The Great American Dream Challenge
by Marcia Wieder

Pull Quote: “the secret to living a “dream come true” life is to believe in your dream simply because it matters to you.”

Making Your Dreams Come True

Years ago, people came to America in pursuit of their dreams - work hard, stay focused and you can achieve the American Dream. For many who have attained the basic American Dream?basic freedom, own a home, own a car, have a family, finding a dream that takes us to the next level of achievement can become a fragmented experience. We want this. We want that. We want everything. And ever since September 11th, we want to feel safer and more connected to family, friends and community.

There’s never been a more important time to set forth to achieve your dreams. Without dreams and vision, companies and countries fail, and without our personal dreams, hopes and aspirations, life can become meaningless. For this reason, I propose “The Great Dream Challenge” and I encourage you to take advantage of this support system to achieve your dreams.

The Challenge

If we define a dream as something that you want, that has heart and meaning for you and that you believe in, than what are your dreams? Even if you tend to be overly realistic, you still have dreams or things that you want for yourself and others.

Whether you have a dream or are in need of a new one, whether your dream is for yourself, your community or the world, this is your chance to act, to get help in making it happen and to support others in doing the same. The Challenge here is simple, yet powerful. Pick a dream, at least one, small or large, personal or professional that matters to you and make the commitment to achieve it (or a portion of it) by a certain date.

Here’s how The Dream Challenge works:

· Identify a dream that you are passionate about?something that matters to you.
· Put it in writing, tell others about it who will support you and is committed to helping you overcome obstacles and achieve results.
· Join an organization or online community that will help you get closer to your dreams through volunteering, helping you to build skills, or providing support.
· Learn to make specific requests that will help you achieve your dreams and then share those resources with others.
· Create a broad “Dream Circle” for support and accountability.
· Take serious action.

Many of us think, “I’ll believe in my dream when I see that it’s a sure thing or at least when there’s proof that it’s likely to happen.” But the secret to living a “dream come true” life is to believe in your dream simply because it matters to you. In other words, looking for certainty out in the world is not the place to begin. The place to look is in your own heart. Choose to believe in your dream. Then take action to demonstrate ? to yourself and others ? you really do believe.

My Dream Circle

During tough times or those days when there is no evidence that your dream is possible, much less a good idea, it’s essential to have a place to turn for encouragement. It is important to have a support group around you who are also working to achieve their dreams. When we see dreams can come true, we are willing to dream bigger dreams. That is why I encourage you to create a Dream Circle of friends and accountability partners who are committed to be there to spur you on.

The reality is we all have good and bad days. Personally, there are days that I get distracted and forget my dreams. And then there are the days when the doubters and dream killers ? internally and externally ? become so overwhelming I want to give up. That’s when I turn to My Dream Circle who help me remember and reclaim my belief in myself and in my dreams.

This support system has assisted me through many hard times and the great thing is that it is reciprocal. I can to do the same for them daily. My Dream Circle provides support through ongoing encouragement, coaching, inspiration and, most importantly, accountability for taking risks. We are finding new dreams, partners, investors, volunteers, answers, creative ideas, mentors, friends and fellow dreamers. But beyond networking, educating, challenging and celebrating, we are a community with a shared commitment that is profoundly impacting our lives.

Your Invitation to Dream

If we bring our intentions, offer support and resources to aid each other, what could happen? During a time when many have lost hope, are afraid of dreaming or taking risks, this is the essential time for us to be bold. What would you do if you believed in yourself? What might you change if you believed in your dreams? And how would you alter your life if you knew people would stand by and help you to achieve your heart’s desire?

Dreams are precious and essential and can change your family, community and the world. Your dreams can make you a better and more passionate human being. If no dream is too big or too small, the real question becomes, simply: What matters to you and what are you willing to do about it?

The Great Dream Challenge is to believe in yourself, create a Dream Circle of support, take action and risk and to encourage others to achieve their dreams along the way. I challenge you to do what you need to do now to achieve your dreams and make them happen. The only thing you have to lose by not doing taking the challenge is your dream.

