Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from Maria Hebda | Selfgrowth.com
- Objectives in a Resume: Yes or No? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaArguments abound, even among career professionals, about whether or not you should put an objective on your resume. Here are some PROS and CONS to consider about objectives: 1. You need to know where you want the resume to take you, and you need to make sure it's crystal-clear to the ...
Views: 1944 - Choosing the Wrong Career Path - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaDo you find yourself spending a lot of time ruminating about your past career decisions, wondering if you should have done things differently-if you should have made other choices? Do you worry that you wasted your efforts or made a wrong decision somewhere along your path? Let me reassure you. ...
Views: 1428 - CV vs. Resume: What is the difference? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaWhen searching for a job online, sometimes you will notice employers requesting a CV as opposed to a resume. What exactly is a CV and how does it differ from a resume? CV is an abbreviation for curriculum vitae, which is a Latin word meaning course of life or career. They are usually longer than ...
Views: 1417 - Resume Value Message – It’s “Make or Break” - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2013 from Maria HebdaIf you’re deciding what movie to rent or what to have for lunch, the possible down-side of a poor choice probably doesn’t amount to much. On the other hand, when your job search or career success is at stake, choices become much more critical. In terms of your resume, that means you must ...
Views: 1406 - How to Impress Employers Before They Even See Your Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaAh. After much hard work, your resume is beautiful! You've spent countless hours (and perhaps a chunk of change) perfecting both its content and appearance and now you're ready to send it out to fulfill its primary duty--landing you an interview. Or several. And fast. What you may not ...
Views: 1357 - Set S.M.A.R.T. Resume Goals & Get Your Dream Job - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaLocating and securing a job is a job in itself. In fact, many people dread the employment search process because it is often very tedious, grueling, time consuming and unrewarding. We are frequently mistreated, misunderstood and misrepresented. The up side to this dilemma is we can eliminate ...
Views: 1319 - Age-Old Question: Should I Lie About My Age On a Resume? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria Hebda"Should I Lie About My Age On a Resume?" * I am too old * I've never managed anyone directly * I don't have Microsoft Excel experience * I have a job gap from 2002-2004 You'll never see these above items on a resume because the purpose of the resume is to put your best foot (or ...
Views: 1310 - CIO & IT Leaders: How to Plan for Career and Resume Success - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaAs I work with senior-level IT leaders, IT operations directors, as well as IT program and project managers, I hear more and more about failed technology implementations. Not that the technology itself failed, although that certainly happens too. What really intrigues me is the level of project ...
Views: 1246 - Why Should You Keep Your Resume Updated? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaWhether the economy is crashing or booming, it is crucial to keep your resume updated and ready to be sent out on a moment's notice! There is no such thing as job security in today's world. Many unfortunate people were shocked to learn that when they found themselves jobless in 2008 and 2009. ...
Views: 1214(1 vote) - Is an “old school” resume getting in your way? - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2013 from Maria HebdaCompanies today are moving quickly and looking for talent that can keep up, or better yet, bring cutting-edge ideas to give them a competitive advantage. A hiring manager’s first impression of you is most likely your resume, and if it says, “I’m old school,” you are probably not getting the ...
Views: 1150 - Informational Interviewing: A Job Seeker’s Secret Weapon – Part I - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaOne of the most powerful but underutilized strategies in finding a job is informational interviewing, the process of conducting highly focused conversations with professionals currently working in your field of interest in order to gather information about a job, company, field or industry. ...
Views: 1119 - Get More Interviews: Avoid These Common Resume Pitfalls - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2013 from Maria HebdaImprove your job search results by avoiding these common resume pitfalls: Trying to Be All Things – Choosing a focus can seem limiting! Review effective marketing campaigns (remember, your resume is a marketing tool), and you will consistently find cohesive, compelling messaging. Even at a ...
Views: 1116 - Creating a Resume for a Mom Returning to the Workforce - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaI am often contacted by people (oftentimes mothers) who took an extended absence from the workforce to raise children. Those children get older and more self-sufficient; the stay at home moms decide they would like to return to the workplace. Oftentimes these women had good careers, working as ...
Views: 1100 - The Career Pivot - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaChange is constant, prevalent, inevitable. We experience it in the weather as temperatures vary, in the seasons as spring cycles to winter, and within ourselves as we accumulate experiences. For most of us, these changes or transitions are characteristically familiar. Similarly, we embrace ...
Views: 1096 - Leveraging a Reentry Client's Volunteer Experience - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaIf you are reentering the job market and have relevant volunteer experience, be sure to include it. It counts! A recent client wanted to reenter the job market after taking time off for children. Her earlier career had been in residential real estate and Xerox equipment sales. Her new job ...
Views: 1076 - Will a Generic Resume Get Results? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaMany job seekers ask professional resume writers to develop a generic resume that can be used for several targets. Sometimes the client is not even sure what those targets will be but wants a document that will work for any position he or she decides to apply for. This is a huge mistake! It ...
