A Look at Why Some Resumes Work and Others Are Destined for the Round File
By MICHELLE GOODMAN

In school we're taught how to dissect amphibians, analyze current events and compose sonnets. We learn how to locate Kazakhstan on a map, catch a football and avoid catching STDs. We even learn how to calculate how many hours it takes two cars leaving the same destination but traveling in opposite directions to be 500 miles apart if Car A travels 60 miles per hour and car B travels 70 miles per hour.

But many of us leave academia without knowing how to write a winning resume. And according to career experts, it shows.

Sure, we know the basics: run spell check, avoid text-message-speak, leave off the details of our annual pilgrimage to Burning Man. But judging from the letters I receive each week from readers -- and the gripes I regularly hear from hiring managers -- many of us could use a little help looking good on paper.

For suggestions, I consulted a handful of savvy resume writers, career coaches and recruiters. Here's what they had to say.

Q. What's the biggest resume mistake that job hunters make?

Relying too heavily on the same generic buzzwords every other candidate is using is one of the quickest routes to the round file, said Kristen Fife, a Seattle-based recruiter who works in the high-tech sector.

"Instead of 'excellent verbal and written communication skills' I would prefer 'trilingual (English, German, Dutch) marketing manager with experience creating localized international Web-based ad campaign resulting in a $3 million increase in revenue over six months across the entire business unit," Fife explained via e-mail.

In addition, "Don't write '10, 25 or 30 years of experience' on your resume," said Russ Riendeau, senior partner at The East Wing Search Group, an executive recruiting firm based in Barrington, Ill. "Years of experience doesn't prove you're good. Give impact, results, data."

In other words, tell them how many people you managed, how much money the department earned or saved thanks to you and the percentage you were able to increase customer retention or staff productivity.

"Not providing a context for the information," is another variation of this no-no, said Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers, a resume and job hunting consultancy in Atlanta.

"Increased sales by 12 percent in a depressed market when most sales were down year over year" tells a far more compelling story than "increased sales by 12 percent year over year," Salpeter said.

Tailoring Your Resume: Does It Matter?

Q. A lot of coaches recommend candidates tailor their resume to each job they apply for. How important is this?

According to our experts, very.

"Job seekers tend to simply list their jobs and job descriptions, without connecting them to the job they are applying for," said Steven Greenberg, founder of Jobs4.0, a job site for candidates age 40 and up, and a frequent speaker to job seekers and HR groups.

"You can't expect the hiring manager to connect the dots," Greenberg explained. "You have to do it for them. Try applying for fewer jobs, and customize your resume each time."

"The top quarter of the resume needs to tell the employer why you are qualified for that job," Rebecca Warriner of Woodland Recruiting in Mercer Island, Wa., said via e-mail. "Candidates can save time by not working on a highly customized cover letter."

This isn't as daunting as it sounds. Sometimes customizing your resume is as simple as moving the most relevant selling point to the front of each job description, said Salpeter, the career coach from Atlanta.

Q. Are objectives obsolete? Or is it still valuable to mention the type of job you seek at the top your resume?

"Typically, objectives are a waste of space on a resume," said Salpeter. "The objective is to get the job, so it's a bit redundant to include that at the top of the resume. Most objectives I see tend to be pretty self-serving: 'Seeking an opportunity that will allow me to grow professionally, learn on the job and use my writing and editing skills.' The employer is interested in what you can do for him or her. Listing your needs doesn't help you stand out."

Instead, Salpeter said, try giving a quick summary or a short bulleted list of the relevant skills you will bring to the job.

"This is the section that needs to be customized for every resume you submit," said Warriner. "I tell my clients to think of this as their 'mini cover letter.' The employer should be able to read it in 5 to 10 seconds and know exactly why you are qualified for the job."

Keywords: 'Vocabulary of the Industry'

Q. What's the deal with keywords? Are they necessary?

If you want to get the interview, yes, they are.

