Career Guide

What do you mean by an Interview?

2008-01-11T18:26:00.000+05:30

An interview is a process by which one can judge that the person being hired by him is up to the mark for the job or not. An interview is a pre-assessment of the person who is going to work for the company. In this article of mine I am going to check on those points where a person gets stuck especially for those who want to go for the BPO Industry.

First of all we need to know about what is a BPO industry and does it work. The full form of the BPO Industry is Business Process Outsourcing Industry. It’s a kind of industry in which the business of one company is outsourced (handed) to another company for the management of their clients and even for making sales and appointment for the respective company. For example, suppose that we have Airtel as a service provider for the cell phone communication. It gives its process to another company known as IBM to manage its clients and to generate leads for Airtel consultants for the sales of their cell phone connections. Then this company IBM hires some people known as Customer care Executives, Technical Support Executives and many more to handle their process for Airtel post paid and prepaid products. To get job in this kind of industry is very easy and difficult as well. Here I am listing some of the views of mine to clear the interview. These interviews are just the work of some tactics that are to be learnt in a proper manner.

These Interviews are generally having 4 rounds:-
Group Discussion (G.D.) round.
Aptitude Test
H.R. round
Operations Round (Opps. Round)

In these types of interviews all the four rounds are the elimination rounds.

Group Discussion or the GD round
In this round the HRs find out those people who are the best in their fluency of English and are confident enough to face a crowd of people standing in front of him. Those who are confident enough are selected to move for the second round.

Aptitude Test
Aptitude Test we need to secure minimum of at least half of the marks of the total number of questions to qualify to next round that is the HR round.

H.R. round
In the third round the HR of the call centre asks you about your profile and about the matter written in Curriculum Vitae or in your Resume. He finds the confidence in you for that specific job.

Operations Round (Opps. Round)
The fourth and the last round is the Opps. Round or the Operations Round. In this round the Operations Manager of that particular process checks upon your communication skills and the accent you are using while speaking.

Tips to clear all the four phases of the interview.
For the first round we need to be confident while speaking on any topic. We should not hesitate while speaking and we should not make any pauses in our speech because all these count to your selections. If you are not able to speak on the topic that they gave you, then, ask for about a minute or so to think on the topic and then start slowly on the topic. REMEMBER: - Start it in a good manner and finish it with a conclusion that should be impressive so that it leaves a good impression on the interviewer.

For the fourth round that is the Opps. Round remember to be in your neutral accent of your speech do not use any kind of accent such as the American Accent or the UK Accent or the Australian Accent. If you speak in any Accent because this will prove to be fatal for you. This might lead to your rejection.

If you have any kind of your problems that you cannot work in night shifts or rotational shifts do not disclose until your training is complete because this amounts to disqualification of your training or you might not be able to get the offer letter for your joining because they want people who can work for them in shifts and at what ever time they give to you. But if you are into the company and you have completed the training then they will have to make arrangements for you people. That’s the best way to keep you at the safest side and also to solve problems.

By: Manav Swahney

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What Employers Are Looking For During The Interview Process ?

2008-01-11T17:35:00.000+05:30

What Employers Are Looking For During The Interview Process ?Interviewing can be difficult, but when you know what employers are looking for the task suddenly becomes manageable. Interviewing well is not just about experience, the ability to do the job, or the skills and education you have acquired it’s also about your ability to sell yourself to your prospective employer. While every employer has specific things that they are looking for in the way of past experience and education, almost all of them look for similar things in the people that they interview. If you know what you should be emphasizing during an interview you’ll feel more confident and you’ll be more likely to get the jobs you want! First, you must know if you are qualified for the position that you are interviewing for. There is nothing more embarrassing than going to an interview and spending your time with someone only to be told that you don’t meet the minimum requirements for the job. Only apply for jobs that you know you can qualify for in the way of education and experience and remember that the two are not always interchangeable for some employers. If a job listing says that a Masters degree is necessary, you shouldn’t attempt to apply for the job if you do not have that degree. But, if an ad says that a Masters degree is recommended and you know that you don’t have the degree but you have experience that will replace the formal education, you can apply with some amount of confidence. You need to be sure that you pay attention to detail when applying for jobs to save you the time and the stress, not to mention the embarrassment, of applying for jobs that you do not qualify for. Next, you need to know how to write a good resume. Employers understand that not everyone has resume writing talents, but a good resume is a good way to catch the eye of a potential employer. It’s often a resume that gets you an interview, so make sure not to overlook this important detail. If you already have an interview scheduled, you should still make sure that you have a nice looking resume as it’s a good idea to bring a copy of your resume along with you in case the employer has misplaced the last copy of the resume you sent him or her. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Employers like to hire people that know where they stand within their field. What are you really good at, and what do you think you can work on to become even better? Make sure that you can look at these things and decide how your strengths will benefit the company you are interviewing with and how you think you can work on your opportunity areas within that company. Many people make the mistake of only talking up the positive, but employers like to see versatility, honesty, as well as your ability to help the company grow and the ability of the company to help you grow. Employers are often looking for individuals that can communicate well. Communication is an important asset to all companies that have more than one or two employees otherwise things just won’t get done. Play up your ability to communicate with other employers, supervisors, and clients. Also, mention that you have the ability to be a team player as well as set individual goals for yourself. Employers like to hire people that can do both because it creates a balance in the workplace so things get done in the most efficient manner. Don’t talk down past employers when you interview. Most employers like to speak with people that seem to take each situation and draw something positive from it. If a job is listed on your resume, you can assume that someone will ask you what you learned while you were there, why you left, and how you enjoyed your time. You don’t have to lie about a bad experience, but remember to accentuate the positive experiences you had. Negativity will usually detract from your attractiveness to a prospective employer. Employers are looking for people who can come to work with a good attitude as well as employees that will arrive for work on time. The best way to prove this to your prospective employer is to arrive early for your interview. Just fifteen minutes is plenty of time, but showing up on time and appearing eager and ready for the interview will set a good tone for your future working relationship. Those that are late for their interviews give the impression that they are not ready to work and will be less likely to be hired. Every employee is a liability of sorts for the employer, so it’s understandable why employers would want someone that starts out on the right foot by showing up on time. The bottom line is that employers are looking for dependable people no matter what field you may be interviewing in. You first impression will mean a lot, so show up on time, be well groomed, put together a well-written resume, and put some effort and enthusiasm into each interview you attend.

Your education and experience are important, but you really need to know how to talk to people. Really think about what your assets are and how you will be able to contribute to a company. An interview is much like selling yourself and your experience; so don’t get too comfortable until you are sure that the job is yours! Remember that the interview process can be stressful, but when you know what employers are looking for you can concentrate on a good personality, being on time, education, experience, a well-written resume, and being able to sell yourself to make the process easier. Knowing where to focus will allow you to devise a method of organization and success for the interview process so you can get the jobs that you want and not bother to apply for the jobs you don’t want!

By: http://www.exforsys.com

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Building Your Career Portfolio: Four Career Investments for a Purposeful Lifetime !!!

2007-02-12T22:52:00.000+05:30

by Carol A. Poore

"When I was laid off, I was shaking so badly that I didn't know whether I could drive home," said Kristin, 32, a mother of three who lost a public relations job. "My heart was pounding and I felt disassociated, like the whole thing was a bad dream."
After working at the same company for five years, David, 36, was escorted out of his building after being informed that the company was heading in a new direction and no longer needed his type of skills.
Shock, rootlessness and anger are just a few normal responses many feel when they lose their jobs to corporate downsizing. Since the national crisis on Sept. 11, the U.S. Dept. of Labor states that jobless claims are approaching 700,000 across the U.S. -- the highest in nearly a decade.
How can you mitigate career risk -- otherwise known as the pitfalls of marketplace change, economic turndowns, downsizing, personal health and life changes, and distasteful company politics that can wreck havoc with one's life?
The answer lies in building a CareerPortfolio™, a career risk management approach, similar to building a financial portfolio, that can help you develop four, specific career assets, or "investments." Why four? Because these four ingredients offer a well-balanced opportunity for you to earn, learn, and help others throughout the rest of your life. And, like a financial portfolio, you can diversify risk so that you always have a number of career options on tap.
Begin with a Personal PurposeTo build a CareerPortfolio, start by developing your personal purpose. Your personal purpose is your investment strategy that guides all of your career decisions.
Begin by answering the following questions.
How would I like to be remembered 100 years from now?
What am I passionate about?
Two projects when I made a difference in recent years are (list them):
Now think about the big picture and write down the purpose of your life by filling in the blank: The purpose of my life is to____________________________.
You can revise your personal purpose statement as needed. It will help you decide what types of opportunities are worth pursuing. You will become purposeful rather than just "busy."
Develop Your CareerPortfolio™Now, it's time to assess the kinds of career assets you either may want to develop. If you have two or more of the following career assets working in your life, you will be building optimal career wealth over time.
Primary Income Investment -- your job, or business that you own, where the majority of your financial income is earned.
Secondary Income Investment -- an optional, alternate source of income that allows you to gain additional knowledge, career options, income, and sense of purpose. Not everyone is destined to own a business. However, those who choose to develop a business or occasional side project can start out small, and grow the business over time.
Volunteer Investment -- finding one or more ways to reach out to your community in a way that is meaningful to you. When volunteerism supports your personal purpose, you can gain new skills and meet valuable new contacts, all while making a difference in your world.
Lifelong Learning Investment -- including mentorship, focused reading and education.
Once you identify your desired career assets, you can put together a step-by-step plan for building your CareerPortfolio. Your overall life goals, available time, the ability to balance work and family, and stage of your life all should factor into your decision-making.
A CareerPortfolio in PhoenixPam Overton, partner in the national law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Attorneys at Law, has built a CareerPortfolio comprising three major career investments: Primary, Volunteer, and Lifelong Learning.
Pam's personal purpose is to excel at her career, while supporting her family and placing them as her No. 1 priority. Her purpose includes having a strong charitable and spiritual life to add perspective and balance.
Her Primary Income Investment is her litigation practice, which focuses on complex litigation, business torts, breach of contract and condemnation matters. In this role, Pam won the Golden Heart of Business Award in 2000. She also was recognized by Today's Arizona Woman Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Business Women in the State of Arizona" for two consecutive years.
Pam's Volunteer Investments include serving on the board of directors for Fresh Start Women's Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping women who need assistance in career, financial and life skills to better their futures. This board of powerful community movers and shakers provides Pam an opportunity to learn leadership skills, provide value to the organization, and learn more about community issues.
Pam's additional Volunteer Investments include supporting cancer and heart research and development. She has dedicated many fundraising hours at All Saints' Episcopal Day School where her children attend school, integrating volunteer service with family life.
For Lifelong Learning Investments, Pam is a member of several lawyer's professional associations and has served on the Arizona State Bar's Ethics Committee, sharing and gaining insight which ultimately benefits her clients.
"All of these career investments add valuable perspective to my career and bring opportunities to learn and build lasting friendships," Pam said.
Pam reviews her career investments periodically to ensure balance, as she and her husband raise their three children.
If you have two or more CareerPortfolio assets in place, you will be far more flexible and confident to face future career changes. Regardless of your age or place in life, it's never too late to build a purposeful and rewarding CareerPortfolio.

