The Resume

Menstuff® has compiled the following information on the Resume.

How to Open Yourself to Your Life's Purpose
The Interview: Body Language Do's and Don'ts
25 Words That Can Hurt Your Résumé
Your Biggest Résumé Mistakes

How to Open Yourself to Your Life's Purpose

Are you doing what you love to do? Follow these 10 steps to discover your life's purpose and learn how to turn your passion into action!


Ten Steps to Discovering Your Passion











Your Biggest Résumé Mistakes

You formatted your résumé ingeniously. You bolded your name and sized it just enough so it will stand out from the masses. You've proofread, spell-checked and edited it to death. You've even included creative (and of course, vital) information about why you're the best candidate for the job -- but have you gone too far?

In a recent survey, hiring managers and human resource professionals across the nation shared the most unusual résumé blunders they've come across in their careers. Top slip-ups from the survey included:

Employers do appreciate creativity in job applicants because rooting through piles of résumés often times can be a monotonous task. The key however is to balance that creativity with professionalism. You want to stand out as someone unique but also someone with applicable experience who can add value to the company.

While the goal of a creative résumé is to make a lasting impression, you want to make sure it's a good impression. Not sure what kind of impact your résumé has? Try getting your résumé professionally reviewed... for free. Job seekers can go to cbRésumé.com, upload their résumés, and receive instant feedback on how to improve their chances of being hired.

Here are four sure-fire ways to ensure your résumé makes the right impression.

1. Your personal life is just that -- personal. One candidate included that he spent summers on his family's yacht in Grand Cayman, while another included family medical history. Hiring managers don't need to know personal information such as your waistline measurement or where you spend your summer vacations. Instead, include information on activities that are business-related such as memberships in professional organizations and community service involvement.

2. Simple. Bold. Professional. Using pale blue paper with teddy bears around the border (like one candidate did) isn't going to strike anyone as anything but weird. Three key ideas to keep in mind when formatting your résumé are: simple, bold and professional. Instead of flashy formatting and stationery with borders or graphics, create a clean and polished document on résumé paper with consistent formatting for headings and bullet points. To gain a hiring manager's attention, use strong action words such as 'achieved' and 'managed' instead of unconventional fonts or colored text.

3. One size does NOT fit all. If you're applying for a sales position, it wouldn't make much sense to focus on your experience in an unrelated field like education or information technology. Not only should you play up achievements and experience specific to the job you're applying for, but also provide quantifiable results. For example, it's easy to say that you have experience in sales, but employers will take note if you say that you were responsible for a 10 percent growth in overall sales.

Note: including a picture of you in a cheerleading uniform, as one applicant did, also doesn't make sense.

4. Two sets of eyes are better than one. After you proofread your résumé a few times, ask someone else to review it. A second pair of eyes may be able to catch mistakes you missed and could provide a fresh perspective on how to improve your résumé.

25 Words That Can Hurt Your Résumé

So, you're experienced? Before you advertise this in your résumé, be sure you can prove it.

Often, when job seekers try to sell themselves to potential employers, they load their résumés with vague claims that are transparent to hiring managers, according to Scott Bennett, author of "The Elements of Résumé Style" (AMACOM). By contrast, the most successful job seekers avoid these vague phrases on their résumés in favor of accomplishments.


Bennett offers these examples:


Instead of... "Excellent written communication skills"



The worst offenders



The Interview: Body Language Do's and Don'ts

Your heart feels ready to leap out of your chest. Beads of sweat build on your forehead. Your mind is racing.

It's not a full-blown interrogation -- although it may feel like it -- it's just a job interview. While it's no secret that job interviews can be nerve-racking, a lot of job candidates spend a significant amount of time worrying about what they will say during their interview, only to blow it all with their body language. The old adage, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it," still holds meaning, even if you're not talking. You need to effectively communicate your professionalism both verbally and nonverbally.

Because watching your nonverbal cues, delivering concise answers and expressing your enthusiasm at once can be difficult when you're nervous, here's a guide to walk you through it:

Have them at "hello"

Before you walk into the interview, it's assumed that you will have done the following: prepared yourself by reading up on the company and recent company news; practiced what you'll say to some of the more common interview questions; and followed the "what to wear on your interview" advice. So you're ready, right?

Some hiring managers claim they can spot a possible candidate for a job within 30 seconds or less, and while a lot of that has to do with the way you look, it's also in your body language. Don't walk in pulling up your pantyhose or readjusting your tie; pull yourself together before you stand up to greet the hiring manager or enter their office. Avoid a "dead fish" handshake and confidently -- but not too firmly -- grasp your interviewer's hand and make eye contact while saying hello.

Shake your hand, watch yourself

If you are rocking back in your chair, shaking your foot, drumming your fingers or scratching your... anything, you're going to look like your going to look the type of future employee who wouldn't be able to stay focused, if even for a few minutes. It's not a game of charades, it's a job interview. Here's what to do (and not do):



Say Goodbye Gracefully



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