Whether a human or a software program initially screens your resume, keywords -- those almighty words and catchphrases that map to the job description -- are one of the primary things your resume will be scanned for, Warriner explained.

That said, "include keywords" is just a technical way of saying "make sure you speak the employer's language."

"Usually that's the language that's on their Web site and in their ad," explained Salpeter.

Unfortunately, said Riendeau, "Most candidates don't do research to find the vocabulary of the industry they're applying into, so the reader shreds the resume before page 2."

This isn't rocket science. It's talking about "builds" and "ship dates" if you're applying for a job in the software industry or "production" and "page proofs" if you're dealing in print publishing.

And while experts advise sprinkling keywords throughout your resume, don't overuse them. Nor do you want to use any terminology you don't understand.

"You have to be able to substantiate the keywords you use," said Sherri Edwards of Resource Maximizer, a career coaching firm based in Seattle.

The last thing you want is show up for an interview and not be able to detail your supposed experience as "a project manager" who's well-versed in "product positioning," "cost reduction" and "new media."

Q. How about education dates? If you're over 40 or 50, should you ditch them or keep them?

There's no denying that age discrimination is alive and well in the workforce. But our experts agree that trying to obscure your age by leaving off your education dates won't fool anyone. "Isn't the HR manager going to meet you at some point anyway?" said Greenberg. "Your goal is to get a job, not to waste time trying to fooling people into giving you interviews."

"All of the recruiters I've asked about this topic have confirmed my instinct that deleting dates is a bad idea," said Salpeter. "If you delete dates, some people will assume you did not earn a degree. Others will assume you are 105. Neither will help you get the job."

This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.

Michelle Goodman is a freelance journalist, author and former cubicle dweller. Her books — "My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube" -- offer an irreverent take on the traditional career guide. More tips on career change, flex work and the freelance life can be found on her blog, Anti9to5Guide.com.

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Learn to be proactive now, and your business will thrive in any economy.

A Number of Countries Are Suddenly More Affordable to American Travelers

The latest resident of the recession-era bargain bin: a private island in Fiji. Paul De Domenico, a former food industry executive who'd been asking $35 million for his 800-acre slice of paradise, is lowering his price by nearly 20%.

Krakow Royal Wawel in Poland. Poland is one of more than a dozen countries that are now considerably more affordable to American travelers, according to Forbes magazine.

(Bruno De Hogues/Getty Images)

"The good old days are over," says De Domenico, 74. "I'm at the age now where I'm trying to liquidate some assets."

Fortunately for the rest of us, a trip to Fiji can be had without making such a pricey commitment, thanks to a sagging local currency. Though roundtrip airfare will set you back about $1,600, the greenback gained 40% on the Fiji dollar over the past year--which means that once you get there, everything is on sale at a deep discount.

Fiji is just one of many places that's suddenly more affordable to American travelers.

Top on our list is Hungary, buoyed both by airfares in the $590 range and a currency that the dollar has gained 30% on over the past year. Sweden, our second-ranked country, offers nearly identical currency perks. The dollar has gained a full 50% on Poland's zloty, meaning that $100 can now get you a $150 hotel room in Warsaw.

On top of the dollar's increased value, Americans will find tremendous deals on rooms as hotels around the world try to entice reluctant visitors.

"Middle-range hotels have definitely been lowering rates," says Michelle Finkelstein, vice president of sales at Our Personal Guest, a San Francisco-based travel agency. "A lot of high-end hotels haven't lowered their rates because it's hard to get them back up. So they've been throwing in free nights and other perks."

Behind the Numbers

To figure out which countries are cheapest to visit in this recession, we looked at all the non-North American currencies against which the U.S. dollar has gained 15% or more over the past year. We then ranked these 28 countries by the dollar's value in local currency, and by airfare. We based the latter on prices from Kayak.com for a roundtrip coach flight from a New York-area airport to each country's capital, departing on Friday, June 12 and returning Sunday, June 21. Ties in the overall rankings were broken by lowest airfare.

