6 Ways to Spice Up Your Resume Summary

6 Ways to Spice Up Your Resume Summary 6 Ways to Spice Up Your Resume Summary Photo by Jennifer Spengler In order to make a powerful impression, your resume should start with a hard-hittingsummary a section that quickly introduces you and provides readers with a brief overview of your skills and abilities. Done correctly, your resume summary will wow potential employers and ensure you get an interview.Ive written about creating a great resume summary before (see 5 Ways to Start your Resume with a Bang), but, given the importance of this section of your resume, I want to offer some additional ideas. After all, you only have a few seconds to impress recruiters and the resume summary is the first thing they will see.So here are 6 ways to liven up yourresume summary Use Quotes Choose two or threepowerful quotes that show employers how respected you are. These can come from LinkedIn, wertzuwachs reviews, letters or any other source.The key is to choose quotes that emphasize key qua lities for your target position. For example, if you are going for an account manager role, choose a quote that emphasizes your skills in customer relations or revenue growth. If you are applying for project management roles, a quote about on-time shipping or how well you manage project budgets would be very powerful. Where possible, use quotes that are more recent if the only testimonials on your resume are from your college professors 15 years ago, employers will assume that no-one has said nice things since then. Include ResultsIf your impact can be quantified, highlight some of your best results in the introduction. Thats a sure-fire way to grab attention.For example, one of my resume clients was a sales rep. He had always delivered strong results until his most recent role. Through no fault of his own, the company was struggling and he was worried about how this reflected on him. To address this, I began the resume with a summary that listed 4 of his best sales achievements in bullet point form. This impressive opening ensured that employers understood exactly how successful he had been Highlight Awards and/or Recognition If your work has received awards either internal wertmiger zuwachs awards or external recognition you can list those in the resume summary. This also applies to any other recognition such as regular speaking engagements or media articles. Recognition like this is an easy way to communicate your worth to employers by showing how much others value you.Include some personality Too often, resume summaries sound dry and predictable. Recruiters and managers have read it all before and are often tempted to skim quickly over the summary to get to the meat of the resume. Thats why its helpful to inject some personality into them. One way to do this is to describe the way you approach your work and write in the first person. For example, an HR director might sayI am passionate about the importance of creating a positive employment culture. I be lieve that true business success can only come when employees feel fully engaged and are empowered to contribute their very best work.Making such a bold declaration has two positive effects. First, it attracts the right employers. If a CEO feels the wayyou do, he will want to interview you. Second, it turns off those companies who dont value what you value. This is a good thing as you would never be happy there anyway so dont be afraid to state who you are boldly and clearly. Use Bullet Points One option is to break the usual paragraph into one-line bullet points with each one describing a key selling point. This means you need to really understand your target employers what do they want? What do they value? What makes you qualified to to help them?Once you understand this, you can craft bullet points that speak directly to their concerns. And if youre not sure what those concerns are, study the job description youll find clues in there. For example, if a company advertises for a project manager who can introduce Agile methodologies, its a safe bet that they are struggling to deliver products on time (otherwise why would they change?). In this case, a bullet point might readExpertise in Agile methodology Consistent record of delivering complex projects on time and within budgetDrop namesIf you have worked for respected companies, well-known public figures, or well-known brands, be sure to highlight them in the introduction. (Dont assume that readers will see key information when they read through the whole resume most people only skim resumes very quickly and often miss all kinds of important details).In one case, a client of mine who worked in TV news had a glowing letter of recommendation from Tom Brokaw. Needless to say, I quoted the letter and used his name at the very beginning of the resume.Use the resume summary to put your best foot forward Not all of these strategies will be appropriate for you, but by picking and choosing the ones that do suit you r situation, you can greatly strengthen your chances of securing an interview.Finally, if youd like toseea step-by-step demonstration of how I write a resume summary, check out my post How to Write a Resume Summary that Grabs Attention. Happy resume writing

