Thursday, November 28, 2019

6 Skills and Drills for Your Resume

6 Skills and Drills for Your Resume6 Skills and Drills for Your Resume01Your resume is what will set you apart from the competition- so long as its well written, free of errors, and accurately portrays your partieal brand. Below well explore the many skills and drills for your resume that can help you get it perfected.This includes customizing your resume, maintaining multiple formats, avoiding mistakes,usingresume tricks to increase your visibility, and handlingemployment gaps and applicant tracking systems. Read on for a list of great resources to help you make the most of your resumeHere are six skills and drills for your resume1. Customized ResumesCustomizing your resume for EVERY job you apply to is important. bedrngnis only does it show employers your best side for the job you are applying for, but it shows you put in the effort to get your resume into their hands.How to Customize Your Resume for Each Job ApplicationHow to Write Unique Resumes and Cover Letters3 Key Tips to Cus tomize Your Resume3 Answers Your Resume Should Give RecruitersHow to Write Customized Resumes and Cover Letters7 Ways to Tailor Your Resume to the Situation2. Resume FormatsIn the digital age, its necessary to have multiple resume formats. From digital files andcreative formats, to resumes exploring your creativity, you need to know the many different formats to be successful.3 Examples of Resumes for Flexible Jobs5 Tips for Creating a Video Resume on YouTube8 Tips to Make More Creative Resumes6 Tips for Using a Creative ResumeWhy You Need an Online Resume5 Easy Tips to Make Your Resume Virtual5 Alternatives to a Traditional Resume Format6 Reasons Why You Need to Have Several Resume Versions3. Resume MistakesWere all human, but in a job search, resume mistakes can spell disaster. Rather than leaving it in the hands of fate, use these resources to avoid killer resume mistakes.Will One Resume Typo Ruin Your Job Chances?8 Reasons Why You Didnt Get the Job7 Quick Fixes for Your ResumeQu ick Fixes to 7 Common Resume MistakesIs There a Lie on Your Resume? ProbablyJob Search Checklist Where Are You Going Wrong?3 Common Resume Lies You Might Accidentally Commit4 Famous Resume Lies and Their Lessons40 Job Application Buzzwords Job Seekers Should AvoidResume Fonts Which to Use, Which to DitchWhy Lying on Your Resume Is Never a Good IdeaAre There Lies on Your Resume? Most Likely, Yes4. Resume TricksEven with the best intentions, getting your resume into the hands of a real person can be difficult. The resources below show you the many tricks you can use to maximize your opportunities.The Best Day to Send Your ResumeHow to Tell Stories on Your Resume5 Secrets of a Resume Writer3 Tips to Organize the Skills Section on Your ResumeUse Job Search Keywords to Land Your Next GigWhy Your Skills Matter More Than Your Job TitleCareer Accomplishments to Put on Your ResumeWriting a Summary of Qualifications Thats Awesome 3 Tips6 Resume Editing Tricks That ImpressHow to Beef Up Your W ork History33 Resume Headers That May Work for You3 Answers Your Resume Should Give Recruiters5. Applicant Tracking SystemsApplicant tracking systems, also known as ATS, or the bane of every job seekers existence, are a difficult but unavoidable part of job searching. Know how to make your resume play nicely with these systemsApplicant Tracking Systems The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly5 Ways to Stand Out in an Applicant Tracking SystemHow to Break Through Online Job Application Systems5 Tips to Apply for Jobs in Confusing Online Application SystemsHow to Prep Your Resume for Automated Resume Scanners6. Employment GapsFrom career changers to stay-at-home parents to retirees, employment gaps are something many people have to manage. These skills and drills for your resume will help you make the most of any gap in employment.7 Resume Tips for Unemployed Job SeekersHow to Present a Job Gap in a Positive Light5 Resume Tips for Stay-at-Home ParentsHow to Fill Gaps on Your ResumeHow to Handl e Gaps in Your Resume Like a ProHow to Explain Gaps in Your ResumeSAHMs How to Handle an Employment Gap in Job ApplicationsFor more great skills and drills for your resume check out the Resume Tips category on the blogReaders, what skills and drills do you utilize to make the most of your resume? Share your tips with us below

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The underutilized power of questions