Last year, Forbes predicted that the dollar, which had been pummeled by steady rate cuts by the Fed, was poised for recovery--and that high-flying foreign currencies were in for a rude awakening. We suggested that countries like Brazil and Poland would see their currencies drop as the dollar recovered. Indeed, the greenback is up 26% on Brazil's real and 50% on Poland's zloty.

And now, instead of paying exorbitant exchange rates abroad, American travelers are reaping the benefits of a strong dollar.

Iceland on Sale

Of all industrialized nations, Iceland has been perhaps the hardest-hit by the global recession. Starting in 2003, Iceland's financial industry metastasized, growing from a few billion dollars in assets to nearly 50 times that amount by 2008.

Unfortunately for Icelanders, that included a plethora of highly leveraged deals made at the top of the market, much of it in foreign real estate. Unlike the U.S., the island nation of 300,000 had no strong federal safety net to save it when everything came crashing down. The country's stock market is off 95% over the past 12 months.

That's bad news for Iceland, but great news for American travelers, whose dollars are worth 60% more in Iceland than they were a year ago.

"The economic collapse has brought hardship on many people," says Urdur Gunnarsdóttir, spokeswoman for Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs. "But it has made life much easier for tourists, that's for sure."

Though peak nonstop fares from New York to Reykjavik exceed $1,000, midweek fares are often available for less than $600. Once in Iceland's capital, a beer in a swanky downtown bar is about $5; a posh hotel room can be had for $80 or so. It's not exactly cheap, but the dollar goes twice as far in Reykjavik as it does in Europe's cosmopolitan capitals like London and Moscow.

Keep taking discount vacations, and you might just be able to save up enough for an extreme vacation in Sierra Leone, which doesn't make our list but will certainly be affordable--though far from luxurious--upon arrival.

"It's a really good buy," says De Domenico of his 800-acre, $35 million island. "People pay that much for a condo in Manhattan."

After a Lay-Off or Mortgage-Rate Hike, Many Americans Find Themselves in Debt

By DAVID K. RANDALL
Forbes.com
May 19, 2009


It's a situation all too familiar to millions of Americans these days. After years of hard work, a sudden job loss, pay cut, furlough or simple over-reliance on debt has left too little cash on hand to pay the monthly bills. More than 13 million people are currently in hock to collections agencies or are seriously considering bankruptcy, according to a recent report by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

If you find yourself falling behind on your bills, there are several steps you can take to help reduce the amount of money you owe and help preserve the assets you still have. Here's a rundown.

1. Know where you stand. It's important to face up to the problem, rather than tucking threatening letters into a desk drawer. Begin by assessing your complete financial situation. That means tallying up your total income after all taxes and other deductions. Then compare it to your monthly obligations, including housing and car payments, credit card bills and other debts. Add discretionary items, like how much you spend on entertainment and restaurants.

If your income doesn't match, or exceed, how much you're spending, it's time to make some tough choices. That's what one New Jersey couple realized it had to do.

"One party was unemployed and the other was working, but they were living on credit cards that were close to being maxed out," says Michael Kay, a financial planner in Livingston, N.J. "When all was said and done, they had to sell their home, even though it wasn't the best time to do so, to get out of debt."

2. Negotiate with creditors. If the math indicates you're going to have a hard time covering your debts, talk to your creditors before resorting to more desperate measures. If the loan is still held by your bank or original lender, it may be willing to negotiate a temporary solution.

"Your bank or a credit card company has a strong incentive to try to work things out," says Ted Beck, the head of the National Endowment for Financial Education, a nonprofit organization that focuses on personal finance.

3.Know who you're talking with. Don't assume an aggressive debt collector who calls your home has the upper hand, either. First, determine whether the caller represents your lender itself or an outside collections agency. Banks may see someone who missed a payment or two as potentially a good customer down the road and try not to alienate him or her, Beck says. "The last thing that they want to do is own your house."