How to design an office layout where people want to work

How to design an office layout where people want to workHow to design an office layout where people want to workEvery company has reason to reevaluate their office layout from time to time.From accommodating growth through office expansion to remodeling your space with the goal of increasing productivity, you hold the power to transform your work environment into a distribution policy that inspires and equips your team to be the best they can be.How do you get there?Start with a design philosophyAs a leader with creativity coursing through your veins, you may already have a view on how an office should be organized. For others, the help of an interior design firm is well worth it. A firm we worked with introduced us to furniture pioneer Herman Millers concept ofLiving Office.The Living Office begins with the human element. Miller identified six fundamental needs that all people share - security, autonomy, belonging, achievement, status and purpose. Living Office is designed to fulfi ll ansicht needs.Next, when creating spaces, Living Office offers considerations for the arrangement of surroundings and furnishings to deliver an elevated experience of work. This is referred to as placemaking.Lastly are the tools. Furniture and tools can help or hinder your success. You want to equip your company with the technology and tools you need to achieve your goals.Conduct researchIn the name of inclusiveness, start with an office-wide survey. The survey need elend be long and complicated. Rather, the shorter, the better. Ive found that you can glean the important findings with a two-question surveyOpen by asking, What is one thing you like about office? This could be the location, layout or even the lighting. Anything goes Then, youll want to discover what people would change. Find out by asking What is one thing you would change about our office? By limiting responses to one positive element and one negative element, youll have a concentrated list of issues that you need to keep to maintain a sense of stability and what needs to be addressed to have a positive impact.Facilitate workshopsWhen designing our own office, we also ran a number of workshops. The first merely identified all the ways we work, communicate and collaborate with each other and our customers. These are referred to as modes of work. For instance, we discovered that certain activities such as informal chats and the more structured co-creation sessions were important,but not supported by our current space.We were also able to identify something we were doing well. That something would be our daily huddle meeting, as well as a warm-up period leading up to the meeting and a cool-down phase after. All deemed important and well-supported.Another workshop focused on theplacement of departments, and more specifically, which departments should be beside each other. Arranging these was particularly revealing. For the most part, we got this right in our current layout, and you likely have t oo. Be warned, though, there is a tendency of groups who currently work next to each other to want to continue to work next to each other because its familiar. The reality is that they may not actually collaborate on many projects. Whether a significant downsizing or aggressive expansion is on the horizon, factor these plans into your adjacencies and usage of floor space now.Develop multiple plansNext, the fun work begins by applying all this research into a first draft floor plan. The space planning should come together fairly naturally because the priorities have been set. Likely, there are some natural constraints as well, such as the available square footage to work with.Either you or your designer should come up with at least two plans Plan A and Plan B. The more dramatic and different, the better, as you will want to be able to show the extremes and possibilities.In the end, youll likely end up with a third finalized plan that combines the best elements of the original plans.P resenting the plansOnce youve settled on a finalized plan, its time to share the einbildung for your new office. Out of respect, I recommend sharing the plans with other members of your executive team first. Then, present to the rest of the management team and others who have been part of the process up to this stage. Finally, host a lunch-and-learn or other optional meeting for those in the company interested in learning about your reimagined space.While attendance for the presentations will be strong, dont fret if not everyone is interested. Many people simply want to know that they have a desk, chair, computer and a place to hang their coat and eat lunch. Given the variety of personalities in every office, your grand plans may be received with everything from resistance to applause and cheers.Setting a timelineAn inevitable question during the presentations will be regarding timeline.When do we begin? How long will it take? When will this be done?Its important to set expectations regarding timeline and change management. A helpful framework we used, and that you and your team can too,breaks down the work to be completed in the next 0-30 days, 30-90, 90-180 or 180-365.For smaller office renovations, the work can likely be completed within the space of a fiscal quarter. For larger renovations, expect the project to take significantly longer. The intention should be that all work is completed within a year.Working the planYour design philosophy will guide you. The time taken to thoughtfully gather input from your team will earn you their patience. The presentation and openness to share your vision will give your team confidence in the plan and allow you to move forward with their support and enthusiasm.David Ciccarelliis the co-founder and CEO ofVoices.com.This article first appeared at BusinessCollective.

