Organizing is one of my passions. Why? Because I am not particularly good at it… but I want to be. Practice makes perfect, though, right? When it comes to my home office and my home, in general, there is no secretary -- or maid -- to help me out. Hubby is a student and we have a small home, so I know that keeping organized in small spaces, when your budget is tight, and when you have a lot of balls up in the air is critical to saving time, energy and sanity.
I subscribe to a few blogs and message boards that focus on organizing and de-cluttering.
I like Unclutterer – http://unclutterer.com – especially the featured “Uncluttered Workspace of the Week” http://unclutterer.com/category/workspace-of-the-week
and its accompanying flickr photo pool:
http://flickr.com/groups/unclutterer/pool
Tell me, though, can people actually do any work at such handsome desks? Mine look nothing like that, but I’d love them to and I steal ideas constantly.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers):
These are the basics for a home, closet, locker or laptop-bag based job search “office”. You need:
1. A designated space. Whether it be at home, the library, the career centre or the park, you need a place to do your job – finding a job is a job, after all – that works for you and minimizes distractions.
2. Desk – looking at some of the photos in the Unclutterer Flickr pool, the definition of desk can be quite flexible, but the fact is that you need space to spread your materials out on.
3. Chair – make it a comfy one, but not too comfy.
4. Access to a compute and the internet, your own, the library’s, a friend’s or at the employment centre
5. Have a supply of good quality resume/letter paper, envelopes and stamps. Yes, in most cases you may email your resume, but remember that face-to-face connections with potential employers are best. If you can drop-off your resume in person, do so, and remember to take hard-copies with you to any interviews you have. Reviewers often read copies sent from another department. Choose a color of paper that copies well: white, cream, light gray or light blue-gray. Use full-sized envelopes and don’t fold your resume.
6. A few file folders. Keep good records of contacts, job leads, positions applied for. Most of your folders will be on your computer, but you’ll need hard copy files, too. Create a filing system that works for you and use it. Search the net for ideas on personal and small-business filing systems.
7. A phone and a quiet spot for conversations with employers. Don’t answer calls from recruiters when the background noise is inappropriate. If you don’t know who’s calling, let it go to voice mail rather than wrecking your professional image with an employer.
8. An answering machine or voicemail subscription means that no employer's calls go unanswered. Include a reliable friend's phone number for messages on all correspondence if you do not have an answering machine. With so many people subscribing to voice mail, you may be able to save a few dollars per month by getting a free answering machine for your home phone from Freecyle.org . Ensure your outgoing message is professional.
10. A printer that does good-quality documents, whether it be your own machine or you go to a print shop. Spots, streaks, lines are unacceptable.
11. Subscriptions to newspapers, trade magazines, newsletters, etc. Online subscriptions make your office portable. Many newspapers have their classified ads and career sections online and accessible for free. Check libraries for editions in hard-copy and online journal subscriptions, too.
12. Current yellow pages are a good source of company names and contact info. Check your library for local and out-of-town editions and business directories. Superpages is one online alternative or just search the net for the kind of organization you are looking for in specific, named communities
13. A good pen for signing your cover letters, writing thank you notes and offer letters. Don’t forget to sign your cover letters before you mail them! Emailing your letters? Insert a scanned image of your signature in the right spot.
14. A box of simple, professional “thank you” notes should be in your desk drawer for after interviews or to thank anyone who helps you in your search.
Your job search office doesn’t have to big or pretty, but it does need to be comfortable and organized to be efficient.
...Pam
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Customizing Your Resume With Fonts
I am somewhat of a CBC radio geek. My new favourite show is “Spark”, its all about technology and culture, and I’ve been catching up with past broadcasts by listening to podcasts on my laptop while doing housework. (How’s that for multi-tasking? Not bad for an old chick, eh?)
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?41#ref41
During the podcast for April 23 (Episode 34) a font designer was interviewed and a sociologist of pop culture explained the cultural currency of type. I love it! Allow me to comment on the idea of special fonts and their use in job search documents, i.e. a resume and cover letter.
We live in a world of mass-customization. That means that employers -- Gen-Xers like me, anyhow -- expect to see a custom-made resume. The older Boomers might think about computer technology and how a job seeker should be using it to customize an application for every single job they apply for (and the Gen-Yers may think you need to get a life instead of investing so much energy into your resume), but they do know when someone has made an effort to communicate to specifically to them who they are and how they can contribute to their organization. So the fact is that you can't just tweak a few lines of your resume or cover letter and expect it to be good to go. That is so 90s!
Yes, the accessibility of the internet, word processing software and even special fonts complicates the job search in many ways. However, the effort you put into researching the needs of an employer and writing your resume and cover letter in a way that tells them that you can meet those needs will pay off… if you really are a good match for the job.
As far as fonts go, we are all experts in what we like and don't. There are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming. Generally speaking, though, if you have done your homework you will have an idea of the brand or image the organization you are applying to is promoting for themselves. You want to choose a visual image for yourself -- from your application documents to the outfit you wear to an interview -- that coordinates with theirs. You do need look like you belong.