Views: 1040 - Your Cover Letter's Magic - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaWhat magic is involved in preparing a cover letter? The cover letter - sometimes known as an application letter for employment - literally covers, or is placed first, over your presented or mailed resume. Usually read first, it is intended to encourage a potential employer to read over your ...
Views: 996 - How to Brand Yourself with Your Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaIn our world today, inventors and developers pride themselves on developing products that will do several functions - like the cell phone that is also a camera and a GPS device. But a resume is not such a product. It needs to do one thing - make the employer want to interview you - and it needs ...
Views: 957 - Top Secrets of Expert Resumes - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaIt seems no matter how good we have it, we all want a better job. That means keeping track of job listings, networking, tracking down leads, analyzing potential employers and scheduling interviews. But these depend on other people, word of mouth, and the quality and quantity of job postings ...
Views: 949 - Your Resilient Career: Learn How to Bounce Back More Quickly - by Submitted on Jul 01, 2013 from Maria HebdaHow Resilient Are You? “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ~Confucius Have you noticed that some people seem to recover from setbacks more quickly than others? Have you wondered what their secret is? Bouncing back is an increasingly important ...
Views: 931 - Resume Template = Generic Resume/Generic Candidate - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2015 from Maria HebdaAnyone expecting to see great results from using a generic resume for their job search is setting themselves up for a big disappointment. Employers, recruiters, hiring managers, and HR personnel are not seeking "general" candidates to come in for interviews, they are looking for candidates ...
Views: 892 - 3 Reasons Never to Include Your Street Address on Your Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaBelow are the three reasons never to include your street address on your resume: 1. Personal Safety If you post your resume online, you're opening yourself to security risk. Most of us wouldn't include our home address on Facebook posts, personal Web pages, or tweets but we never think ...
Views: 883 - Why You Need a Personal Brand - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaWhat do the most successful people over 50 have in common? They know and express who they are. They have honed and communicated their professional identity and made others aware of their personal attributes - their expertise, talents, and deepest commitments. In other words, these people have ...
Views: 882 - 4 Steps To A Perfect Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaLooking for feedback on my work, I sent the exact same resume to 2 trusted recruiters and got the following two gut reactions: * "Great format but the writing could be more salesy." * "Compelling content but the format is bland." The take home message: You can't please everyone. That ...
Views: 877 - The Perils of Online Posting - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaI was captivated by a CNN interview with an unemployed father named Eric Bell. Mr. Bell was laid off and immediately took the shotgun approach to job hunting that I passionately argue against. As a mid-level manager with a solid employment history, Eric figured he'd simply post his resume ...
Views: 867 - Death of an Objective, Birth of a Headline - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaJust a short time ago, it was customary for your resume to have a line towards the top that read something like: "OBJECTIVE: To obtain a position in customer service in which I can utilize my skills at an organization that facilitates innovation and growth". Times have changed since then, and ...
Views: 866 - Bringing Out The Real You In Your Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaThere's a widespread frustration held by business executives that their resumes' cannot adequately describe "the real me." I've challenged this notion with the following comments and suggestions: I'm pleased to read how many executives are put off by the idea that they might be encapsulated ...
Views: 859 - Does Your Resume Need A Facelift? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaMany people don't realize is that if you put your resume together without much thought or reason, simply writing down your life's story and distributing it to potential employers, chances are you'll experience less than impressive results. In fact, you'll probably end up in the unenviable ...
Views: 852 - 5 Sure-Fire Steps to a New Job - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaThe new year is here - budgets are fresh, positions are open and every statistic points to aggressive hiring. Here are 5 sure-fire steps that will get you a competitive edge and land you that job. 1). Get a professional resume done. Don't even think about doing it yourself as the state of the ...
Views: 846 - Informational Interviewing: A Job Seeker’s Secret Weapon – Part II - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaPreparing for the Interview Next, it’s time to research the field or industry and the contact’s company. This will help you avoid wasting precious interview time asking questions that you would have been able to answer by doing a little investigation, as well as demonstrate that you are ...
Views: 842 - ASCII Resumes: An Essential Ingredient to Today's Job Search - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaASCII (pronounced ask-ee) stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. So what's that mean? Computers can only read numbers. Technically speaking, ASCII is a numerical representation of the letters, digits, punctuation marks, and other symbols used in conversational English. ...
Views: 833 - 5 Resume Red Flags - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaProspective employers may spend as little as six seconds looking at your resume to make an assessment of your abilities and to match those abilities to their job opening. In those six seconds they do not read every word on the resume! Instead, employers look at the overall format - is it easy ...
Views: 827 - 3 Sure Ways to Get Rid of Tire Kickers - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2016 from Maria HebdaWhen people go shopping, whether it’s for a minor purchase or a large ticket item like a new car, price will always be a determining factor. If they feel the cost is worth it, they’ll pay it and if they don’t they won’t. It’s pretty simple when buying tangible items. But when making ...
