Articles for September/October 2007

Fall — A Time for Change
While many people might dislike change, it is an inevitable part of life… Read More>>>

Resigning with Dignity and Respect
Why it's Never a Good Idea to Burn Bridges… Read More>>>

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out from the Rest…  Read More>>>

Inspirational & Motivational Messages to Ponder — Work Read More>>>

Birthdays! Read More>>>

Fall — A Time for Change

While many people might dislike change, it is an inevitable part of life. Take nature and the changing of seasons. With each new season comes an opportunity for renewal.

Fall is just such a time. As nature sheds its summer foliage and prepares for winter, it dresses the landscape with new color. Soon, northern states will be blanketed in snowy white as winter and snow return. For those living in warmer climates, fall brings a slight chill to the air — refreshing to those ready for a change from summer heat.

Fall is also a time for reflection, change and new direction. A time to shake things up! It's time for a new you, time for a makeover in attitude, wardrobe, job or skills.

If you're ready to move on to a new job, it's time for research. Check out the latest jobs available online, in your newspaper, newsletters and local college career center. It's time to revisit networking and calls to old acquaintances. Many jobs are found through internal referrals, so let people know what you're interested in and ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for you.

If you're happy in your current position, congratulations! However, it's still a good time to update your attitude, get past the tried and true and stretch your horizons. Revisit your job description and see what else you can do to improve your current career. Perhaps you can take some classes to advance your skills, thus offering more expertise to your employer and thereby increasing your value to the company. You might also be able to add additional responsibilities and tasks to make your job more efficient. It's also time to stir things up if you've become complacent.

Fall is a perfect time to put away your summer things, clothes and attitude. It's time to make those changes and expand your horizons.

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Resigning with Dignity and Respect

When leaving a job, it's important to do so with dignity and respect. Whatever your reasons may be; it's never a good idea to leave on bad terms. That's because you just never know when a bridge you've kept intact could come in handy.

Imagine that you're lost in the woods and suddenly come to a river. You wonder how you're going to get across until you see a bridge and you use it to get to the other side. It was old and rickety and you don't need it anymore, you say to yourself, so you burn the bridge. Seems like a good idea until you notice a person standing on the other side of the river with a map and a compass.

Your boss is difficult and you can't wait to tell him or her off before leaving the company. You land another job and decide to fire away. You feel good about it—that is until at a future meeting with an important prospect you find yourself face-to-face with your old boss.

Always leave a position as professionally as you came in. Chances are, you'll be glad that you did.

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How to Make Your Resume Stand Out from the Rest…

You've found the job of your dreams. You have the skills. You have the experience. You're perfect. Now all you need to do is send in your resume and cover letter, right? Think again.

These days, many companies utilize electronic resume scanners, especially when they expect to receive a lot of resumes. These scanners are looking for keywords relevant to the position.

Before you e-mail, fax or mail your resume and cover letter, take some time to make yours stands out from the rest.

Here's how:

Step 1: Review the job description carefully and check to see if any industry buzzwords or keywords are used.

Step 2: Circle the keywords.

Step 3: Review your resume and see where these keywords can be substituted for other words that you have used. Don't overdo it though. Use a thesaurus and/or dictionary and find similar words to add variety.

Using formal words such as "coordinated," "achieved," and "implemented" can help too. Example: "Initiated strategies that successfully accomplished the company's goals" not only sounds better than "Made suggestions that helped the project do well," there's a reasonable chance that words such as these could be keywords the scanner is programmed to read.

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WORK

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.
Henry J. Kaiser, American Industrialist and founder of more than 100 companies

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26TH President of the United States and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement. He became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
James M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and dramatist. He is best remembered for creating Peter Pan.

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September/October Birthdays

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