Getting a job in 2009!

With the job market still being tight, I would like to offer a few helpful pointers in submitting resumes to companies for a specific position. I have gotten quite a bit of feedback from other professionals in several fields on resume and cover letter writing tips. In my current venture into summer hiring frenzy, these tips come as I come across some of the worst mistakes in resume writing.

Do not use crazy fonts in your cover letter, e-mail or resume. It is hard to read script fonts or curly, italic fonts, and can be frustrating to someone who is trying to gauge your qualifications. It is best to stick with typewriter fonts such as Times New Roman, Courier New, Georgia, or even Arial, Microsoft Sans Serif, Lucids Sans, Tahoma or Verdana.

Save your resume in universal formats.Resumes should always be in Microsoft formats, in the oldest possible version. Microsoft Word 97 is best, as some users may have MS Office 2003, or even 2000. Not everyone has transitioned to Office 2007, and if you are using it, they will not be able to view your file. Do not use .wps, .wpd (Microsoft Works Processor), or .txt (Notepad/Typepad)formats. Very few people can read these, and .txt formats have no wrap-around function and your text goes all the way across the page.
It is a good idea to save your resume in several formats just in case, so you do not waste time reformatting it for various companies.

BCC other companies that you e-mail your resume to.. Leaving all addresses viewable sends the messagage that you are desperate for work, and also says that we are each in competition for your employment.

Use a professional or simple e-mail address. It never looks professional to send a resume from "hotgrrl504 at yahoo". This sends the message that you are immature, not concerned about having a professional appearance and are not concerned with the espectations of the business world.

Update your 'objective' field for each position you apply for. This reflects laziness and also, if your experience is in a different field than you are applying for, it can relay a message that you are just using this job as a stepping stone to your career and you do not plan longevity in this position.
Also, don't leave it as generic as "To obtain a position in your organization". Based on what may follow, it may seem that you don't care WHAT job you get, just that SOMEONE hires you.

Have someone proofread your resume. It is very easy to overlook your own mistakes, and they may also be able to help you re-word some common terms and phrases.

Update regularly. Make sure that not only your work and education history are current, but also your contact information!

List only your relevant work experience.If you apply for a job as an accountant, a hiring manager doesn't necessarily need to know that you worked at a daycare center while you were in college. Listing the jobs that have comparable skills but in different fields is useful, but cluttering up page after page of irrelevant information is not.

Don't expect a reply right away. A hiring manager or HR person may be weeding through tens of resumes and may have a lengthy process for finding qualified applicants. If you receive a "thanks but no thanks" reply, do not call or write back asking why you are not qualified. If you do receive a positive response, still allow a few days before sending a follow up call or e-mail. Much like dating, it makes you look desperate!

It is always helpful to searh help online for more tips at sites like these:
http://www.resume-help.org/
http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/index.php
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/resume

Please, also feel free to comment with any field specific tips, ie for lawyers, phlembotomists, research jobs, non-profit, etc. Every tip helps!

Manic Monday links

The morning is already stale and it's not yet 9:00am. I'd like to start with something interesting:

Paper folding art. This is more amazing to me than the chalk art. There's also The Sand Dancer who draws, or dances, huge art pieces into beach sand. It is amazing what the human mind is capable of.

For instance, the geekery:
The enigma of dreams. Several theories about why humans dream.
ComicCon 2009 to recieve TV attention. The event has gotten more massive in the last few years and TV networks plan to cash in.
LA plans to bring light to town's movie fests. Who knew they even had any?
5 baby friendly rock albums.

Life:
10 Rules for slowing down and enjoying life
What to do when you're told you're OVERqualified. There should be an article for hiring managers on how to handle people when they are overqualified. *gulp*

News:
World Hunger hits one billion markNot something I'd typically like to spotlight but maybe it may help people dig deep and find a local (or large scale) way to help.
Children of gay couples talk about their families

Looking for new music?
This isn't new by any means, but I'd bring some attention to it, anyway.
Wired Music Podcasts. I know some people aren't hot on Wired Mag but so far, it's a supplement to my usual Paste Sampler which, BTW, is now completely available in digital format. The mag has gone online to save money (and trees, of course) so if you were ever interested in picking up the mag but don't like traditional subscriptions, now's the time to support 'em.

That's a lot of links for today. Just in case anyone has a severe "Case of the Mondays". Ha.
Sooner or later I'd like to get into more discussion posts, but that will take more readers for that to be worthwhile.

Saturday Night Life links

News:
Pixies to record new album
Homeless girl goes to Harvard
'The View' host Hasselbeck steals book Her gluten free cook book may be partially plagiarized.
Banksy mural sullied. Banksy fights to get paint marks removed.

Life:
Being chubby can lengthen your life
Snoring is a symptom of apnea And there may be a cheap way to cure it.

Geekery:
Study shows chromosomal link to autism
Chevy goes green. Chevrolet to unveil new electric car
wind power, 60 second podcast. This is part of an awesome serious of 60 second iTunes podcasts.
Volcano in space Space station images of a recent volcanic eruption.

Funny:
Cat?tattoo fail
Unidentified tattoo foolery
Police car fail

Hump Day Links

TRANSFORMERS 2 COMES OUT TODAY!!!! It was anticipated to be such a huge movie that they're opening it on a Wednesday. Isn't that nuts? There's already a review up here
I'd like to start doing movie and music release dates again so maybe next week I'll have that going on for either Sundays or Mondays.

