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Xandu posted:What kind of jobs is she looking at and what does she want to do? Also where do you live? There might not be demand for her skills in your area. What she really wants to do is work in the study abroad or international services office at a university — or something along those lines. That is pretty much what her MA focused on and what she did in Paris. We live in Richmond, VA. so Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond are super close. She has met with people at both schools but no luck so far. She applied for a handful of jobs (both in the international office and other departments) at VCU but hasn't gotten any call backs. She also reached out to K-12 schools in the area to see if they need a French teacher. One school emailed her back and said they are in need of a part time teacher but they haven't responded to my wife's follow up calls/emails. Additionally, we have a friend who does contract translation work for Google and she referred my wife to them as they need some more help. It is all through odesk and doesn't pay that well but we'll see if it goes anywhere. Anyways, we will be in Richmond for two years for my program so moving isn't an option.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:44
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Yeah K-12 French teacher and study abroad office were the first two things I thought of. Not being able to move will definitely limit her options with those though, there's only so many schools and not huge budgets in K-12 these days. Is it reasonable for her to commute to DC? She could maybe look at organizations like IIE. Beyond that, speaking fluent French is valuable, but it's not that rare or necessary for most companies, so she's going to have to find a way to prove her value beyond just that. Now that I look more closely at the resume, I do think it could be improved. Her most recent job, the internship in France, it doesn't really like she did anything of note. I don't think that's actually the case, she just needs to find a way to present what she actually did better, because right now I find it a little disconcerting seeing someone go from "consultant - worked on multi-million dollar projects" in 2007 to "actively participated in Welcome Day events" in 2012. Xandu fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 05:43
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Definitely look into working in Washington if the commute is reasonable, the options will expand several fold. IIE as mentioned is quite competitive but I suppose it's always worth a shot. Consider ESL/study abroad programs too. I'm a bit loath to recommend them since I've heard mixed reviews, but I know some do like working for EF and the like.
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Aug 7, 2013 11:58
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DC is probably too far away. It is pretty much a two hour commute. We can probably work on the resume but it is pretty much true. She worked as a consultant (which probably sounds fancier than it is) and she did work on pretty big projects. She hated it and went back to school to follow her passion — French. The main reason she stuck around is because they kept saying they were going to send her to their Paris office but never did (the economy fell apart). I not really sure how she can make her internship sound more impressive as that is what she did there.
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Aug 7, 2013 13:09
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I'm having a bit of trouble properly wording and quantifying a few of the things on my resume. At one of my previous jobs, we had a problem with having too many open box items on the shelves. I managed to come up with a system of advertising the open box items that helped to sell roughly 90% of our stock within a month. How would I word that to make it sound right? As for that job that I've been having trouble finding accomplishments to list for, I've got a total of 4 now:
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Aug 7, 2013 16:25
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neogeo0823 posted:I'm having a bit of trouble properly wording and quantifying a few of the things on my resume. So put in things that help people who don't know your company compare. Drop forklift operaion, unless you're applying for a job where that matters. The other stuff is more impressive. * Developed marketing plan to increase sell-through of stale inventory that resulted in 90% of it being sold within a month Try to come up with some sort of recognition for your safety adherence. Did you get an award, or recognition, or something like that? * Ranked as top salesperson for X months for 2 separate sales contests [and very briefly describe what you were selling and to who] * Took initiative to be cross-trained in 6 different departments, representing over 50% of the departments available. Things like that, where people can place your numbers in context, can be helpful if you think your accomplishments sound diminutive by themselves. Good luck!
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Aug 7, 2013 23:23
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Bisty Q. posted:So put in things that help people who don't know your company compare. Drop forklift operaion, unless you're applying for a job where that matters. The other stuff is more impressive. Cool. This is all great advice. I'm rewriting some parts, and then I'll post my draft for critique. EDIT: Should I edit out names, addresses, etc., for the copy I upload to dropbox? I guess it's personal preference, but still. neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Aug 9, 2013 |
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Aug 9, 2013 00:01
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About 2 months ago I applied for an administrative assistant job at an aerospace/defense company. The position required some security clearance. I never got an interview or heard anything back for them. Some other similar positions have been posted on their jobs website so I was going to work on my resume again and apply for those. I was thinking about it today and I remembered my name on my social security card is spelled incorrectly (two letters are switched to create a related spelling of my last name). I have no idea how long it will take to get that fixed. Should I get the card cleared up before I apply again?
