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Creating a More Professional Resume

collegecareerlife — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:54:22 +0000

In many cases, a resume provides the first impression of a job candidate. It can mean the difference between landing your dream job and languishing in your job search. The presentation of a resume makes as much impact as the content, and little details matter. Follow the tips below to help create a more professional-looking resume.

Formatting

Consistent and clean formatting is important, not just because it gives a more professional presentation but also because it makes your resume easier to read. Bullet points should be the same size and aligned uniformly, fonts should be consistent, and you should stick with the most commonly used fonts.

Summary vs. Objective

It’s fine to include an objective on a resume, but a summary is best for several reasons. Most importantly, it presents your skills in more detail than an objective, allowing an employer to quickly assess your eligibility for a given position. It also focuses on what the employer needs rather than on what you want.

Too Much Information

A resume with too much information can be just as detrimental as a resume with too much content. Leave off irrelevant hobbies and personal information (your kids, pets, marital status, etc.). Focus on the experience and skills that are relevant to the position for which you are applying. If you’re a college graduate, leave off anything from high school. Also, eliminate irrelevant jobs or responsibilities if possible. You don’t want to create gaps in your resume, but if a job was part-time or very early in your career, you can afford to leave it off. Ideally, your resume will be one page. For those with more experience, a two page resume is acceptable.

Small Details Matter

Think your cutesy email address won’t be noticed by hiring managers? Think again. Your contact information and other little details can affect the impression you make on others. Set up an email specifically for your job search, ideally one that includes your full name and nothing else. If you have a common name, use a middle initial or a number after your name.

Crafting a profession resume takes practice, but with enough effort, you can create a resume that wins over the most critical hiring manager.

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Five Mental Barriers to Speedreading

collegecareerlife — Mon, 24 May 2010 11:52:09 +0000

This is a guest post by Stefan Knapen from StudySuccessful.com.

I am a speedreader. Having the ability to speedread triggers a lot of people to ask the question: ‘Can you really do that?’ Yes I can. And it is not that hard to learn. But before you are going to learn it, you first have to have a couple of mental barriers out of the way.

It takes a lot of time
No it doesn’t. All it takes to learn speedreading is 2 hours, one week. And than you only have to read a simple book you would’ve read anyway. The speedreading-training takes half an hour and you have to do this a couple of times during the week. And you have to practise with one book. So grab an easy-to-read book and speedread it.

It is really expensive
No it isn’t. First I also thought you had to take a special course to learn how to speedread. But you don’t have to. There is a good (and free) training on Tim Ferriss’ blog and you only need to read a couple of other tips on speedreading at other blogs, all for free!

It doesn’t work
Everybody who is exercising speedreading won’t agree with you. They still know what they are reading, they are only reading a lot faster!

You don’t learn anything when you are speedreading
You might skip something every once in a while (but you do this normally also), but you can always read something twice! Repetition is the mother of wisdom. And with speedreading, you are still saving time.

It looks funny
Alright, I have to give you this one, it definitly does!

Overcome these mental barriers and learn speedreading right now. Worth your little time-investment right now? Definitly.

This post is written by Stefan Knapen from StudySuccessful.com. Stefan has written an ultimate guide on speedreading, explaining every bit of it.

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Tips for Saving on Textbooks

collegecareerlife — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:50:41 +0000

A recent CNN Money article has confirmed that textbooks are huge rip-off, with prices nearly tripling from 1986 to 2004. Not only are textbooks overpriced, but publishers will rearrange a few chapters and call it a new edition. I have a few tips to help you save on textbooks.

Use an older edition

Even if the required textbook listed is the newest edition, ask your professor if an older edition will work. Sometimes instructors will provide updates for students if changes are small.

Shop online

You should NEVER buy textbooks from your campus bookstore. Even if you need a new edition, you’ll probably find it cheaper at sites like textbooks.com.

Share a textbook

If you won’t need your book every day, you can share it with a classmate. Find another student that you can rely on to come to class every time.

Check the library

College libraries usually carry copies of textbooks, so look to see if a copy of your textbook is available. You might not be able to check the book out, but you can make copies of any pages you need to take home or to class.

Visit the publisher’s website

If you know you won’t be using the entire book for class, you might be able to buy and download individual chapters online. It’s a great way to save paper and money.

Another way to save money is to sell back your book immediately after the semester is over. Visit Bookscouter.com to find out where you’ll get the most for your used textbook.

© Andrea for College, Career, Life, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
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10 Sites for Better Studying

collegecareerlife — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:35:44 +0000

Good news for Internet addicts: browsing the web can help raise your GPA! Make the most of your time online by frequenting sites that offer lectures, notes, tutorials, and study strategies. Ten of my favorite online study resources:

Study Guides and Strategies

Since 1996, Studygs.net has provided study strategies and resources to help students achieve success. You’ll find guides to time management, problem solving, decision making, memorizing, online learning, test taking, writing, math, science, and many more subjects. Site content is available in a number of different languages.

LectureFox

LectureFox offers free lectures from colleges including Princeton, Yale, and MIT. Topics include politics, biology, physics, history, and music. Lecture materials include audio, video, and/or notes.

Flash Card Exchange

Create, study, share, and print flashcards at FlashCardExchange.com. You can also study flashcards created by other users, save your favorite sets, and export flashcards.

How To Study

Articles on How-to-Study.com are written by Dr. Charles Mangrum and Dr. Stephen Strichart and cover a variety of topics. You’ll find advice on choosing a college, note taking, giving presentations, and much more .

Cramster

Cramster is an online study community where students can view lecture notes, work practice problems, and take practice tests.

Study Successful

Written by medical student Stefan Knapen, StudySuccessful.com offers innovative tips for note taking, personal development, productivity, and time management.

Koofers

A schedule maker, access to class notes and old exams, flash card creation and professor ratings are some of the features available to members at Koofers.com. The site has over 2000 universities and is free to join. Instructors can also join and share course materials.

Study Hacks

Study Hacks is a blog by Cal Newport, author of two books about academic success. The blog covers time management, stress reduction, organization, test taking, paper writing and many other topics.

HippoCampus

A project of the Monetary Institute of Technology and Education (MITE), Hippocampus provides free multimedia resources for high school and college students. Subjects covered include statistics, calculus, environmental science, and psychology.

CliffsNotes

Although most popular for their literature guides, Cliffs Notes are available for every subject area. In addition to subject study guides, CliffsNotes.com contains test preparation guides and college resources.

Bookmark some (or all) of these websites and stop feeling guilty about your time online.

© Andrea for College, Career, Life, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
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College, Career, Life » tips

Creating a More Professional Resume

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Five Mental Barriers to Speedreading

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