What to do during your holiday down time? Polish up your resume.
This time of year, I'm burning excess vacation days and you may be doing the same or hiding from in-laws in your "man room". Spending major bank on holiday gifts could have you thinking about your paycheck ("Am I being paid what I am worth?") and even though I know all my blog readers wouldn't bother with something as trivial as New Years resolutions, you can start to think about what's in store for 2008. Like I've said before, it's a great time to work on your resume. Spike that eggnog and sit down to polish that sucker up. The best time to work on your resume is when you don't need to.
My gift to you? A little greatest hits version of resume advice.
Online resources for resume writing
It's "experience", not "experiences"
Using the word "expert" on your resume
Why you should work on your resume right now
Writing a resume from scratch (which doesn't involve eggnog, but it wouldn't hurt)
Another post about working on your resume over the holidays. Let's call it variations on a theme.
Rock on, job seekers. And Happy Holidays.
Comments
Anonymous
December 06, 2007
PingBack from http://www.jobsearch.get1t.com/?p=19438Anonymous
December 07, 2007
The comment has been removedAnonymous
December 08, 2007
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December 09, 2007
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December 11, 2007
Don't forget to stay in touch with your network too: http://newlycorporate.com/2007/12/11/deliberate-relationship-enhancement-20-christmas-cards-for-generation-y/Anonymous
December 13, 2007
Hi Heather, I've been following your blog for a couple months now after seeing your name for a job post on linkedin. (I've been applying to jobs in the Seattle area for a while). I just wanted to thank you for all of your job search tips! I noticed that things picked up after I incorporated tips that you wrote about (e.g. a concise, strong email intro in lieu of an attached cover letter). I haven't gotten an offer that I liked yet, but I'll keep chugging along. In the meantime, please keep the candid, helpful career tips coming!Anonymous
December 13, 2007
Thanks Stephanie, love the good feedback!Anonymous
June 20, 2008
Hey Heather, I bumped into this post a little while ago and was curious about your comments on using the label of "expert" for a few reasons:I was (at the time) using "expert" as part of my LinkedIn descriptor
I had a boss once that insisted that she only had "experts" working for her and the company. *Although I have a great degree of knowledge and skill in my profession of 20 years (and I knock myself out trying to stay "current"), does that entitle me to the label of "expert?" Do others regard themselves as an “expert?” If so, why? I decided to ask this question on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/professional-development/career-management/PRO_CMA/246376-4568322?browseIdx=0&sik=1213992382683&goback=%2Eamq The question generated great responses, which also helped me understand your comments. I am glad I saw your post and have since changed my LinkedIn descriptor. Here are some of my takeaways (lifted from a recent comment I posted on Shel Holtz’s blog -- http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/comments/who_you_gonna_call_expert_or_amateur –- as this topic continues to be a passionate one) that resulted from your comments and the LinkedIn responses: “The {LinkedIn} answers were eye-opening for me and very welcome. The consensus? The label of expert must be earned, rather than touted. The masses, customers, and peers must grant the label of expert. Indeed, “expert” is in the eye of the beholder. Just like a company’s brand is developed by public perception, so, too, is a person’s label of 'expert.' " Thanks for inspiring me. :)
Anonymous
June 23, 2008
JP - thanks for your comments. That thread on linkedin was really intersting. Glad to see there are others thinking about it the way I do!