Carol A. Poore is the author of Building Your Career Portfolio (The Career Press, Inc., 2001). Active in the Phoenix-area's business community, she is director of communication at New West Energy, a subsidiary of SRP. Building Your Career Portfolio is available at local Borders Bookstores, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, www.careerpress.com, www.amazon.com, and www.b&n.com. For speaking and workshop information, contact Carol at cp@careerportfolio.net.

http://www.quintcareers.com

Six Steps to a Blockbuster Resume

2007-02-12T22:50:00.000+05:30

By ResumeEdge.com

A resume has one purpose - to market your skills, achievements, professional background, academic history, and future potential to a prospective employer. Much like a 30-second commercial, today's resume must provide maximum data as quickly as possible, differentiate you from all other candidates, and be attractively packaged.
Impossible, you think? Not at all. Writing a winning resume simply takes thought and planning. After all, you wouldn't drive from Los Angeles to Manhattan without mapping the surest route. The same goes for your resume. By using the ResumeEdge© six-step process, you'll gain perspective on your career target and the audience you need to reach, learn how to showcase your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, and produce a document with maximum punch.
Of course, if you do need professional assistance, our certified resume writers are on hand 24/7 to provide expert, personalized guidance.
The ResumeEdge© Process
• Step One:
Targeting Your Career and Audience
• Step Two:
Formatting for Maximum Impact
• Step Three:
Skill Set and Qualifications Summary
• Step Four:
Accomplishments and Special Skills
• Step Five:
Professional Experience
• Step Six:
Education and Training

STEP ONE: Targeting Your Career and Audience
You must have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish in your professional life in order to maximize the impact of your resume for your targeted audience -- the hiring manager or graduate school admissions director.
Before you begin, ask yourself these questions. Are you:
1. Making a lateral move?
2. Seeking a promotion?
3. Career transitioning?
4. Pursuing admission into a graduate program?*
For numbers 1-3 above, the most effective way to begin targeting your resume is to search openings that appeal to you on job boards (i.e. Monster, Hot Jobs. CareerJournal), internal company postings, or newspaper classifieds.
With these in hand, you can highlight the qualifications you will need to be considered and the duties you would be expected to assume. Every match in terms of qualifications and experience will serve as key words** in your resume, as well as provide focus so that the resume can be tailored for your targeted audience. The more closely the content of your resume matches the content of these postings, the more likely you will be asked to interview.
* Resumes provided for graduate school admission showcase your skills, professional experience, accomplishments, and academic history in much the same way as "job" resumes. The difference is that an admissions resume will focus on what transitions well to the classroom, not to the workplace.
** Key words include industry-specific jargon or acronyms (i.e. "generally accepted accounting principles" (GAAP) for accountants; "Certified Professional Resume Writer" (CPRW) for resume writers; "Series 7 licensing" for brokers; "initial public offering" (IPO) for investment bankers; "at-risk child" for social workers; "Level 2 Training" for physicians; "intellectual property law" for attorneys; "triage" for nurses; and nouns or noun phrases indicating qualifications or required tasks (i.e. general ledger, word processing, contract negotiations, benefits, payroll, closing (for sales people); catering services, new menu items, capacity planning (for chefs); logistics, quality assurance, advertising campaigns, product launches, staffing, training, orientations. Companies that employ scanners require a set number of hits on key words before the hiring manager will personally review the applicant's resume. It is always wise to incorporate as many key words as possible into your resume.

STEP TWO: Formatting for Maximum Impact
The moment your resume is opened by a hiring manager or admissions director, it must appeal to him or her on an aesthetic level, while accurately reflecting your industry or career goal. To do anything else is to relegate your resume -- no matter how brilliantly it is written -- to the rejection stack.
In order to ensure that your resume receives the initial attention it deserves, it's important to adhere to certain formatting guidelines, which include:
· Template and Font Choice
· Effective Use of White Space
· Prioritization of Data
Template and Font Choice
In all cases, templates and font choice should:
1. Be easy to follow. There is no greater irritation to a busy hiring manager or admissions director than to receive a resume where data is presented in a haphazard or inconsistent manner. That's why templates are used. An effective template will present company names, dates, job titles, academic information, and all other pertinent data in a clear manner, so that a quick glance will tell the contact person what they need to know.But consistency in format isn't the only point to consider. Templates should be chosen because they accurately reflect a candidate's career or goal. In other words, a banker, accountant, or administrative assistant would choose a more conservative format than a graphic artist or interior designer. Nothing is more jarring -- or disastrous -- than to receive a financial professional's resume written in italics or script with accompanying graphics.
2. Be easy to read. Resumes written in bold text or italics are extremely difficult to read and project a lack of professionalism. The same goes for artistic fonts that resemble handwriting. It's a common misconception that jazzing up a resume with these stylistic tricks will get the document read. On the contrary, the resume will get noticed -- and discarded -- within seconds. It's not the font you use that attracts attention, but rather the resume's initial appearance and the words crafted within it.When in doubt about font choice, always err on the conservative side. Two good choices are Times New Roman or Arial in 11 points -- no smaller, or the text will be difficult to read.
Effective Use of White Space
There is no quicker way to get your resume ignored than to create a document with (narrow or nonexistent) margins, and block after block of uninterrupted text. No one wants to read a text-heavy document with sentences that run on for four or five lines. In today's fast-paced world, you must get your point across quickly, with a minimum of words presented as bulleted sentences within special sections (i.e. Professional Experience, Education, Qualifications Summary), separated by well-placed white space.
Think of white spaces as necessary pauses -- a chance for the hiring manager or admissions director to catch her breath, collect her thoughts, and digest (and appreciate) the data you've presented.
Prioritization of Data
Imagine you're a hiring manager. It's 7:30 on a Monday morning, and an important position needs to be filled in your company's legal department. Over the weekend, 200 resumes came in from eager applicants all wanting to fill this one job. Most of the resumes are attractively formatted and use the appropriate font type. So far so good. But on closer inspection, most of the candidates have relegated their willingness to relocate for the position -- a core qualification -- to the very end of their two-page resumes. More than a few have buried accomplishments within the text, figuring this will force the hiring manager to search for that data, which means the entire resume will have to be read. Some have placed bar admission, another important qualification, dead last on the resume, believing that where they can practice law certainly isn't as important as the fact that they are attorneys. And a few misguided souls simply list company names and dates of employment, assuming that the hiring manager should know without asking what legal duties they performed at these firms.
It's enough to drive a hiring manager to distraction -- or another career.
But then, at last, there are those few resumes that list the important data at the top of the first page. In less than five seconds the hiring manager knows that the first candidate is willing to relocate and assume the cost of those expenses, if required. This candidate also provides a special section beneath the Qualifications Summary that indicates where she is licensed to practice law. The second candidate does the same, while also pulling out Career Accomplishments and placing them at the top of the first page. After all, why keep a 100% win rate at trial a secret, or the fact that one can practice before the state's Supreme Court?
Given the above scenario, it's clear which applicants will be called in for an interview. No hiring manager will read every single resume that comes across his desk. Nor will a hiring manager search for data. In today's tight job market it's up to the candidate to prioritize data so that a hiring manager knows at a glance what the job seeker has to offer the company in terms of achievement, work experience, education, licensing, certifications, and special concessions, such as relocation.