Collections agencies typically work by buying the rights to your loan at a discount from the original creditor. Then they begin calling debtors to try to recoup as much of the face value of the loan as they can.

4. Only do deals you can live with. It's key to only agree to new terms that you can live with. If a bank offers to lower your payment from say, $500 to $200 a month, accept only if you're sure you can keep up. Failure to meet the reduced rates could undercut your argument that with the bank.

If the bank refuses to lower your payments, ask it to at least drop late payment penalties or the interest rate it's charging you.

5. Make sure your information is accurate. At the same time, confirm with the lender or collection agency that all the information they have about your payment history is correct and that you agree with their tally of how much you owe. If you discover a payment you mailed was never credited to your account, a bank may be willing to cut you a break. Ask for a full explanation of your loan, and where you stand in terms of paying it back, in writing.

If you're dealing with a collection agency, keep a written record of all times that it calls, who you speak with and what is said. Don't give out any information that is unrelated to the debt, Beck warns.

6. Know your rights. Debt collection agencies are also bound by a strict set of federal rules. They are not allowed to threaten or harass you, call outside of designated hours (which vary by state) or publish a list of people who haven't paid their debts. The Federal Trade Commission, a government agency, publishes a list of consumer's rights for dealing with debt collectors (found here.)

7. Avoid desperate measures. Finally, don't let past debts push you into making bad financial decisions. Cash advances from credit cards, payday loans and title loans against your car are all extremely expensive.

"These loans have astronomical interest rates and a structure that makes them very hard to pay back," Beck says.

Beware of any company that promises it can consolidate your debt for an upfront fee because it may be a scam. Instead, turn to an organization like the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which offers free advice from trained credit counselors.

abcnews

A senior financial advisor at Ameriprise says you should fund retirement accounts first
By Emily Brandon
Posted May 18, 2009

Choosing how much of your savings to spend on a child's education while also planning your own financial future is a challenge every parent faces. Evelyn Dinkins, a senior financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial, has a daughter in college, but is also saving for her own retirement. Dinkins recently spoke with U.S. News about why you should fund retirement accounts before paying the bursar. Excerpts:

How should you prioritize saving for your children's college education and funding your own retirement?
The prioritization is a very personal thing. Typically retirement comes first and education is a close second. There is only one way to save for retirement and that's for you to do it. There aren't many pensions left out there. Never leave 401(k) matching money on the table. That's free money. Fully save for retirement and if there is money left over, then save for education. There are a lot of ways to pay for education. There are loans. There are scholarships. There are grants. There are also so many ways students can keep costs down. Students can go in state and live at home. Too often we see people who haven't saved for education and use their retirement accounts. If you do that you may end up having to delay your retirement.

Are many parents able to completely fund their children's education while still keeping retirement plans on track?
A lot of times they can't fund the whole college experience and pay for retirement. They can only fund some amount of the college education. A lot of times their own experience has helped them decide how much college they want to fund. Sometimes parents come in with a very definite idea like, "I had to pay for college or my parents paid for me." We always start planning with the end in mind. Tell me what retirement is going to look like. Tell me what you want your child's college experience to be like.

Should you level with your child about the family's finances?
Have a discussion with the student when they are about 16 or 17. They should start looking at various schools and get a feel for all these costs. You don't want the student to have unrealistic expectations. At the age of 16 or 17 they are capable of understanding what it's going to cost and where it's going to come from and what the family's finances are. Even if you could afford to pay for everything, it's important for the student to understand how much college costs. My daughter looked at one particular school and I just had to say that can't be on your list unless you want to come out with a massive student loan. Unless the kid can get a scholarship, they often don't go to the expensive schools. Expensive schools do have large endowments and the average student doesn't even pay the full amount because they have so much money to give. You need to check with the school. Typically you can find out on their website what the average student is actually paying.