And now, in the news:

France continues attempts to ban Burqas
Sequal to 'Unbreakable' in the works. Apparently M. Night Shamalamadingdong finally wants to work on a sequel. Which isn't necessary. But there it is.
Scrubs to see 9th season. I knew it was coming but this concept is new to me.
New law on student loan payment caps
Ohio baby, Haylee, found
I can't post any more links from CNN news. It is important to me to NOT post, link or discuss negative news unless it's absolutely necessary and seven of CNN's top 10 stories are bad news. So, on to...

Geekery:

20 things you didn't know about TIME

Life:
Simple guide to keeping clutter free counters

Fun:
How to mix an exploding drink
For a more personal touch: Black hair. Read it. I'm not being tongue-in-cheek.

Also, I know I didn't post about Ed Macmahon's passing yesterday because it was quite the busy day and I figured that was just something that would make it's way around via word of mouth.

The Monday Blues links

Quite the harsh morning today! I had a fantastic set of links to post yesterday which was titled "Lifetime Movie Sunday links" and, thanks to this blogger/gmail link, they were all lost! So, some of the funniest things I found on the 'net are gone, never to be viewed by any of your eyes! Except for what I have today :)

Fun:
Poorly placed ads
Timeline of futuristic sci-fi flicks

News:
Woman fined for downloading 24 songs. She got a HUGE fine.Couple gets married in 0 gravity
Beck has a new project Beck and Friends Music Club.


Life:
Five reasons to go salsa dancing If you're single, that is.
The 10 least 'Green' cars on the market
Why motivation doesn't matter. Really. Sometimes you just have to give yourself a litte kick in the pants even when you don't wanna.

Friday links

Not too much geekery today. More than half of my work day was lost because the a/c was out. We decided to all go out to lunch instead of working. Good plan!

News:
Lawmaker returns quite the 'uncouth' gift. Sending a metal scuplture of bull balls to a Senator doesn't QUITE say just how you feel.
Theater where B52s and REM played burns down
prison trained puppies help troops
Sacha Baron Cohen opens in Amsterdam. The movie premiered with a bunch half naked men running through the streets of Amsterdan's "Pink Light District".

Geekery:
The truth about the link between autism and child vaccines.
The truth? There is none. Find out why you've been let to believe there is.
How to open a beer bottle with a lighter
20 Things You Didn't Know About Recycling*
President Obama teaches us how to swat a fly. Helpful facts about flies to help learn how to kill 'em!

Life:
Ten jobs that pay $20/hr*

Funny:
Chindogu of the day


*reposts from LJ

Where DO the chips fall?

A very dear friend of mine linked me to this "article" on the site Planet Out: Does sleeping with men make you less of a lesbian?
I read through the article and the comments below and was astounded, as I was afraid I'd be. Most of the people comment do NOT think that a woman who identifies herself as a lesbian but still has casual sex with men is less of a lesbian- less "pure" as it has been stated.
I find myself pondering the whole concept. I know of lesbians who will not date women who consider themselves "bisexual" or have slept with men. Is this a form of discrimination? Are there women out there who are searching for a loophole to their homosexuality? Does this same loophole exist for men?

Times, they are a changing. The spectrum, the definition of some of the most simplistic concepts now begins to stretch far and wide...

Thursday links

Yet another morning of procrastination has left me glossing over articles and links that I have. I have “training” to do-that is, if you can call an online class to learn how to use Facebook and Myspace for recruiting purposes “training”. So instead I provide some links:

Recipe for fried ice cream
This is one of the easiest and most tasty looking recipe I’ve found. Many recipes use cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Corn Flakes) and the end result would seem, to me, to end up a melted, mushy mess. This one seems like a tasty, easy recipe.

In the news:
Belgian girl sues tattoo artist over face tattoo
A 19 yr old Belgian girl gets 56 tattoos on her face and claims she slept through getting them. Possible? I think not.
Twin Peaks returns…sorta
The show may return via online webisodes.
Paul McCartney wants a new project
McCartney expresses an interest in working with MGMT.

Geekery:

Zoning out- why it’s useful
This article is about a study done to show that letting your mind wander and zoning out can give your brain to find resolutions to your future.
20 Things You Didn’t Know about Movies
Fun facts about the advent of moving pictures

Life:
Sex with your new guy: to wait or not?
Fitness: The Simple Rules

Fun:
NEW Transformers- Photoshop contest
Please come swimming with me!
Urban Dictionary Word of the Day

And now I retreat to find out if I can MacGyver the fax machine into a network printer…

G’Day!

"No, you can't find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along"

New home!
I'd started a livejournal blog last year that was going to be the "it" place to list upcoming social info and news but as more people left LJ and the community here grew, I decied to pick up here. The old blog, http://community.livejournal.com/auntie_ann_nola/ , is still there and I may even repost some links, but this blog may take on a slightly different existence. I will continue to post links, articles, and even write columns.

Welcome to Auntie Ann's world!

P.S. If anyone knows the "Auntie Ann" that's already registered here, tell her to delete the damned account. She's tying up the name!! :)