In this economy, it’s important to do everything you can to get a recruiter to remember you. Going the extra mile could be the difference between getting a job offer and not getting one. An MBA and experience alone won’t impress recruiters, but by following these helpful tips, you could increase your chances of getting an interview.

Send a Follow-Up Note

Following up with a recruiter by sending them a note is an ideal way to get them to remember you. A handwritten note will make you stand out from other applicants, and remind the recruiter that you are available, interested, and thoughtful. It’s important to send a follow-up note in the right way. Be sure to let the recruiter know that you enjoyed speaking with them, and reiterate your interest in their company. Don’t talk about yourself too much, but do feel free to include some highlights relating to your education and work experience. Above all, mention that you hope to hear from them in the future, and include your contact information so they can easily get in touch with you.

Learn How to Tell a Compelling Story

When talking with recruiters, they’ll want to know more about you. They can find out the basics from your résumé, but what they really want to know is why. Why did you choose to go to a particular college? Why did you decide to major in History before going on to complete your MBA? Why did you decide to pursue an MBA after five years of experience in electrical engineering? Most of all, why do you want to work for their company? If you have an engaging story, one that is compelling and memorable, recruiters are more likely to remember you and want to speak with you again. Practice telling the story of how you got to where you are today with a friend or family member. It will make it much easier to tell your life story to a recruiter if you’ve told it dozens of times before to someone else.

It’s also important to be prepared to talk about why you want to work for their company. Recruiters are used to hearing MBA students give a short answer to why they want to work for their company. To really blow everyone else out of the water and make the recruiter remember you, have a more detailed answer prepared. For maximum effectiveness, make your answer about how your education and experience can benefit the company. You want to talk about how you can be an asset, but you don’t want to focus on how getting the job would benefit you personally. All of the focus should be on how hiring you would be beneficial for the company.

Show Them What You Can Do

A great way to get a recruiter to remember you is to prepare something that really shows what you can do. For example, if you’re an MBA student hoping to get a marketing job after graduation, you could prepare a brief presentation that highlights some ways you believe the company could increase sales. Whatever your field of interest, make a mock presentation and show it to the recruiter, then ask if you can email them a copy later.

Andy Anderson is a career counselor and writes for a site that outlines the best MBA programs, featuring extensive information and listings for the best online MBA programs available.

Many people are out of work, and they are looking for new jobs. With the slow economy, many people have been laid off due to a company having to downsize their expenses. Some of the companies thought this could save their company from going out of business completely; but this caused more people to start looking for new employment. Being unemployed is hard enough, but it is even harder trying to save on the gas used to hunt a job. But there are some tips that might help you conserve your gas usage while you look for that new job.

The first tip is to use your existing contacts and people you know. Inform them that you are now looking for employment, and if they know of any job openings to let you know. With the social media’s, we have more contacts than ever before; and the social medias can be used to our advantage. When you let people know you are looking for a job, you will have a chance to hear about a job opening sooner. By using this method, you can conserve your gas since you will only drive to job sites that are actually hiring.

A second method to conserve your gas is to prepare a resume that you can mail or fax to possible new employers. They will have the opportunity to review your resume, and then they can call you for an interview if they are interested in talking to you. This is another opportunity for you to conserve your gas; since you will only travel to them if they call you in for an interview.

A third method to save your gas usage is to look online for a job, and post your completed resume on some sites. But you will still need to apply for some of these jobs in person. There is several online job search engines that you can use to find a job in your area. These sites will allow you to post your resume, and the employers that are interested will be able to contact you by email or phone. This can narrow your travel time down and conserve your gas. You will only be going to employers that have shown an interest in you; you will not be making trips to every job you found online.

There will be a time that you will need to leave your house and actually go to the physical location of a business to look for a job. It is better to have a list of where to go to look for a job at before you leave home; this will make your driving more efficient and use less gas on the trip. Having a good road plan will ensure less gas usage. You will know exactly where you are going without making unnecessary turns and using more gas. It might not seem like very much saved, but every dollar you can save on gas adds up.

Another gas saving tip is to check your area for job fairs. A job fair will be in one location, and you will have opportunities to meet company representatives from the areas. The companies are looking for employees to represent their company. By attending a job fair, you will get to meet these representatives of these companies on a personal level; and all at one location. This will save you the gas of going to each individual company.

