Author Archives: Guest Writer

How to Fix Up Your Resume (guest post)

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In a job market like this, it’s not surprising that one open position can receive many, many resumes. Often, your resume might have just a few seconds to make an impression. And that can be difference between getting in your foot in the door or getting that door getting slammed in your face.

Here are a variety of ways to make your resume better:

  • Formatting - When used appropriately, bullets and bolding make a huge difference. The perspective employer isn’t going read one long paragraph. You may have noticed that this article is written with scannability in mind.
  • Grammar and spell check - Microsoft Word provides a very good grammar checking tool. Spell checking tools are so abundant that there’s no excuse for not using one. In such a competitive landscape, one spelling error could get you labeled as lacking attention to detail.
  • Consistent tense and use of phrasing - This is one that a lot of people miss - and the one I have the most difficulty with, myself. Sometimes I don’t know whether to put older jobs in the past tense and current jobs in the present. That’s where it helps to have experts like those at Pongo Resume to help. Always stick either full-sentences or fragments. Switching back and forth between the two will only confuse the reader.
  • Have more than one friend review it - Sometimes you spend so much time on you certain parts of your resume that you miss the obvious. Your friends will be looking with a fresh eye, just as a potential employer would.

Even if you have great form to your resume, there’s no guarantee to you’ll get the job. Experience, education, and the interview process are very important - the key is to make sure you don’t get passed by before you get show off those skills.

How To Fix covers a wide-ranging set of topics including household repairs such as how to fix a toilet and How to Fix a Lamp as well as computer topics like how to speed up your computer.

photo by dbdbrobot


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7 Ways to Build & Maintain a Personal Network that Works for You (guest post)

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This post is a guest post from Brian who blogs over at In The Money. To get an idea of why he’s started a blog, you can check out his about page or subscribe.

A personal network is one of the most valuable things you can have. You’ll often hear people say, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” If you are well connected, you are more likely to succeed in almost anything you pursue. We cannot do everything on our own and often times, a connection can help significantly. You never know who can help one day, so the larger your network the more you will benefit from it. However, just because you know a lot of people, it does not mean that they are going to help you. Your network needs to be well maintained. Here are some ways to build and maintain your network:

  1. Social Networking - In the age of social networking, it is astronomically easier to stay in contact with people. Instead of having to call people or even taking the time to email them, you can just keep tabs on contacts on social networking websites. The two main websites would be Facebook and LinkedIn. Use these tools to stay in contact with friends and classmates.
  2. Networking Events - There are many organizations that have networking events. Some of these cost money, but a number are free. It is likely that your company has networking events. Try to be involved with those to build your career. Your alma mater probably has a local alumni chapter that hosts these events as well. Class reunions are also a good way to network with people you might have been acquaintances with, but never really knew that well.
  3. Getting Personal - Merely meeting a person is not enough for them to feel comfortable with doing you any favors. If you do not already know the contact personally, try to get to know them on a personal level. The next time you talk to them, mention something that shows you care about them on a personal level. For example, ask how their wife and kids are doing or ask them if they have had a chance to improve their golf score. Friends will be a lot more compelled to help you out.
  4. Constant Contact - Keep in touch often enough so that it doesn’t become awkward to talk to each other. If you don’t talk to someone for years and then ask them for something, chances are you will get nothing. The people who you think are your top contacts (possibly those who refer you the most business/have the best relationship) should be in contact at least every couple weeks. Those whom you think are good contacts to have should have contact every couple months. Everyone else could possibly get a holiday card once a year or get an email/message every few months.
  5. Help People Find Jobs - With the current unemployment rate at a high, many people are without jobs. If you are ever in a position to help someone find a job, let them know about a position or connect them with someone you know who can place them. They will never forget that you helped them when they needed it, and will likely return the favor one day.
  6. Talk to People and Be Open - As an entrepreneur, I quickly learned how important this tactic can be. I have always been a quiet guy and prefer not to tell people too much, but it is so important to tell people what you are doing. People want to help you and if you don’t share things with them, you might never get that help or connected with someone who can help you. My business partners and I have been connected to a number of potential investors and people who want to help our business, just by telling our friends and sometimes even strangers about our business. Next time some asks you how you are doing, be open and tell them more. It’ll pay off in the long run.
  7. Create Goodwill - Do as many favors for other as possible. Not only does this make you a good friend and a good person, but it creates goodwill. One day, people will return the favor and remember that you have done them a favor in the past. This doesn’t just apply to your career, but can benefit your personal life as well. If I go out of my way and give a friend a ride somewhere today, maybe if I need to go to the airport in a few months, that friend will return the favor. Never underestimate the power of goodwill and helping others.

