We are always being told what to include on our resume, but there are things we ought to leave off as well. More is sometimes just more - not necessarily useful, and some items can be exhibited more clearly and concisely, as well as projected more professionally.
As per The Balance, "Recruiters can take as little as thirty seconds to conduct an initial review of your resume. You should avoid cluttering your document with unnecessary information which might make it harder for the employer to find the most qualifying elements of your background."
Redo your resume by letting go of fillers and wording that doesn't represent the best version of yourself and your accomplishments. Potential employers will be impressed with you before they even meet you in person!
thriverecruits.com
An Objective
Many resumes start off with an objective, which usually consists of a generalized statement that nearly anyone would agree is sensible, but not specific. "I'm seeking to grow with your company," or "I will use my education and experience to excel at a new position," are not particularly useful or give any indication of how you'll add value to the business.
The Muse suggests an alternative. "Craft an executive summary or 'Who I Am' section that showcases your overarching value proposition and speaks directly to the stuff you know the target audience is going to care the most about. This is your chance to make it clear you're a strong fit."
This summary of qualifications, "encompasses your skills, abilities, professional expertise, and what makes you most suitable for the position," as per The Balance.
"Big" Words
Stick to the facts of what you have done thus far using simple and straightforward language that gets the point across clearly. Now is not the time to show off your broad vocabulary or former spelling bee champ internal word database. All this will do is become a distraction, making your resume harder to read, not to mention, borderline obnoxious.
According to The Muse, "Using non-conversational words doesn't make you look smart; it makes you look like someone who spends too much time in a thesaurus."
Let your background speak for itself. If you need to adorn your experiences with "bells and whistles," perhaps you need to rework how you layout your past responsibilities, so they reflect your work ethic and valuable skills and experience.
Insignificant Jobs
Depending upon how long you have been in the workforce, there may not be a need to list every job you've ever had. If you are applying for a senior-level position, those two months of scooping ice cream the summer after college aren't going to sweeten the deal.
According toU.S. News & World Report, "Short-term jobs raise red flags for hiring managers, who will wonder if you were fired, couldn't do the work, or had trouble getting along with co-workers. Plus, a few months on a job won't typically be useful in showing any real accomplishments or advancement anyway."
The Muse adds, "Unless something you did more than 12-15 years ago is vital for your target audience to know about, you don't need to list the entry-level job or internship you held in 1994. It's totally OK to leave some of the life history off."
Personal Info
While a resume is all about you, it must be related to work experience specifically. This is not your mini-autobiography. Not only can adding non-professional info be "TMI," but it may make your resume super-long and difficult to peruse.
For instance, asInc. suggests, "Don't list hobbies on your resume--save these for interview conversation. And any awards you list should be from community service or previous work." Even more importantly, "Don't include things like date of birth, ethnicity, religious affiliations (unless the job you're going for is somehow related), reasons for leaving your previous job, specific street addresses, or phone numbers of previous employers."
Additionally, "Unless you're applying for a job as a model or actor, photos of yourself have no place on your resume. Since your appearance has nothing to do with your ability to do the job, including a photo comes across as naive and unprofessional," notes U.S. News & World Report. The interviewer will have plenty of time to see your face if you are asked to meet in person.
Silly/Unprofessional Email Address
If you still have that same email account from high school or college made up from a nickname or something silly, stupid, or scandalous, now's the time to get a brand new professional email address. Start things off on the right foot without embarrassment or being passed over altogether.
As Inc. recommends, "[email protected]," may have been fun to use at one point in your life, but in the professional world, it's a miss.
And perhaps an even worse idea is to use an email address from your current place of employment, as noted by The Muse. "Nothing says, 'I job search on company time' quite like using your current work email address on a resume. Unless you own the company, it's poor form to run your job search through your company's email system."
If you still think your resume can use some fine-tuning and refreshing, let TopResume take care of your resume for you. Get a free expert review, career advice, or have them rewrite your resume for you. TopResume guarantees they will get you two times more job interviews within 60 days by signing up with one of theirresume packages.
Revamp that resume and get the job you're seeking. Good luck!
entrepreneur.com
Every time payday rolls around, I’m on top of the world. Jeff Bezos-level rich - even though I’m anything but. And then somehow the very next day, rent is due.
The cycle continues. The next payday, bills for my apartment. I find myself without a surplus of savings since I just moved and newly-furnished my apartment completely.
Even more terrifying is the looming presence of the holiday season. Halloween’s officially over and before we know it, hello Thanksgiving…and then there’s Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s. It’s insane.
I’ve been feeling very British lately. Not in a Union-Jack-obsessed, “Keep Calm and Carry-On” way. I went through that phase in 2012 with everyone else… no thank you. And it’s not even a surge of patriotism catalyzed by the Queen dying — I’m firmly team Diana and team Meghan.
Now that fall is officially here, the holidays will sweep in and I’ll have to contend with the fact that I won’t be spending them with my family in the UK. I went home to London earlier this year, so there’s not much left in my travel budget for another trip across the pond. A few domestic jaunts might be in my future, but the closest I’ll get to England this winter is watching Love Island and Love, Actually.