If you are unemployed, you will want to conserve all your money to pay your bills. Conserving the gas it takes to travel for job hunting is no different. Locating the best job can become expensive if you do not follow these tips. If you go out and just travel around with no idea of where to look or not care how much gas you use, then you will be broke before you find a job. Simple planning techniques are the solution to save gas while job hunting as well as using your contacts and online searches; you can save gas.

Marcie McDonald is an insurance consultant who writes for cheapestcarinsurance.org.uk and highly recommends checking online for car insurance comparison websites. This site even includes classic car insurance quotes.

Do you remember what it was like when you were still at school and the weekend started to wind down? At around 3pm on a Sunday you started to feel sad, your eyes were drawn to your school bag which still needed to be packed and you might have started to dread what the maths teacher had in store for you over the coming week. It wasn’t a nice feeling. You think it will be better when you finish school and perhaps for a brief period of college it is. Then, a few years down the line, you look up after reading the Sunday papers, realise that it’s 3pm and you have to go to work the next day. You feel sad, your eyes are drawn to your briefcase and you start to dread what your boss has in store for you over the coming week.

Does it sound familiar?

Logic tells us that any job is better than no job, especially with unemployment being the way it is. But hating your job, as over 80% of working people do, takes a huge emotional and psychological toll which often manifests in physical illness (real, feigned and imagined).

The effects are not only felt in people’s personal lives but also in the corporate environment. People who hate their jobs simply aren’t as productive as those who love their jobs, or feel more or less neutral about going to work every day. Job haters tend to use all their available sick days in a given year, they take long coffee breaks, gaze out the window and generally seek distractions. The quality of their work is also often poor because they lack the motivation to put in the effort required.

Of course, quality of work doesn’t suffer as much when the boss is something of a demon.

Horrible bosses are able to suck the joy out of even the most satisfying jobs. Countless people who are passionate about their career paths stumble in the face of a boss with absolutely no people skills. Horrible bosses come in all forms. There are those that micromanage every single process, that are weak and unable to lead, that take all the glory and shrug off all the blame, that delegate everything, that lose their tempers and shout, that are hypocritical, that gossip, that express overt favouritism … the list goes on.

The sad truth is that the perfect boss doesn’t exist. Even bosses that seem decent for years can turn on a dime and make life impossible. It’s up to you how you decide to handle it. Some people have a very basic philosophy: they won’t work for anyone who doesn’t respect them. Other people don’t have that luxury. Mortgages, kids in school, car payments, insurance, pension plans and medical aids are all very effective at keeping people miserable in jobs they hate.

Tips to survive the job you hate

• Talk about it. It’s not just enough to complain to your friends and family about how much you hate your job; you also have to talk to someone in your HR department. The people in the HR department are there for their ability to solve people-problems. They’re trained to help you manage stress and deal with internal hassles all while maintaining confidentiality. If the problem is a big one, like sexual harassment, then they will ask your permission before taking the matter further.
  If you work for a very small company without an HR department then you’ll have to bite the bullet and try talk to your boss or immediate manager.
• Get a hobby. As difficult as it sounds you need to make a concerted effort to leave your work problems at work. The best way to do this is to distract yourself with something that you love, or to try different things until you unlock your secret passion. Many community centres and libraries offer classes and groups for a range of activities, such as pottery, pencil drawings, scrapbooking, writing, yoga, pilates and aromatherapy. A lot of places will let you try out a lesson for free to see if you like it before committing yourself to the class. Find out about local sports clubs in your area, even if it’s just bowls or hiking. Alternatively, research some hobbies on the internet. You’ll find information and tutorials on anything from bird watching to knife making.
• Save the best for last. People have a tendency to leave the worst for last, but, thinking back to you childhood again, do you remember saving the best food on your plate for last? Remember holding breath while bolting the broccoli and then savouring the mashed potatoes? Revive this childhood tradition in the workplace. Rather than procrastinate and leave the most tiresome and dreaded assignments or tasks for the end of the day or the end of the week or the last minute of the deadline, get them done first. Having the worst behind you allows you to savour the bits of your job that you still enjoy. Otherwise, even the fun bits are tainted by the awful bits looming over your head.