Taking your research one step further, be aware of who else is using “your font” in the media. If a well-known and controversial group uses the “Quiggly Wiggly” font, for example, you may want to avoid it. Avoid anything that hints of anything controversial, unless that is the look you really think the employer would appreciate.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
Use a serif font for the body of your resume and letter. The “do-hickeys” that hang off the edges of a serif font help the eyes to flow through a document; they are easier to read. If you’d like to do something a little bit different for headings, use a complimentary sans-serif font. They are crisper and lack do-hickeys. (If you still don’t understand the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts, Google it.) . Have someone else look at your resume. Is it easy on the eyes? What image does it suggest? You don’t need to use the same fonts the employer does, although that certainly simplifies things to the extreme.
...Pam
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?41#ref41
During the podcast for April 23 (Episode 34) a font designer was interviewed and a sociologist of pop culture explained the cultural currency of type. I love it! Allow me to comment on the idea of special fonts and their use in job search documents, i.e. a resume and cover letter.
We live in a world of mass-customization. That means that employers -- Gen-Xers like me, anyhow -- expect to see a custom-made resume. The older Boomers might think about computer technology and how a job seeker should be using it to customize an application for every single job they apply for (and the Gen-Yers may think you need to get a life instead of investing so much energy into your resume), but they do know when someone has made an effort to communicate to specifically to them who they are and how they can contribute to their organization. So the fact is that you can't just tweak a few lines of your resume or cover letter and expect it to be good to go. That is so 90s!
Yes, the accessibility of the internet, word processing software and even special fonts complicates the job search in many ways. However, the effort you put into researching the needs of an employer and writing your resume and cover letter in a way that tells them that you can meet those needs will pay off… if you really are a good match for the job.
As far as fonts go, we are all experts in what we like and don't. There are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming. Generally speaking, though, if you have done your homework you will have an idea of the brand or image the organization you are applying to is promoting for themselves. You want to choose a visual image for yourself -- from your application documents to the outfit you wear to an interview -- that coordinates with theirs. You do need look like you belong.
Taking your research one step further, be aware of who else is using “your font” in the media. If a well-known and controversial group uses the “Quiggly Wiggly” font, for example, you may want to avoid it. Avoid anything that hints of anything controversial, unless that is the look you really think the employer would appreciate.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
Use a serif font for the body of your resume and letter. The “do-hickeys” that hang off the edges of a serif font help the eyes to flow through a document; they are easier to read. If you’d like to do something a little bit different for headings, use a complimentary sans-serif font. They are crisper and lack do-hickeys. (If you still don’t understand the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts, Google it.) . Have someone else look at your resume. Is it easy on the eyes? What image does it suggest? You don’t need to use the same fonts the employer does, although that certainly simplifies things to the extreme.
...Pam
Monday, July 21, 2008
Simple Blog Feeds Via Facebook Notes
I'm on Facebook and now I have this blog, too. Both could be called innovative ways for this Gen-X manager of a college career centre to connect with her Gen-Y students, but the simple fact is that I am playing catch up on the net. Our students are already on Facebook and I am joining them. In the vein of keeping things simple, however, I'm going to attempt to import this blog as Notes on Facebook. If all goes well, anyone who prefers Facebook to RSS feeds can keep track of what I write here via Facebook.
Unfortunately, the pictures I upload for each blog post will not transfer over to Facebook, so if the picture is important or if I want the post to really stand out, I should post it as a Note, rather than an Imported Note on Facebook. That may mean posting the same info in two places.
I must be careful with punctuation in the title of my blogs. Quotation marks, commas and appostrophes in a blog title may come across as coded gobbly-gook in Facebook.
That said, importing notes from a blog into Facebook means that, most of the time, I really only have to post in one place. Facebook does the rest. Its that simple!
Job seekers who are blogging and using Facebook are reminded that employers are checking out candidates online, whether or not they "should", ethically. (That's a whole other blog post.) Don't post anything to the net that you don't want everyone -- employers, included -- to see. Check your privacy settings on your Facebook account on a regular basis (they change without warning) and Google yourself once in a while. Use Facebook to network. Let all your friends know that you are looking for work, what it is that you seek and what you do well. You never know where a lead will come from.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
Speaking of Facebook, check out my group:
The Works - Job & Career Services, Lethbridge College
...Pam
Unfortunately, the pictures I upload for each blog post will not transfer over to Facebook, so if the picture is important or if I want the post to really stand out, I should post it as a Note, rather than an Imported Note on Facebook. That may mean posting the same info in two places.
I must be careful with punctuation in the title of my blogs. Quotation marks, commas and appostrophes in a blog title may come across as coded gobbly-gook in Facebook.
That said, importing notes from a blog into Facebook means that, most of the time, I really only have to post in one place. Facebook does the rest. Its that simple!
Job seekers who are blogging and using Facebook are reminded that employers are checking out candidates online, whether or not they "should", ethically. (That's a whole other blog post.) Don't post anything to the net that you don't want everyone -- employers, included -- to see. Check your privacy settings on your Facebook account on a regular basis (they change without warning) and Google yourself once in a while. Use Facebook to network. Let all your friends know that you are looking for work, what it is that you seek and what you do well. You never know where a lead will come from.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
How I uploaded my blog to my Facebook Profile:
- From my Facebook profile, I selected "Notes"
- Under "Notes Settings", I selected "Import a blog" and added the URL for my blog
- My 10 most recent blog posts appear as "Imported Notes" on my Facebook profile
Speaking of Facebook, check out my group:
The Works - Job & Career Services, Lethbridge College
...Pam
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