STEP THREE: Qualification Summary & Skill Set
Picture yourself at the market after a long day at the office. You're in a rush, of course, and want only to purchase those items on your list, if they're on sale. Hurrying into the store, you glance around for the weekly advertising piece that indicates which items will be offered at a discount. Trouble is, there's no advertising piece this week, and no one to answer your questions. If you want to purchase the items you most need at a discount, you're forced to walk up and down each and every aisle until you find what's available.
Doesn't sound like much fun or an effective use of time, does it? And yet this is the same type of frustration hiring managers are exposed to every time an applicant sends in a resume that fails to open with a well-written Qualifications Summary and/or Skill Set.
What is a Qualifications Summary?
It's a brief paragraph that showcases your most effective skills and experience as they pertain to your job search. More importantly, it's your chance to convince a hiring manager of the skills you can bring to the position. This is essential, given that hiring managers generally afford no more than 10 seconds to an applicant's resume, unless they're compelled to read further.
So, how do you compel them to keep reading?
Let's use this example: You're an accountant who has worked at XYZ Company for nine years and been promoted every time you've come up for review. Because of your organizational efforts, the company is saving $2500 monthly. You've passed the CPA exam. You're skilled in Profit & Loss (P&L), audits, taxation matters, and internal controls. Now, you want a Controller position.
Rather than including all of the aforementioned data in the body of the resume, where the hiring manager would be forced to look for it, but won't (remember, you'll be given 10 seconds before the hiring manager moves on), the wise candidate would write something like this:
Results-oriented, detailed professional with comprehensive accounting experience. Background includes consistent promotions to positions of increased responsibility. Skilled in P&L, audits, taxation, internal controls, and streamlining procedures, effecting a monthly savings of $2500 at XYZ Company. Recently passed the CPA exam; currently seeking a Controller position.
In five lines and a mere 45 words, you've given specific examples of what you can do (P&L, audits, taxation, internal controls), quantified an accomplishment (streamlining procedures, effecting a monthly savings of $2500 at XYZ Company), indicated past performance (consistent promotions to positions of increased responsibility), provided data on certification (recently passed the CPA exam), and provided your career path (currently seeking a Controller position). And you've done all of that in a well-written paragraph that's interesting and easy to read. (Note that personal pronouns are not used here. In business writing, which includes resumes, personal pronouns such as I, me, or my are never used).
Three examples of outstanding Opening Summaries:
IT Professional, Webmaster
Government Consultant
Foreman
Fine, you say, but what about an Objective? Where does that go?
In the modern resume, an objective statement is no longer used. The reason for this follows.
Qualifications Summary vs. the Objective
In the outmoded Objective, the candidate told the hiring manager what he wanted, whether that was a job at the company, room for advancement, a chance to use a new college degree, or any other reason an applicant could think of and the hiring manager could dismiss as self-serving. On the other hand, the Qualifications Summary proactively declares what the candidate can do for the targeted company, which places the hiring manager's needs first. A wise applicant always uses a Qualifications Summary, either by itself or combined with a Skill Set.
What is a Skill Set?
Generally speaking, it's a list of your core competencies as they relate to your targeted career goal. Again, let's take the example of the accountant who has just passed the CPA exam and now wants to be a controller. Rather than presenting all of that data in the qualifications summary, a portion of it would be showcased as a tag line (professional title or title of job you're targeting) and skill set, and might look something like this (followed by a reworked qualifications summary paragraph):
Results-oriented, detailed professional with comprehensive accounting experience. Background includes consistent promotions to positions of increased responsibility for notable achievements, including $2500 in monthly savings at XYZ Company by streamlining procedures.
This time, the first two lines, which contain just 15 words, present core strengths quickly and effortlessly.

STEP FOUR: Accomplishments and Special Skills
Accomplishments
There is no data on your resume more important than your accomplishments. Why?
Think of it this way: you're a hiring manager with one position to fill and 10 qualified candidates clamoring for the position. Each candidate has the same basic educational and professional background. So, who gets the job?
The candidate who contributed the most at past positions. Accomplishments are all that separate you from other equally qualified candidates, with one caveat. Your accomplishments must be quantified.
What is an Accomplishment?
1. Increasing the company's bottom line (i.e. facilitating its growth)
2. Streamlining procedures
3. Promotions
4. Special projects successfully completed
5. Decreasing costs
6. Company- or industry-sponsored awards
7. Certifications and licensure
What is not an Accomplishment?
1. Daily responsibilities that are included in your job description
2. Regular attendance at work
3. Getting along with co-workers
4. Working full-time while going to college at night
5. Volunteer or community service unless it has a direct bearing on your job search
In other words, an accomplishment is service that goes beyond your usual job description. But for an accomplishment to have the most effect, it must be quantified.
What is a Quantified Accomplishment?
One that includes dollar figures, percentages, and time periods.
For example: Our accountant has streamlined procedures, realizing a $2500 monthly savings for his company. The dollar figure quantifies the accomplishment, while the "streamlined procedures" explains how he did it. Now, if he achieved those savings within three months of hire, that would further strengthen his accomplishments, and it might be written thusly:
· Achieved a $2500 monthly savings for XYZ Company within three months of hire by streamlining procedures.
Imagine the hiring manager's reaction to the above as opposed to this entry:
· Streamlined procedures for XYZ Company.
Doesn't say much, does it?
Special Skills
Special Skills should always be presented up-front so that a hiring manager knows what you can do. In some instances, a special section (i.e. Computer Skills, Languages, Office Procedures, etc.) should be created to showcase these special skills.
Special skills will include:
1. Computer proficiencies
2. Office procedures (i.e. answering multi-lined phone systems, taking dictation (include speed), transcription, typing (include speed), 10-key, etc.)
3. Linguistic capabilities (i.e. fluency in a foreign language, ability to translate, etc.)
4. Any skill that's industry-specific for the job you're seeking
Here are a few examples of resumes with outstanding accomplishments and skills showcased effectively for hiring managers:
IT Professionals - Project Manager
Chief Marketing Officer
Executives - Supply Chain Director

STEP FIVE: Professional Experience
In the Professional Experience section you will list your employers, job titles, and dates of employment in a reverse-chronological order; that is, your most recent job comes first, followed by your next most recent job, and so on. This format is standard and is expected by all hiring managers and admissions directors.
With regard to employment dates:
Generally speaking, hiring managers prefer years of employment, rather than months and years (i.e. 1999 - 2003 as opposed to May 1999 - April 2003). However, some college admissions programs want specifics when it comes to dates, so it's best to use precise dates when applying to graduate school.
In the Professional Experience section you will also include daily tasks and responsibilities beneath the appropriate employer listing. If you've included a Career Accomplishments section in your resume, you should not repeat that data here. Once data is presented in a resume, it must not be repeated.
To ensure that your daily tasks are presented in an interesting and easy-to-read manner, you should do the following:
1. Use a bulleted format. This breaks up large blocks of text that could prove daunting to a hiring manager.
2. Delete unnecessary articles and adjectives. Your sentences should be short and snappy.
3. Begin each sentence with an action verb. This quickens the pace of your writing and makes the text more enjoyable to read. For a comprehensive choice of action verbs, please use this link: Power Verb List.
An example of a bulleted format, pared down writing, and sentences beginning with power verbs follows: (Again, we use our accountant)
Verb tense:
· For those jobs where you are still currently employed, write your job duties in the present tense.
· For those jobs in the past, write the responsibilities you held in the past tense.
Additionally, Professional Experience can be captured and showcased in three formats:
1. Functional
2. Chronological
3. Combination
In the functional format, you are stressing what you know over where you gained your experience. This works for those who have strong skills, but a weak employment record.
In the chronological format, you are providing a work history dating back from the present. This is the most common format and is generally preferred by hiring managers.
In the combination format, you are stressing what you know in one section, while also providing work history dating back from the present in another. This is a highly popular modern format.

STEP SIX: Education and Training
Education:

Data provided in this section should be prioritized (and included) according to:
1. Your current career level (entry-level as opposed to professional)
2. The purpose of your resume
3. The country in which your resume will be distributed
Your current career level:
If you're an entry-level candidate with little or no professional experience, your education should be presented immediately after the Qualifications Summary and/or skills area. The reasoning for this is that education is currently your most marketable asset. Here, you would include:
· GPA (if 3.5 or above)
· Awards/scholarships
· Dean's list Coursework relevant to job search

If you're a professional with five or more years of experience, Education should be listed last on your resume. GPAs, awards or scholarships, and mention of dean's lists are not generally provided in a professional or executive resume, except for those used for entrance into graduate school programs.
The purpose of your resume:
Resumes sent to admissions directors for graduate school can list Education before Professional Experience or after, depending upon these factors:
· If the applicant has just recently completed his bachelor's degree, it should be listed before Professional Experience.
· If the applicant has real-world experience related to the graduate degree she is seeking, the Professional Experience should be listed first.
The country in which your resume will be distributed:
If you are distributing your resume within the US, high school education is not included. The only exception to this rule would be if you're applying for a job with the federal government. In that case, you would include high school data.
When distributing a resume outside the US, then high school education is included.
Training:
Include all specialized training that is transferable to your new job target. If you have not attended college, include all specialized training in your target field. Hiring managers generally prefer to see some post-secondary education.

Build a More Meaningful Career !!!

2007-02-12T22:47:00.000+05:30

by Robin Ryan
Copyright © 2003 by Robin Ryan

11,000 days. That’s the number of days you’ll probably work over your lifetime. You’ll likely have six or seven career changes and 11 or 12 jobs in total. You may be wondering if you need a change now.
30 million people go to work each day to a job they hate. The harmful feelings permeate their entire life, putting a negative cloud over the home, their friends and many of their other activities. They may lack the know-how to change, may be afraid of leaving the security of a paycheck, or have a hundred excuses for why it’s okay to be so dissatisfied and stay at their job.
There is a better way to live your life. Meaningful purpose is a driving force that adds enthusiasm to your days. Taking a passion and making it your career -- living a dream -- can be not just a wish, but a true and certain reality. Here are a few steps to get the new career rolling:
Do some self-analysis. Ask yourself -- What really matters to me? What problem or wrong would I like to fix? What do I enjoy? Where are my interests and hobbies? What are my priorities? What is my secret passion? What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Reviewing these questions can give you new insight to where you want to go.
Use your unique genius and talents. Every person is born with a unique set of natural abilities. Talents, such as managing, creating, researching, training others, drawing, can all seem like easy work because you have a natural flair for them. True happiness comes from combining your natural talents, developing and excelling in them, and working in a field, job, industry that you have a passionate interest in.
Others have done it and so can you. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we can change if we really want to. Although she was a prominent lawyer, my client Sarah was dissatisfied in her work, and glad to take a few years off to have two children. She told me she hated “practicing law.” She found it boring, yet she felt enormous guilt at abandoning a career she spent years training for and made great money in. We worked together, focusing on her real interests and natural talents. Sarah landed a terrific new job as an executive director for a nonprofit organization. She leads others, influences policies, develops programs, and is a very happy person. “I even make a great salary, but I love my job so much, I’d do this for free,” she said.
Make a decision. Many people flounder for years and never turn their dreams into reality. They let themselves remain in a negative or stuck place. Only action can change your life. Read a book. Take vocational tests. Use a good career-management professional. Do some career exploration and gather all the information you need. Then make a decision and go forward. Outline the action steps to reach your career goal. The only thing at stake is your happiness. Finding meaning, passion and purpose every day you go to work is the wonderful reward, so don’t wait any longer. Begin right now and set in motion your own plan to live a happier, more satisfying life.

