The Work Buzz's Latest News: “Spelling Errors Send Red Flags To Employers” plus 1 more

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Spelling Errors Send Red Flags To Employers Posted: 09 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Really, I had the simplest of intentions. By sending out a link to The Oatmeal's classic graphic of "10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling" as a reminder to job seekers everywhere that a lot is two words, I opened a vortex of commonly misused or misspelled words that drive employers crazy when they see them in résumés, cover letters, correspondence and even social media updates. But it wasn't only employers who were miffed at these common blunders – job seekers too were disappointed in their peers. When I polled our Twitter and Facebook fans, they gave me an onslaught of other words that they found were on the list of common offenders. Twitter user @XuDannyO added that he sees people who don't know the difference between "ensure" and "insure." His great example being, "'I insure customer satisfaction.' Really? You took out an insurance policy on that?" Other unforgivable mistakes, according to our Facebook comments, included: No and know Whole and hole Receive Separate Beautiful Appreciate Restaurant Smelled and smelt Leaned and leant and lend Form and from While and whilst Definitely vs defiantly (people don't realize these are two different words with two different meanings) Apart and a part To, too, two Your and you're Teresa Z. added, "The problem is people rely on spell check too often and don't realize that if the word is spelled correctly but used in the wrong context, spell check won't always pick it up. They need to use the 'eyeball' method." She's right – you need to proofread your work, especially if you are sending out a résumé and cover letter in hopes of competing for a job. One of the most common typos seen by Heidi F. is “you” instead of “your.” So in your cover letter, if you write "I'm the best candidate for you marketing needs," then you probably aren't going to get the call to come in for the interview. I'll admit it – I have had consistent trouble with the word sandwich throughout my entire life. I'm not sure why because I've eaten enough of them that I should be spelling the word correctly. It doesn't mean that you're a waste of life if you didn't win the 4th grade spelling bee or have trouble spelling today. When you take the time to proof your work and check any spellings (thank you dictionary.com) that you are uncertain about, that shows an employer attention to detail and the ability to do good work. But when you end your cover letter with "I hope to here from you," you probably won't hear from them either. One final word on social media and status updates or tweets. Despite character limitations and the inherent creative license to make a bold statement, you still need to act and spell professionally. Consistent tweets like "IM HAVIN NO LUK IN MY JOB SERCH" aren't endearing and would probably prompt an employer to block and report you as spam. One-in-five companies are using social media to hire and 45% of companies are screening applicants by their social media profiles.  If you are using social media to increase your chances of being seen and heard by potential employers, you probably need to audit your online brand image and decide whether you need to change your privacy settings, create separate accounts or clean up your online act. What steps do you take to proof your résumé or cover letters before submitting them to employers? What are some other words or phrases that you find you commonly misuse or misspell? How can we help each other catch our little mistakes? Image courtesy Infomatique/Flickr.

PARADE’s what people earn: Labor edition Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:49 AM PDT Special contribution from PARADE Here's what real people from across the country earn in industries far and wide. See how your paycheck matches up – or maybe get some ideas for your dream job. Matthew Renner, 51* Blacksmith Rifle, Colorado $30,000 Ian Baker, 28 Catering chef Wilmington, Delaware $35,000 Carl Panzieri, 58 Plumbing contractor Auburn, New Hampshire $104,000 Andrea Adams-Britt, 36 Pastry chef Lee's Summit, Missouri $55,000 Jay Wood, 40 State certified exterminator Eldon, Missouri $66,000 Kenny Dale, 32 Tank mechanic Willow Grove, Pennsylvania $90,000 David Kiernan, 52 Furniture maker Clayville, Rhode Island $39,000 Lori Jacobson, 62 Food stylist Albuquerque, New Mexico $24,000 *Photos courtesy of survey participants and coordinated by Tyler Pappas for JTP | Fifth Is your job listed here? How does your salary stack up? Tell us in the comments section. See 8 More Laborers and Their Actual Paychecks What People Earn: See Hundreds More of Real Americans' Salaries What Job Personality Are You? Take Our Quiz and Find Out!