If nothing helps and you still feel like crying in the car on your way to work every morning you should think very seriously about putting your CV on some job sites and expanding your horizons. In the end, no job is worth your self-esteem, dignity and sanity.

Sandy writes for a number of different blogs, on a number of different topics, including job posting software, advertising, travel, technology and the environment.

Many new college students, and continuing students, start to feel ambitious during their years in formal education. This usually translates as them signing up for more classes than they can handle. Let’s not beat around the bush, the number one thing that keeps college students from focusing more on school is that they spend too much time in social activities. Socializing in college is actually a very important part of the overall experience. However, you aren’t paying thousands of dollars in tuition to socialize. The purpose of college is to learn skills that will help you start a productive career. Thus, you need to learn to find a balance between all of your various duties and responsibilities in your college years. However, there are some circumstances that may justify you giving up on a class (and keep in mind that pure laziness is NOT listed below):

1. It looks like you are about to fail. If you have already wasted too much time at the beginning of the semester and it looks like you may possibly fail the course if you continue, you may have the option of dropping the course. Most colleges have a specific deadline set where they allow students to “withdraw” from a course without it affecting their GPA. If you are already failing and the deadline hasn’t passed, you will still have time to withdraw safely from the course without any negative effects.
2. You are sacrificing too much sleep. Sleep is one of the most important things our bodies need to keep us healthy, just as important as eating healthy. Too many college students sacrifice this valuable commodity in order to do all the things they want/need to do. If you find yourself struggling in your classes because of lack of sleep, then you should obviously rethink whether you are wasting too much time socializing, or whether you have been too ambitious in your schedule this semester. If it’s the socializing, then you know what you have to do. If it’s because you have a heavy course load, then you may want to rethink your class schedule.
3. Your roommates tell you that you look stressed. If other people are starting to notice that you are looking particularly stressed out, then obviously you should re-evaluate your priorities and coursework. Stress can have many detrimental effects on your health. If the stress is coming from a source not involving school, you may have to sacrifice something else to make that stress go away, or you may have to sacrifice school until you have taken care of that first problem. It all depends on what your particular source of stress is.
4. The class is ridiculously boring. If you start a course and find that it’s so ridiculously boring that your head hits the desk the second you sit down, you may want to reconsider taking the course. If it’s a general credit course, you’ll have no problem finding a different subject area that may interest you. If it is a course required for you major, you may want to rethink your major. . .
5. The professor is worse than Ben Stein. Remember those commercials for Clear Eyes in which Ben Stein talked in a monotone the whole time. . . well, unfortunately, there are many real professors who speak like that. There are also many that you may just straight-up dislike. If you dread going to class because you feel like the professor has a personal vendetta against you, you may consider dropping it. Although, learning how to deal with it will probably be great for your own character development.

Tiffani Azani is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers provides online tools for prospective students to help them connect with the best online colleges and earn a college degree.

Julia Child has become a household name among cooks in the United States and even throughout the world. Even beyond her death, her story and her impact on the culinary world continue to live on. While Ms.Child did not initially set out to become a world famous chef and household name, her career savvy and perseverance paid off by creating a career to which others can aspire to achieve.

Lesson #1 – Do Your Background Homework

Ms. Child is famous for her French cooking, but she did not know how to even speak French when she arrived in France with her husband in the 1940s. Determined to make her situation work, she invested the time and effort into learning the language of the culture that eventually became her passion. In order to advance your career, take classes, learn something new about your industry or technology.

Lesson #2 – Find Your Passion and Follow It

Ms. Child loved living in France. She also discovered that she loved French food. This passion and enthusiasm followed her throughout her entire career. Find out what you are passionate about and make it your life’s work. If it is sport fishing, find a way to integrate that into your work. Work should be something you enjoy and want to do, not something that is a dredge and to be avoided.

Lesson #3 – Keep Learning

Ms. Child did not start her career as a chef until she was well into her 30s. She was not only passionate about food, but she wanted to excel in being a chef. She took every class she could find and worked at it diligently until she had mastered whatever cooking technique or skill needed to succeed. Take the attitude that you never “arrive,” but instead are on an interesting and exciting journey.

