Write Less, Say More: The Power of Brevity

Are you graduating and still looking for a job? Or looking for a job. period? Read this article before you write your next cover letter, presentation, or re-tweak your resume (again). 

Write Less, Say More: The Power of Brevity:

When it comes to great writing, less is more. But even if you're familiar with the mantra to "omit needless words," tightening your writing is harder than it looks. Which words should you omit? How can you write more clearly? Danny Rubin, a national news consultant and former television news reporter, demonstrates—with examples—the power of brevity.

There is a common misconception when it comes to writing that is professional in nature that a person must write in a verbose manner to come across as intelligent.

I am sorry. Let me do that again.

People often make a mistake in thinking that writing long-winded sentences with big words makes them appear smart.

Actually, let me try this one more time.

You don't need to write a lot or use big words to sound smart.

Now, that's better.

Too often, people write sentences like the one at the top when they should choose version #3. The main culprit, in my view, is the loathsome college essay. Only in college are we forced to write a paper a certain length. We develop strategies that balloon our paragraphs so we can fill out eight, 10 or 12 pages and pick up our gold stars on the way out.

In the real world, most people don't enjoy reading cover letters, resumes and presentations. It's extra work and burdensome. Worst of all, trying to write beyond our skill level screams ‘I'm in over my head.'

The rest of the article...

'via Blog this'

SigEp pilots Life After College program

Something new from HQ---

Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity - SigEp pilots Life After College program:

"Sigma Phi Epsilon is now offering a new program called Life After College to help undergraduates prepare for the job market. This new program will be piloted three times this spring in California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Fraternity is responding to undergraduates who have asked for programs focused on helping upperclassmen prepare for life personally and professionally after graduation. This one-day program will focus on preparing students to search for their first full-time job, have their first job interview, negotiate their first salary, begin life as a young professional, transition into adulthood, and adjust to life after college.

What's in it for participants?
• Expert resume and job search advice
• Opportunity to meet and network with successful alumni from the area
• Perspective from former CEOs and other top industry leaders
• A chance to win a $500 educational scholarship
• No registration fee"

'via Blog this'

Better check it out. The open slots are going fast.

10 Things to Never Put on Your Resume

For the most part I agree with this article's suggestions:

For job seekers, the resume may be the most important document they need. After all, what's on that simple piece of paper can mean the difference between landing an interview and landing in the circular file.

While most job seekers concentrate on what they should include on their resume, few pay attention to what they shouldn't include. This article explores 10 things you should never put on your resume.

However, there is one point I take qualified exception:

Achievements that aren’t achievements

Being nominated prom queen is not an achievement. Nor is belonging to a sorority or fraternity. And that award you won in a competitive eating contest? That's right--not an achievement. Stick to professional and community service awards only.

Maybe mere membership is not "special", but I would think leadership positions count for something. President, VP, or a job that involves managing people, resources, and money - like house manager - would have some cred. Certainly for the first jobs out of school. The trick, as with everything, is to show how that experience will help you to do the job you are seeking.

10 Things to Never Put on Your Resume

Update: A link to a PDF file of the points in the article. Suitable for a professional development presentation.

Resume Basics - Style Choices

To get a good job after college you need to get your resume read, not tossed. It also has to look professional, and a dash of class helps too. Here are some tips to help your resume "Dress for Success."

• Condense lines as much as possible and put as much stuff on one line as possible without them being crammed together.
  -For example: address, phone number and e-mail address can all go on one line. You can use dots to help separate information as needed (1234 Wee Sing Lane Any City, USA, 817.777.7575. j-doe@gmail.com)
• Use lines to separate your name and contact info from the rest of the resume.
  -This helps your resume look like it’s been printed on professional stationery/letterhead.
• Consider using a font other than Times New Roman. But again, nothing too fancy.
  -Stick to something that is similar to Times New Roman but maybe with more typographic subtleties that can help your resume stand out just a tad bit more. Try Georgia.

More tips, and links to more resume writing ideas are at: Resume Basics - Style Choices | EmploymentDigest.net

A cool personal branding site for college students « Wally’s Follies

A number of years ago business guru Tom Peters wrote an article called "The Brand Called You" about personal branding importance and strategy. The article spawned lots of interest and the self-help guys made buckets of money showing people "how-to." The ideas even made it into SigEp CLA programs for a few years.

The idea of personal branding is, if anything, even more important today. The sooner you get started on the work of presenting yourself to the world honestly but with your best foot forward, so to speak, the better off you will be.

