Archive of ‘Ultimate Blog Challenge’ category

5 Steps to Updating Your Resume

When was the last time you updated your resume? How about your LinkedIn profile? If you can’t remember, it might be time to revisit it. Nearly five years ago, I hired a career coach to help me figure out my next move. He helped me with my resume, cover letter, interview skills and networking strategy. I learned so much from him that I constantly call the experience life-changing. And while I am no expert in resume writing, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

Step 1: Update the basics
Did your phone number change? Is the email address you have listed the one that you check on a regular basis? Do you list your current address? Some experts say you only need to list your city and state but not your address. If you have any security concerns or wish to keep some information private, it’s perfectly okay to leave out your street.

Step 2: Revise your job description
If you only list your job duties and not your accomplishments, you are selling yourself short. Resumes in 2020 need to include not just what you are responsible for but what have you done to make a difference. Your accomplishments tell your story and the more metrics you add to your resume, the better it looks. For instance, my job description says I coordinate major fundraising initiatives, but my accomplishment is that I raised nearly $225K in the last end-of-year campaign making it the most successful in the history of the organization. Your accomplishments are what will get you noticed.

Step 3: Take out certain age-defining items
This is an easy thing to do, but not everyone does it. Get rid of your graduation dates. Future employers only need to know where you graduated from, what type of degree and course of study, and any awards you want to highlight. Another thing to consider is to only list your last three jobs on a resume because they are probably the most relevant to the type of position you want. This is something I haven’t done yet, but I’m seriously thinking about it.

Step 4: Make sure your LinkedIn profile matches your resume
I was recently promoted and added it to my LinkedIn profile, but not to my resume. What happened? The hiring manager wondered why it was online but not in print. It can be a red flag when job searching materials are inconsistent. You want to present yourself in the best way on paper and online. And if you don’t think they are checking out your LinkedIn profile, you would be mistaken.

Step 5: Proofread everything
Typos have no place on your resume. If human resources managers find a misspelled word, a missing word or the wrong punctuation, your resume will wind up in the circular file. You could be the perfect candidate for the position, but you won’t get far in the process if mistakes are found. Have someone with a good eye for spelling and grammar to review your resume. Read your resume (and cover letter) out loud to yourself. Run a spell check, but don’t depend on it completely because it always misses words that are spelled correctly but not necessarily the word you meant to use. Here’s a perfect example of this, I read the resume of a qualified young man for a public relations job, except he spelled it as pubic relations. 😉

Whether you are looking for a new job or have some free time on your hands, updating your resume to present your best self to employers will pay off in the long run.

 

 

Frustrated on the Fourth

Something feels different this July 4th holiday weekend.

Is it because I don’t feel comfortable going to a crowded pool on the busiest day of the season for fear of being exposed to the coronavirus?

Is it because I am so disappointed in our current leaders who have ignored the science and facts that are the foundation of what makes this country so great?

Is it because I am starting to see the true colors of some people who continue to support this racist president? People who can’t understand why it IS NOT okay to say “all lives matter” until everyone is given a level playing field, treated equally and afforded the same opportunities to succeed?

Is it because I know there are still children in cages at the border, women still fighting for the right to choose, and the LGBTQ community who have to overcome incredible obstacles for the pursuit of happiness?

Yes. Yes to all of the above.

But, I still have hope that we Americans will remember who we are and where we come from. I hope we can open our minds and hearts and step aside to give others a chance to contribute to this beautiful melting pot. I hope the next time I recite the Pledge of Allegiance, we will have come together as reasonable people and exchange ideas (even conflicting ones) to make “justice for all” a reality.

Yes, there are wonderful things to celebrate about this country. And I’ll have a beer and a burger and spend time with family and a few close friends today to celebrate our independence. I will also hope that the future is bright for all its citizens and those who want to be citizens someday.

History has its eyes on us.

Pandemic Parenting

If there was ever a time that we needed a parenting manual, 2020 would be the year. I mean – throw out all of the past advice about limiting screen time. We are in survival mode, people! If my daughter wants to binge-watch Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, and my son is playing more hours of Minecraft than I typically allow that’s fine with me. It keeps them indoors, right?

I’m fortunate that my kids are teenagers – one in high school and one in college. They know how to make their own breakfast and keep themselves occupied. Homeschooling was us saying – “Did you turn in that English essay?”

My husband wanted me to wake up Jenna for her statistics class because the professor sadistically changed it from a 7 pm to an 8 am time slot. Because she is not a morning person, I woke her up for the first few days, but then I left her on her own. I got tired of her yelling at me.

I also remembered that she is in college and knows when to get up for class. I was much happier being her personal barista instead.

For eight glorious weeks, we were together 24/7. We enjoyed sit-down family dinners. We cleaned out multiple closets. We met new neighbors and reconnected with old friends. We had a Passover seder and a virtual family reunion over Zoom. We spent quality time doing jigsaw puzzles and playing the not-so-wholesome  Cards Against Humanity. We grew stronger as a family.

And now, four months into this pandemic and things are starting to open up even though COVID-19 cases have not subsided. The kids are restless and want to see their friends. I can’t blame them. I mean – we are cool parents and fun to hang out with, but even they have had enough of us. Andrew is craving his freedom in the form of a new driver’s license burning a hole in his pocket. Jenna is babysitting and Door Dashing. Luckily, they both have a close-knit group of people they always hang out with – outside and hopefully at a reasonable distance.

Deep down inside, I just want to keep them locked up in my bubble. But, I’m letting go of the reins which can be so hard. My first decision was to let Jenna go down the shore. But before she left, I made sure she was fully equipped with hand sanitizer, a face mask and my newly-minted, real-world pandemic safety review. (And yes, there was a quiz at the end.)

They are 19 and 16 years old. They watch the news. They know what is going on in the world. I’ve raised them to be responsible young adults.

What else can I do? He gave up his water polo season. She came home from spring break and never went back to campus. They have been through a lot. All I can do now is say a little prayer about their health and safety – and do a temperature check before they walk back into the house.

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