How does saving for college and retirement affect how much financial aid a student is eligible for?
Money that is set aside in retirement accounts is not considered money that is even available to go to a college education. 100 percent of that money is going towards your retirement. Don't put all of your savings into a 529 plan. The 529 plan is all for college and it can skew your financial aid. If you're counting on financial aid it may not be the best route.

How much do you need to save to finance four years of college and retirement?
You need to be saving probably 20 percent of your income for retirement if you are going to be saving well for retirement. Most people are saving 5 or 6 percent for retirement. College always costs more than you think it's going to cost. If it says the university costs $10,000 a year, assume it costs more than that because you are going to be spending more money. You're going to need to have auto insurance, additional food, and what if they don't want to live in the dorm? It's going to end up costing more. You can find out what it costs and then I think you should add another 10 to 20 percent over what you think it is going to cost.

source: US News

Liz Pulliam Weston, Money Talk
May 17, 2009
Dear Liz: I currently have a consolidated student loan with the federal Direct Loan program at an 8.25% fixed rate. I initially borrowed $50,000 18 years ago, but the balance due has ballooned to almost $155,000 over the years.

I have annually applied for and been granted a forbearance from Direct Loans so my account is currently in good standing. I've recently had some good fortune and will be coming into a substantial amount of money that would allow me to pay off the entire balance due in one payment.

Given the circumstances, is it possible for me to approach Direct Loans with the possibility of paying off the entire balance due at a reduced rate since I'm willing to pay it all up front? For instance, I could offer them $100,000 if they'll forgive the remaining balance of $55,000.

Answer: In most cases, the U.S. Department of Education won't negotiate with borrowers over the amount they owe on federal student loans, said student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz of FinAid.org.

That's because the department has extraordinary powers to force you to pay. The debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy and the department can intercept tax refunds, garnish your wages and take a portion of many government benefits, including Social Security checks, if you default.

There also is no statute of limitations on student loan debt, which means there's no time limit on how long the government can take to sue borrowers who default. The feds can wait for years until borrowers' circumstances improve and then go after them.

Given its arsenal, the government can take a tough stance, Kantrowitz said. But he has heard that the department sometimes will agree to forgive a portion of accrued interest and fees if the remaining balance will be paid off in full.

What you need to find out is how much the Direct Loan program paid for your loan, Kantrowitz said, since the government will never accept less than what it cost to acquire a loan.

You'll need to use the National Student Loan Data system ( www.finaid.org/loans /lostlender.phtml) or your own records to determine what your balance was when you consolidated your loans into the Direct Loan program. That is the amount the department paid to acquire the loans from your original lender.

Kantrowitz recommends offering to split the difference between that figure and your current balance. Whatever the department counteroffers, accept it.

"That's a reasonable approach that is fair to both the borrower and the taxpayers," Kantrowitz said, "providing the taxpayers with some compensation for the cost of the funds over the years."

Don't spend the rest of your windfall, however. If the government does forgive a portion of the debt, the amount forgiven is considered taxable income to you.

Responding to an interest rate hike

Dear Liz: My credit card interest rate recently went from 11% to 24%. I have excellent credit and a history of paying off any balance. I have never missed a payment or paid late. When I asked why the rate was hiked, I was given a story about the issuer's rising costs. Should I switch my balance to a card from my local bank? The balance is small and the interest rate is one-third of what my current credit card company is demanding. I can pay the balance off in four months.

Answer: The credit card issuers that are being the most aggressive about raising rates and cutting limits are hoping you'll passively accept the changes. But when you have good credit, you have choices. You can take your business elsewhere.

If you can pay the balance off quickly, though, you might want to do the math on whether a switch makes sense. If you have to pay a 3% to 4% fee for the transfer, which you typically do, that cost may offset any interest rate savings. Plus, applying for a new card can ding your credit.

You might want to make the change anyway, of course, just to make the point to your issuer that you won't stand for arbitrary rate increases.