About the author: Marcia Wieder, America?s Dream Coach, is a best-selling author and speaker known for giving inspiring and moving talks to AT&T, The Gap and American Express. To receive Marcia’s free e-book filled with simple steps you can take to act on any dream. Send a request to: info@dreamcoach.com. To experience a Powerful Weekend Designed to Help You Exceed Your Expectations & Achieve Your Dreams, visit http://www.dreamcoach.com

High-powered Jobs Don’t Come Without Consequences
by Teena Rose

Katie Couric’s recent announcement that she is leaving NBC’s “Today” to become the next anchor for CBS News is the dawn of a new era at the network and for television news as a whole. The move also shines the spotlight on the issue of women and their role in high-powered jobs. Beginning this fall, Couric will become the first woman to lead a network evening newscast alone when she begins her five-year deal as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” The third-place CBS hopes Couric’s celebrity can boost its sagging ratings and restore credibility to a network damaged by recent reporting missteps.

The simple fact that Couric’s move has been treated as a major news story is evidence of the progress women have made in the working world, and the lengths they still have to go. The idea of a woman as the lead anchor going solo on the evening news would have been unheard of 30 years ago. Already quite familiar with a high-powered job, Couric will break down another workplace barrier in her new position.

Like many women, it’s likely Couric is familiar with the triumphs and struggles that many women with high-end positions face in the corporate world. Naturally, the overwhelming majority of women can’t relate to Couric’s celebrity or $15 million annual salary, but they are quite familiar with the mixed blessings that come with being a highly successful woman. On one hand, these positions have come with a status and self-fulfillment that have resulted in economic power and the removal of boundaries. On the other hand, high-powered women continue to be labeled as missing something in their lives and having a direct impact on traditional roles like child-bearing.

In a recent and controversial article by Alison Wolf, the Kings College of London academic writes that highly successful women have created enormous benefits for society, but have also contributed to “the death of sisterhood, a decline in female altruism and growing disincentives to bear children.”

In developed countries, Wolf believes that women now have the ability to take virtually any career path and the end result has created and will continue to create a fracture in society. Wolf doesn’t argue that it’s the wrong path for women to take, just a direction that will result in consequences, both good and bad.

“Women used to enter the elite as daughters, mothers and wives. Now they do so as individuals,” Wolf writes in the April issue of Prospect Magazine. “Three consequences get far less attention than they deserve. The first is the death of sisterhood: an end to the millennia during which women of all classes shared the same major life experiences to a far greater degree than did their men. The second is the erosion of ‘female altruism,’ the service ethos which has been profoundly important to modern industrial societies – particularly in the education of their young, and the care of their old and sick. The third is the impact of employment change on childbearing. We are familiar with the prospect of demographic decline, yet we ignore, sometimes willfully, the extent to which educated women face disincentives to bear children.”

Wolf’s views, of course, have been subject to criticism. Many women believe that life in the high-powered fast lane can result in positive opportunities that other women may not be able to access. Many high-profile mothers with six-figure incomes have perks like on-site daycare for children. They also have the benefits of housekeepers, accommodating spouses and other support systems. In an age where even the two-income family is struggling just to make ends meet, the woman with the high-end job will be able to give her children and family the advantages and professional awards they otherwise wouldn’t have.

The woman with the elite job faces enormous challenges every day. And if she has a family, then the life is even more complex. In spite of recent trend stories the past few years that highlighted women opting out of high-powered jobs to raise children and return home, the Center for Economic Policy has squashed that theory, stating that the number of women in the labor market has remained steady over the past few years, according to a March report in the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, most high-powered women, whether they’re married, have children or are single, say the emotional charge and rewards from their jobs make them better spouses, girlfriends, parents and people.

About the author: Teena Rose “… because not all resumes and cover letters are created equally.” Resume to Referral offers sample cover letters within “20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer,” a sample brag book in “How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book,” and sample pharmaceutical rep resumes in “Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales.”

Preparing for the Interview
by Ann Baehr

So it’s the day of the interview. Of course, you are anxious about making the right impression with your resume and business sense. But hold up!! Your first real impression will more likely be made the minute your interviewer first lay eyes on you.

That’s right! It only takes seconds to be looked at and judged. It sounds shallow, but it has been proven that a professional appearance definitely helps land a job, not to mention a better salary.

Don’t expect the “jump out of bed and creep into class” routine to work here. Sorry! That will get you nowhere.

Dress appropriately for the position you are seeking.