Can blaming others ever be good for your mental health

Can blaming others ever be good for your mental healthCan blaming others ever be good for your mental healthMany people tend to blame others for their issues. Prime candidates are parents, partners,friends, bosses, and kids. Perhaps these examples sound familiar?The reason I dont have a social life is that my husband is an introvert. If he were more outgoing, I could really get out more.My kids are so difficult, it is impossible to have people over the house. They just run wild and I wouldnt be able to enjoy myself.If my dad hadnt cheated on my mom, I would have a healthy view ofrelationshipsnow and I wouldnt keep going for these jerks that treat me poorly.It is very tempting to blame others for things going wrong in your life, even personal habits you dislike or your own dysfunctional thought patterns.However, if you rely on blaming others for your own current emotional and mental issues, you are doing yourself a disservice in a multitude of ways. Heres why blaming others can sabota ge your ability to behappy.1. Blame keeps you in a negative headspaceFocusing on what others are doing wrong keeps you in a negative, pessimistic frame of mind. Instead of looking for solutions, you are lingering on problems. Instead of recognizing what people are doing well, you are looking at their flaws.In the first example above, the woman is blaming her husband for her own lack of asocial life, which makes her see him in a fairly negative and uncharitable way. You can see how this would contribute to feelings of depression and marital discord. If she blames her husband openly for his introversion, he likely will feel attacked and attack her back, which will lead to marital issues both short and long term.2.Blame stops you from looking at your own contribution to issuesAs long as others are the problem, you dont have to do the challenging, but ultimately rewarding,workof examining your own behavior. Your thought patterns and expectations influence the things in your life that yo u wish were different.For instance, the parent in the second example above could be exploring ways to work with her kids on improving theirbehavior, or exploring why it may be familiar or easy for her to limit her socializing. As long as she characterizes the kids as the problem, though, she doesnt need to do any of this deeper introspection, which would likely be very useful in moving her out of this stuck place.3.Blame keeps you tethered to the pastInstead of looking for ways that you can work on negative behavior patterns, blame allows you to stay mired in the past.In the last example above, thinking about your dads impact on how your relationship functions may be useful. But continuing to actively blame him may prevent you from digging deep into whats causing your unfulfillingintimaterelationships.It helps to talk through blameOf course, this in no way means you should ignore or minimize the ways that others impact you. It is extraordinarily useful to discuss your relationships - pastand present - with a therapist, or to introspect about them on your own.However, it is essential to move from a blame stance to an understanding stance, which can give you the mental and emotional space you need to get out of old patterns and move forward in more flexible and liberating ways.This article originally appeared on Talkspace.

Former ASME Federal Fellow Mahantesh Hiremath Reflects on His Year on Capitol Hill

