3 Reasons Why Only 5% of Resumes Are Above Average

Every day, about 300 different resumes come into my staffing firm. Unfortunately for many, it would be generous to say a mere 5% of incoming resumes are well-written, thus giving the applicant a significant chance at getting what the market considers to be a competitive job.

Here are 3 mistakes that the other 95% consistently make:

1. Abusing the adjective "Entrepreneurial"

The adjective "entrepreneurial" is just like "spiritual" as it has different meanings, some positive, some negative, some neutral to everyone.

However, both to myself and, from what I've experienced over the years, to a lot of small business employers, the word is a big negative.

Here's what many of the small business entrepreneurs whom I've worked with think:

If someone is so entrepreneurial, what's to say that they won't go start their own business in a few months, thus leaving my company and me nowhere. Also, if this person is as entrepreneurial as they claim, I am going to possibly be hiring a future competitor?

When it comes to corporate, using entrepreneurial is neither here nor there, but if you use the word have an example as to why you are one of the very few who can back it up. A sentence that starts like this seems more average than you would know:

"An entrepreneurial sales professional..."

2. Stop Tweaking Your Resume - It's Like Getting Plastic Surgery One Too Many Times

Market yourself how you want to market yourself and how you want other to see you. 99.99% of job seekers end up tweaking their resume to what they heard may be a good term during elevator chat or what their cousin claims got them their job.

With your resume, it is imperative that you feel comfortable with how you are represented and stick to that making tweaks infrequently. Changing too often is a psychological negative as there are too many drivers that have nothing to do with your resume that could be the reason as to why a particular employer did not get back to you.

Also, if you find yourself having to tweak your resume more than a few sentences max for every job you are applying to, you are applying to jobs that you are not qualified for.

Make a rule every time you change your resume:

Make the rule that if you change your resume because you heard that your friend got their job after they did x, you must wait two weeks prior to changing it again. This should make you think more and make unnecessary, unhelpful changes less.

3. Don't make your objective more than 3 lines.

The reason why many online publications have short paragraphs is because web readers get very scared and off-put by the thought of reading long paragraphs. You will never see a chunk of text at the top of any NYTimes.com article because the reader would have the WSJ.com bookmarked the next day.

If you must write a book prior to having the resume reader see your experience (and sometimes it's necessary), make it well written and form a new paragraph after every two sentences.

Also, always widen out your margins as the odds of the resume reader reading the 2nd page of your resume is very, very low. Though, don't prompt this to make your resume 1 page. Instead, the MS Word real-estate to your advantage.

In Summation:

After these three 3 are taken care of, I"ll gladly give more. However, by that time, hopefully you've followed these 3 enough to where you are employed by the "stretch job" that you thought would not even call you for a 1st interview.

Tips To Overcome Home Sickness While Working Abroad

Home sickness is defined as distress caused by separation from a specific home environment. Students who join universities and colleges or those who go abroad are affected by homesickness. As they are exposed to different environments and new people they are sometimes overcome by homesickness. Some students don't get homesick, but there are others who are overwhelmed by the new experience. The main signs and symptoms of homesickness are: Nostalgia, grief, depression, anxiety, topophilia, adjustment disorders, withdrawal, sadness, claustrophobia, and agoraphobia. Homesickness is felt more by the people who are furthest from home for example international volunteers, international students, international workers and expats. Homesickness can strike at any moment, one week into the volunteer work abroad or a month later. It's natural for volunteers to become homesick as they are many miles away from home and they can't go back as soon as they want.

Here are a couple of remedies to homesickness:

1.  Keep in touch.  Keeping in touch with family and old friends who are at home, is one of way of keeping homesickness at bay. The volunteers can use the following to keep in touch: emails, Skype, Facebook, Tweeter, calling and texting. Most of these resources are available in many parts of the world unless the volunteer is in remote areas. The quality of the resources varies depending on the location of the volunteer for example the speed and availability of internet. When feeling lonely and homesick the volunteer could try and communicate with those who are back at home. Talking to them will lift up the spirits of the volunteers. Finding out things that are going on at home will help the volunteer feel connected to their families.

2.  Carry something from home. Carrying something from home could help the volunteer overcome homesickness. Carry things that have some sentimental value and could remind the volunteer of home. The volunteer can carry developed photos, a pillow from home, perfume or cologne of a loved one, favorite movies, music, stuffed animals and an old scrapbook. Having these familiar things will make the place where the volunteer is staying more comfortable. These small mementos remind the volunteers about home and make him or her happy.

3.  Make friends.  Making new friends is a great way to get over homesickness. While the volunteer is abroad, s/he should make friends with the local people and other volunteers. As there will be other volunteers working with them, they will help to adjust to the new environment. The other volunteers will help to form a support network whereby they will help solve common problems. The volunteer will be able to talk about his or her feelings about missing home and the others will help them. The other volunteers will cheer up the homesick volunteer. Constantly meeting new people will take the volunteers mind away from home and help to embrace the new environment. Meeting new people will help to fit into the new culture. Spending time with other people cures homesickness.

4.  Keep busy.  Volunteers feel homesick the most when they are idle. When they feel homesick the volunteer should look for activities to keep their minds engaged. The volunteers should focus on the volunteer abroad work and look for ways to be more productive. They could stick to a schedule that keeps their minds occupied. When the volunteers are not working, they look for other interests and hobbies that will keep them busy. They should try to keep up with their hobbies while they are abroad. They should take this opportunity to make the most of their stay by visiting new places and finding out new experiences. The busier the volunteer is the less time s/he will be feel homesick.

Article Source: http://travel.ezinemark.com/how-to-overcome-home-sickness-while-volunteering-abroad-170852b7188.html

Photo courtesy of SXC.HU 

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