Robin Ryan has appeared on the "Dr. Phil Show," "Oprah," "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," CNN, and CNBC and is considered America’s top career coach. She is the best-selling author of 60 Seconds & You’re Hired!, Winning Resumés, Winning Cover Letters, and What to Do with the Rest of Your Life. She’s the creator of the highly acclaimed audio training program Interview Advantage and The DreamMaker. Robin’s passion is helping people find better jobs, which she successfully does through her career counseling practice in which she offers individual career-coaching and resumé-writing services. A popular national speaker, Robin has spoken to more than 1,000 audiences on improving their lives and obtaining greater success. To purchase her books and audio training programs, go to her Webiste: RobinRyan.com. To contact Robin email her at RobinRyan@aol.com or phone her at 425.226.0414

http://www.quintcareers.com

Indian TV globalization is 'in fashion'

2007-01-27T00:24:00.000+05:30

October 15, 2002 marked 25 years since the advent of satellite TV in India. Its globalization has impacted across the populous country which in its turn, has both, changed the way Indians perceive the world outside, and prompted the Indian satellite and cable industry to cross frontiers with world programming. The national television channel, Prasar Bharti, had to grapple with the entry of cable television and the increasing number of channels vying for viewership and revenue.

According to industry estimates, in 2000, a total of 43 channels generated a demand for 40,000 hours of original content with 37 million homes wired to cable television. Statatics show that a family watches television together in India, and hence programming is reflecting the approach of appeal to this audience with an increase in dramas and soap operas about family life.

TV producers are looking at globalization. Ekta Kapoor, managing director of Balaji Telefims, producer of India's most successful soap operas emphasizes, "We must see how our content can monetize the ethnic international audience". While regional language programming continues to cater to the linguistic diversity of the Indian television audience, the scope is broadening to incorporate new services such as internet-over cable, pay per view (this has been approved by the Indian parliament but the bill is yet to be enacted), video on demand and cable telephony. In fact, in the past year, various TV conferences held around India have focused on continuing changes in Indian television and the cable industry that have incorporated the necessity of globalization. According to reports, in 2001, more than half the growth in cable and satellite homes came from the rural and semi-urban areas, indicating an increasing penetration of cable into less populated regions and What to do NOW if you want to be in film and Television?

Watch movies, watch television, read books about both, check out websites, trade magazines, try and understand what is working and why. If you know people in the industry, talk to them and try and get as much information from them as Possible. "And that doesn't mean just watching hit films or popular serials. If you watch what has failed, that's also part of your education. Formal education is one thing but when you sit with an audience in a cinema hall and watch a film, you realize down to a very micro level, what is being appreciated and what is being rejected - right from acting, writing, music, the locations, even the clothes. In particular, read Spirit of Lagaan, the book about the making of the film 'Lagaan '. Another important activity which will give you a very good idea about what films and televisions are all about, are film clubs that run in colleges and also film festivals like Mumbai International Film Festival, for Documentary and Short Films which are a very important par:! and a very significant factor in appreciation of films.

Some books which you can go through are:
Sight and Sound magazine by British Film Institute. Our Films Their Films - Satyajit Ray A Critical View - Andre Bazin, Francois Truffaut.

Read screenplays of movies to get an idea of how a screen play is written. A few of the sites where you will get these are:
http://www.dailvscript.com/
http://www.cinema-sites.com/
http://www.awesomefilm.com/
http://sfv.iv.ru/

“If you want to be in films or television, you must watch a lot of films and television so that you understand what works with the audience and what doesn't, 1/ says director Kunaf Kohli”

Jeena
isi ka naam hai ...
Ekta Kapoor is the creative director and founding force behind Balaji Telefilms which created 23 of the top 50 TV shows in India. The first woman entrepreneur to receive the coveted E& Y Start-up Entrepreneur of the year award in India, she has been named one of the 50 most powerful communicators in Asia by Asiaweek magazine.
Not all fairy tales have an easy start. There is a struggle after which the hard work pays off. The same is true for Ekta Kapoor too. Despite a family that was into films, the thought of facing the camera never interested her. The concept of being1)ehind the camera, however, intrigued her. Ekta is a confident young woman who knows exactly what she wants. "Is it wrong to pre~nt tradition and middle class values? I know of no rule that says I have to have extra marital affairs in my serials! My serials show women in a strong and positive light, who have their values intact but also have a mind of their own. The seven-year-old company has moved from clocking 8.5 programming hours per day in January 2000, to 33 hours in January 2001".
Ekta Kapoor has rewritten the script on TV entertainment for the masses. She has created more than 20 soaps on 10 major Indian networks; a comedy series 'Hum Paanch' that she created, ran for five years till the current K sorios wilh famous serials like 'Kkusum' which features on Sony TV or 'Kkyunki Saas Bhi ... ' which runs on Star TV. The Indian showbiz community watches Ekta's every move, and older, more experienced producers are quick to copy any new Kapoor concept. She continues to produce absorbing dramas - whether about an ambitious tycoon or a beautiful but scheming wife or a 70-year-old grandmother looking for a job - that consistently strike a chord with viewers across the subcontinent.

“The rich do not need values, the poor do not have time for them. It is middleclass values that my serials are about."

Career Launcher
(My Dream Career Series)

Film and Television

2006-12-29T13:36:00.000+05:30

We all know what films and television are, but we tend to think that it’s all about acting. It isn’t – acting is just a part of the whole thing. If you want to get into films, you must understand all the different things that you could do or need to organize for the film as a whole to work.

A CELLULOID LIFE

“ With the advent of television, a new force is being given to the world. Who can tell what the power to extend vision will mean ultimately in the stream of human life?”
-David Sarnoff, President of the Radio Corporation of America.

The film industry, though generally unorganized, gives employment to a large number of people. The young get drawn to this industry mainly due to the glamour that surrounds movies and the people associated with its making, though the reality is quite different. The process of making a movie may be quite grueling and taxing and involves a lot of repetitive work, but the end product may give immense creative satisfaction to its makers and artists performing in it.

Are you film-maker material?

Is a career in film-making for you? Have a look at your check list.

You should be:
An extrovert- Because this field is mostly about people and how interact with them . gifted with insight, creativity and ability to express- Because film and television is a medium of communication. So, if people are not able to understand what you want to convey, them the whole idea behind the exercise is a waste.

A team player - because in truth, there’s no single person in a film or television production who is solely responsible for its success.

Fairly meticulous about details – anyone in production has got to be able to keep an eye on details, and not let anything slip.

An observer – make notes about people. If you get into this profession, you need to understand how minds work because anything anywhere can spark off an idea and can emerge as the theme for a film or a television serial or an ad for that matter.

Hard working, patient and preserving. You should have the determination to carry on and passion for what you are doing..

Familiar as much as possible with human emotions, impulses and reactions. As with any profession in the media, all the experience that you have helps. That’s because if you’re in films or TV, you’re in the business of communication, and you can only communicate effectively if you’re aware of how people react to certain things, how people do certain things, and so on.

You should not:
Give up easily. You’ll working for long hours with all kinds of people. At times, you’ll be away from home for long periods but you will have to take it in your stride.

A few other aspects of Film and Television

The Producer- is the person behind the scenes. Putting together a television show Involves a thousand details. From the script to the actors, from the sound to the props, who has final responsibility? He does. He’s the producer.

There are two kinds of producers...
The first is involved solely in finance. He will sit with the director and work out a budget and handover the cash. The other kind of producer is what’s known as an executive producer. He’ll be on the set while shooting is on, make sure everything that’s necessary for the shot is available. Handles all the involved in making the film (or television serial) and make sure everything is organized to the last detail and that the film or serial does not go over the budget.

Casting Director: This is the person who’s in constant touch with artists of different calibers and styles. He’ll arrange auditions and camera tests, work out fees dates, and in the case of extras, schedules. He, therefore, must have a huge database of actors of all types that he can draw upon for a film. So, if you want to cast Shah Rukh Khan or Salman khan in your next film, you know whom to contact.

Light Technician: The lighting guy makes sure there’s enough light for the camera to pick up movements clearly, or not so bright that it reflects off the camera lens. The responsibility is a great one, particularly because you have to know and understand the quality of light. All this is important to a film, because the film needs to be as realistic as possible. If there’s poor light outside and yet the scene demands a bright sunny morning, the light technician will set up his equipment in such a way that what you see in the final film be a bright sunny morning.

Scriptwriter: The scriptwriter is the person who has actually written out the story that will be made into a film or a serial. This involves creating the characters, creating the plot, writing the dialogues and so on. He also has to be something of a visualizer because he has to see where the story is going and how it must get there. He could even adapt a favourite book for the screen. Writing screenplays is one of the highest paying jobs a writer can do. In the 1990s, Joe Esterhaus made headlines when he earned $3 million for writing the screenplay for 'Basic Instinct'.

Sound Technician: The sound guy is a very technical person. It's his job to make sure that there are no outside sounds interfering when a film is being shot, that dialogue and music is picked up clearly by the mikes and so on. He can stop the shooting when the sound goes bad. For instance, if there's a plane flying overhead during an outdoor shoot, he will hold up shooting till the plane has vanished completely. That's because his equipment is so sensitive that it will pick up sounds that even the human ear cannot hear.