The underutilized power of questionsThe underutilized power of questionsWhen people think of Einstein, they see a lone genius with his discoveries.Mostof usdont quite understand what exactly these discoveries were, but we all learnfairlyearly on that he changed ourunderstandingof physics.Similarly, Leonardo da Vinci is familiar to us mostly for his famousMona Lisa,and we know that his notebooks also contained a wide variety of sketches that predicted inventions in science and engineering.Theseimmediateimages that we have of themcreate amental narrativein our mind that associates their intellectwith an ability to produce answers.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraAfter all, without Einstein, there likelywould be noTheory of General Relativity, and who knows how far behind the world would be rightnow.While Da Vinci didnt quite shift our understanding of reality to that degree, it mak es you wonder how much mora progress we could have made if something welches actually done with the sketches he produced.Yet, this narrative is limited in the broader context.Theanswersare what history remembers,but they dont represent the process that produced them.Neither of them actually focused too much on getting to a solution.Of course, once they knew what they were looking for or producing, they put in the work to get to an end, but thats only a verysmallpart of it.BothEinstein and da Vinci, like many other effective people,were driven primarilybyasking rather than answering, andit was the strength of their questions that ultimately shaped their lives.How Useful AreAnswers?At some point or another,we all want to know the meaning of life, andits no secret that everyone is looking for a formula to guarantee happiness.The problem is that evenif you were to randomly find an answer to these questions, they likely wouldnt mean anything to you.Everyanswer isconfinedto the context wi thin which itoperates, andif you havent walked through the path that leads to that context, then the answer will either be completely irrelevant to you or it will cause confusion.Further yet,somanyof us spend our timelooking for such answers without realizing what exactly we want from them.Sure,you want to be happy, but what does that even mean and why is it important?Just because you know that the Theory of General Relativity is one of the pillars of modern physics doesnt mean that this fact is going to improve your life in a tangible way.If you dont understand the broader context within which this theory is true, all it does is lead to more noise and disorientation.In a way,our love of answers comes from our need for certainty.We havean innate attraction to the idea of knowing something, regardless of whether or not its worth knowing.This rarely leads in the right direction.The real secret, as both Einstein and Da Vinci knew,wasnt to strive for certainty,buttobe guided by curiosit y.It was to first do the work ofasking the right things before seeking a solution.Creating Smaller Circles ofRealityTherealitywe know is ahugely confusing place defined by its complexity.To dive in and look for answers in this messisto invite more problems than solutions.You cant just ask the world to organize itself.What you can do, however, ismake the effort yourself.If youpay attention to whatsaroundyou, andrather than immediately manipulating things to fit into your existing mental models,you just observe and then ask,you gain a huge advantage that pays dividends throughout any process.Thepower of questionsis that theyallow you to take something big and messy,like our observation oftheworld,and use it to create smaller circles of reality that are more clearly defined.Its creating this definition that reallyallows you to zone in on things.Instead of looking for happiness or the meaning of life, youstart by first asking the obvious questions that everybody neglects.What is happine ss?Why is knowing the meaning of life relevant?Much of the time,the more you ask and the smaller your circle of reality gets, the more you realize thatmany of thesequestions dont actually require an answer.At least not one that is relevant to your life.Other times, youre able to focus in beyond the surface-level assumptions that drive the need for an answer.The result is often the realization of a core truth that generally has nothing to do with the initial starting point.Questions are what truly matter.The TakeawayEinstein got a taste of his future theoryby first asking himself what it would be like to ride a light wave like a surfer rides an ocean wave.Da Vinci spent his timeasking so many questions in his famous notebooks that eventually thosequestions couldnt help but lead to an answer.If you look at the life of any introspective genius, youll notice a similar underlying curiosity.This curiosity is slow to seek certaintybecause its busy getting the context right.Paradoxically, t hats ultimately what leads it to the right answer rather than any random one.In the words of one of my personal heroesBertrandRussellThe greatest challenge to any thinker is statingtheproblem in a way that will allow a solution.We all have a naturaltendency to get stuckfocusing on surface-level problems thatare so far detached from the reality were actually trying to understand that we end up pushing ourselves in the wrong direction.The good news is thatit doesnt take a genius to remedy it.It just requires us to bemore aware andless attached to discovering pre-packaged solutions.A lot of the confusion in life stems from an inability to narrow down reality to the part of it that actually matters for our intents and purposes.Luckily,if you ask the right questions, thats entirely solvable.This article originally appeared on Design Luck.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from nesthkchen Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Thursday, November 21, 2019