Former ASME Federal Fellow Mahantesh Hiremath Reflects on His Year on Capitol Hill Former ASME Federal Fellow Mahantesh Hiremath Reflects on His Year on Capitol Hill Former ASME Federal Fellow Mahantesh Hiremath Reflects on His Year on Capitol HillMahantesh Hiremath, 2013-2014 ASME Congressional FellowFrom September 2013 through last August, Mahantesh Hiremath, PhD, served as one of two ASME Congressional Fellows who spent a year-long term providing engineering and scientific insight to policymakers in Washington, D.C.For the past 41 years, the ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program has provided an opportunity for Society members to work with the U.S. Congress, participating directly in the lawmaking process. As the Federal Fellows gain an understanding of how the federal government operates, Congress, in turn receives the engineering expertise necessary to create effective technical legislation. In addition, Federal Fellows employers benefit from having an employee with comprehe nsive knowledge of congressional policy-making practices.During his Fellowship, Hiremath, an engineer at communications satellite and space systems company Space Systems Loral (SSL), located in Palo Alto, Calif., served on the majority staff of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology (SST) in analyzing energy and environmental issues. Following a three-week Fellowship orientation, he joined the SSTs Energy and Environment Subcommittee and assumed a number of responsibilities including attending weekly staff meetings taking part in strategizing sessions for hearings identifying and selecting hearing witnesses writing position statements preparing briefing notes and assisting in the drafting of legislation.During his 2013-2014 Fellowship, Hiremath helped the subcommittee prepare for mora than a dozen energy-and-environment-related Congressional hearings, including hearings concerning the Environmental Protection Agencys Carbon Plan, the United Nations Intergovernmental Pa nel on Climate Change, the Department of Energys Science and Technology Priorities, and EPA power plant regulation, as well as such currently relevant topics as energy independence and weather and climate change. Mahantesh Hiremath (right) with Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.Another key accomplishment during Hiremaths Fellowship was assisting in the drafting of the Enabling Innovation for Science, Technology, and Energy in America Act, or the EINSTEIN America Act, which ultimately formed part of the part of the DOE Research and Development Act of 2014, later introduced into the House in June 2014. Hiremath found his year on Capitol Hill and specifically working on the EINSTEIN America Act an enlightening experience regarding the law-making process. He also developed a lot of empathy and admiration for the decision making process that lawmakers follow in order to meet their competing duties of legislati on and representation. It appeared to him that the lawmakers are required to solve an optimization problem for every decision they make, a problem with too many variables and many hard constraints.Science policy is very different compared to science itself, he said. As scientists or technologists, we look at things in a very black-and-white manner. Science policy, however, is influenced by stakeholders people who support or oppose issues and have various levels of influence. Thats why what comes out of the science policy may be mora of a reflection of society than a scientific opinion. Dr. Hiremath with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the first woman to chair the U.S. Senates Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).For that reason, it is vital that engineers engage in the policy-making process through such activities as the ASME Federal Fellowship Program, according to Hiremath. The onus really is on the scientist and technical professionals to convey the value of their work in a way that can be understood by the community at large, Hiremath concluded in the year-end report summarizing his Fellowship. Effective science communication is the need of the hour.In addition to benefiting the law-making process and the professional development of the engineers who serve as Fellows, the ASME Federal Fellows Program also has potential advantages for industry. The only engineer from industry among the more than 170 fellows from various professional societies serving on Capitol Hill during his term, Hiremath encourages other companies to follow his company SSLs lead, noting the value of having an engineer who has worked on Capitol Hill, who has some understanding of how the legislative process worked, and what kind of questions or concerns will be raised about the design of their product, he said. If an engineer can bring that information back to his or her firm, they gain insight into the concerns that may need to be addressed early in the design and development of their products, he said. The ASME Federal Government Fellowship program provides an invaluable opportunity for members from industry to offer their technical expertise to policymakers. The result is better public policy for the nation and its industrial base.ASME is currently accepting applications through Jan. 31, 2015 for two 2015-2016 Federal Fellowship opportunities the ASME Congressional Fellowship and the ASME Foundation Swanson Fellowship on Advanced Manufacturing. The 2015-2016 Congressional Fellow will spend one year in Washington, D.C., working with the staff of a congressional committee, U.S. senator or U.S. representative. The ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow will serve a one-year term at the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in Gaithersburg, Md.To learn more about ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program, or to apply for one of the 2015-2016 Fellowships, visit https//www.asme.org/about-asme/get -involved/advocacy-government-relations/federal-fellows-program.For the latest news, regulations and announcements on the priorities outlined in ASMEs Public Policy Agenda and how you can become engaged in ASME Government Relations, please visit the ASME Public Policy Education Center at http//ppec.asme.org/.