For a traditional company like an investment or accounting firm or a bank, you should dress formally in a suit (skirt or pants). A jacket is standard. However, if you are considering a more artistic or creative field like design, public relations, advertising, entertainment then you show a little more or your own individuality.

When in doubt, take the conservative route.

Choose neutral colors-gray, navy or black. Not too short skirts or tight pants. Something that is well tailored always works as long as it is not boring. If you are a female whose taste runs toward bright colors and animal print and you are considering a more traditional company, an animal print scarf is acceptable.

The perfect accompaniment to any outfit is a smile.

What you do not need is your cell phone and your pager. Turn them off and keep them out of sight.

About the author:

Ann Baehr is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and President of Best Resumes of New York, a leading resume firm based on Long Island. As former Second Vice President of the National Resume Writers’ Association, Ms. Baehr is well regarded as a career expert specialized in resume and cover letter writing for cross-industry clients ranging from college graduates to senior executives. Her work has been published in over twenty resume and cover letter books by McGraw-Hill, Jist Publishers, and Adams Media. To learn more, visit Best Resumes of New York at www.e-bestresumes.com.

I’m Changing Careers: How Do I Format My Resume?
by Ann Baehr

The best resume format to use is the combination resume. This resume format is not chronological nor functional. It combines both! It is extremely flexible and allows you to use strategies in a way that would normally be considered wrong.

The difference between the combination format and the chronological format is that the chronological format resume is very easy to follow. The hiring manager will typically start to read the chronological resume at the bottom of the work history or professional experience section (heading depends on your career level) and will continue reading his or her way up towards the top to trace your career history. If there are employment gaps, it will be obvious because it is difficult to hide breaks in employment using this resume format. This is why most hiring managers prefer the chronological resume format. It is easy to read and leaves little to the imagination. This can be a great advantage (marketing tool) if you have been in the same type of position because it shows continuity and progression in your industry.

But what happens when you’ve held different types of positions across several industries? Some reasons for gaps in employment or holding too many/unrelated jobs include raising children, caring for a family member, illness, returning to college, corporate downsizing or merger, joining the military, and difficulty finding work for long stretches of time because of a tight job market or weak resume! Hey, things happen. That’s life! You can’t worry about the past. It’s time to think about the future. So, the first thing you will need to do is toss your old resume. It will not help you to change your career. It’s time to make a fresh start!

First, create a resume that clearly indicates at the top what type of position you are seeking.

Include a career summary section that highlights where you’ve been in your career, being careful to only mention what would be of most interest to this particular company. Emphasize your transferable experience and skills that match the qualifications of the position (if there is a job ad, study it and do your best to make a connection between the position’s requirements and what you’ve done. Do not use the exact wording!).

Use a keywords section to list transferable skills so the reader can find them immediately. This is also important if the company uses resume scanning technology. This will ensure your resume is retrieved from the company’s database in response to a keyword search.

Under your Professional Experience section or Work History (again, depends on your background), present your experience in functional sections such as General Management, Sales Management, Staff Training and Supervision, Budget Planning and Tracking , etc.

Take ALL of the experience you’ve gained over the years and categorize it into skill/functional areas that the new position requires. If the company is seeking someone to manage budgets, and you managed budgets ten years ago and four years ago, but not in your last two jobs, then list the collective experience under a Budget category. Continue this formula until each respective category has a minimum of four bulleted sentences or two two-lined sentences to support the name of the heading. It is a good idea to have at least three categories to show how well rounded you are.

Below this section, list the companies, locations, job titles, and dates. You can either create a separate section named Work History if you’ve already called the above section Professional Experience, or simply list the section without a main heading as part of the main section. It will be understood. Or, you can start the section off with the company names and dates followed by the functional categories. In other words, flip it.

The most common problem with this resume format is identifying where your experience was gained. But, that’s the whole idea. If they are interested in what you can do, they will call you in for the interview. It is at that time you can explain the how, when, where, and why of it all. It will make for great conversation– which by the way, a job interview should be. A meeting between two people with a common interest (the position) who engage in conversation in a professional manner.