Comment from Steve: #6 could also be titled “ask for help.” I’m always surprised by how reluctant I am - and others are - to ask for help in a job search. I also always surprise myself by how often I agree to do it for others, and how often they agree to do it for me. People enjoy helping others out when they can, so never be shy about asking for help.

photo by Cormac Phelan

Reaffirming a Vision

By Curmudgeon

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?

- Robert Browning

Here am I sitting in my tin can, far above the world. Planet Earth is blue, and there’s nothing I can do.

- David Bowie (Space Oddity)

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Next year, the three remaining Space Shuttles will be decommissioned, and for the first time in almost 50 years, the United States will lack the capability to put a human into space.

I am a baby boomer. My young formative years were shaped in no small way by the so-called Space Race of the 1960s. I was eleven years old when one evening I watched a scratchy black and white broadcast and heard the words live: “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for Mankind.”

I watched astronauts die; I saw the Space Shuttle Challenger explode. I saw the initial report of the loss of contact with the Space Shuttle Columbia on reentry, and knew immediately it was lost.

I met Neil Armstrong, the first to set foot on the Moon; and John Glenn, the first to orbit the Earth, in person. I knew Air Force colleagues with astronaut wings, because they flew outside of the reach of the atmosphere. I myself applied for training as a Space Shuttle mission specialist (alas, I was rejected). Astronauts were rock stars, and rock stars composed lyrics in praise of astronauts.

It pains me to see us as a society give up on space exploration. What has happened to subsequent generations, to not appreciate the sacrifices made by those who paved the way, and to build on those experiences and sacrifices to reach just a little bit farther?

We can reasonably offer a great many justifications for abandoning human space exploration. It is too expensive, too dangerous, we have too many other priorities closer to home. All are true, but none is a reason not to reach for the sky and beyond.

There many practical and farsighted reasons to continue that reach, starting with the fact that curiosity is a survival trait. The more we understand of the world around us, and beyond, the better prepared we are to live in an unforgiving universe. We can’t say today how we may apply this knowledge in the future, but there will come a time when we wish we possessed it.

Most of us don’t look at life as particularly easy. Today, we may face the prospect of being unemployed, employed in a boring dead-end job, losing our home, having health issues, or even simply frustrated with our lot in life and our seeming outlook for the future. Space exploration can seem like a trivial and unforgiveable luxury when we are just trying to get through the next day.

It is to the credit of humans that we have the ability to look beyond our individual issues to abstract concepts that define us as a society and a species. We need the knowledge, the experience, and the courage of those who are willing to push the boundaries of our existence still farther.

What we need, much more than solutions to our own individual problems, is heroes again.

photo by jurvetson

it’s not just you

By Curmudgeon

In my 30 years in a professional career, I’ve had my successes, and I’ve had my failures. The failures are usually not very pleasant, but I can usually deal with them. The successes, however, are quite a different story. In short, they have a tendency to go to my head.

Just what do I mean by that? Simply, two things. First, I start believing my own press releases, so to speak. You know the ones – where I’m the best thing since hot buttered rum, and where I can leap mid-sized buildings without breaking a sweat. Damn, I’m good, aren’t I?

Second, I start to think that I am making it look easy. So easy, in fact, that I can lose my focus and still be an outstanding performer. I don’t intentionally lose my focus, of course, it’s just that I start to think that I can think about other things because my job is on cruise control.