Editor: Do you think the film that you see is the same as when it is shot? If you do then you are mistaken. After a film or TV serial is shot and wrapped up, the editor takes over. He has to take the huge amount of film shot at various times and various places and, working with the director, cut it down to the required length, complete with commercial or interval breaks, in a cohesive manner, so that the story flows like it should. Since films are not shot on a continuous basis (the shooting of scene 1 is not necessarily followed by the shooting of scene 2), it's the editor's job to make sure that the continuity is maintained (that scene 1 is definitely followed by scene 2). This can be difficult, because if scene 2 is shot at a different time, say at 3 p.m. while scene 1 was shot at midnight, the editor has to use his skills to make sure the lighting stays consistent (so that scene 2 is not brighter than scene 1). The editor also gets the graphics into the film (that's the opening and closing credits, the titles and so on). As someone who hasn't been involved in its production, he's in a position to see which scenes work and which don't, where the film is losing focus, what needs to be cut out because it's extraneous to the story, and so on. So, in a way, he becomes the second director ..

Cinematographer: Have you ogled at all those terrific locations that films usually show you? A brilliant view of America or the sunset or Aamir Khan dancing ... well, the locations are beautiful but to show them just as they are or to capture them in a more beautiful way is the work of the cameraman or what the industry has named him - the Cinematographer. The qualified cinematographer is greater than a mere cameraman. He knows and understands his equipment to such an extent that he'll be able to tell the director what his cameras can achieve in making the vision of the film real. Basically, the cinematographer translates the director's vision on a film. He works with the director to create scenes where his camera picks up long shots, close-ups and so on, all of which contribute to the impact a scene can have on the audience. A lot of cinematographers have gone on to become directors.

Choreographer: Have you ever wanted to dance like Madhuri Dixit or dreamt about dancing like Hrithik Roshan on stage, moving your body in steps that are so amazing? Well, they don't dance on their own - they have a person who teaches them those amazing steps that you always copy. A choreographer is required for the myriad songs that are necessary in Indian films. Typically, the choreographer will work with director to understand the reason why there's a song at a certain point in a film (though the trend these days seems to be to scatter songs throughout the film without any reference to the storyline). The choreographer should know and understand different kinds of dance genres from all over the world, and should have trained in dance. Some of the famous Indian film choreographers you might have heard about or who may be your idols too are Saroj Khan who choreographed the famous 'Bhumro' dance in 'Mission Kashmir', which was picturized on Preity Zinta. Then Farah Khan, who has choreographed the famous 'Chaiya Chaiya' song from 'Oil Se', filmed on Shah Rukh Khan dancing on the train.

Costume Designer: A costume designer is necessary to the film or TV production because she/he understands how the characters should be dressed. For historical or period depictions, the designer has to do a great deal of research to find out how people at different levels of society were dressed at that time and create those costumes. For futuristic films, the costume designer has to figure out what kind of clothes people are likely to wear in 3005, for instance, and create those. For example, 'Lagaan' had a costume designer who had to design clothes for the villagers set around the independence period.

Set Designer: The set designer, also known as the art director, is a very vital part of production because she/he is the person who creates the actual physical surroundings of the characters. If the scene is set in a slum, the set designer will have to make a slum, if it's a fancy nightclub, the set designer will create a nightclub. When it comes to Indian films, you'll find that a lot of sets are ready-made, particularly at large studios such as Mumbai's Film City, where you stumble across temples, railway stations, log cabins and so on, that you can hire and use (which may explain why certain scenes look so familiar in different films). These days, there are films where an entire set is designed and built to give the film the right feel. For example, the whole set lor 'Devdas'was designed and built to give it that period feel of opulence

Music Director: The music director works with the director to create the music for the film/television serial. This comprises not only music for songs,
but also background music for various scenes in the film. Those amazing songs that you tap your feet to, sing along with the actors, some emotional, some wacky, some devotional, some romantic, expressing such emotions that it gives the movie a totally different feel. These days there are films like 'Kaun' and 'Bhoot', which work entirely due to their background score. Music has become an important aspect of television too. You have serials like 'Kyun ki Saans bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' having a set of songs in between the serial, and care has to be taken for the composition of the title songs, as now they have become an important part of the serials itself. Music directors like Jatin-Lalit, Nadeem-Shravan late R.o. Burman, Anu Malik are some famous music directors

Fight Master/Stunt Director: The amazing stunts that Akshay Kumar performs or Sunil Shetty's ability to
fight with so many people singlehandedly, is nothing but the efforts of the stunt director that have made it possible. The fight master or stunt director creates the fight scenes or stunts necessary. While a lot of stunts you see on screen are clearly masterpieces of editing, a lot are physically performed and the people doing them are directed by the fight master or stunt director. These days, stunts and fights are revolutionized by using special effects. 'Matrix' is a good example of this.
'Raja Harishchandra'; made by Dadasaheb Phalke and released in 1913, was the first Indian-made feature film (3700 feet long).

Remixed India

It was RD. Burman, fondly called Panchamda, who brought grooviness into Hindi film music,
ushering in the era of electronic rock, and providing Hindi film music a whole new 'happening' sound. His hip and energetic youthful compositions proved extremely popular from the late 1960s till the early 1980s, providing much of the music that defines the reputation of singers like Asha Bhonsle and Kishore Kumar.
RD. trained under Ali Akbar Khan and entered films, assisting his father S.D. Burman. He often played the mouth organ in his father's orchestra and occasionally even composed tunes CAe Meri Topi Palat ke Aa' from Funtoosh' (1956) and 'Sar Jo tera Chakraye' from 'Pyaasa' (1957)). The songs like '0 Haseena Zulfon Wali', 'Aaja Aaja Mein Hoon Pyaar Tera', '0 Mere Son a Re Sona Re', 'Deewaana Mujhsa Nahin', were unlike anything audiences had heard before and the music of 'Tee sri Manzil' was hummed across the nation.
RD. formed a formidable team with Nasir Hussain. With 'Love Story'
(1981), RD. became the first choice for teenage love stories like 'Betaab' (1983) which owe a great deal of their success to his music. RD. also occasionally sang his own songs in a unique gravelly voice like 'Duniya Mein'. from 'Apna Desh' (1972) and 'Mehbooba, Mehbooba' from 'Sholay' (1975). It is a tribute to RD.'s genius and the timelessness of his music, that most of the soundtracks today being re-mixed in the IndiPop scene are his compositions.

Have you got these with you?

Things you need to become a director:

A beard - all great filmmakers have beards-Steven Spielberg, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shyam Benegal Farhan Akhtar (a small goatee practically invisible, but it's there). Don't worry if you can't grow a beard, you can always borrow one. Umm ... one of those chairs- You know the collapsible ones that are made out of wood and canvas with director written on the back?
A famous film- you can make the most expensive film .. or you can make the cheapest film ...
Got all of the above
Congratulations, you are now a
FILM DIRECTOR!

In the balance
What are the good and not-50-good bits about a career in film and television? Let's see ..

The good bits:
It's a highly creative process, so there's a tremendous amount of
satisfaction after a project is complete.

You're working with a large team of people, so there's no chance of being lonely.

You make a lot of friends and useful contacts.

You're part of the glamour industry, so other people will be gazing at you in awe.
Keep in mind, however:
This business works on contacts and word of mouth, so you need to be properly networked in your field. Without a network, you have little chance of succeeding.

There is no such thing as a weekend in this profession, no chance of availing of public holidays, little chance of sleep while a film or a serial is in the production stage. So kiss your friends and family goodbye.

Glamour industry or not, there are lots of myths about being in film and television, so you'll find people slotting you into a certain stereotype which can be very annoying. Competition in this field is fierce.

World Cinema
Movies from all over the world which are worth a watch
'Pather Panchali' (Bengali) - Satyajit Ray
'Oka Orie Katha' (Telugu) Mrinal Sen
Attenborough's 'Gandhi' Girish Karnard's (Kannada) 'Vamsa Vriksha' and '$amskara'
Roberto Benigni's (Italy) 'Life is Beautiful',
Shekhar Kapoor's 'Elizabeth'
Akira Kurosawa (Japan) 'Ikiru'
'Battleship potornpkin" (Russia ) Sergei M Eisenstein.

Training required to get a job

Educational qualifications
Most of the areas in film-making are highly technical and therefore require professional training. Even for artists and directors who are basically creative people requiring inherent talent, training helps in honing the skills. No such educational qualifications are required, though you might as well get yourself a basic Bachelor's degree in any Subject because that's always helpful on your CV.
However, you'll require a degree in some discipline if you want to study at the Films and Television Institute of India, Pune, which is the best-known institute for all aspects of film and TV Production. Selection for these Courses is through an aptitude test. For those interested in cinematography, you can apply to the FTII with a Bachelor's degree in any discipline, but with
maths and physics in your Plus 2. And Sound engineering and recording al
the FTII requires a B.Sc wilh physics, electronics and maths. Check out thu courses offered by international film schools like The London Film School, etc, to get an overview about the international film scenario.

Technical skills required
Currently, there are very few institutic;>ns offering technical courses in film-making, so the best thing to do is learn on the job. Try and attach yourself to a well-known and well- respected senior technician so as to learn from him.

Workplace
The workplace is chaotic and very stressful. What you see on screen as a plush and luxurious scene is just a few pieces of wood and furniture knocked together in a makeshift manner on an actual set. The sets can get incredibly hot and sweaty because of the lights, and work can also be very tedious, because a shot may sometimes be taken up to 100 times because some little thing went wrong. On the other hand, there's a great deal of camaraderie on'the sets - everyone's part of the team including the spot boys, everyone eats together and everyone gets respect for the part they're playing in bringing out the production.

Use your contacts. Often, that's the only way. That, and luck. Your patience might be rewarded. Now that television is getting more organized as an industry, you do stand a chance of landing a job, particularly if you're from the FTII or National school of Drama. "Nowadays, with the television industry growing, people are open to hiring trainees," says television producer Ravina Kohli. "But ultimately, you have to convince them that you really, really want to work in television."

Career Launcher

(My Dream Career Series)

How much money you can make in Advertising?

