Resume Tips and Hints

Resumes Tips and Hints

Resist the urge to share everything about your past. When interviewers ask you to “tell me a little about yourself,” what they want to know is your professional work experience or professional skills that make you the right person for the job.

When crafting your resume – don’t share too much.

·         Any job you held before college is irrelevant once you enter the professional world. Don’t list jobs more than 10 years old.  Have a diverse list of references available to provide when they are asked for.

·         Your name and address is the only personal information you need to share; your marital status, children, family and all other topics do not need to be shared.

·         Employers want you to be professional and to the point – no cute pictures or graphic borders on the resume. Calligraphy and script fonts should also be avoided.

·         Cite skills and duties on your resume that build your case and market you for the specific job.

The length of the resume should be one to two pages.  Threes pages gets to be too much detail and information. 

                                                                                                Ideas from CareerBuilder.com

Where the boys are (and aren't): Non-traditional jobs for women and men

MSN and Career builder has some great information on non-traditional jobs for men and women in the workplace or looking at career opportunities. 
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2524-Job-Info-and-Trends-Where-the-boys-are-and-arent-Non-traditional-jobs-for-women-and-men/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42524&sc_extcmp=JS_2524_home1&gt1=23000

Work-Life Balance

Managing Work-Life Balance by Taking a Step Back

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/03/31/manage-work-life-balance-by-taking-a-step-back/24853.html

March 31, 2011

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 31, 2011

As the pace of life escalates, many find themselves with conflicting demands and increased stress from work, home and — if a high school, college or graduate student — the classroom.

One strategy to deal with the stress is to take a step back and withdraw.

Researchers say this is not all bad as a momentary break. Self-reflection could do us all a world of good.

“People need to ask themselves, ‘What roles do I play?’ and ‘Are these roles working for me?’” said Dr. Julie McCarthy, associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC).

“And if they’re not working, we then need to ask, ‘What are the strategies I’m using to make things better?’”

In her latest study, McCarthy worked with Tracy Hecht of Concordia University to look at how undergraduate students with jobs outside of school attempted to achieve balance.

The researchers looked at three strategies often used to deal with opposing demands on time, attention and energy: solution-driven active engagement (problem-focused), venting to others (emotion-focused) or ignoring those problems altogether and distracting ourselves with other activities (avoidance-focused).

While the problem-focused approach is traditionally viewed as the best of the three, McCarthy and Hecht’s research found that strategy could actually cause more problems as a result of stress, over-exhaustion and lack of recovery time. “People need time to refocus in order to learn or study well,” said McCarthy.

The most surprising conclusion had to do with the third coping mechanism: avoidance. When the student participants simply set aside some of their issues for a while, they actually experienced a reduction in conflict between life roles.

“This technique is traditionally seen as ‘running away from your problems’,” said McCarthy. “But maybe by backing off and taking breaks, students are able to replenish their resources.”

Feeling drained leads to lower levels of satisfaction with life and higher rates of burnout, depression, and ill-health.

And while playing multiple roles can be stimulating, interesting and lead to a sense of accomplishment and achievement, McCarthy said there are real risks we need to be aware of.

“People need to assess which strategies they’re using to cope with their problems and make sure they’re making time for resource recovery,” she said.

“Too many roles can be detrimental unless we begin asking ourselves honest, pointed questions.”

Source: University of Toronto

Summer Registration

Online registration is open for 2011 summer courses.

The Summer 2011 Course Listings is available online at the following link:

http://www.iowalakes.edu/registrar/courses/schedules.htm  or you may search for 2011 summer courses using the WebAdvisor tool available through the My Iowa Lakes (portal).

In addition, several Fast Track and online courses are also offered throughout the summer months.  Some of the Fast Track courses offered are Social Problems, Music Appreciation, Art Appreciation, Jazz History and Appreciation, Minority Group Relations, Human Relations, and Fundamentals of Oral Communication.