Then something bad happens. Well, usually not that bad, but bad enough to jolt me out of my complacency. Something major doesn’t get done, or I screw something up. I learn pretty fast once again that I’m not only mortal, I’m damned fallible.

Guess what? After all these years, it still happens. I’ve probably gotten a serious wake-up call like that a dozen times in what is approaching my 30 years, and I still haven’t learned my lesson. When things are going well, I still think that it is my effort rather than the team or the circumstance.

Here’s what you do. When you’re in a gravy situation, one where everything you touch turns to tulips, wake up every morning and spend five minutes telling yourself that you are such an idiot that a block of cement can do your job better than you.

Well, maybe not quite that drastic. But remember that success is a team effort, and one that is highly situational on colleagues, management, the activity, and the work environment in general. Remind yourself of that constantly. Maybe it really is you that makes things click around the office, but if you share the credit, you’ll end up with a team that is fiercely loyal over the long haul.

photo by blogefl

Why Bail From Success?

By Curmudgeon

In the first installment of this series, I noted that I am approaching the 30 year point in my career, and certainly have a mixed track record in the many and varied jobs that I’ve held. In my last post, I focused on my failures.

Today I’d like to talk about success, those jobs at which I have been damned good. I’m in one of them now, which is largely a good thing, given that comparable jobs are likely to be difficult to find in today’s environment.

What makes me damned good at these jobs? In at least one case, one of my successes was very similar work to one of my failures, so while my effort (or lack of such) may have been a factor, it doesn’t seem to be an overriding one.

Like I did when I described my failures, the corporate culture has a lot to do with it. I joined this company just over a year ago, and had a couple of colleagues that I had known from years past who were able to clue me in. And I had a new colleague who unexpectedly helped make me more comfortable in developing my role.

But I was also able to define my role expansively. Not all companies let you do that; in some cases, departments and individuals jealously guard their turf. There were plenty of things to do, and in general not enough people to do them. So I pitched in. That accomplishes two things. First, I gained more experience in the business as a whole, and was able to better integrate my core activities into the business goals. Second, it made me known to others in the organization, outside of my niche, and let me develop a network of people who knew me and knew my work. We would trade favors, getting work done without having to use the ubiquitous chain of command.

The natural question is why did I ever leave such jobs? In most cases, I was paid well, worked in a decent environment, and most important was highly thought of. In most cases, that led to one or more promotions and significant pay raises.

The circumstances are different in each case. In one, the schedule was undemanding, but normally required working in the afternoon and evening. After I got married, such a schedule proved to be unworkable with my home life.

In a second, the handwriting was on the wall for the office I worked in for years before it was actually closed. Resources were being devoted elsewhere in the company, and our business was in decline.

The important point about all of these circumstances is that things change. Your life changes, or the company changes. We can’t expect everything to stay the same over the course of years, let alone an entire career. If we’re already in a great situation for our skills and personality, chances are that those changes will be for the worse.

If you can engage in your job, and reach beyond what you were hired to do, you are likely to be considered a high performer. Don’t let that go to your head (the subject of the next post in this series). Your needs, or your employer’s needs, will change over time. Instead, use the opportunity to broaden your skills and your network, and to think about what might be next.

And recognize the potential costs of that engagement and subsequent effort. You may be working many extra hours, perhaps out of enthusiasm or a sense of accomplishment, and giving up your personal life. You may associate your own self-worth with that job, and when it goes away (it will someday), it may perhaps take that part of you with it.

I speak of obsession. You can do a fine job without being obsessed with it. Knowing when you have done what you can is perhaps the most difficult skill to learn, but if you want to be damned good at your job, you must master it. Otherwise, long term success with remain an elusive goal.

Photo by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

sharpen your soft skills

The following is a post from Patrick of Cash Money Life. Like me, Patrick blogs on personal finance but includes a lot of posts on career management - recently he’s been chronicling his search for a new job leading right up to his resignation. His blog is in my short list of favorites; if you’ve been reading brip blap for a while you know I recommend it as a read, but if you’re new here you should check it out (or subscribe if you’re an RSS kind of person).