Lesson #4 – Be Joyous

One of the things that set Ms. Child apart from chefs of her time was her enthusiasm and excitement about what she was doing. To watch her was to see her absolute joy and excitement about food, especially French food. Follow your joy and your passions and demonstrate and express your enthusiasm for your work.

Lesson #5 – Know that it Takes Hard Work

Being successful takes work. Ms. Child continued to be creative and find innovative solutions, even into her later years. She was willing to make the extra effort to not just pass her classes in culinary school, but wanted to be the top in her class. Do whatever it takes to reach your goals and achieve excellence in your field.

Lesson #6 – Acknowledge that You Make Mistakes and Keep Going

One of the things that Ms. Child did not waste time on was wallowing if she messed up and made a mistake. If something flopped, then it did not work and she moved on. She used failures as an opportunity to learn and moved forward. Know that you are human and will make mistakes. Use the lessons learned about what not to do and go forward, knowing you will do better next time.

Lesson #7 – Ask for Feedback

Ms. Child recognized that in her passion for French food, she was introducing something new to the American public at large. She frequently asked family and friends for feedback about what they liked and what they found easiest to make from her recipes and cookbooks. Be willing to hear what others have to say about your work and ideas.

Lesson #8 – Build on Your Foundation

Ms. Child was not satisfied to just be a cook. She wanted to be a chef, then she wanted to be a teacher. With each new skills, she developed a new set of goals and reached for them. Be willing to continue to develop your skills and build upon your foundation.

Lesson #9 – Be Willing to Test the Theory

Ms. Child quickly learned that food is a passion in France and an entire art unto itself. She became quite willing and wanted to test ideas and concept out, until she had absolute knowledge that they worked. Be willing to take a risk and challenge the status quo. You might be surprised and learn that just because something has always been done a certain way, does not mean it has to be done that way forever.

Lesson #10 – Value Yourself

Ms. Child’s first efforts at introducing French cooking to the American public were not easy. In fact, they took many, many years. She understood intuitively that what she wanted to accomplish was of value and could be successful. Even if you are faced with challenges in achieving your goals or introducing new innovations, stay determined and keep trying. Eventually, you will get there.

Another valuable lesson is to manage your finances and cut down any unnecessary expenses whenever possible. An easy way to cut down expenses is to do an online quote comparison at Kanetix Canada to find the cheapest car insurance quote and save money.

Finding a job is not what it used to be. For our parents a high-school diploma, and a little hard work meant you could have a successful career. Then, it got just a little bit harder. You needed to get your college degree. As long as you got some sort of degree, you would usually come out landing a pretty good job. Things have since changed. You have to get a degree that translates into something, and you have to compete to beat out more people, for less jobs. This is what the economy has seemingly turned into. There is one promising career path that has some high paying prospects. It is a little bit unconventional for the most part, but also has some amazing benefits. The career path I am talking about it the online job market.

In terms of lifespan, the internet is in its youth. Online jobs are just getting started, and there are many positions to be filled. The need for tech people is growing each day, and by 2016, 6 million jobs are expected to be available for online workers – according to HubPages. That is a huge number, and no other field is coming close to match that growth. The one hard part about online jobs, is much of the time the jobs are not traditionally listed, so either people are not looking for work, or they are not looking in the right places.

Finding jobs online, although plentiful, can take a little bit more intuition. While it is very possible to search for jobs online, and land one, there are many that go unseen. The fact is you have to constantly be looking. Swap information through forums, email enticing proposals to webmasters showcasing your skills, and most important of all you need to have something to show for yourself. If you have nothing to show, start small and do your absolute best quality work each time you take on a project. You also might want to consider building a website offering your particular services. This will put some legitimacy behind your offers, and can boost you sales just by people coming across your website. If you do not know how to build a website, hire someone to do it, or you could even use a simple WordPress theme for starting off. Now you are ready to get going on some work.