Most college kids today are already deeply into the Internet, but few have thought about how to use the Internet to help build a career. That’s what brand-yourself.com is all about. As students get closer to that dreaded day when they have to find a job, they’re going to find that MySpace profiles and silly stuff on Facebook just ain’t going to work.

Suffice to say a good personal brand is more than a snappy resumè and a Facebook page full of keg stand pictures.

A cool personal branding site for college students « Wally’s Follies

How is the Resume Looking? Use SigEp and work experience.

Brother Chuck Eberly (OGH) has passed this along:

Dear Brothers,

I know you are in college and for many of you graduation seems like it is some distance away. The challenge is that getting a job AFTER graduation depends directly on what you do now to "stand out from the crowd" and make yourself the most likely job candidate.

What employers are looking for these days are people who show personal initiative, organizational leadership, and yes, solid GPAs. What student organizations do you belong to? Are you an officer? What jobs are you working at the same time you are a student? Are you keeping your student loans as low as possible? What work are you doing during the summer? Do you have a summer internship in the field of your major? What is your GPA? For most companies, men with anything below a 3.0 is just not even considered for employment. What can you do NOW to plan ahead?

Each person has different, individual, specific issues that support him to achieve. Let me support your efforts. Ask me and I will do my best.

Grads Face 'One of the Worst Job Environments in Years'
It wasn't long ago that universities were busy juggling visits from corporate recruiters and coaching students on how to weigh competing job offers. But in today's rough economy, schools are reporting fewer recruiter visits and openings, and less negotiating room.

T.J. Sullivan Speaks to Resumes

Resumes: What stands out?
from our friends at The Apathy Myth: A Blog for America's Student Leaders

I am busy reviewing resumes tonight. There's nothing quite like sitting in front of a stack of 30 resumes to remind you why people get paid good money to do human resources work. It makes my head hurt. As I look through pages and pages, I have very little confidence that the typical resume package tells you any of the things you REALLY need to know about a person you plan to hire. It's a crap shoot, at best.

But, since I just spent the better part of three hours poring through these resumes, I thought it might be worthwhile to share some of my observations. Maybe as you do your job search this year or next, you'll keep a couple of these observations in mind.

I'm sure half of what I'll tell you here flies completely in the face of what they tell you at the career center. But, oh well. I'm the one offering a job today.

• I liked the resume packages that came in the mail better than the ones that came to me via email. They showed more effort and care. I know it's "old school," but I liked the texture of a nice piece of stationery paper that an applicant picked out. I liked that they took the time to assemble a package and mail it to me. You just don't get that in a resume that is sent via email.

• I enjoy a little color when I'm digging through 30 resumes. A few of the packages were a bit more colorful and lively, particularly when it came to the work samples. I liked that.

• Four resumes came without a cover letter. I tossed them. If you can't even bother to write a basic cover letter, then you don't want to work for me. Also, I had a couple whose idea of a cover letter was a three line email that said, "Please find my resume attached..." No, thanks.

• If you don't specifically refer to the position I'm offering and explain why it interested you, then it's obvious that you're applying to 100 jobs, and mine is just one in the pile.

• Several of the cover letters said "Dear T.J.". Hey, if you don't know me, would it kill you to call me "Mr. Sullivan?" I'm not a super-formal guy, but it seems like a good rule of thumb to refer to the person hiring as "Mr." or "Ms." until a level of familiarity is established. And, as for that argument of not knowing whether "T.J. Sullivan" was a man or woman, a quick Google or visit to my company's website would have answered that question.

• I like letters of recommendation a lot, but I like them even more when the person writing explains why you are special. It's not much of a recommendation when they just said you did your job. If you ask people to write letters of rec, make sure they dig you enough to write a letter that makes you sound like a truly amazing person.

• I had one woman who didn't capitalize "I" in her materials. It wasn't a typo. She just hates capital letters, I guess. Of all the ways to show some individuality in a resume package, that's a pretty dumb one.

• Another woman told me her salary qualifications, and they happen to be $20,000 more than what I'm offering. The salary range I'm offering is in the published job announcement. That one was a head-scratcher.

• I really, really like it when people explain in their cover letter why this job interests them. Everyone tells me that they are qualified, would be a good fit, and have lots of special skills. But, I want to know why THIS JOB. How does it fit into your goals, your dreams, your plans for your career?

• Tell me something from your life that you ENJOY. I guess there are career advising types who would tell you to keep the personal stuff out. But, I love it when people tell me they are passionate about water skiing, or writing poetry, or raising guinea pigs. It gives me a glimpse into who you are as a person, and since I'll be working with that person every day, I like these sort of things