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Aug 9, 2013 15:00
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They'll run the security clearance after you've basically been made a conditional offer. Having your name mispelled on official paperwork might make it more difficult, but having a name change on record probably won't be much better. Take it for what it's worth (  ) but there's a mispelling of my name in official federal record and nobody ever said boo.
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Aug 9, 2013 15:06
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redacted
johnny sack fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Aug 9, 2013 |
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Aug 9, 2013 17:10
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DON'T DO IT. Seriously. They didn't hire you, move on with your life. You have absolutely nothing to gain from calling out an HR person. Who knows, they might be hiring again next week, she might go to work for someone else, heck, she could forward your email to all of her HR friend. Don't do it. Also people can sense when you hate them or have only contempt for them because they didn't google what your degree was about. Watch your attitude.
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Aug 9, 2013 17:20
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FrozenVent posted:DON'T DO IT. Fine points. johnny sack fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Aug 9, 2013 |
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Aug 9, 2013 17:26
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So, I've decided that I really hate my current job. They pay me $8/hour to be a mechanic, plumber, IT wizard, cook, carpenter, roofer, interior decorator, cleaner, painter, and whatever else needs to be done. They have me work 10-12 hour days, and they expect me to be on call whenever I'm not working, and they've got me working nothing but closing shifts, which have me there till 3am or 4am every night. I put up with it because my boss had promised me a raise, more agreeable hours, and a promotion in the next two weeks. Today, he went out of town and left a note at my desk telling me in no uncertain terms that he is going to promote an employee who's literally just come back from being out for the last 6 months for a foot injury a day ago, because she's more OCD when it comes to cleaning than I am. gently caress.  The best part is that I worked the 12 hour shift today as a favor to him, so he could have the day off for a family emergency. What a slap in the face. Anyway, enough ranting about that. I've got just a couple small things left to work out for my resume, and then I'll be done with the first draft. I need to reword things for my earliest job listing, and figure out which things to keep and which ones to get rid of. I've got the following to choose from:
I know I definitely want to keep the first one, as you guys have already helped me out with it. Of the others, I'm not sure if I should keep the 3rd, as it's mentioned in the job above it. The 2nd seems like a keeper, as does possibly the 4th and 6th ones, but I'm not sure about the 5th one. Anything that gets kept other than the 1st one will need to be reworded, I think. My other question is about the summary of qualifications. What exactly am I doing with that? I know it's tailored to every job I'm applying for, but in what way? Am I just cherry picking the most relevant stuff from my job listings and rewording it to be shorter and have more of the words that are in the job description? Or do I do something else there?
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Aug 12, 2013 04:39
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Some of the things in your résumé are more relevant to certain jobs. Applying to a warehouse? Mention that you can drive a forklift. Applying to be a special ed. teacher's aid? They don't give a gently caress about your forklifting skills but they're very interested by your BA in developmental psychology. You have a couple of seconds to convince the reader not to bin your résumé. Make sure they spend those seconds reading something they care about.
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Aug 12, 2013 05:29
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What sort of things should I include as a high school student? Also, what sort of places should I apply for? I'd hate to work fast food so I've so far tried applying for places like Safeway or other retail places, but I figure if there's anything else I can broaden my range to it's worth a shot.
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Aug 12, 2013 06:41
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Anatharon, are you looking for a summer job or something else? Are you just trying to build a resume for college or do you actually want the money? If the latter, is it just so you have some additional spending money or is your family in a financial position that requires the extra income you could bring in bagging groceries? All of these matter to answer your questions, although, to be honest if you are looking for some extra spending money and it isn't just a Summer job, you'd probably be better focusing on your school work.
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Aug 12, 2013 15:38
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FrozenVent posted:Some of the things in your résumé are more relevant to certain jobs. Applying to a warehouse? Mention that you can drive a forklift. Applying to be a special ed. teacher's aid? They don't give a gently caress about your forklifting skills but they're very interested by your BA in developmental psychology. Sorry, forgot to mention, the field(s) I'm looking to get into are the more hands-on parts of tech support, IT, and system building. So, pretty much things like this, this, or this. Basically, I want to be building or fabricating something instead of sitting at a desk all day. I've got a real knack for computers, and enjoy fixing and building them, and I enjoy meeting new people and being in new environments.