2006-12-29T13:32:00.000+05:30

Money tends to be good in advertising you could start at Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 10,000 per month and thereafter, the sky’s the limit. “Sometimes, you could get paid so much that it doesn’t make sense even to you.” says Sunil mahadik. “But that depends strictly on talent.”

You can start as a trainee, no matter which aspect of advertising you work in. then you could work your way up the ladder. Client servicing people and media buyers are usually picked up right after their MBA programme, though of course, they can also apply to the head honchos of their fields in an ad agency. Art and copy people could get into creative arts and film, TV and radio production. Some of the famous ad agencies are Mudra, FCB ULKA. Leo Bernett, Lowe, Ogilvy&Mather (O&M), St.Lukes Communications, which have their branch offices all over India. You could to any of these if they are set up in your city. You will get a good amount of exposure while you are working in these as they have big clients and huge competitors.

Career Launcher

(My Dream Career Series)

Advertising

2006-12-29T13:20:00.000+05:30

Do you wonder why ads have to interrupt serials an not the other way round? If you find the war between the pepsi and coke ads more interesting than a Michael Schumacher race, then this is the career for you.

A world of Ideas:

Advertising is essential a part of that industry which involves communication of information and ideas by using various mediums like news papers, magazines, poster, web sites, commercial on tv’s, hoardings, exhibitions, sales promotion campaigns and demonstrations. Advertising serves three basic purposes: first is sales promotion, i.e.to persuade people to buy a particular product or service or to attend an event, second is image building of a company or an organization or an event, and the third is to bring about awareness of a particular scheme or developmental programme taken up by the government or developmental agency for the welfare of people.

Any big advertising agency would surprise a number of operational departments like client servicing, creative department, media department, and production department. Work differs in each department an so do the desired personal working in these departments. Like, a person in creative department of an advertising firm needs to be original and creative and have the ability to create campaigns(an organized programme of ad’s) suitable to the requirements. Similarly, those in client servicing department should be adept in negotiating and therefore have excellent communication and numerical skills.

Is a career in advertising for you? Have a look at our check list.

You should:
· Ideate all the time, be full of ideas; because you never know what your client will approve of.
· Be able to look at the world from various angels; as you never know what can spark off an idea for an ad you might be working on.
· Be an effective communicator, since advertising is all about communication.
· Be a team player; as any piece of advertising is never yours alone. It’s agroup of people who work together to create that single piece of communication.
· “Be a good reader and an avid film watcher,” says Rupa Gulab, who’s been a copywriter for more than 18 years. “ because books and films teach you a lot of things that you may never have experienced in your life about places, situations, relation ships, etc. music appreciation is also very important because, remember, you’ll be working on films, jingles, and radio.”
· Have the ability to cope in a competitive environment.
· Be sensitive towards consumer behaviour and current trends.

You should not:
· Have a closed mind. Be open to everything around you . you never know what can inspire you at the last moment.
· Stick to the tried and tested all the time. Try to think out of the box. People respond to weird ideas more than to the ones already done before.
· Be sensitive to rejection because your client may not like a lot of your ideas. And as far as advertising goes: the client is god.

Career Luancher

(My Dream Career Series)

11 Things NOT to Do the First Week on Your New Job

2006-11-30T17:55:00.000+05:30

According to Daniel Goleman, author of "Emotional Intelligence", the hardest thing kids must do is break into an already-formed play group.

In adult life, that's starting a new job.

We are intensely territorial at heart. Our reptilian brains are keyed to be suspicious of "intruders," and to fear what we don't know. Your first few days in a new job, you're being scrutinized under a microscope and are only tentatively welcome. Use your Emotional Intelligence to survive the first 100 hours! Here are 11 things NOT to do.

1. Don't FORGET PEOPLE'S NAMES.

If you do nothing else, remember people's names. When introduced, wait expectantly for a cue. If they stick out their hand, shake it. if they don't, just smile and say the usual.

2. Don't MOVE IN TOO FAST.

Take it easy bringing your "things" to the office. Save the photos and personal items for a while. Place your yogurt discretely at the back of the refrigerator. Don't grab any old cup from the coffee room, or start making the coffee until you see how it's done. It's a reptilian, territorial thing. You're moving into THEIR turf.

3. Don't TALK TOO MUCH, REVEAL TOO MUCH, OR EXPRESS UNNECESSARY FEELINGS OR OPINIONS.

Keep your conversation light, neutral, and just enough to be friendly. Sure as you get loose, you'll step on someone's toes. You don't know yet who just got divorced, who's married to an Italian, and who's opposed to daycare. As soon as you say, "Well personally I hate..." the next person who comes in will have that, do that, like that, or live there.

Use "neutral" language and tone of voice, like the anchor people do. Avoid any slang or colloquialisms in this new country. The King's English: what you learned in school.

4. Don't ASSUME ANYTHING.

Maybe everyone leaves at 5:31 on the dot; maybe they don't. Keep a low profile and pay attention to what others are doing. You're moving into an established culture and they have a set way of doings things whether they're mindful of it or not. You want to fit in, not stand out. Remember the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

5. Don't OVERDO IT. THAT THREATENS PEOPLE.

Save the designer stuff and status symbols. Appearing "better than," in any way, will backfire on you later. If you drive a brand new expensive something or other, park at the back of the lot, and don't advertise it. If you just got back from a barefoot cruise, or just bought a new home, save it for later. You don't know the circumstances of those around you. The person you're telling may have just filed bankruptcy.

And speaking of parking ... one first day on a job, with uncanny bad form, I actually managed to park in the boss' unmarked, but definitely claimed, parking place. "How lucky," I thought. "I can park right in front of the door."

6. Don't VOLUNTEER.

They don't trust you yet. "Get" that. Don't volunteer to make the coffee or make the nightly run to FedEx. You could poison them. You might never make it to the FedEx office. (I am not kidding.)

7. Don't MAKE IT TOO HARD, OR TOO EASY.

Pace your initial tasks. If you start out blazing, you'll be held to that pace forever, or you may threaten others who do what you do. If you go too slow, you might not be there long. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

8. Don't SAY 'NO'.

If you're asked to join them for lunch, pitch in for a baby shower gift, "grab the phone," or do a task for someone, say "yes." If something goes against the grain (and there's always one person in an office who tries to make life hell for the new guy it seems), file it for later. First you need to find out how disputes are handled.

The good manager, the one with the high EQ who knows people, and knows HER people, will tell you, "If so-and-so gives you any trouble, just be nice. Then come tell me and I'll take care of it."

The inept manager won't know, or isn't willing to deal with it, and you'll have to figure it out for yourself. How do you do this? By having your antennae out. Observe and process.

EXCEPTION: Occasionally in an office you're ignored for the first few weeks, except by the loser, who will ask you to join him or her for lunch, trying to build an alliance. In that case, you come up with an excuse ("Sorry, gotta run to the bank at noon.")

9. Don't CRITIQUE, CRITICIZE, or APPEAR TO BE COMPLAINING.

You'll notice things that could be done differently and better, but if you speak at this point it will sound like complaining or criticizing. If it's too hot or too cold, for instance, wait it out. The "new kid on the block" isn't entitled to anything. You can straighten the place out later.

10. Don't VIOLATE PACK BEHAVIOR.

You watch the Discovery Channel, don’t you? Well, picture the troop of monkeys, i.e., if you’re not the alpha male, you’re just one of the pack, so start grinning and grooming the others.

11. Don’t UNDERESTIMATE THE EFFECT OF INITIAL CONDITIONS.

In physics it’s called “sensitive initial conditions.” It means the way “it” (any system) begins makes a huge and permanent difference. Think of what you say and do as being broadcast with a loudspeaker into a cavern which will reverberate and echo for months. There’s not such thing as an “innocent comment” when you’re new, and if you show up in a bright print dress when everyone else is in neutral and pants, you’ll reinvent the term “sticking out like a sore thumb.”

The onus (hard work) is on you. They will be adjusting to you. You must adapt to them, a far stronger concept. When in doubt, get coaching! You want to get off to a good start.

Susan Dunn

http://career.preferredconsumer.com

Succeeding in the Music Industry

2006-11-30T17:44:00.000+05:30

Many people have the talent, some have more than others do, but being successful in the music industry is based on more than just talent. To be successful in the music business, sometimes it feels as though the stars have to align. That's partially true; it's difficult to sell that record if you're not in the right place at the right time.

However, being truly successful in the industry isn't just about getting that deal. Now more than ever, the industry has had a turn in bands that know how to market themselves or have some prior knowledge of the marketing industry. Bands can become a success in a fairly reasonable period-some more than others can-if they have a solid knowledge base of viral marketing.

Viral Marketing is where you can use existing networks to build branding awareness and through a self-replicating viral processes. This process mimics a computer virus in the way it's supposed to spread. Some online marketing campaigns for bands will tease the music fan with a sample of the music and it's replicable in the fact that many people can upload them to their page and their friends see it and email and share with their friends and so on and so forth.
This method of campaign is at a relatively low cost your band and can have a huge impact on the status of your record before it hits the stands. Viral marketing has never been so easy and to become a success in today's competitive music industry it's vital to get have any advantage you possibly can. It can make the difference in a flop of a record and a hit record. It makes sense that your record will sell the more people have heard it and want to buy it.

Viral marketing can even contribute to you having more airtime on the radio. Don't discount the fact that many Disc Jockeys are music fans and are looking for new talent to play on their show. So, you're interesting in becoming a success, is viral marketing for you? Yes, it is.

Record companies are like any other company in the fact that they have a simple advertising budget, and it will depend on what they want to invest in you as an artist to your advertising budget. You can't rely on them solely for your marketing. To become a success in the music industry, you really ought to try viral marketing.

If you're an artist, undiscovered, it can even help you be discovered and get that record deal. What are you waiting for? With so many tools available at your fingertips, get started on that marketing campaign today!