About the author:

Ann Baehr is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and President of Best Resumes of New York, a leading resume firm based on Long Island. As former Second Vice President of the National Resume Writers’ Association, Ms. Baehr is well regarded as a career expert specialized in resume and cover letter writing for cross-industry clients ranging from college graduates to senior executives. Her work has been published in over twenty resume and cover letter books by McGraw-Hill, Jist Publishers, and Adams Media. To learn more, visit Best Resumes of New York at www.e-bestresumes.com.

Temping: A Backdoor Entrance to New Careers
by Scott Brown

If you’re in between jobs or having trouble finding the career you want, you might want to consider temping. It’s a great way to avoid having gaps on your resume and you may also get a chance to learn something new. If you’re looking to change careers but don’t know where to start, it’s also a great way to gain experience without making a life change. You can temp for a little while and then decide if it’s time to change fields. Experience will get you everywhere so go out and get some

Listing it on your resume

A lot of people are afraid to take a temp job because they’re afraid of how it will look on their resume. But keep in mind that temping is not what it used to be. If you present it the right way, an interviewer will focus on your skills and experience, not that fact that you held a temp job. Temping jobs are great for mid-life career changers, as they can help you find yourself in terms of your new career. People often take temping jobs when they are in between jobs and need some income for the time being. However, some temp jobs last longer than “permanent” jobs.

Simply list your temp job(s) by the employer(s) you worked for. If you list the job as “Johnson Temp Agency” if may hurt your chances of getting a permanent job. While there’s nothing wrong with doing temporary work, we are often judged by the content of our resumes before we even meet an employer. List the job title, employer, and then the name of the agency to avoid unnecessary biases. For example:

Administrative Assistant, ABC Corporation, New York, NY
January 2004-present

This way, if someone is quickly skimming your resume, they won’t immediately see that you were/are employed as a temp.

De-emphasize the “temporary” part

These days regular jobs are sometimes just as temporary as temp jobs. It’s a tough economy with a lot of competition. But your temping experience can be an advantage if you have gotten a lot out of it. Remember, if your stint as a temp was brief, you don’t even have to list it all. However, if the experience (long or short) has benefited you as a professional, by all means, mention it Here are some quick reasons why you should mention your temping experience:

*You went above and beyond the call of duty at your temp job
*As a result, you have more skills, learned new programs, etc.
*You worked for a nationally recognized firm for a period of 6 months or more

Remember, it’s your choice whether or not you even use the word “temp.” You might want to avoid using words like “temporary” or “temp altogether. Just be honest if you are questioned about your work history. When it comes time for an interview, keep your spirits up. Be as upbeat as possible about your temping experience and share all the positive aspects that have molded you into the professional you are today. Keep in mind that your feelings on the subject will show through. So think of your temping experience as a good one and others will too!

About the author: Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook (http://www.JobSearchHandbook.com). As editor of the HireSites.com weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.

Blowing Your Own Leadership Horn
by Brent Filson
There are two streams of competitiveness running through every organization. The first goes outward: It’s the organization’s competitive activities toward its competitors. The second goes inward: It’s the competitiveness of leaders inside the organization who are vying against one another for power, recognition, privilege and promotion. To be successful in the second, leaders must not only do well in their jobs but they must also be able to have their bosses and colleagues perceive they do well. In other words, they must be able to publicize themselves — or, to use the vernacular, blow their own horns. I submit, however, that if one simply puts lips to the horn of publicity and blows hard — i.e., makes an outward show of publicizing oneself — such efforts will turn out to be discordant and counterproductive. The result will be people turning their backs on you rather than having them hum your tune. Though it is necessary to blow one’s own horn as you climb your career ladder, it is also necessary to know how to do it. After all, there is an art to the effort. Here are four steps that you can follow.

(1) Identify an area in your organization that needs better results. The art involves not just selecting the right results but doing so in cooperation with others. Make sure that when you shine light on the lack of results, you do not embarrass somebody who has been tasked to get those results. Instead of making beautiful music, you could end up on somebody’s enemies list! Get the responsible person’s permission to focus on the area. (2) Put together a team whose task it is to achieve those results. Blowing your own horn means that you want to be seen, not as the Lone Ranger, but as a team player. Ensure the results can be achieved with a team. Enlist members to join the team by giving leadership talks. (What’s in it for them to be part of the team?) Be aware, as you form the team, of any hard feelings or rough edges that might surface between and among team members and others in your organization who have a stake in the results. If you lead an endeavor that causes hard feelings, it’s better to have never started it in the first place.

