Posts Tagged ‘New Year’s resolutions’

Planning for 2012: Creating an effective résumé

Published by | Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Happy 2012! Now is a great time to start creating an effective résumé, and author Mariann Siegert has all the tips you’ll need to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and use those to plan goals for the new year.

To help you start the new year off right, Mariann has shared some fantastic tips for updating both your résumé and online profile (LinkedIn, for example)—whether you’re in the market for a new job or not.

Updating Key Information

  1. Any changes to your personal information?
    1. Delete physical addresses (these are no longer used as a way of communication while job searching and may lead to identity theft). Remove your work phone number if applicable (unless you work for yourself).
    2. Remove any fax numbers—this is an antiquated means of contact.
    3. Check your contact email address and cell number to be sure they are current and accurate. Make sure you include the best way of contacting you.
  2. Have you attended any classes, workshops, or professional training courses? For example, have you completed any lynda.com courses?
  3. Have you won any awards or received any certifications?
  4. During the last year, how did you:
    1. Save or make the company money?
    2. Improve efficiency?
  5. What new software applications or programs did you use?
  6. Have you worked on any new projects?
  7. Did you receive a promotion or other special recognition?

Adding PAR Statements

Replace any clichés you find with powerful PAR statements (Problem Action Result). PAR statements take advantage of using numbers, dollar figures, and percentages to tell a business story—in this case your story. It’s a proven fact that using numbers, dollar figures, or percentages to illustrate the impact you have made in your career will have a greater impact on your audience or résumé reader by proving what you have accomplished in the past and what you can bring to the table in the future.

It’s easy to write a PAR statement. Here’s how it works:

Problem: What problem have you solved this year?

Action:  What action did you take to resolve the problem?

Result:  What was the result of your action?

Then quantify your statements with percentages, money saved, or time saved (whenever possible). Here’s an example of a PAR statement:

“Designed new Flash web site based on competitive market evaluations and client needs, resulting in a 70% increase in web site traffic and 55% profit margin for the client.”

Mariann’s tips reminded me how many wonderful developments the past year has brought and all the important work I have ahead of me. For more tips on updating your professional profiles in 2012, be sure to check out Mariann’s course, “Creating an Effective Résumé” and Richard Colback’s course “LinkedIn Essential Training.” Here’s to a fantastic and fruitful year!

Interested in more?
• All business courses on lynda.com

Suggested courses to watch next:
• Creating an Effective Résumé
• LinkedIn Essential Training
• Pitching Projects and Products to Executives
• Time Management Fundamentals

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Posted in Business | 4 Comments »

Resolve to get a better job in the new year

Published by | Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Surveys often show that one of the top New Year’s resolution goals for many people is to get a better job in the new year. For some, the goal may be to get back into the workforce, either in a new job in the same field, or starting out in a whole new career. Here’s a few tips that will hopefully help you keep your resolution:

Update your resume.
One of our popular recent courses is Creating an Online Resume: Hands-On Training with Laurie Burruss. While Laurie concentrates on creating a resume to present in HTML, her tips on overall resume composition will work for print and text-based email resumes, too. A couple more resources: Broward County’s Workforce One created a video for a Florida career fair with tips on how to update and streamline a resume. Monster.com lists sample resumes for a number of different fields.

Use (free!) apps to get organized.
Google Calendar might be designed for businesses, but it also works for individuals intent on organizing appointments, meetings, phone calls, follow-up emails, interviews, and projects. Google Apps: Calendar Essential Training with Susan Cline shows how to use this free web-based application to manage personal and professional schedules. Proficiency at Google Calendar may also come in handy as a job skill, since many businesses and schools use it as their main time-management application.

Present yourself professionally.
Know and use the formatting features in your email applications to your advantage. Whether you use GMail, Entourage, or Mail, take the time to learn its formatting features so that when your emails are received, you’ll be presented in the best light possible.

Use social networks.
Our recent poll question let us know that many people use LinkedIn for job research, whether they are looking for a job, or employers checking out a potential employee’s’ background. 40% of you said you use it to find new career and job opportunities. Be sure to update your experience and skills, and request recommendations from former employers and coworkers. Another resource: This About.com contributor shares her experience with using social networks to land a job.

Research the company.
Researching companies that you are applying to. Spend time on the company web site, and check out their LinkedIn group and employee profiles. Following a company’s Twitter feed, blog, or Facebook fan page will give you a better feel for the company culture, new products, and more.

Follow directions.
If a job listing requests that you send a resume to a particular email address or requires that you fill out an online application, do what they say. Some may request cover letters, some specifically ask that you do not call to follow up. This Washington Post article tells about a job that requires that its applicants apply in tweets.

Check out our job listings.
We’re just a little biased, but we think that working for lynda.com is pretty darn cool. If you have what we’re looking for, and live in the Carpinteria, CA area, check out our 19 darn cool job openings.

Update current skills and learn new ones.
Even if you’re insanely busy scouring the papers and web sites for new positions, try to take the time to check out new and relevant lynda.com courses that could potentially help you in a new job. If you don’t have time to check the site or blog every day, be sure you’re subscribed to our monthly newsletter or the New Releases announcement that comes out every two weeks, or follow us on Twitter.

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Posted in Business, Home computing | No Comments »