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Job Interviews – five instant tips to get more of them!

ResumeBear Blog

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Job Interviews – five instant tips to get more of them! Posted: 09 Sep 2011 05:14 AM PDT Glad to meet you! I had the good fortune to sit down with a friend of mine recently, and he was not feeling so well in his job search.  He let me know that he is not getting as many interviews as he wants, so we had a discussion, and it was a good one indeed.  Through the discussion, we discovered several things about his job search that were working, but one of the first things we decided was that we needed to change a few things around anyway.  It made me think of things that I could share with others that also make sense to change at the beginning to see immediate results.  If we cannot get to the interview stage, we will never get to the new job stage. When we are job seeking, it is difficult to always feel good, to feel like we are making headway – usually we measure how many interviews we are getting to measure our success. There are times when it feels as if nothing is working, because we are sending out several resumes with no interview responses.   Sometimes, when it feels like things are not working, that is the time to take a moment and reflect on what is working, what is not, and what to change.  Rather than look at things whether they are good or bad, it makes more sense to look at your efforts, and ask yourself, "am I getting results I want?"  In this case, the results are interviews.  Rather than look at good or bad, because this means either you are doing something right or wrong, look at the results you are getting. Is your resume getting enough returns? Your resume should be generating at least two interviews of every 10 that you send out. If it is not doing that, you need a different resume. You do not need a "better" resume; you need one that gets different results. You should be writing a new resumes for every single job and that you apply to, and if you are not now is the time to start. You need to describe your features and benefits to a potential employer, so that they can understand why they need to talk to you and what you can do for the business.  I wrote an article over here about doing research on the company before you reach a resume; there is also a free tool you can download. Are you sending a cover letter with your resume? Many recruiters are now saying that a cover letter is obsolete, but I have to disagree. A cover letter is another place where you can insert keywords, can describe your features and benefits, or you can have one more chance to grab the reader's interest. The cover letter is wrapping on the gift of the resume. There are several types of cover letters, including a broadcast letter, a prospecting letter, and a letter of interest. Here it is a link to my answers on this very question from www.quora.com. If you do not want to send a cover letter, you can add an entirely separate page at the end of your resume. If you are applying to a company that does online applications, you can have a separate page that highlights key words and skills that you bring to the table. There is really no name for this document, but what it does is help the applicant tracking system to find your resume because it notices key words. One way to find a keywords base to look for several different job applications and run them through a word cloud. A free online program to do this is www.to cloud.com. You highlight the text from a few job ads, and paste them into one document. You then run this document through the word club, and look for the most common words. These are some of the words you can use on this last page. Are you sending a thank you letter? This is an often forgotten about activity, but it can be the difference between a job offer and another disappointment. I would suggest going to your local dollar store and buying a pack of 10 think you cards for a dollar. This way you can insert some specific thoughts and your thank you card after you have touched the employer through any type of communication. Another way to touch the employer is to insert your business card with a thank you card, so they have another way to communicate with you. Does your resume begin to target the specific features and benefits that you bring to the position? Think of a car, it has features that offer you benefits. The feature of the car is that it gets good gas mileage; the benefit to you is decreased expenses. A feature you bring to the employer may be your organizational skills, which benefits the employer by saving them money or increasing their efficiency. Not every employer wants the same thing out of every employee, so make sure that you ask questions. I wrote a blog posting over here about not only asking the right questions, but also promoting them in the way that makes the most sense. Your marketing tools are the first time that you get to touch an employer, so if they are not attractive to the employer it does not go any further. Seek feedback, and look for results from your actions. If you are not getting the results you want, you need different actions. How many resumes have you sent out to get one interview? If you are not getting one interview from five resumes, try some of these tips. Have you done something lately to help increase your interview captures? Leave a comment below, and we can all perhaps try something a little different, and increase our interview ratios. About the Author: With a total network of over 15 million on LinkedIn spanning Australia, India, China, the UK, Germany,  USA, Canada, and even Iran, Chris Kulbaba is a LinkedIn Heavy Weight, and his wish is to help you become one too!  Chris is able to assist you to craft  your Unique Value Proposal which shows how your values can align with others to create the "fit factor"  and enable you to achieve real momentum in your career.