Views: 825 - Technical Careers: It's Not Just a Paycheck - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaEven in the toughest of job markets, it's important to keep your values in sight. Certainly money matters, but we all want to work for more than just a paycheck. We need to be able to articulate what matters to us and what gives us satisfaction, whether it's in solving complex problems, ...
Views: 822 - No Second First Impression - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaAs the saying goes, "you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression." People tend to form judgments based on what they see and hear during the first few seconds. Extended contact may modify their initial judgment but probably won't change it significantly. In terms of job or ...
Views: 819 - Getting The Most Out of a Job Fair - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaYou spend days preparing for that big career fair, where you'll meet your dream employer who will throw lots of money your way because YOU are the one they've been waiting for. However, the reality is that many people who attend job fairs are left disappointed, frustrated and jobless. Here ...
Views: 815 - Top Ten Excuses Why People Don't Network - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaI don't want to ask for a favor. Many people think that when you network you are asking someone for a job. But this is not the goal of networking. When you network, you never ask for a job. You ask for information about an industry, company, or position. Fear of rejection. Many people fear ...
Views: 805 - Online Resume Posting Guide - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaSince launching my resume writing business 14 years ago, I have assisted many clients in posting resumes on-line, to electronic job boards such as monsterjobs.com, careerbuilder.com, and usajobs.gov. When I first began this service, statistics said that only 30 percent of employers were ...
Views: 797 - So Why Do I Need A Resume Anyway? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaI must say there has been a lot of talk about resumes this year. It's one of the most talked about topic next to social media and networking. But why is there so much talk about 2 pieces of paper? And, why is having a resume so important? I can think of a reason why having a resume is so ...
Views: 774 - So What's Your Story? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaSome people are natural storytellers. They describe events and circumstances in a way that captures attention, compels interest, and engages listeners. Storytellers are a direct contrast with those who use language solely for targeted and factual communications. In interviews and professional ...
Views: 770 - Why the Resume is an Endangered Species - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaAs a professional resume writer, I don't like to admit this, but the resume is going the way of gray suit, the fax machine, and the generous pension plan. No, the resume isn't in danger of immediate extinction. But it is certainly endangered. Resumes are a relic of a traditional employment ...
Views: 770 - Cut the Commute: Work From Home - by Submitted on Nov 15, 2012 from Maria Hebda“Five percent of [Americans] surveyed said they would actually be willing to divorce their spouse if that meant they could stop commuting and work from home instead.”¹ While the vast majority of us wouldn’t resort to something quite so drastic, more and more people are seeking ways to spend less ...
Views: 763 - Big Changes Require Bold Moves - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaDo you ever look at others who have achieved great things and think, "They're different from me. I could never find the courage to take such bold steps?" Don't sell yourself short. Often, it's a matter of determining the right career fit and breaking your goals down into attainable ...
Views: 739 - Writing Resumes for C-level Tech Executives - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaThe department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released employment numbers that revealed a monthly net gain of 4,400 IT-related jobs, a sixth straight net jobs gain in IT labor segments. On the surface, this sounds like incredible news - the job outlook for IT is improving ...
Views: 737 - Watch Out for That Resume “Black Hole” Trap! - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaIf your resume looks as if it could have come from 20 years ago or it just hasn’t been put together carefully–with good attention to what your targeted employers are probably looking for–it most likely will end up in the resume “black hole” trap. The same goes for submitting it to employers ...
Views: 734 - Is a Cover Letter Necessary? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaOne of the most commonly-asked questions when it comes to the job hunt has to be: "Do I need a cover letter?" Yes, you do! "Can't I just send my resume without it?" Only if the employer, recruiter, or software refuses to let you submit the cover letter! Why? Because the resume doesn't ...
Views: 730 - Be Honest on Your Resume - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaNothing tells a prospective employer that you are not the right person for his or her job more quickly than a resume that does not match the job description or the stated needs of the employer. Your resume should be written in a way that reflects your education and accomplishments. Resist the ...
Views: 717 - Is Your Resume Employer Driven? - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaAre you interested in knowing what potential employers are looking for in a resume? If you haven't updated your resume over the last few years, you might be surprised to learn what companies (large and small) are requesting in today's resumes. In the past, resumes would begin with an ...
Views: 707 - Value-Added vs. Job Description Resumes - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaPut yourself in the place of the busy manager who has to read a stack of job description resumes. Your reaction might range from falling asleep to tearing out your hair-or wanting to! Why is that? Because job description resumes are BORING and do absolutely nothing to distinguish you from the ...
Views: 696 - Five Steps to Job Fair Success - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2012 from Maria HebdaWhile you will need a strong resume for any job fair, don't forget - attending a job fair is not just about submitting your resume. It's about socializing and networking with the representatives of the companies and showing off your communication skills. In order to do those things ...
Views: 666