Moreover, the new team must be not only be formed, it must be MARKETED. Both of these efforts require communications tools and skills, which can take numerous forms. First, to describe the new team or service, communications must be employed to fully define its purpose and operating principles, and the people who are involved in it. These communications tools are descriptive in nature and may include everything from biographical back-grounders to product descriptions and data sheets.

(3) Achieve the results. Execution and achievement of the targeted results is absolutely critical to this phase of horn blowing. Make sure you score a win even if it’s only a partial win. The idea is to get the low hanging fruit at the outset to show others that your team is succeeding, and then go for the bigger results later.

(4) Publicize the results. This is one of the most important steps of all, and it is a step that few leaders follow. They might put together a team that gets a few wins, but they have no idea how to publicize their efforts. The first rule in this is: To blow your own horn most effectively, make sure YOU DON’T TAKE CREDIT FOR THE RESULTS — YOUR TEAM MEMBERS TAKE CREDIT INSTEAD! Your efforts will get torpedoed if they look at all self-serving.

To highlight the successful products and services achieved by your team, you can put together white papers, data sheets, presentation papers and case-history articles.

Don’t make this a one-time effort. You must be continually looking for results that are flagging, putting together teams to achieve the results, then marketing and publicizing the achievements.

In this way, when you blow your horn in your organization, the music you’ll be making can accompany you on a fast-rising career-trajectory.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com

Temping: A Backdoor Entrance to New Careers
by Scott Brown
If you’re in between jobs or having trouble finding the career you want, you might want to consider temping. It’s a great way to avoid having gaps on your resume and you may also get a chance to learn something new. If you’re looking to change careers but don’t know where to start, it’s also a great way to gain experience without making a life change. You can temp for a little while and then decide if it’s time to change fields. Experience will get you everywhere so go out and get some

Listing it on your resume

A lot of people are afraid to take a temp job because they’re afraid of how it will look on their resume. But keep in mind that temping is not what it used to be. If you present it the right way, an interviewer will focus on your skills and experience, not that fact that you held a temp job. Temping jobs are great for mid-life career changers, as they can help you find yourself in terms of your new career. People often take temping jobs when they are in between jobs and need some income for the time being. However, some temp jobs last longer than “permanent” jobs.

Simply list your temp job(s) by the employer(s) you worked for. If you list the job as “Johnson Temp Agency” if may hurt your chances of getting a permanent job. While there’s nothing wrong with doing temporary work, we are often judged by the content of our resumes before we even meet an employer. List the job title, employer, and then the name of the agency to avoid unnecessary biases. For example:

Administrative Assistant, ABC Corporation, New York, NY
January 2004-present

This way, if someone is quickly skimming your resume, they won’t immediately see that you were/are employed as a temp.

De-emphasize the “temporary” part

These days regular jobs are sometimes just as temporary as temp jobs. It’s a tough economy with a lot of competition. But your temping experience can be an advantage if you have gotten a lot out of it. Remember, if your stint as a temp was brief, you don’t even have to list it all. However, if the experience (long or short) has benefited you as a professional, by all means, mention it Here are some quick reasons why you should mention your temping experience:

*You went above and beyond the call of duty at your temp job
*As a result, you have more skills, learned new programs, etc.
*You worked for a nationally recognized firm for a period of 6 months or more

Remember, it’s your choice whether or not you even use the word “temp.” You might want to avoid using words like “temporary” or “temp altogether. Just be honest if you are questioned about your work history. When it comes time for an interview, keep your spirits up. Be as upbeat as possible about your temping experience and share all the positive aspects that have molded you into the professional you are today. Keep in mind that your feelings on the subject will show through. So think of your temping experience as a good one and others will too!

About the author: Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook (http://www.JobSearchHandbook.com). As editor of the HireSites.com weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.

High-powered Jobs Don’t Come Without Consequences
by Teena Rose
Katie Couric’s recent announcement that she is leaving NBC’s “Today” to become the next anchor for CBS News is the dawn of a new era at the network and for television news as a whole. The move also shines the spotlight on the issue of women and their role in high-powered jobs. Beginning this fall, Couric will become the first woman to lead a network evening newscast alone when she begins her five-year deal as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” The third-place CBS hopes Couric’s celebrity can boost its sagging ratings and restore credibility to a network damaged by recent reporting missteps.