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Aug 12, 2013 15:49
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So for cover letters, I read some mixed stuff about length. I'm shooting for a half page/250-ish words. I figure I've got a very short window before they decide to trash it or not. Do I bother putting contact info at the bottom since it is gonna be on the resume itself
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Aug 13, 2013 03:00
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THE MACHO MAN posted:So for cover letters, I read some mixed stuff about length. I'm shooting for a half page/250-ish words. I figure I've got a very short window before they decide to trash it or not. Do I bother putting contact info at the bottom since it is gonna be on the resume itself If you're physically mailing it (for some ungodly reason), yes. Otherwise, no. Half a page is a good ballpark length.
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Aug 13, 2013 04:18
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Think I already know the answer but you people are presumably smarter than me. Looking at entry level IT poo poo, a lot of it asks for previous customer service/call center experience. The last job I had was in a call center, and I did quite well while there. Problem is, I had some serious family poo poo happen that I needed to attend to, and I left the position after a little under two months. I've just been leaving it off my resume entirely. Is that the right call?
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Aug 13, 2013 16:10
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Bisty Q. posted:If you're physically mailing it (for some ungodly reason), yes. Otherwise, no. Thanks! Another quick question: jobs that ask for salary requirements on the cover letter. Do I even bother wasting space with a number but saying how I'd be open to negotiation, kind of like what the op recommends in negotiation? Or do I just straight up say salary: $65,000 or whatever it is I am asking? Also, someone mentioned that on the ones that request it on the cover letter, just put: see resume and stick it there. Is this a shifty little tactic that is gonna piss off some HR intern and get me garbage canned? Also another, but this would be something brought up in negotiation. A couple people (one in HR, another who is successful and her mother is a payroll manager) insist that I was underpaid at my last place and to bump up that number come negotiation. They both said it is illegal to ask my previous employer or me for proof of my salary. Kinda hesitant about this, but job hunting in general just stresses me the hell out. Is this a bad idea? THE MACHO MAN fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Aug 14, 2013 |
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Aug 14, 2013 00:52
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Could someone please so kind as to give me a critique on this draft of my resume? I'm pretty sure the template's going to need reworking, since I've heard people say that about similar ones. I really need to get this thing completely fixed up as soon as possible and get it out there.
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Aug 14, 2013 16:45
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I may have missed this somewhere in the thread, but what is the consensus on including hyperlinks in a resume? I'm going to be submitting the resume as a word document in all foreseeable cases, and the hyperlinks wouldn't be critical to the document- it would just be nice to be able to link to a blog I kept while traveling, the (very flashy and well-designed) webpage of a small company I worked for recently, etc. Is this a bad idea, and if so, why?
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Aug 14, 2013 17:40
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Longbike posted:I may have missed this somewhere in the thread, but what is the consensus on including hyperlinks in a resume? I'm going to be submitting the resume as a word document in all foreseeable cases, and the hyperlinks wouldn't be critical to the document- it would just be nice to be able to link to a blog I kept while traveling, the (very flashy and well-designed) webpage of a small company I worked for recently, etc. Is this a bad idea, and if so, why? I'm sure others in this thread have opinions on this, but I would not submit a word document. If I received a word document in my email I almost certainly wouldn't open it. PDF is better in every why I can think of.
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Aug 14, 2013 18:07
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I'm looking to supplement my current part time job with substitute teaching. So far, all the listings I see are requiring "three current letters of recommendation" to be submitted with my resumé. I've only been at my current part-time job a couple months so I don't know if my supervisor would be okay with writing a letter. My last job, the supervisor was a dick who emphatically didn't give the least poo poo about his subordinates so that's out. What do I do? Ironically, I know several career teachers but they're all family/friends.
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Aug 14, 2013 20:57
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KernelSlanders posted:I'm sure others in this thread have opinions on this, but I would not submit a word document. If I received a word document in my email I almost certainly wouldn't open it. PDF is better in every why I can think of. Thanks for the input. Oddly enough, a number of my recent applications have specified .doc as the only acceptable format.  I guess format preference varies between companies. I'll make of point of submitting PDF's when no format is specified, though I still do wonder whether links are appropriate to include in the document or not.
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Aug 14, 2013 23:14
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THE MACHO MAN posted:Thanks! Don't provide them at all. It isn't an appropriate time in the process to demand your requirements before they even start screening you. If you are carefully screening jobs to which you apply, and you know that you are a good fit (and you're not carpetbombing), they'll contact you whether you put a number on the letter or not. If they do exclude you because you wouldn't give away your negotiating position before the negotiations started, you probably didn't want to work there anyway. If you absolutely feel the need to provide something, you can give a total comp number and just say "In order to feel comfortable leaving my current position I'd require total compensation of $X. I am flexible on the breakdown of this amount between benefits, base salary, etc." It is absolutely not illegal for them to ask for proof of your past salary. They can, and a lot of the shady lovely places that demand salaries at the start of the process *do*. If they don't verify with your old employer, they make you bring in a W-2 and rescind the offer if you can't explain any discrepancies.