I recently went through the interview process with several companies. While I was interviewing with these companies, I realized something very important. While every employer seeks a different mix of abilities and experience from its employees, there is one common thing they all look for: Soft skills. Soft skills are the intangibles that you use every day to accomplish tasks. Communication skills, leadership skills, and teamwork are some common skills that employers screen for when interviewing job applicants. To put it simply, improving your soft skills increases your chances of being hired and keeping your job.

Creative Commons License photo credit: gwaar

Here are some soft skills, and ways to improve them.

Speaking. Verbal communication is highly valued by all professional organizations. Unfortunately, many people lack strong speaking skills. The good news is that you can easily improve with just a little practice. A great way to improve your speaking skills is to volunteer to give group presentations. Start small (within your team), then graduate to larger presentations. Another great way to enhance your speaking and presenting skills is to join Toastmasters International, which is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. They are located worldwide, so you should have an easy time locating a local chapter.

Listening. Often, the most important part of effective communication is listening. It is important to not only hear the message you are given, but to actively listen and understand the entire message. Many mistakes are made because people do not take the time to fully comprehend the message or instructions they were given. To improve your listening skills, pay attention to the speaker’s words and actions. You can learn a lot from body language. Allow the speaker to finish before responding or judging what they have said. Take notes and review them with the speaker to ensure you received the message as it was intended. Providing feedback allows you to mentally process everything you heard.

Writing. Strong written communication skills are paramount to success. It is important to be able to concisely convey your message in multiple formats including reports, letters, e-mail, online work and more. To improve your writing skills, take the time to proofread what you have written. Often many small mistakes can be corrected with a quick review. Utilize the built in spell check and grammar functions found in many productivity software applications. Other tips to improve your written communication skills include having another person proof read documents, submitting white papers to professional publications, and reviewing grammar rules online. A good place for this is Daily Writing Tips.

Leadership. Good leaders are hard to find. Leaders needs to be aware of more than just their role within a team, but how each member in the group contributes to a common goal and how to steer the group toward that goal. Some people say leaders are born and and they cannot be taught. I disagree. In fact, I think anyone can learn basic leadership skills, and some people may even grow to become great leaders. All it takes is exposure to leadership principles, the desire to lead, opportunity, and practice. To improve your leadership skills, begin with reading a few books or online articles about leadership. You can also consider taking a course at a local community college or as part of an MBA program. Once you have some leadership principles ingrained, you need to practice, practice, practice. Observe leaders in your workplace, volunteer to lead small groups and team efforts, and take on additional duties if necessary. Finally, do not confuse leadership with authority. You do not have to be the high man on the totem pole to be a leader.

Teamwork. Just as good leaders are essential to accomplish tasks in the corporate environment, so are solid team members. Even if your daily role is primarily one where your work alone, you need to be aware of how your work affects others. To improve your value as a team member, consider how your actions affect other people who are working on a related task. Do your actions help them or hinder them? Another great way to become a better team member in the workplace is to participate in group sporting events and other social activities.

There are many more soft skills

The soft skills listed above are some of the soft skills most frequently asked about during interviews. However, there are many more soft skills out there and it benefits you to recognize what they are and how to improve them. You can further break down soft skills into Personal Qualities and Interpersonal Skills: Personal Qualities are those which are inherent to the way you act on a day to day basis. These include personal responsibility, self-esteem, self-management, integrity, honesty, self-motivation, self-discipline, decision making, and more. Interpersonal Skills deal with your interactions with others. Some of these include: teaching and instructing, serving client and customer needs, negotiation, persuasion, cultural awareness, conflict resolution, etiquette, and more. Think about how you perform in the workplace. Your value to your employer is often driven not only by the degrees and certifications you hold, but how well you work and interact with others. Sharpen your soft skills. Improve your professional prospects.

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