The simple fact that Couric’s move has been treated as a major news story is evidence of the progress women have made in the working world, and the lengths they still have to go. The idea of a woman as the lead anchor going solo on the evening news would have been unheard of 30 years ago. Already quite familiar with a high-powered job, Couric will break down another workplace barrier in her new position.

Like many women, it’s likely Couric is familiar with the triumphs and struggles that many women with high-end positions face in the corporate world. Naturally, the overwhelming majority of women can’t relate to Couric’s celebrity or $15 million annual salary, but they are quite familiar with the mixed blessings that come with being a highly successful woman. On one hand, these positions have come with a status and self-fulfillment that have resulted in economic power and the removal of boundaries. On the other hand, high-powered women continue to be labeled as missing something in their lives and having a direct impact on traditional roles like child-bearing.

In a recent and controversial article by Alison Wolf, the Kings College of London academic writes that highly successful women have created enormous benefits for society, but have also contributed to “the death of sisterhood, a decline in female altruism and growing disincentives to bear children.”

In developed countries, Wolf believes that women now have the ability to take virtually any career path and the end result has created and will continue to create a fracture in society. Wolf doesn’t argue that it’s the wrong path for women to take, just a direction that will result in consequences, both good and bad.

“Women used to enter the elite as daughters, mothers and wives. Now they do so as individuals,” Wolf writes in the April issue of Prospect Magazine. “Three consequences get far less attention than they deserve. The first is the death of sisterhood: an end to the millennia during which women of all classes shared the same major life experiences to a far greater degree than did their men. The second is the erosion of ‘female altruism,’ the service ethos which has been profoundly important to modern industrial societies – particularly in the education of their young, and the care of their old and sick. The third is the impact of employment change on childbearing. We are familiar with the prospect of demographic decline, yet we ignore, sometimes willfully, the extent to which educated women face disincentives to bear children.”

Wolf’s views, of course, have been subject to criticism. Many women believe that life in the high-powered fast lane can result in positive opportunities that other women may not be able to access. Many high-profile mothers with six-figure incomes have perks like on-site daycare for children. They also have the benefits of housekeepers, accommodating spouses and other support systems. In an age where even the two-income family is struggling just to make ends meet, the woman with the high-end job will be able to give her children and family the advantages and professional awards they otherwise wouldn’t have.

The woman with the elite job faces enormous challenges every day. And if she has a family, then the life is even more complex. In spite of recent trend stories the past few years that highlighted women opting out of high-powered jobs to raise children and return home, the Center for Economic Policy has squashed that theory, stating that the number of women in the labor market has remained steady over the past few years, according to a March report in the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, most high-powered women, whether they’re married, have children or are single, say the emotional charge and rewards from their jobs make them better spouses, girlfriends, parents and people.

About the author: Teena Rose “… because not all resumes and cover letters are created equally.” Resume to Referral offers sample cover letters within “20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer,” a sample brag book in “How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book,” and sample pharmaceutical rep resumes in “Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales.”

by Peter Newfield

When presenting a resume to a prospective employer, whether on paper or on-line, you have approximately 15-30 seconds to get past the “gatekeeper” whose job it is to screen resumes out, not in. Putting your best effort out there is critical in making that all important first impression.

From a content standpoint, a resume should start off with a “Summary of Qualifications” which is a 3 - 8 sentence overview of your career experience. Unless you have recently graduated from college or you are completely changing fields, an “Objective” is not appropriate to start off the resume. In your “Summary of Qualifications” you can hit the highlights right up front — “twenty years of product marketing experience”– “skilled in building strong sales teams” or “fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese”.

Next, you need to define your “Areas of Strength” and briefly list the keywords as if you were going to put the resume on the Internet. Many companies scan for keywords and need to see your particular buzzwords — “Sales management” “Cost controls” “Financial reporting” or “Distribution” — you get the idea.

When you list your job experience under the heading of “Professional Experience”, you need to identify and describe your skills and responsibilities. Skills are what you do and how you do it in regards to each position held from most current to ten years ago. Prospective employers are most interested in what your skills and experiences have been over the past 10-12 years. You can list previous jobs if they are related to your field, but please don’t give a three page laundry list going back to that after-school job in high school.