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Aug 15, 2013 02:27
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KernelSlanders posted:Anatharon, are you looking for a summer job or something else? Are you just trying to build a resume for college or do you actually want the money? If the latter, is it just so you have some additional spending money or is your family in a financial position that requires the extra income you could bring in bagging groceries? All of these matter to answer your questions, although, to be honest if you are looking for some extra spending money and it isn't just a Summer job, you'd probably be better focusing on your school work. Long story short, I only have 1-3 hours of school, depending on the day of the week, so I'm not too worried about my school preformance. The reason I want a job is because I come from a well off family and have never had to really work, so I feel it'd be good to get used to working for my own money before I move out. 
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Aug 16, 2013 00:34
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neogeo0823 posted:Could someone please so kind as to give me a critique on this draft of my resume? I'm pretty sure the template's going to need reworking, since I've heard people say that about similar ones. I really need to get this thing completely fixed up as soon as possible and get it out there. Not to sound impatient, but I'd really like it if someone could do a quick read-through on my resume and tell me what they think of it. I'm trying to get out of my current job and into something better asap, and there's a job posting I've been eyeing that I'm worried will be taken down soon.
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Aug 16, 2013 16:07
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In a few months, I will graduate with my Bachelor's degree in Math. I'm looking to get some sort of quantitative analyst position with a bank or a financial company. So basically I want a professional desk job working with numbers and money. Between coursework and prior research experience, I feel like I have gotten my the "technical chops" part of my resume down with help from my college's career center. (They were surprisingly helpful and personal with this and gave me detailed feedback on it.) So, obviously, I want to represent myself as a well-rounded human being who can work in a team and can be organized/professional and not just some lady-neckbeard number cruncher. Primary evidence against this is that I am the president of a social sorority with over 120 members. This is obviously a major part of my life and something I think would exemplify what a company would want in a worker. However, I'm having a hard time trying to represent it to avoid the "  omg sororitylyfe." stereotype, because some things I've read online talk about biases against Greek life in resumes. However, I do basically what any president of a large student organization does: My job basically boils down to: Sending and receiving a million emails. Knowing our organizational bylaws and standing rules like the back of my hand Sitting in meetings (university ruling boards, advisory boards, chapter committees) and reporting back as necessary Listening to weekly and monthly officer reports and encouraging collaboration between officers Stopping spergin' and interpersonal conflict between officers and within the organization Being yelled at when I don't do things exactly how people want or by people who have no idea what I can and cannot do (obviously this part isn't going in my resume but it's a big part of what I do) Right now, I have: quote:Organized and presided over weekly chapter and officer meetings using parliamentary procedure It doesn't seem very "quantify show your accomplishments" and seems a lot more of "tell me what you did", which is not in line with the OP. How should I fix this?
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Aug 19, 2013 05:11
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I know I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, but I want to be ready in case they do hatch so I'll ask it anyway- I had an interview this morning for Job A that I thought went really well, and I expect to hear back from them within a week (it's for a part-time teaching position and classes start next Monday). However, I've also been told by a staffing agent that she's going to set me up to interview for Job B that would almost certainly offer more hours and a better pay rate, but at this rate I might not even interview there until next week, or the end of this week at the earliest. If Job A calls next week and wants to hire me before I hear back from Job B, what should I say to them? I'm also meeting with said staffing agent today- is it out of line to tell her that I need to interview with Job B ASAP? Should I ask Job B to make a quick decision because Job A might be (or has) made me an offer? It'd be nice if I could work both Job A and Job B part-time but I have no idea if that will be an option (and doubt that it will be).
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Aug 19, 2013 |
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Aug 19, 2013 17:16
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Tell no one anything. Wait for offers. Pick best one. If you have to quit after a week so be it.
