep them specific to the job and definitely avoid asking about benefits of the position like pay rate, vacation, and sick time. Those are questions for when you are signing a job offer or even when you start a training period. Asking what challenges the company or department face, the specific types of work that you’ll be doing, and what the goals are for the position are all good starting points. Don't forget to read part 1 and part 2 of this series. Continue on to part four. |
AuthorJonathan Ytreberg is the owner of Best Word Forward, committed to providing the best resume advice and services to clients around the globe. Archives
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