Jaci Rae

www.universitydistanceeducation.info

Job Reference FAQ's

2006-11-30T17:42:00.000+05:30

Question: What are references good for? Who is a good or bad reference? What are these people asked? Are they really contacted by employers? What if the employer can't reach them? Why is it bad to lie on a resume? Are the past employers contacted? What are they asked? Can an employer find out about a person through a totally different source? How is a new employee checked out by a company? What does the company do when it receives a resume? Do they bother if they see that the person was in a foreign country for a few years?

Answer: Lots of questions there -- let's try a few. First off, a reference gives you a chance to get your cheering squad in order, and so you want to choose people who are pretty smart and articulate and who can "sell" the prospective employer on your good qualities. It goes without saying that you need to choose folks who like you. Take your reference list to the interview with you, and make sure that you have the correct name, address, title, and phone number for each person on it. Many potential employers will want to talk with your last supervisor, so if that person is not on your list, they'll want to know why. They might indeed call your last employer without your permission, and they are also free to gather information about you in any way they can. Some employers now ask permission to look up your credit rating and debt history, on the assumption that if you can't handle your personal finances well, then you might make a mess of your work with them.
Why not lie on a resume? Because people find out -- and then you get fired because they figure you're not trustworthy. As for having been out of the country, it depends on what you were doing and where you were, for fairly obvious reasons. The bottom line of all of this is that your past does follow you, and the fabrications you try to pass off as truth almost always come to light eventually.

Barbara Reinhold

http://midcareer.monster.com

How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be?

2006-11-30T17:38:00.000+05:30

Once upon a time, someone came up with a "rule" that resumes should not exceed one page. No one really knows who came up with the rule, but a great many job-seekers still seem to live in fear of this supposed edict.
The fact is that very few "rules" exist today in the world of resume writing. Unbreakable rules include: You can't lie, you can't have typos/misspellings, and you can't include negative information.
Just about every other rule you've ever heard about resumes, however, is breakable, including rules about how many pages your resume should comprise.
Times have changed, after all, as Grant Cooper, president of Strategic Resumes, notes in the Resume Critique Writer software that he authored. "Brief resumes are simply no longer effective in today's increasingly competitive job market," he said. "The advice that 'They only want to see one-page resumes,' is perhaps the single most outdated and incorrect statement job-seekers hear today."
But if you've come to this article looking for the definitive word on how long a resume should be, you'll probably be disappointed. We informally surveyed experts -- members of Career Masters Institute and the Professional Resume Writers and Research Association -- about resume length. And their consensus:
It depends.
This situational view of resume length is pervasive among resume experts. The comments of Marnie McCown-Guard of Profile Career Services are typical: "I have written one-and-half-page resumes for senior-level people with 20+ years of experience, and I have written a three-page resume for a recent college graduate."
Virtually every expert in our research said each individual situation dictates resume length. From their expertise, however, we developed some guidelines to help you determine the right length for you.
It should be noted that length is primarily an issue that pertains to the traditional, formatted, "print" version of your resume. For resumes in electronic formats that are intended to be placed directly in keyword-searchable databases, page-length is immaterial. So this article's guidelines apply either in situations where your formatted resume is screened by human eyes without having been placed into a keyword-searchable database or after a keyword search has narrowed the field of applicants.
The guidelines:
Resumes for new grads and entry-level job-seekers are often, but not always, one page.
Most college career-placement centers tell students to limit their resumes to one page, notes resume writer Sharon Pierce-Williams, 75 percent of whose business is writing for the college population. Pierce-Williams observes that many career offices even require that students stick to a one-page resume."
Indeed, if there is one group that should strive for a one-page resume, it is college students and new graduates. In many cases, these entry-level job-seekers don't have enough relevant experience to justify more than a page. Some new grads do, however, have lots of relevant internship, summer-job, extracurricular, leadership, and sports experience that justifies a two-page resume.
Pierce-Williams takes an unusual approach to new-grad resumes. "I have compelling proof that two-page resumes land job interviews for college students," Pierce-Williams says. "Length depends on extra-curricular involvement and leadership. It takes a certain 'go-getter'-type student for a two-page resume."
Pierce-Williams designs college-student resumes in which page one "often looks like a 'regular' resume, but page two is entitled 'Key Leadership and Project Management' or simply 'Key Leadership.'" Pierce-Williams says she uses this page-two section to list three to four projects in which the student made a difference in an association or sorority/fraternity.
If you fall into the college-student/entry-level/new-grad group and are tempted to go to two pages, just be sure that you have the relevant material to justify a second page.
A two-page resume may be the best bet for the vast majority of job-seekers who are above entry-level but below the executive level.
"Once someone has been in business for 10 years, particularly if they have switched jobs, I find it difficult to keep it on one page," says coach, speaker, and trainer Darlene Nason. "I think a two-page resume is a good average."
In his Resume Critique Writer software, Strategic Resumes' Cooper offers this view of the growing acceptance of the two-page resume: "The resume has now taken the place of the initial interview, and only those with significant qualifications and strong resumes are even invited to interview. As a result, more, not less, information is now needed on the resume, and the past insistence on short resumes has now given way to more in-depth, two-page resumes for most professional positions," Cooper writes "True, it does take an additional minute or less for an HR professional to review the second page of a resume but that extra minute is seen as far more helpful than scheduling a questionable candidate for a personal interview."
One-page resumes have typically been expected at job fairs, but that tradition seems to be falling by the wayside.
"Even the job fairs that claim to accept only one-page resumes seem to be more and more accepting of well-crafted two-page resumes," says Cooper, "and the candidates that present them at those events often stand out above the crowd with simplistic or crammed one-page resumes."
Even among employers, there's no consensus on preferred resume length.
Surveys show that employers who prefer a one-page resume are in the minority, and the situational view is prevalent, as writer Susan Britton Whitcomb discovered while researching her popular book, Resume Magic (JIST Works).
"I conducted a survey of HR managers from some of the Top 100 Companies to Work for in America (from the book of the same name by Levering and Moskowitz)," Whitcomb relates. "One survey question asked their opinions as to the length of a resume." The results revealed that 12 percent of respondents felt resumes should be "one-page, never longer;" 67 percent felt resumes should be "kept to one or two pages;" and 21 percent responded "as long as needed to convey the applicant's qualifications."
Resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams found similar results in her December 1999 survey of 40 HR managers and recruiters in Colorado. Twenty percent of Williams' respondents said a resume should be one page; 20 percent said two pages; and a whopping 60 percent said resume length "depends on the level of the position."

Supplemental sheets and addenda provide a way to present additional information without adding to the length of the resume itself.
"A suite of addenda," says Deborah Wile Dib, president of Advantage Resumes of New York, can be "a strategic way to mention presentations, awards, published works, technical skills, extensive education, and expanded success studies." Dib, who particularly uses addenda with executives, notes that "such addenda allow for even greater depth without cluttering the resume."
Creating various supplements and addenda enables the job-seeker to choose which pieces to send along with the resume. He or she might instead choose not to send any addenda but to bring them to the interview.
No matter what the length, the resume must capture attention on the first page, preferably the first third of the first page.
Given that employers screen resumes for between 2.5 and 20 seconds, a resume must quickly capture the reader's interest. "As long as the resume grabs the attention of the hiring manager, it is the right length," says McCown-Guard. "Whatever the length of the resume, the critical factor is to make absolutely certain that your reader's interest is piqued within the first half of the first page," cautions Laurie J. Smith, president of Creative Keystrokes Executive Resume Service.
Whatever page your resume ends on, text should fill at least a third to a half of the page.
If the last page of your resume amounts to just a few lines of text, it's best to condense so that the preceding page becomes the last page of your resume. Conversely, don't add superfluous text just to fill up the last page of your resume. "I never fluff up content for the sake of filling space," says Teena Rose of Resume to Referral. "Irrelevancies can dilute the overall effectiveness of the resume." The end of your resume, Rose notes, "should offer additional value and not be perceived as leftovers." [Editor's note: See more of Rose's resume advice in the article, New Grads Must Dig Deeper to Beef Up Skimpy Resumes.]
Don't sacrifice your resume's readability to make it conform to any arbitrary "rules" about resume length.
It's always pitiful when we have to whip out the magnifying class to read the tiny 8- or 9-point type on the resume of a job-seeker who has gone to absurd lengths to limit his or her resume to a certain number of pages. Don't discard readable type (we suggest no smaller than 10.5 point; 11 to 11.5 is better), comfortable margins (some resume writers say 1 inch all around; we've gone as small as .7"), space between lines, white space, and a pleasing, eye-attracting layout just to cram your resume onto X number of pages. "It's less taxing and time-consuming to read one and a half or two well-formatted pages than one page where everything's squished together," observes Gail Taylor of A Hire Power.
"Those resumes that do contain detailed information, but are literally 'crammed' into one page, are now frowned upon," says Cooper in his Resume Critique Writer software. "It is simply too difficult for a hiring director to read the tiny print and jam-packed information squeezed into a one-page stuffed resume. Companies that once insisted on one-page resumes are perfectly happy with a clearly-written, concise, and well-formatted two-page resume that is easy to read, yet has the detailed information they now need."
Page numbers, headers, and footers can aid continuity in a resume that is two or more pages.
All resume pages beyond page one need to be numbered. Some job-seekers choose a "page 2 of 3" model. "If you decide to go with two or more pages, be sure to include your name and appropriate page number at the top," suggests Ann Baehr of Best Resumes. "And organize all of the information with distinct categories to make it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for at a glance." Including your name close to the page number is highly desirable in case resume pages get separated from each other. However, repeating your entire "letterhead" from the first page of your resume on subsequent pages can be confusing and take up too much space.
Career-management coach Don Orlando takes a novel approach to a footer designed to entice the employer to keep reading the resume: "At the bottom of my multi-page resumes, there is a [customized] footer that reads something like this: 'More indicators of performance General Motors can use now. . .'"
It's OK for a resume section, such as your experience, to straddle two pages of your resume, but avoid splitting the description of a given job over two pages. Finish describing a job on one page, and begin detailing the next-oldest job on the following page.
For executives at the highest levels (senior management, executive VP, and "C-level" positions such as CEO, CIO, CTO, COO) even two pages is probably not enough; three, four, or more pages may be required.
"At executive levels, the resume must be long enough to deliver the extensive information that decision-makers need to make an initial assessment of suitability for the position/interview (typically a director-level to C-level job)," Dib asserts.
Experts like Dib who specialize in executive resumes cite several reasons for multi-page resumes at the top echelons:
"Decision-makers have a much larger scope of need than just skill sets or even accomplishments," says Dib. "They need to see the 'intangibles' that make a great leader, including ... vision, proven long-term leadership, agility and flexibility to proactively meet the lightening-fast changes in the marketplace, well-honed change-management skills, thought leadership, demonstrated ethics and integrity, the guts/ability to make and implement tough decisions, and even a dash of charisma. This cluster of tangible and intangible skills cannot reach critical mass in a one-page resume or even in a two-page resume."
Adds Roberta Gamza of Career Ink, "The hiring company will be making a huge investment and risking quite a bit on a candidate, so they need to know much more about the candidate than can fit on two pages. A chief executive resume can go to three, four, or more pages, or may have a portfolio of several documents."
It's just too risky to make a blunder in hiring a top executive, says Smith. "In today's unforgiving economy and cutthroat markets, a mistake in hiring of top-level leadership can spell doom for a company. To make an informed hiring decision, a greater level of detail on a candidate's experience, education, management style, problem-solving skills, and delivered results is critical."
Further, Smith points to the negative way a senior-level job-seeker may be perceived if his or her resume is not a multi-pager: "I have spoken with multiple recruiters over the years who have remarked that when they receive a one- or two-page resume from a high-level candidate, the immediate question they have is: 'What's the matter with this candidate and why don't they have more to tell me?' To adequately present a senior executive's qualifications commonly requires a three- to four-page, sometimes even a five-page presentation."
Smith also observes a lack of success in landing interviews among execs with puny resumes. "As a specialist in executive resume writing, I occasionally encounter an executive who is under the mistaken impression that he or she needs to restrict his or her resume presentation to one or maximum two pages. Typically, this executive has been looking for quite some time with no results."