A missing comma resulted in a group of dairy drivers getting $5 million

A missing comma resulted in a group of dairy drivers getting $5 mioA missing comma resulted in a group of dairy drivers getting $5 millionUnclear grammar can literally cost your company millions of dollars. Just ask Oakhurst Dairy in Maine. According to court documents filed on Thursday, the Maine-based dairy company said it was settling its comma dispute with its drivers for $5 million dollars.The case, over on a missing Oxford comma in Maine overtime pays law, captured national attention this past March. Drivers originally filed a class-action lawsuit in 2014 that sought mora than $10 million in overtime pay, arguing that the missing punctuation mark was on their side.According to Maine state law, the following activities were not eligible for overtime payThe canning, processing, preserving,freezing, drying, marketing, storing,packing for shipment or distribution of(1) Agricultural produce(2) Meat and fish products and(3) Perishable foods.The drivers argued that the packing for shi pment or distribution of was defining the single activity of packing - meaning, they were spared from the overtime pay exception list because drivers distributed food but they didnt pack them. Oakhurst Dairy, meanwhile, argued that the law was taking distribution as a separate activity, so it did include the drivers in the overtime exception list.On March 13, a federal court reversed a lower court decision and sided with the truck drivers, saying that there was enough punctuation ambiguity in the drivers favor.Unclear grammar has cost companies millionsOxford comma proponents argue that if the law had a serial comma, or Oxford comma, after shipment, it would have been clear that distribution was written to be a separate item in the laws list.Perhaps sensing more grammar-related disputes on the horizon, Maine is taking no chances and has removed any ambiguity in its overtime pay exception list. Now, the Maine law has added semicolons to separate each of the activities not eligible i n its listThe canning processing preserving freezing drying marketing storing packing for shipment or distributing of (1) Agricultural produce (2) Meat and fish products and (3) Perishable foods.This is not the first time that unclear communication in words has spelled financial disaster for a company. In one typo horror story, a 124-year-old company was dissolved after U.K. government agency Companies House wrongly stated that Taylor Sons Ltd. had gone into liquidation in 2009. In fact, it wasTaylor Son Ltd. without the s that had gone into liquidation. The error was corrected in three days, but by that time, orders had been canceled, contracts had been lost and credit had been withdrawn.

Awesome Resume Templates Help!

Awesome Resume Templates Help Creative Resume Content Whichever creative resume design you select, the content has to be no problem to find and logically organized. Listed here are examples of information that may be included in yur curriculum vitae. Several sites exist specifically to aid you make an attractive visual resume. Education and skills qualifies an applicant for more processing but doesnt necessarily mean immediate success. The 30-Second Trick for Awesome Resume Templates Career profiles supply an overview of your ort of specialization and useful skills giving employers a general idea about what you can actually do. The initial one is about outlining your abilities and your availability in a certain job position. You may never underestimate the ability of a good resume format, especially if you are looking for employment. Picking the right resume template will not merely permit you to highlight the best aspects of your experience and abilities, but nevertheless , it will also focus your focus to demonstrating what value you are able to provide prospective employers. A History of Awesome Resume Templates Refuted The freebie was made by Alamin Mir. If you believe an internet or video resume can help you stick out from the competition, go for itjust make certain you have a paper version handy. If you choose to try out one of our completely free creative templates, we have a couple recommendations to create your work search as fruitful as possible. Hopefully, you presently have a strong site, either a personal portfolio or your freelance business website. Using Awesome Resume Templates Creativity is among the essential things to getting your dream job. Still, it is a good concept to make your resume reflect your perfect work atmosphere. The times you ought to use a creative resume are fewer than when you ought to use a formal resume. At this time theres still an opportunity to stick out from the competition being different. In truth, its not that hard as it might appear to be. Getting the most of a resource that wont only help save you time, but is demonstrated to elevate your opportunity of scoring a work simply is logical. Some return to templates earn even more sense based on your level of seniority, the kind of work that youre searching for and additionally the market in which you wish to do the undertaking. When you begin with a creative resume template, you merely have to drop in your details to rapidly finish the practice. This totally free timeline-based resume template was produced by graphic designer Patryk Korycki. These templates are designed to be clean-cut and right to the point. They are great for a graphic artist or designer for example, but if you are applying to become an accountant, you may want to go for an elegant or classic design instead. Whispered Awesome Resume Templates Secrets If you wish to be a graphic designer, you can display your graphic design abilities. Whether its your dream to engage in a career in graphic design creating distinctive and dynamic company branding or typography, whether you wish to work in an internet medium or prefer to deal solely with tangible, physical designs, you may discover that graphic design is an awesome career choice. The clean and easy design can help you to clearly show your skills, portfolio items in an important way. Our set of these clean, modern and professional resume templates are best for applying for new work in tech businesses and other multi-national businesses. Resume templates are one method to guarantee structure behind your resume. They also show you what you need to include in your CV, such as what information to put in each section, and what kind of language to use. Utilizing a resume template has turned into an acceptable and smart practice for several explanations. In reality, the chronological resume template is easily the most traditional resume format. You may download the resume template free of charge and can readily edit the template using Microsoft word. The templates were created using Montserrat Font Family, so could need to download the fonts ahead of customizing the files. Our creative templates permit you to stick out from the crowd. There are lots more templates on our site you may check out. How to Choose Awesome Resume Templates There are a lot of free creative resume templates youre able to use, allowing you to focus your energy on everything else you have to do. As you may have noticed, design is only one of several elements in your resume that may capture attention. Once you have selected your perfect resume template from our selection, follow our totally free expert guidance about ways to craft the ideal modern resume. Each one of our creative style templates offer you a perfectly balanced mixture of personality, professionalism and a little style.