One of the most obvious talents that the internet needs is web designers. If you have the talent already, then great. If you don’t, the truth is HTML, and CSS are pretty simple languages to use. Javascript is slightly more complicated but it is also considered one of the easiest programming languages to learn. Even things like jQuery (which is essentially an simplified way to use Javascript) can make things easier, and more professional looking. After you have the necessary skills to build websites you can get started. You can apply for hundreds of jobs around the internet, or just simply start your own business. This market is quite saturated, but there are few things that you can do to become successful. First, offer to build your friends, family, or associates a website, if they need it. This might be your best learning experience when getting started. It will be less stressful working with someone you know at first, and you can slowly build your confidence along the way. It is very important to finish projects in a timely manner, and do your absolute best work each time. This will allow start building a portfolio and a solid reputation.

Programmers, are usually the highest paid, and most needed skill workers for online jobs. Now you cannot become a programmer overnight, and it certainly is a lot of work to learn even the basics. However, this is a very rewarding process, both monetarily, and mentally. If you are thinking about going back to school, computer science or computer engineering might be your best bet. This is the one field that you can guarantee to land a job after school. If you already have programming knowledge you probably know this first hand. If you can compliment your programming skills with creative web development, then you will have the opportunity to punch your own ticket.

One thing that is great about online jobs is that most likely you already have the talents to start making some money. Online jobs are not limited to web development and programming, although they are the most obvious. One of the easiest jobs to get into is writing. Writing can mean a number of different things on the internet. Obviously people need content writing services. Some websites have thousands of pages, and they cannot write all of that content themselves. If you have the ability to write good content, and at a good pace, you can make a lot of money. You can even sign up for textbroker.com and start writing articles today to make some money. Another form of writing online is blogging. If you can provide interesting, controversial, or funny content you might find your self with a following. Blogging is easier than ever with WordPress of Joomla templates. Once you have traffic coming to your website, there are a bunch of ways to make money, usually through advertisements. Writing content, either for another company, or yourself, can be very profitable.

Competition has been building up on the internet over the past ten years. This means that it is getting harder and harder for businesses to be seen and attract business. This is where search engine optimization comes in. The concept of search engine optimization is in nature not that complicated. Basically, you have to optimize your site in the best way possible for sites like Google and Bing to index your pages appropriately. The problem for businesses is that it is very time consuming, and essentially performing SEO takes a much time as anything else. There are a few different things you can do for SEO. There is onsite SEO, which involves proper coding, using correct header tags, and optimizing your site around keywords. Consulting on these subjects can help out a clients website dramatically within a few weeks. Then there is offsite SEO. The most important of which is link building services. SEO is a dynamic service that can provide a lot of benefits for your clients. Although it is time consuming, it can pay off, and you will learn a lot in the process.

The online job market is growing. Whether you cannot find a job, or are just looking for something different, the internet may be the answer. Almost every business is taking the web jump, and landing online. This is out of necessity, and also because it is convenient and profitable to have an online presence. This is opening up a wide array of job opportunities. You may consider even going to school in a computer related field. One thing is for sure, the online job market is the best place to find work in todays economy. Even managing social media outlets is a marketing job that is available. Start looking around today, and you might find yourself landing in a new career.

This article was written by Ben Anderson. Ben works online doing freelance web development. He also works as an SEO consulting, as well as providing a white hat link building service.

Many people decide on going to graduate school after they finish their four-year degree. Graduate school is a great way to continue your education and get your master’s degree or Ph.D. My sister is currently in graduate school and in order to get in, she had to send in letters of recommendation. This is a very crucial part of the application process. The school you are applying for will really look at the recommendation that the person gives you. They will take into account how the person recommends you and what they say about you. It is crucial to get someone’s opinion of your work ethic. In order to receive some good letters, follow these tips:

Content

You may think that the most important thing is to get a well-established and really smart person to write your letter. This is not always the best option. The best person to write your letter would be someone who knows you very well and has seen you work really hard in a class or work setting. This could be a teacher’s aid, rather than the professor. Asking someone who knows you best gives you a greater chance of proving your hard work to a graduate school. Choose someone who has seen you in group settings, or someone who has seen you solve problems in the work place. Graduate schools are going to be looking for students who are able to analyze situations and solve problems. When you are looking for your letter writer, don’t worry about all the credentials and degrees a person may have, look for someone who knows you personally and has seen you when you are working your hardest.