What will ultimately set you apart from everyone else with similar work experience is, of course, “Accomplishments”. Your accomplishments under each job title or position must be quantified. By quantified, I mean how did you make your company money, save the company money, increase department efficiency, and/or reduce operating costs. Be specific with numbers and percentages, if possible. Some specific examples of “Accomplishments” are: “Reduced operating costs by 13% within first year in this position” — “Negotiated the company’s first global marketing contract for entire product line” or “Named to President’s Circle three consecutive years”.

After your job responsibilities and accomplishments have been clearly presented, the next category on the resume should be “Education”. List degrees earned, name of college/university, and city/state. A general rule of resume writing is to include the years of graduation only if you have graduated within the past three years. Please do not “fudge” the subject area you majored in, your GPA or the type of degree earned. If you attended college for three years but did not graduate, don’t list BA. If a background check is carried out, you will be immediately disqualified for consideration if even one “white lie” is caught by the personnel department.

Having addressed the issue of content, the final piece of the resume to focus on is “format” or visual presentation. If the format is weak, regardless of the content, it just won’t work. Visual presentation is almost as critical as content. If the typeface is too small, there is not enough white space on the page, or the print is smudged or too light to read easily, you are just wasting your time and postage in sending it out. Again, the “gatekeeper” is the first roadblock that your resume encounters and it must get past that person on the first attempt.

Please understand that a resume’s function is not to get you a job. A resume’s function is to get you a phone call inviting you in for an interview. If that is accomplished, the resume has done its job; the rest is up to you.

About the author:

Peter Newfield is President of Career-Resumes.com, one of the premier resume writing services in the United States. He is The Resume Expert for SpencerStuart.com, BlueSteps.com, ExecutiveRegistry.com, NETSHARE.com, DirectEmployer.com and the former Resume Expert for Monster.com and the Career Center on AOL. View samples at: www.career-resumes.com

For a free critique/price quote, email your resume to resume@career-resumes.com.

Discontentment in the Workplace
by David Richter

While more people are finding employment, more employed workers are discontent and experiencing frustration. In most cases it can be boiled down to four factors: feeling undervalued, unappreciated and powerless, and world events.

You can possess a tremendous amount of creativity and skill, but if you aren’t given opportunities to utilize and express these qualities to their fullest, frustration can quickly set in. For most employees, there is a huge differential between what they can bring to the table and the responsibilities they have been given.

It’s rare that you hear of someone working a forty-hour week. These days, fifty and sixty-hour weeks have become commonplace. What hasn’t changed is your compensation. Working a sixty-hour week yet getting paid for forty can feel out of balance. It’s certainly not conducive to feeling appreciated.

If you are a manager, this may sound familiar: You are given responsibility over a project and direct reports, yet you have not been given the authority to produce positive change. As a result, you feel powerless. It’s similar to being the commander of a ship with tremendous responsibility, yet not allowed to enforce any rules or have any control over the environment.

World events have a pronounced effect on our emotions and the way we tend to approach life. It’s been said that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world affects life around the globe. We are all interconnected. To look at the current state of increasing discontent and frustration among employees everywhere as an isolated event may not be an accurate reflection of reality.

A transformation is needed in the way employers view (and respect) their employees, and in the shaping of world events, for change in employee frustration to occur. A prevailing reason many people decide to go into business for themselves is because this transformation has not yet occurred. Despite the problems inherent in entrepreneurship and lingering world tensions, being able to express your creativity to the fullest and having greater control of your destiny speaks well to the self-employed scenario.

We should not give up looking for ways to mitigate employee frustration. The larger effort can engage us in the process of relating to one another with greater respect, trust and honor. Then we can begin the transformation in our professional and private lives to that which is profound and wonderful.

Copyright © 2005 TopDog Group All rights reserved.

About the author: David Richter is a recognized authority in career coaching. His extensive knowledge and experience gained from many years in recruitment, outplacement and career management has allowed David to formulate powerful strategies anyone can use to secure interviews and receive offers. David holds Masters in both Engineering and Counseling Psychology. Visit: http://www.procareercoach.com