Think before Sending (Email, that is)

Think before Sending (Email, that is) Emails in the workplace are so commonplace that most people dont consider the tauglichkeit consequences of using the modern tool in the wrong way. Using work schmelzglas for private purposes can prove disastrous if used irresponsibly or carelessly and can reflect poorly on your work ethic and personal reputation. Before sending another personal email from work, its important to consider several cautionary statements about the potential perils of email indiscretion. No matter where you work, private or public sector, for profit or non profit, anything you say in an email sent from your work account can be used as evidence against you in court. In fact, the ePolicy Institute in Ohio reports that 14 percent of emails sent from a workplace have been subpoenaed during lawsuits.Most employers grant employees no expectation of privacy of any correspondence sent using corporate resources. Email you send is not confidential. Not only can your email be legally inspected any time, but emails you send to co-workers may be forwarded to others and spread throughout your workplace in a matter of minutes.While workplace romances may be tolerated under a dont ask dont tell philosophy, using your work email to exchange love letters or explicit content can potentially cost you your job and, in the case of an illicit affair, your family.Another huge email no-no is for the use of criticizing or bashing co-workers, or for harassment purposes. Almost one in seven U.S. businesses have suffered through lawsuits initiated by employee emails interpreted as harassing and discriminating resulting in a hostile workplace.An easy way to introduce viruses and other harmful programs into your employers network is to open chain letters and other hoaxes. Coming across a suspicious email from an unknown sender should result in an immediate deletion. Hackers and other techno -neer do wells frequently target employees as weak points into a companys systems.A common mistake, often leading to serious regret, is the use of the reply all feature instead of the simple reply option. This is another danger inherent in sharing unflattering gossip and opinions over email you may unintentionally send your thoughts to the very person or persons you of which you speak.You may also infringe upon the privacy of your buddy list contacts by including bulk lists of email addresses in the to section. And using BCC for the sake of anonymity may also backfire, since when an email recipient uses reply all any addresses within the BC field are transferred into the to field and become visible to whomever receive the new email.About a quarter of U.S. businesses report to having fired employees for workplace email abuse. As with public laws, ignorance of corporate email policy does not make violators of the policy immune to punishment. Know your companys email policy before send ing anything over its network and at accordingly. Appropriate email usage can help avoid serious consequences from activities which may initially seem innocuous.