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Work Gaps – Can You Really Hide Them? | Career Rocketeer

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Work Gaps – Can You Really Hide Them? Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:30 AM PDT Work gaps continue to be job seekers' biggest worry.  It's little wonder; we still carry a certain amount of stigma associated with a work gap – never mind what it might do to the bank account.  I am continuously asked, "How do I lay out my resume to minimize the effect of a work gap?"   Sure, you can do a few things, but really, I think most work gaps look worse to the owner than they do to everyone else. I'd like to look at work gaps and also try to adjust your attitude. What's the problem with a work gap? A work gap may signify that we have a hidden issue that causes us to be undesirable to hire.  We all know the type of person who no one misses when they leave.  They may have a funky personality, are difficult to work with or have a host of other undesirable work traits.  It might be glaringly obvious to others, but not to ourselves. A work gap could mean you're just plain lazy.  Too lazy to get a job and therefore too lazy to consider for hire. It could be hiding a deep dark secret, like being in jail; and no one wants that! How do you combat those perceptions? First, if there ever were a time for a work gap, it's right now.  With so many people out of work and for so long, it's well understood why you might have a gap. To combat the possible negative perceptions, make sure you use your time to demonstrate you are anything but lazy or undesirable.  You can do things like volunteer doing work in your area of expertise.  It will make you feel good and also give you content to add to your resume.  You can use this time to beef up your skills by taking classes; and add that information to your resume. You combat those perceptions by demonstrating that you aren't just sitting around drawing an unemployment check and watching soap operas. The best way to combat the perception is by not perpetuating it. How do you minimize it in your resume and interview? You could consider a functional resume format which allows you to lay out your work by experience rather than lay out your work by date.  The world knows this subtle trick, but it can help. If you have done some of the things I mention above, you have put the volunteer work or education on your resume, which means you have little or no gap showing on your resume. In the interview, if you are asked about a work gap, you do nothing to hide the fact or be embarrassed by it.  If you do, it will cause people to mistrust you.  You can say something as simple as:  I was not doing paid employment during that time, but as my resume points out, I worked for x non-profit and also went to school to learn XX.  Wear it proudly and be straight forward about it. My philosophy on work gaps is that you shouldn't be ashamed of them, but you should absolutely pursue activities that will show that you were the productive, focused person you are. Author: Dorothy Tannahill-Moran is a Career Coach and expert on helping her clients achieve their goals. Her programs cover: Career growth and enhancement, Career Change, Retirement Alternatives and Job Search Strategy. Want to discover specific career change strategies that get results? Discover how by claiming your FREE gift, Career Makeover Toolkit at: http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com what where job title, keywords or company city, state or zip jobs by

