Career Opportunities

Coordinator of Student Development                                                 CalPolytech, CA

Sr Business Analyst Merchandising Management Systems                  Home Depot Atlanta, GA                    

 Associate Director for Student Activities & Organizations                    Atlanta, Georgia

 Intern Merchandising Packaging                                                       Home Depot Atlanta, GA

Class A CDL Drivers Needed                                                           Wel Companies Columbus, OH

Director Merchandising Execution Vendor Services                            Home Depot Atlanta, GA

Manager Merchandising Services Communications                            Home Depot Atlanta, GA

AT&T Engineering Associate Wireless Translation NETREX            AT&T Atlanta, GA

Merchandise Planning Project Manager                                            Home Depot Atlanta, GA

Dr. Cris' Radio Interview

With more than 500 downloads of my dissertation, this research model on career counseling has proven to be successful. Therefore radio host Bruce Hurwitz of blog talk radio included me in his series on the topic of research conducted on the doctorate level.      

 

Take a moment and listen to my interview with Bruce.

Listen to internet radio with Bruce Hurwitz on Blog Talk Radio

10 Tips for Making Your Resume Stand Out

Guest Post by James Adams 

 

If you are one of the 9.8% of people who are unemployed in the United States, then you need to spend some time making your resume stand out from the rest of the crowd. Employers receive mass amounts of resumes for every job opening and do not have time to thoroughly investigate each one. The goal of your resume should be to make yourself memorable. If you can capture the employer’s interest instantly, then you will have a better chance of getting an interview. Here are ten tips to help make your resume stand out.

 

 

 

1. Make Your Resume Relevant To the Job

In previous years, it was okay to have one general resume that outlined your career history and accomplishments. However, jobs are much more competitive now and employers are looking for those who are most qualified. When applying for a particular job, only include past jobs and acquired skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a manager position, don’t include your cleaning skills.

2. Include a Cover Letter

Employers don’t just want to know about your job history and skills; they want to know why you are interested in working for their company. Show them that you know what their company stands for by including a cover letter with your resume. Include why you would be a good asset to them and how you intend to improve their company.

3. Use Proper Keywords

If you are applying online, it is especially important to use the proper keywords. Online application services often weed out unqualified candidates by searching for keywords in their resume. If you do not use the correct language when writing your resume, it could cost you several job offers. Pay attention to what the company is looking for in an employee and include those keywords in your resume.

4. Keep Page Number to a Minimum

Resumes that are three or more pages long are often not looked through by employers unless you really caught their attention in the very beginning of it. It is exhausting after 100 resumes for a human resources representative to examine a three page resume. Keep your resume concise and try to keep it at one or two pages long. If you go over that, you better have some really flattering information on that third page.

5. Keep it Neat and Tidy

Employers are looking for candidates who know how to be professional and your resume is a good indication of that. Do not write in paragraphs because it does not look neat and no one is going to want to read it. Use bullet points to describe your job duties and accomplishments. Choose a font style and size that is easy to read and looks professional. The easier to find the information, the better, so make sure you have plenty of white space.

6. Include Most Important Information First

Whatever you want the employer to know first should be on the first half of the first page. If you have more than one page to your resume, the person viewing it will not look on the next page unless you have already captured their attention on the first page.

7. Highlight Your Accomplishments

When describing what you did for a previous job, don’t just list your job duties. List what you accomplished at that job. Employers want to know how well you performed at previous jobs, not just what you were required to do. This will help employers know what kind of potential you have.

8. Check for Spelling and Grammar

The worst mistake you could make on a resume is a spelling or grammar mistake. Having great communication skills is important to employers and if you can’t communicate the English language properly in your resume, they will just move on to the next. Make sure to proofread and spell check your resume.

9. Include Most Recent Career History

Employers typically like to know your past ten years of work experience. Anything before that is usually irrelevant. If you feel the need to include a job you had more than ten years ago, make sure it is very relevant to the job and is a job you accomplished a great deal in.

10. Include Volunteer Experience

Including volunteer experience in your resume shows employers that you value something other than money. It shows them that you work hard at everything you do and that you spend time doing things you care about. It also shows them that you have good character and excellent morals.

James is a researcher and writer at Cartridge Save where he reviews ink cartridges for a range of printers. When he isn't reviewing products, he enjoys writing about technology and design.

Start your Job Search here with Careerjet

Following up on last week's post on real-world degrees and careers that are in demand now and will continue to be in demand in the future.

You can now start your job search here, whether you have an interest in the real-world jobs that were featured in last weeks post such as careers in the fields of IT, Business Administration, Health Care, Criminal Justice or Communications and Marketing.

The Careerjet database that is located on the left is literally filled with positions all over the world. What's stopping you? Start your job search NOW with Careerjet.

6 Job Tips to Jumpstart your New or Current Career

For some of you who are starting a new job, or for those of you who have been at your current job for years but are looking for some new ways to stay on your bosses good side and simply stay one step ahead of your colleagues; perhaps these 6 job tips could make a difference when the next big promotion becomes available. Good Luck!

1) Attitude – No one wants to work with a “‘sour-puss”, someone who drains all your energy, and complains all the time about every little thing. Your attitude toward work should reflect your duties and responsibilities and that should energize you and others around you to keep you motivated throughout the day. Of course you can approach your work formally, fulfilling your major duties with accuracy and on time. But an employee with “drive” and the right “attitude" who is enthusiastic and creative about their work is much more interesting for the employer. 