Liz Pulliam Weston is the author of the book "Your Credit Score: Your Money and What's at Stake." Questions for possible inclusion in her column may be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon Blvd., No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or via the "Contact Liz" form at www.asklizweston.com. Distributed by No More Red Inc.

source: LA Times

7 Ways to Be Happier at Work

by Jeff Stibel


A recent report listed the happiest nations in the world. Guess what? The US didn't even make it into the top ten. So much for the American dream.

Why are we so unhappy? Let's start by looking at the origin of the word. Happy is derived from the Icelandic word happ, meaning luck or chance. Is happiness then, by its very definition, elusive due its randomness? Nassim Taleb certainly thinks so, as he expressed in his bestselling book Fooled by Randomness. But this is clearly not the case for the top 10 happiest countries.

In his book, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, the Dalai Lama — arguably a very wise and happy man — suggests that true happiness can be attained only by training the mind. So much for Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert's notion of Stumbling on Happiness (despite the title, he too argues that we can train our minds to be happier). With that in mind, here are a number of suggestions that I hope can turn our collective frowns upside-down:

1. Smile. Turns out, smiling is directly linked to happiness. It may have started as a correlation but, over time, the brain linked the two. Don't believe me? Try this: smile (a nice big smile) and attempt to think of something negative. Either you will stop smiling or you won't be able to hold the negative thought.

2. Stop worrying. Worrying happens to be one of humanity's best traits. It is the underlying emotion behind foresight, planning, and forecasting. We worry because some future event is uncertain and that feeling is a cue for us to start thinking about how to address it. The problem is, we worry too much about things that are out of our control (like the economy, stupid). The US has one of the highest rates for mental disease and yes, worry is among the leading indicators. While it's true that there are plenty of things to worry about these days, take a deep breath, America, and stop sweating the small stuff.

3. Take a break. The US is one of the most overworked industrialized nations. But this is counterproductive for a nation of "knowledge workers." Overworking people to exhaustion is a horrible way to extract knowledge from people. Taking a break provides an opportunity to reflect and often it is during such times when the best ideas, our deepest insights, emerge. I insist on taking lunches out of the office; I insist that my colleagues do the same. Call it a siesta, naptime, or a mini-vacation. It works for many of the happier nations too.

4. Do things differently. Part of the problem at work for many people is boredom. We are stuck in a rut where we come in and do the same thing over and over and over again. Get your enthusiasm back by doing things differently. Make every effort to learn, to grow, and to challenge yourself. Take on more responsibility or attempt something you never thought you were capable of doing. Even if your responsibilities don't allow for much flexibility, try a different approach to your existing responsibilities.

5. Stop managing and start leading. If you're in management, you need to find ways to motivate and stimulate your employees. How? Stretch their minds. Empower your team by giving them more responsibility, more decision-making power, more autonomy. Equally important: be inclusive. Explain what is happening in the company as a whole and give your employees a broader perspective on how their jobs influence the overall business.

6. Delegate. One of the most destructive and counterproductive byproducts of the downsizing era is fear — many managers are scared to let go of control for fear that doing so will make them obsolete. I have news for you: if you feel that way, you already are obsolete. Being controlling is bad for business, not to mention bad for your physical and mental health. The best leaders always look for people better, smarter, and more capable than themselves.

7. Have fun. Here is some tough advice: If you don't like what you are doing, stop doing it. Life is too short to not have fun. I love what I do and when I stop loving it, I do something else. Even in this economy, you will be in high demand if you are good at what you do — and can do it with a smile on your face.

What are your tips for being happier at work?

Jeffrey M. Stibel is an entrepreneur and brain scientist. He studied business and brain science at MIT Sloan and Brown University, where he was a brain and behavior fellow. Stibel has authored numerous academic and business articles on a variety of subjects and is the named inventor on the US patent for search engine interfaces. He is currently President of Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) and serves on academic Boards for Tufts and Brown University, as well as the Board of Directors for a number of public and private companies.

source: Harvard Business