Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Savvy Networker
10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes
The 2009 job market is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven't job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.One of the biggest changes is the shift in what constitutes a strong resume. Years ago, we could dig into the Resume Boilerplate grab-bag and pull out a phrase to fill out a sentence or bullet point on our resume. Everybody used the same boilerplate phrases, so we knew we couldn't go wrong choosing one of them -- or many -- to throw into your resume.
Things have changed. Stodgy boilerplate phrases in your resume today mark you as uncreative and "vocabulary challenged." You can make your resume more compelling and human-sounding by rooting out and replacing the boring corporate-speak phrases that litter it, and replacing them with human language -- things that people like you or I would actually say.
Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases -- the ones to seek out and destroy in your resume as soon as possible:
- Results-oriented professional
- Cross-functional teams
- More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
- Superior (or excellent) communication skills
- Strong work ethic
- Met or exceeded expectations
- Proven track record of success
- Works well with all levels of staff
- Team player
- Bottom-line orientation
You can do better. What about adding a human voice to your resume? Here's an example:
"I'm a Marketing Researcher who's driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I'm equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I'm fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month -- and have helped my employers' brands grow dramatically as a result."
You don't have to write resumes that sound like robots wrote them. A human-voiced resume is the new black -- try it!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
He can't get a break
Gates & Police Have Very Different Accounts; Update: Charge Dropped
Gates' "booking photos." Cambridge Police Dept./AP
Update at 11:40 a.m. ET: WBZ-TV in Boston is reporting that the disorderly conduct charge filed by Cambridge police against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates is being dropped.
According to the station:
Cambridge police recommended to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office Tuesday that they don't proceed with the charges and the D.A. agreed to drop the case.
The Associated Press says it has been told by "a person with knowledge of the case" that the charge is being dismissed.
Update at 12:40 p.m. ET. According to the AP:
The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest "was regrettable and unfortunate" and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.
"This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department," the statement said.
Here's our original post:
By Mark Memmott
The story of what happened when Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates was arrested at his home last Thursday, which Laura posted about yesterday and Morning Edition covered today, continues to get considerable attention.
And the accounts of Cambridge Police and Gates (through a lawyer) could not be much different.
A quick recap: Gates returned to his home in Cambridge, Mass., from a trip. He and his driver had some trouble getting the front door open. Someone called police to say that two men (both black) were trying to force it open.
From there, the stories diverge.
Gates' attorney, Charles Ogletree, has issued a statement. It says, in part, that when the officer arrived on the scene, he asked Gates to step outside.
Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there. The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver's license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates' photograph, and the license includes his address.
Ogletree says Gates asked the officer to identify himself several times, without success. And, according to Ogletree, as Gates followed the officer out of the home he was arrested.
The police, though, say Gates was arrested for "disorderly conduct after loud and tumultuous behavior."
Earlier this morning, the Boston Globe had a copy of the police report posted online (it appears to have now been removed). As the Globe writes:
The Cambridge police report describes a chaotic scene in which the police sergeant stood at Gates's door, demanded identification, and radioed for assistance from Harvard University police when Gates presented him with a Harvard ID. A visibly upset Gates responded to the officer's assertion that he was responding to a report of a break-in with, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?''
"Gates then turned to me and told me that I had no idea who I was 'messing' with and that I had not heard the last of it,'' the report said. "While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me.''
When the officer repeatedly told Gates he would speak with him outside, the normally mild-mannered professor shouted, "Ya, I'll speak with your mama outside,'' according to the report.
Gates was arrested after "exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior'' toward the officer who questioned him, the report said.
For its part, the Harvard University Police log has only this:
"Officers dispatched to a theft in progress. Upon arrival CPD had arrested an individual."
The headline at The Harvard Crimson: "Renowned Af-Am Professor Gates Arrested For Disorderly Conduct; Gates, Who Was Trying To Enter His Own Home, Reportedly Accused Police Of Being Racist."
