ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > April > 27
Thursday, April 27, 2006
One, two, three
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How many pages should your resume be?
Having written over 7,000 resumes during the past 16 years, I assure you there isn’t a magic length for a resume.
The real question should be how many pages it will take to adequately articulate my ‘corporate story.’
Your resume is your Corporate Story, and you should showcase it with confidence and thoroughness.
Despite what you may have heard, length does not matter!
Although there seems to be an ongoing controversy about whether a resume should be one or more pages, I don’t believe shorter resumes take precedence over longer ones.
In fact, sometimes really short, brief resumes just make a person look unqualified.
My advice is to design your resume to address all the relevant requirements of a job opportunity and highlight your credentials in a way that answers the reader’s internal question - are you qualified?
If you answer the qualified question no matter how many pages it takes, getting an interview could be as easy as one, two, three!
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What’s your secret?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Office politics can seem like fun and games but can also be very destructive to a career.
One of the most common types of office politics is passing along a “secret.”
We’ve been told and listened to secrets that are personal, about business situations and about the company, which include complaints about coworkers, promotions, pay scales, and friends and family matters.
When we tell someone a secret, we want it to remain confidential. When we are told a secret, it is meant to remain confidential.
But it’s only human to want to communicate a secret. It can relieve tension, help overcome anxiety and resolve problems. We can all use feedback on personal and workplace issues.
When the secret remains confidential, the outcome can be beneficial to the person who told the secret. I think our intention is often to maintain the trust that was afforded us when we’re told the secret.
However, too often when someone says the words, “don’t tell anyone,” they give out permission to pass it on unknowingly. That’s when things can run amok, and cause problems for many directly and indirectly involved.
Recently, a woman accidentally learned of a mistake made by a senior manager outside of her department at work. She passed her “secret” along to a “wrong” person. The information got back to the senior manager, who in turn told the woman’s manager about it. The woman was “called on the carpet” for her gossip and it took months for her to make amends.
What’s been your experience with secrets in the work place? When have you been burned? When did you burn someone else either inadvertently or deliberately? What lesson did you learn? What lesson are you willing to pass along in hopes of helping someone else avoid a painful experience?