So in that spirit, I’ve been filling my days with content from my favorite Brits. I’m listening to all the old British rock bands I grew up listening to, patiently awaiting the new Arctic Monkeys album, and rewatching anything with Michaela Coel in it. I even shipped myself an order of British Baked Beans, so you know it’s dire.
I’ve also been watching British YouTubers like Grace Beverley — my favorite. Generally, I only go on YouTube to watch Vogue Beauty Secrets and AD Open Door videos. But I’m so glad I stumbled on Grace. Her content is a mix of London lifestyle (what lured me in), relatable entrepreneurship, and mindful productivity. I’m not a hustle-and-grind-girlboss, but as a creative person in a 9-to-5, I need all the help I can get to stay plugged in. So, the video “how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmed” changed my approach to WFH.
Grace outlines her own productivity method: the to-do table. Instead of making a simple to-do list, she divides her tasks into a table that anyone can follow. As someone who’s survived with to-do lists for years, I recently implemented Grace’s method, and it’s revolutionized my workdays.
how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmedwww.youtube.com
I follow her routine to a tee. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, she divides her daily responsibilities into four categories: quick ticks, tasks, projects, and non-negotiables.
- Quick Ticks: Actions that take less than 5-minutes
- Tasks: To-do’s that take up to 30-minutes. Probably don’t take too much brain energy.
- Projects: Long-term list items. These help guide your priorities, even if you’re not crossing them off in one day.
- Non-negotiables: Pick 3 things each day that you must get done. This is how you’ll truly measure success.
With everything written down and sorted, next address your schedule. Meetings, deadlines, and time blocks — whatever works best for you. Write it down. Then make a pact with yourself to stick to them.
This way of categorization provides a roadmap for prioritizing your day — making you far more productive. Have you ever spent the entire day on small tasks and then suddenly realized you hadn’t moved the needle on any task? Or do you spend way too much time on tasks that aren’t a priority? No more. With your non-negotiables laid out, you know what to laser-focus on and what to dedicate energy towards.
Also, it pays to know your working style. I’m not a morning person. Yet, I have to be up and at ‘em super early. So, first thing in the morning, I march through my Quick Ticks to warm me up. I set a time limit, so I can knock out some easy wins which is totally inspiring. Then I move on to bigger things without lingering on emails or admin. For others, it might be more helpful to tackle the big things with all that early-in-the-day brain power earlier.
Grace has great tips on avoiding overwhelm and burnout. My favorite is taking more intentional breaks rather than scrolling through social media. I call this scrolling “productive” because I’m “coming up with pitches.” Oh, the lies we tell ourselves. It’s more productive in the long run to giving my brain a break with non-screen related stimuli.
Grace’s solution? Set a timer to read a real, an actual book. I’ve never thought of this. It’s a genius way to check off some books on my TBR and kickstart my creativity. After reading a good book, I’m completely inspired to write. So having books near my desk helps me step away from the computer during my lunch break for an actual reset. (And yes, the current books I’m reading are by British authors: Assembly by Natasha Brown, and Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalolu.)
In my pursuit of switching out my WFH set-up and getting my life together, I’ve engineered my workstation for success. With my new WFH essentials and Grace’s productivity technique, I’m revitalized for work — despite the fall blues and my melancholy about the pending holidays.
Here are the things getting me hyped for work and helping me crush my Grace Beverley-inspired to-do tables — no lists in sight:
Southwest Airlines Sale 2022
Pack your bags — Southwest Airlines is having a major sale! Fares are as low as $59 one-way if you book by October 3rd.
This end-of-summer super sale is a game-changer for your travel plans through the end of the year. Summertime travel gets all the glory. But why not take advantage of your long weekends, holidays, and PTO this fall. You’ll be surprised at how much travel you can fit in. Keep the fall/winter season exciting with domestic trips that give you all the excitement without breaking the bank. All thanks to Southwest.
Here’s the breakdown:
Where can you go?
You’ll find discounted tickets to and from most airports. Sale fares apply to cross country travel, and even Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean! Whether you’re visiting a new city or revisiting your last beach vacation, this sale has fares to make your travel dreams come true.
What do the fares cover?
Southwest Airlines has multiple fare tiers, each with various benefits. Wanna Get Away fares start at $59, while Wanna Get Away Plus fares start at $89. You can also find great deals on Anytime fares, which offer priority boarding and express lanes. Then there’s Business Select tickets for a luxe experience at an affordable price point.
Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member?
You may think these sale fares are too good to be true. Is there a catch? Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member to access them? You’re in luck — anyone can attain these fares for a limited time.
But, insider tip, you should consider signing up for Southwest Rapid Rewards. With a free sign up, you earn points and miles with each trip you take. And with this sale, each dollar you spend on these discounted tix can stretch super far until you eventually earn free travel. The only thing better than a sale is free stuff.
So pack your bags and brace yourself for those chaotic airport lines. Everyone’s hopping on this deal so get on it. Don’t miss out — grab your sale tickets by October 3rd!
I’ve been browsing the Southwest Airlines site, checking out flights and dreaming.