2) Creativity - your ability to offer exceptional ideas and innovative methods. You have a goal and you know how to achieve it. This quality is especially important for design, marketing, advertising, and will present you an advantage in any sphere of business. 

3) Result-oriented – Can you always complete what you began doing or are you a procrastinator? No matter what difficulties you may have, you are to always complete it by the deadline, but consider if you can actually turn it in early, now wouldn’t that be a something special.  

4) Resilience - A man was walking, stumbled and fell down, and then he shook himself off and went on further. For example, you are taking part in a group discussion of some urgent problem. The idea you suggested made everyone laugh and no one approved it.  You got offended, went into your shell and stopped proving your point of view. Then your resilience is very low. You should be able to stand your ground and never ever give up. 

5) Leadership - Employers hire a young specialist hoping that he has great potential and in ten years time he will become a leader. Not everyone must be a leader and become a top manager afterwards. But a good manager, that is a person able to handle the organization of other people, is indispensable in any respectable company. Recognize your leadership skill; how you can nurture it and make it grow. 

6) Team-Work – many companies have a project system of management.  Several people work on a project. The success of the project depends on each member of the team. What matters here is your ability to get on with different people, find common language with all the staff and feel like a united team. “One for all and all for one.” In any business a strong team – is a pledge of successful fulfillment of the project. Communication skills are of primary importance for any sphere, as there is no area where we can do without communication. How to make others listen to you, how to present yourself, how to uphold your point of view. This is a mini list of essential communicative skills. And essential to the success of an effective team work environment.

25 Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search: The Interview

Guest Post by Kristyn L. Graham 

The interview

11. Showing up late

Nobody likes to be kept waiting, especially hiring managers evaluating whether or not you would make a good employee. 

12. Dressing for the wrong job

Your interview attire should match the dress code of the company, or be one step up. If the office dress code is business casual, wearing jeans and a T-shirt won't work in your favor. On the other hand, if you're told dress is casual, you'll stick out if you show up wearing a double-breasted suit. 

13. Not asking questions

When the interview comes to a close, the hiring manager will undoubtedly ask if you have any questions for him or her. Not asking anything is the equivalent of saying, "I don't care all that much about the job." 

14. Badmouthing a former boss

When you talk to hiring managers about a previous employer, you're also talking about them. The way you talk about a previous employer is how interviewers think you'll talk about them in the future, so keep it civil.  

15. Not paying attention

Another way to show you don't care much about the job is to get distracted. Answering your phone, sending texts or digging through your bag tells the interviewer that your focus is anywhere except on the interview. 

16. Not researching the position

Your chief objective in an interview is convincing the hiring manager you're the best candidate for the job. How can you prove your qualifications if you don't have an idea of what skills you're expected to have and what your responsibilities will be? 

17. Not researching the company

Employers want to know that your motivation for work is more than a paycheck. If you demonstrate that you know something about the company's history, its goals and its culture, you prove you want to be a part of the company. 

18. Forgetting common etiquette

Don't cuss, chew gum, burp, take off your shoes, forget to shower or do anything else that's not appropriate in a business setting. Don't give the interviewer a reason not to hire you. 

19. Forgetting you're being interviewed from the moment you walk in

Just because you're not sitting down at a desk across from the hiring manager, don't think you're not being evaluated. For example, employers will often ask their receptionists if you were nice them. Even if your interview involves lunch or dinner, you're trying to get a job, not show off your ability to down tequila shots.

20. Bringing up salary too soon

A rule of thumb is that you should never bring up pay; let the hiring manager do it. Of course employers are aware that you want to know about the salary, so they will bring it up when the time is right. Appearing too concerned with money suggests you aren't passionate about the position or the company.

25 Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search: The Resume & Cover Letter

Guest Post by Kristyn L. Graham

Last week we shared with you the first 5 of 25 tips to help you from sabotaging your job search. These next tips are all about the resume and cover letter.

The résumé and cover letter

6. Writing a generic cover letter

If your cover letter looks like it could have come from a word processor template, right down to the "To Whom It May Concern," don't bother sending it. Hiring managers look for a candidate who wants that specific position, not someone who sends out applications en masse. Write a new cover letter for each job application and include details specific to that company.

7. Typos

Sending a cover letter or résumé filled with grammatical mistakes and typographical errors shows hiring managers you don't care about the quality of your work and probably not about the job, either. 

8. Including your current work info as the best place to contact you

Making sure employers can get in touch with you is important, but they shouldn't be contacting you at work. "Potential employers are going to question if these people will search for a new job on their time," says Kathy Sweeney, résumé writer for the Write Résumé. 

9. Focusing on yourself and not on the company in the cover letter

"When 'I' is the predominant subject – and there are times when it is the only subject of all the sentences in the cover letter – it indicates to me that they don't understand my organization and its needs, and, in fact, says they don't care to know," says Dion McInnis, associate vice president for university advancement at University of Houston-Clear Lake. "And therefore, I don't care to know them." 

10. Not targeting your résumé to the position

Just like the cover letter, your résumé should build a case for you to be hired for a specific position. If you're applying for a financial analyst position, don't waste space including your teenage stint as a lifeguard.