Katharine Hansen, CCM, CECC

www.careerindustry.com

Fact or Opinion?

2006-11-29T19:08:00.000+05:30

"You ain't going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." What if Elvis believed this Grand Ole Opry manager's critique after his l954 performance? Or the Beatles listened in 1962 when Decca Recording Company responded, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out."What if Rudyard Kipling quit writing when the San Francisco Examiner told him, "I'm sorry, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Or as a struggling artist, Walt Disney took seriously the words of a prospective employer to "try another line of work" because he "didn't have any creative, original ideas."What if ten year old Albert Einstein believed his teacher's words, "you will never amount to much." Or opera star, Enrico Caruso, gave up singing after his first vocal teacher counseled, "your voice sounds like wind whistling through a window."Thankfully, they didn't believe what they were told. But many of us do. We accept someone else's opinion as our fact. We allow others to determine what we believe about ourselves, what we aspire to achieve, what we dream and what we become. Others people's limiting beliefs about us become our own as we give them power over our life.But, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen didn't. Their "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, now with 65 titles, has sold more than 80 million copies in 27 languages. Not bad for an anthology rejected by 33 major publishing houses in the first month, receiving more than 140 total rejections before their agent gave it back to them saying "I can't sell this book." Only by going booth to booth and pitching their vision to editors at a booksellers' convention did they finally find a small publisher who said yes.Their passion about their work and its message kept them going. Passion kept Disney and Einstein and Kipling going, too. That's because passion is the most powerful self-motivator any of us can have. It's what drives us to use our talents and abilities. It's the one criteria I've found most helpful when selecting people in my twenty years of management. You can teach most skills. But you can't teach passion.People who are winning at working believe in themselves and their dreams. They're not likely to view setbacks as failures, roadblocks as dead-ends, or negative critique as fatal. It's their passion that keeps them going when others give up. It's their passion that provides strength of purpose, resilience, persistence and the confidence to keep trying. It's their passion that helps them differentiate between opinion and fact about who they are and what they can do with their life. It's their passion that guides them.Like Babe Ruth said, "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." When you are passionate about your work, your dreams and your life, you don't give up.

By: Nan S. Russell

www.jobbankusa.com

The Relationship Between Motivation and Talent

2006-11-29T18:56:00.000+05:30

Hydrogen and oxygen are distinctly different elements, but sometimes they combine to form water. Something similar is true for motivation and talent.Motivation is the desire to do something. Talent is what you do well naturally. They can exist independently, but when they combine, they create something special. They create motivated talents.People often are naturally good at something (talented), but it just doesn’t turn them on. For example, Heather is good with numbers, but she doesn’t go out of her way to find tasks calling for that talent. Most people have such talents. But then there are those talents that we really enjoy using. These are the motivated talents, and this is where the magic is.We use motivated talents every chance we get. Most of the time we don’t even think about it. For example, Larry has a motivated talent for conversation, and he naturally engages both friends and strangers in dialog. He doesn’t consciously determine to do so; it just happens. It’s natural and unforced. He enjoys it, and he’s good at it. That’s the hallmark of a motivated talent.Motivated talents tend to be irrepressible. They find expression. In fact, if you’ve ever tried to stifle a motivated talent (either yours or someone else’s) it probably felt like you were trying to hold two dozen ping pong balls under water at the same time. Motivated talents pop out, even if no one else is asking for them. And doesn’t that make sense? After all, it’s what we do well AND enjoy.Well then, wouldn’t the ideal job be one where you can use your motivated talents daily and get paid for it? Absolutely! But more on that later.What are your motivated talents? Shouldn’t your boss know? You can let him/her know by giving them a copy of you own career assessment.Get a job you love and never work a day in your life.

By: Henry Neils

www.jobbankusa.com

The Problem of Seeing Yourself Clearly

2006-11-29T18:53:00.000+05:30

Karen was only half thinking of how her hair looked as she used her comb to meticulously sculpt her new haircut. Her mind was on the Manager of the Year award she was about to accept. As she re-applied her lipstick she ran through her acceptance speech in her mind. Karen stepped back from the mirror to admire her new navy blue suit. Stunning. She looked great, felt terrific, and marched out of the ladies room with an unmistakable glow. As she waited offstage she was more excited than nervous. In a few moments she would be honored in front of 2,000 employees. When she got her cue, she strode confidently across the huge stage toward the company president, trailing two feet of toilet paper from her left heel.All of us have trouble seeing ourselves accurately. We often need an objective source to give us honest feedback. Karen sure could have used it!How about you? How accurately do you see yourself in terms of the job market? Can you list your top five motivations? How about your key talents?Research shows that we only see ourselves accurately about half of the time. When it comes to what makes you tick, it takes an unbiased source that knows what to look for to give you an accurate picture of yourself. Career assessments are such a source. They can identify what motivates you, and what doesn’t. You can use that knowledge to help you understand why your present job is not satisfying, and what types of job would be.Don’t strut upon the stage of work without objective feedback about your strengths and weaknesses. Who knows, you might be the next Manager of the Year?

By: Henry Neils

www.jobbankusa.com

Reducing Stress

2006-11-29T18:49:00.000+05:30

You’ve seen bungees. They’re those stretchy devices with hooks on each end, used to secure tarps to trailers, or to hold your trunk lid down while you transport a large box. If you hold a bungee by both ends and pull, you can stretch it. To keep it stretched can require some significant energy, because the bungee is trying to snap back to its original length.It’s the same with your top motivations. You can stretch yourself by working outside of your motivated strengths for a while, but you will want to snap back the first chance you get. For instance, let’s say your Career Assessment shows that you have a highly motivated trait called “Independent, self-planned, self-performed activity,” and you are required to work on a team most of the day. It will take a lot of energy for you to stretch yourself beyond the way you are naturally wired. It will be extraordinarily draining to be on a team several hours a day, day after day. Everything in you will want to snap back to your original shape.Right-handers don’t suddenly wake up left-handed. People who have a strong motivation for “Intuition, Creativity” don’t stop being insightful and creative. Your motivations and strengths are a stable foundation you can build on.Career Assessments such have helped a lot of people understand why they are so stressed at work. Armed with that knowledge, they went on to find jobs better aligned with their strengths. You can do the same by getting your personalized MAPP, the foremost assessment for identifying your strengths. Take a Career assessment and take the first step to alleviating work-related stress.

By: Henry Neils
www.jobbankusa.com

5 Quick Resume Tips

2006-11-25T18:15:00.000+05:30

Here are five quick tips to help you write a resume that gets noticed.

Remove sentences that begin "Responsibilities included…" That works for a job description, but not a resume. Instead, list accomplishments. People who read resumes want to know what you've done.
When writing accomplishments, quantify them whenever possible. For example, "Increased sales 15%." "…resulting in savings of $40,000." "…doubling the number of customers."
If you've had at least one job in your chosen field after graduation, list your education after your work experience.
Tailor your resume to fit the job you want. If you are responding to an ad, and you have six of the eight key requirements, be sure your resume says so. Don't make the reader infer how competent you are. Companies generally spend less than one minute reading your resume during the first screening.
Make sure there are no typos or improper uses of words. One of the top traits that hiring managers want is excellent communication skills. Since spell checkers don't catch everything, be sure to have someone else proofread your resume.

If you want to improve the odds that you'll land a job you'll really love, make sure your resume reflects your strongest motivations and talents. A career assessment can be an enormous help. Not only does an assessment identify what truly motivates you, it gives you words to help you explain it. Weave those words into your resume so that it accurately represents your potential.For example, your assessment may show that you are "Methodical and thorough in routine procedures." Use those words, link them to a specific accomplishment and you've just strengthened your resume. Try it with all of the traits where you score your highest levels of motivation. These phrases will stand out to hiring managers who value these traits.

By: Henry Neils