Asking

When you figure out who you are going to ask, set up a meeting with them. Be professional about it and do it in person, or at least over the phone. Make sure you ask them if they have time to do it. If they don’t have time, don’t take it personally. Writing a good letter of recommendation is a lot to ask from a person, and many people are too busy to do anything like that. If they do have time and they say yes, make sure to ask them what you can do to help them. If you meet with them in person, you can talk to them about your goals and your interests which will help them know exactly what kind of letter they should write.

Timing

Make sure you ask the person with plenty of time to spare. Do not throw it on them last minute because they will most likely not do it. Give them plenty of time to accept the assignment. You want to ask them way before you turn in your application because you want to make sure that it is in on time. Also, have a rough draft of your resume and personal statement done before you ask them so your letter writer can draw from those to make your application flow.

Start Now

If you are still getting your undergraduate degree, make sure you are finding connections with professors and other people at school or work. Work hard in group settings and show your professors that you are capable of doing well in any setting. Start preparing now in order to get the best letter you can possibly get. Do all your work and ask your teachers for help. They will get to know you if you are in their office during office hours getting help or if you participate a lot in class. Be a good student and you will get a good recommendation.

Meagan Hollman composes for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers gives people who want graduate, and undergraduate, credentials the way to discover which online masters degree programs fit their needs best, and help them reach their potential.

Your first day in any job is nerve-wracking and you might feel anxious about how to should conduct yourself in order to make the best first impression. Below are some top tips on how to survive your first day in your new job.

Smile and appear friendly

First impressions count and it is said that a person decides on their opinion of you within the first few seconds of meeting you. Therefore you want to impress them, especially if it is your first day with the company. Regardless of whether that person is a post person or a manager, you want them to remember you as a good addition to the company. As soon as you enter the building, you should have a big smile on your face and greet them with something pleasant. Also, make sure that you are wearing something suitable. Even if you are not sure of the dress code (some companies are more casual than others) dress smartly as this will always ensure that you appear professional.

Be enthusiastic about working with a variety of people

Working within most organisations will require you to work with a wide variety of people from all different backgrounds. Be enthusiastic about meeting and working with these people. It may be that you don’t initially get on this with certain employees, but make an effort to hide this. You never know, this could change as you get to know them better.

Listen and be prepared for the need to learn

Never assume that you know better. This can be difficult if you are used to working independently or maybe running your own business, but if you are walking into a new company then this is essential. Make efforts to listen to every point made by employees within your new company. They will have knowledge that you do not and they could provide you with handy tips that will make settling in easier.

Being prepared to learn is also another important thing on your first day. You will be bombarded with information about how things are done and you need to remember not to be resistant to change. Look upon it as a positive thing and a way of adding strings to your bow.

Ask questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It might be easier to stay quiet and feel like you are being less hassle to anyone working with you, but asking questions will benefit you in the future. Co-workers will be happier to answer questions a few days in, but they will not be so sympathetic when you have been with the company months and you are asking lots of questions then.

Take note of important points

Most organisations will have staff handbooks with lots of information about how you should conduct yourself. You might also get some sort of official induction which will provide you a chance to find out more about working within the company. Make use of this and follow the protocols set down by the company. This will help you to settle in and will help you to avoid having any disagreements with co-workers or superiors.

Don’t push the boundaries

The downside of being new is that you are being watched and judged. Therefore, be on your best behaviour and try not to get yourself noted for all the wrong reasons. When you have been at the company for a while you might be able to take an early lunch or risk being a little late, but at the beginning this should be avoided. Even if you haven’t got an official trial period imagine you do and then show yourself to be a reliable employee.

Steve Waller has helped people find their way back into work for years and getting them through their first day is all part of the service. He runs a job centre website that allows people to search for vacancies on a number of job boards quickly and efficiently to get the most out of their time.

Everyone knows that when searching for a job, the first task you will have to complete for a potential employer is, “Send a copy of your resume.” This is your first impression, and you will be judged. You don’t want to wait until your interview to “wow” them. If your resume doesn’t do it, you won’t even get a chance. Here are the fatal errors you can make on your resume that will most quickly get it sent to the “reject” pile.

Using a Word template to design your resume.