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The Proving Ground of Loss

blogging4jobs

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The Proving Ground of Loss Posted: 08 Sep 2011 04:29 AM PDT My niece posted on Facebook today that her fish of six years, Sheldon, had died.  There was a general rousing of sympathy and heartfelt expressions of understanding.  Sheldon had been a well-loved member of the family, having had a place right in the middle of the kitchen – where all the activity was.  He survived three household moves, six children and multiple water changes.  He lived in a good old-fashioned fishbowl – no filter, no heater.  He lived in a fishbowl on the kitchen counter. Sheldon made due with his circumstance and survived and thrived quite nicely. My own little family won two goldfish at a school carnival several years ago; we named them Fred and Ethel.  After one of my daughters fed them pixie stix, Ethel left this earthly life, but Fred proved his mettle by sticking around for a several more years.  And Fred was the life of every party.  He greeted you as your entered the room and showed his love and appreciation by a quick swim around his bowl and a furious tail wag.  He was good little carnival fish and when his six-year reign came to an end, my little family wept. My older brother had a goldfish when we were kids, he often let that fish swim in the most disgustingly dirty fishbowl.  I was six years old when I decided that fish needed a bath and fresh warm water – for he must have been freezing, right?  Well, you know the rest of the story.  I wept then, too. All stories of seemingly disposable pets.  But were they really?  Stories of grief for a simple yet loved fish.   Each a story of simplicity.   When email didn’t matter, when a slow traffic light was unimportant, when a meeting consisted of making a PB&J on the kitchen counter before running out the door, when “streetlights on” was the signal to go home, when life was light and work was pulling weeds. We have all faced loss, whether it was a simple pet leaving this life, losing a job, or the death of a loved one.  Loss is merely another life lesson and how we deal with loss and its resulting changes becomes another proving ground.  During a past time of great turmoil and loss, I remember feeling hot tears pushing against the back of my eyelids – I can remember begging for no more character-building experiences, I had enough character to last several lifetimes.  Maybe these experiences, though painful and real, are not about you and what you feel; perhaps they are about what you learn.  And who you might be able to help when they experience something similar. Some losses are inexplicable and sometimes, comfort is not found – ever.    Loss serves as a lesson to cherish what isn’t lost as well as what is found.  When a door closes – when life gives you lemons – Stand at the open window and drink lemonade.  And with gratitude, remember what you had and with thankfulness, realize what you have. See?  It’s still all about perspective. *Art courtesy of Shawn Ardoin Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Overqualified? What Should You Add and Subtract from Your Resume?

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• Overqualified? What Should You Add and Subtract from Your Resume?
• Understand the Career Path of an Electrician
• FREE Career Advice Webinars [Schedule]
• 5 Times to Never Ask for a Raise
• #1 Technique for Getting Employers to Call You
• How to Find a Job Without a Good Network
• The First 90 Days: How to Position Yourself for Success at a New Job
• 20-Minute Job Search: How to Find a Job When You Don’t Have the Time
• 5 Ways to Use this Website

Overqualified? What Should You Add and Subtract from Your Resume? Posted: 09 Sep 2011 12:00 AM PDT If you are a candidate who may be overqualified for a job you're considering, think about making adjustments to your resume to help you get the job. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

Understand the Career Path of an Electrician Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:45 PM PDT Considered working as an Electrician? This interview will take you down the career path of one person's experience in this position. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

FREE Career Advice Webinars [Schedule] Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:30 PM PDT CAREEREALISM TV is the number one platform for FREE career advice webinars on the Internet right now. Review our schedule and sign-up for an event! To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

5 Times to Never Ask for a Raise Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:16 PM PDT There are five times you never want to ask for a raise. Let us explain why the timing might be right or you, but wrong for your boss. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

#1 Technique for Getting Employers to Call You Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:15 PM PDT Do you know the number one technique to get employers to call you? Well, the first step to landing a job interview is the phone screen. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

How to Find a Job Without a Good Network Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:15 PM PDT What do you do when you don't have a big network to assist you? How can you find a job if your network isn't substantial? Let us show you. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

The First 90 Days: How to Position Yourself for Success at a New Job Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:15 PM PDT The first 90 days are critical. They will have a direct impact on your success at the role. They will even impact your ability to get promoted! To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

20-Minute Job Search: How to Find a Job When You Don’t Have the Time Posted: 08 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Job searching while living a hectic lifestyle? Learn how to find a job when you don't have the time using the "Twenty-Minute Job Search." To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

5 Ways to Use this Website Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT CAREEREALISM.com, a top-3 career blog, is focused on providing cutting-edge career advice that gives job seekers no-nonsense information. To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

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