7 Careers for Creative Minds

7 Careers for Creative Minds 7 Careers for Creative Minds Much has been made in recent years of the need for more young Americans to specialize in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, and rightfully so, for these areas of study will only become more valuable as our society becomes increasingly reliant on technology and highly engineered products.But lets notlage be so quick to cast off our friends in the arts and humanities. Those of you who have degrees in fine arts, or English, or anthropology we need your skills In fact, as the demand for STEM services grows, the demand for people with creative minds grows with it. After all, well always need creative people to help us make sense of how we interact with new services and technologies.Here are seven great careers that prove your creative mind and college major arent a wasteafter all.1. Animator/IllustratorYes, weve all heard of Pixar. Weve all heard of DreamWorks. We know theres a market out there for good illustrators and digital animators, and there has been for a number of years. What a lot of people dont realize, however, is that this field is set to explode in the coming years.Think about all those commercials you see for the many apps involving some variation of the words clash, war, clan, and/or titans. Every single one of those games relies heavily on its graphics animators to produce great gaming experiences. On top of that, were seeing more and more how insanely realistic video game graphics are getting these days. If animation and illustration are in your skill set, youre in luck.2. Interior DesignerOne of the more lucrative career paths for creative types, the world of interior design is perfect for anyone who has a visual artistic liebreiz but also values practicality. This job is all about considering the ways in which people interact with physical spaces the lighting, the arrangement of furniture, the colors within a room and tailoring that space so that it e licits a certain response from people.Most tend to think that interior designers are only for people with fancy houses. Thats far from the truth. Every commercial space and even some industrial spaces is designed and laid out with a high degree of intentionality. Think about it you wouldnt design a living room the same way you would a weight room or a collaborative office space, would you? Thats where interior designers (and, in some cases, commercial and industrial designers) come in.3. Video EditorAlmost one-third of all people who use the Internet watch videos on YouTube. Thats nuts. So, yes, its safe to say that we are living in a generation of visually obsessed people. In fact, most companies (the smart ones, at least) aretailoring their absatzwirtschaft efforts toward making visual impacts on consumers. This means youve got a world of video-crazy users ready to be wowed.But lets face it not all videos on YouTube are Oscar-worthy. Far from it. So, video editors, heres where y ou can really make an impact a well-shot, well-edited video can be the make or break factor in terms of consumer impact. Its an underappreciated field, for sure, but a vital one.4. Print EditorOkay, English majors, fess up Youve read too many articles,emails, andtext messages that were riddled with infuriating grammar mistakes, and it made you want to rip your hair out. Right? Its okay. Weve all been there. Luckily for you, theres a way to channel all that grammar rage editingOf course, when I say print, I dont mean print exclusively most things written these days dont actually appear anywhere in print. Still, the job of an editor is acrucial one. It helps people with important messages get those messages across in powerful, coherent, and grammatically sound ways. More and more, companies with technical focuses are realizing they have a dire need for people who understand good writing and youre here to help them out.5. Web/App DesignerThe Internet makes the world go round these day s. What does this mean? Well, if you owna company, it means that your website is of critical importance to yoursuccess.But its not enough just to have a website. That website hasgot to look good. Its got to attract users eyes, rope them in, and make them want to explore. Reaching all these criteriacan only be done through avery complicated and subtle art form and only by the best Web designers out there.Companies like Toptal are launching Toptal Designers and taking musiknote of the importance of quality digital designers, so if you have these skills, get ready. People want your services.6. Technical WriterRemember how we were talking about print editors earlier, saying that the world still needs good writers? Yeah, thats still true perhaps now more than ever.You see, as the world becomes increasingly tech-dependent, more and more tech jargon will begin to swirl around us, andmost of us wont have a clue as towhats going on inside the technology that powers our lives.But tech compa nies would really love it if their grand announcements of new technologies and products were able to be understood by the average consumer. What they need, effectively, are translators people who can put this high-level tech jargon into laymans terms. Thats why technical writers are so valuable these days They canunderstand the technology and to put it in termsthatanybody elsecan understand.Technical writers arent just for the tech world the legal world and the medical spheres need technical writers just as badly.7. Avertising SpecialistWe all want to be Don Draper, right?Okay, maybe not. I guess he did some pretty terrible things. But still, he sure did turn us on to the glitz and glamor of the advertising worldIt may not be Mad Men, but the advertising industry is still a great option for creative minds looking to have a real impact on the business world. Weve already established that were living in a visual world. Now more than ever, people are paying a premium to have their pr oducts displayed in the world as attractively as possible.Advertising gives you the chance to really toy with peoples minds, make them think certain things, and even elicit certain feelings about the products youre promoting. Pretty cool, right? You have the power of persuasion and creativity on your side. Go use them