Not only do they usually look cheesy, but formatting is a nightmare. You can’t easily vary from the design without screwing up all your spacing. Use the templates for inspiration, but stick to your own style and keep it consistent. Don’t use any fancy fonts. No matter what, send your resume as a PDF so it looks the same on any computer.

Including an Objective.

Your objective is to get the job. Obviously. Instead, try starting with a short summary of your career and skills. Very short, which leads to the next point…

Writing too much.

Get to the point. Employers don’t want to waste time reading a lot of meaningless babble. Only include the most important, relevant information. Don’t write run-on sentences or long lists of adjectives. When employers are going through a huge pile of resumes, they don’t want to stop and decipher anything. Get to the point.

Not showing results.

Don’t just list all the responsibilities you had at your previous jobs. Show how you were an asset to the company. The most important thing a future employer wants to know is what you will do for them. Say how you came up with a new idea, saved your past employer money, got a specific result, or anything that is a quantifiable detail.

Aging yourself.

Don’t put a date on your education/degree. The important thing is you have it, not when you got it.

Getting off track.

Don’t let your resume go on longer than one page. Take out anything that your employers won’t really care about, like how you volunteer for your daughter’s Girl Scout troupe. Only include volunteer activities if they are relevant to the type of work you do.

Wasting space with outdated jobs.

It’s great that you’ve been employed since you were in high school, but most likely your current employers don’t need your entire work history. Most recent and significant ones are probably enough – remember, no more than one page.

Including a picture.

Come on, it’s not a beauty contest.

Stating your salary.

Your past salaries aren’t necessary and may too quickly put you out of the running just by being too below or too above your future employer’s idea of pay.

Forgetting your contact information.

Don’t leave out your cell number or your email. Give your employers two options for contacting you. Assuming they’ll just reply to your email isn’t enough.

Typos, poor grammar & spelling errors

There is absolutely no excuse for errors in this area. Use grammar checker have a friend check your work and proofread several times before hitting send.

If you don’t mess up in any of these ways, you’ll be in a good position to smoke your competition. These are some of the most common resume mistakes, and if you don’t make them you’re already proving yourself to be worth an interview, at least.

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Looking for a job can be more difficult than working. It takes self-belief and self-discipline. There’s always ‘something else’ more interesting to take you away from the task at hand – find the right job.

The first step is to create the right resume. (Resume bucket can help.)

Second, treat the day as if you were going to work. Get up, shower, shave, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed and have a place in your home that is “work.” Read the paper to keep yourself up-to-date with current events. During a future interview, the casual chat prior to the formal meeting might just mention the turmoil in Libya or whether the Lakers will have a good team this year.

If you want to take a break and surf the latest golf scores or play some online games, ensure you complete a significant amount of work first. Use the breaks as rewards for accomplishing something. Set a quota of jobs you will apply for in the week. There are several different approaches to applying for jobs, but I will mention only two here. The first is similar to fishing with a net. You throw out the net and troll and wait and hope. You are indiscriminate with what you catch and will throw out what you don’t want. Job hunting can be like fishing with a net. You send out the same resume and cover letter to many, many (many) locations. Likely, the job is lower skilled and you are hoping that your resume just happens to be at the top of the pile when the employer is looking.

The second approach is spear fishing. You have one shot and you wait for the perfect condition and the absolutely right fish. You try to make the perfect shot to get the perfect fish. Job hunting can be like this, too. You make sure your resume is tailor-made for each specific job. You leave off aspects of your work experience that don’t apply; you conduct significant research on the company and the specific position. You know the salary range, who the immediate supervisor is and where he or she went to University (web searches help). You invest significant time and energy for each individual application.

My suggestion is to have a combination of both approaches in the week. Send out several each day – the feeling of accomplishment you get when you’ve sent out a resume cannot be beat. But balance that with one or two “star” applications. Reach above where you think can. Aim high but take the time to do it right.

Now go fish.

Graham Addley has a wide variety of senior administrative and leadership experience – Cabinet Minister, Regional Development Manager, President of a Financial Institution, Board member of numerous organizations including a national literary festival and currently serves as Director with a Health Promotion Foundation. In 2009, Addley lived in Australia for a year where he wrote short stories and fulfilled his dream of being a radio DJ.