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Aug 19, 2013 19:10
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:Tell no one anything. Wait for offers. Pick best one. If you have to quit after a week so be it. Exactly this. If you HAVE to choose the offer from A before anything comes from B, then accept A. Should B give you an offer that's too good to pass, then you'll just have to tell A "Sorry, I got an offer that I didn't think I would get, and it's too good to pass up. I can work here for another X number of days, if that helps." Similar thing happened to me with my first job out of grad school. Company X made an offer, but I knew that Company Y was likely to make an offer. X paid substantially more than Y, but it was about twice the commute and probably had overtime. Ultimately I had to call Y and say, "Hey I have another offer and they are anxious to hear from me. Are you close to a decision?" They told me they were going to make me an offer, just to wait for the offer letter. I didn't really like telling X "No thanks" before I got the offer from Y, but I did, and it happened to work out for me. The difference is that you haven't yet even interviewed with the 2nd company. Assuming you need a job now, then you'll just have to take A and wait to see what happens with B. johnny sack fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Aug 19, 2013 |
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Aug 19, 2013 20:01
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:Tell no one anything. Wait for offers. Pick best one. If you have to quit after a week so be it. What if it is a teaching job that requires a signed contract? My wife has just been offered a part-time teaching gig that pays well but not as much as a full-time job that would. She has been out of work for a while but has about a dozen jobs that she applied for and is waiting to hear back from.
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Aug 19, 2013 20:12
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I don't think anyone can answer that for you except for you and your wife. What happens if you break the contract? How long is the contract? Is it going to help her with another job after 6 or 12 months or whatever? What happens if she says "No" and ends up getting no more offers?
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Aug 19, 2013 20:23
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johnny sack posted:What happens if she says "No" and ends up getting no more offers? Seriously, unless you can afford to turn down a job with no other prospect, don't turn down a job because you've got an interview lined up elsewhere. Until you actually sign up for the job, you have no proof that they'll actually ever hire you: -They could be burning up their interview budget but be under an hiring freeze; -They could make you an offer you wouldn't want to accept; -They could hire someone else; -They could decide to fill the position internally; -They could... Breaking the contract depends on the actual terms of the contract. It could be as simple as two week's notice. All that being said, you don't know yet that either Job A or Job B is going to make an offer, so you might be stressing out over a situation that will resolve itself.
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Aug 19, 2013 20:30
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neogeo0823 posted:Not to sound impatient, but I'd really like it if someone could do a quick read-through on my resume and tell me what they think of it. I'm trying to get out of my current job and into something better asap, and there's a job posting I've been eyeing that I'm worried will be taken down soon. Rough critique - Jobs don't need addresses or phone numbers listed on a resume. Save that for the formal paper application they may have you fill out. change 'Job History' to 'Experience' Remove the 'Position' - The first sentence of your resume says your an IT professional with 10 years of experience, but then I read your resume and I see nothing to do with IT. I see Mechanic, Lawn and Garden, Paint, Appliances, almost no IT at all. I'm confused and I've already stopped looking at your resume and you didn't get a job. Depending on the job you are applying for you should tailor each resume to the job. Make sure you have keywords on there they list in the job description. If you're applying for a mechanic job, play up the mechanic stuff and lay off the stuff that has nothing to do with being a mechanic. Same thing for anything else you're going after. Plan on writing a new resume for every job you apply for basically.
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Aug 19, 2013 21:02
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skipdogg posted:Rough critique Thanks for the advice. As far as the IT =/= job experience thing, I've been doing freelance IT work for years. Mostly basic stuff, building systems, antivirus, maintenance work, etc, with a bit of networking and such thrown in here and there. My actual official jobs that pay me a weekly paycheck have nothing to do with IT, sadly, and it's a field I'm looking to get into now. How would I go about adding that to my resume, if I should do so at all? In fact, in a more general sense, how does one even go about tailoring a resume to a career field they have no formal experience in?
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Aug 19, 2013 21:15
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skipdogg posted:Rough critique Agreed on the address, but a phone number and email address is pretty standard, isn't it? I mean they don't want to have to look trough a stack of paperwork to find how to reach you, and some jobs don't do the application thing. My philosophy is that your résumé should be able to stand on it's own if the supporting documents get lost.
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Aug 19, 2013 21:25
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I accidentally let it slip to my staffing buddy that I interviewed with Job A  She said she would just try to get my interview scheduled sooner and not tell them why. I also spent nearly my entire interview talking with her co-worker who used to do Job B and got lots of useful advice from him, so I think they're really trying to get me into Job B.Omits-Bagels posted:What if it is a teaching job that requires a signed contract? My wife has just been offered a part-time teaching gig that pays well but not as much as a full-time job that would. She has been out of work for a while but has about a dozen jobs that she applied for and is waiting to hear back from. Yeah, Job A is a 1-year contract position (according to their listing) so I would have a hard time getting out of it, at least without feeling like a jerk. But they might not offer me the job anyway so I might have nothing to worry about.
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Aug 19, 2013 22:44
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