Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Personality Bombs
Defusing Personality Bombs At Work
By:
Morey Stettner
Manage enough employees and you'll face individuals with personality disorders. The way you respond can either promote calm or provoke turmoil.
"We all have diverse personalities," said Laurence Miller, a clinical business psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla. "But when personality traits turn into personality disorders, you have a problem."
"From Difficult to Disturbed," Miller describes the most difficult people to manage as "personality stealth bombs." The severity of their dysfunctional personality may not manifest itself at first, but it eventually grates on everyone on the team.
Difficult employees may exhibit narcissism, anti-social behavior and obsessive-compulsive characteristics, Miller says. By knowing how to spot these problems, you can take steps to contain the damage and disruption that these individuals often cause.
"Managers don't need to be psychologists and make clinical diagnoses," Miller said. "They just need to be aware of what to look for and use their intuition."
Narcissistic personalities have a wildly inflated sense of themselves. They think they are superior to others -- smarter and more special -- and as a result they may ignore rules and chafe at constructive criticism. Rarely modest, they tend to hog credit for team accomplishments and make suggestions that they deem brilliant.
"It's important to coach narcissists to follow through on their good ideas," Miller said. Because they crave attention, reward them for implementing their ideas by praising their execution and inviting them to lead training sessions.
Anti-social personalities disregard the respectful communication that characterizes a healthy workplace. They are often "the most malignant" types of employees, Miller said, because they're apt to cheat or steal without compunction.
"Anti-social personalities lie and they're good at it," Miller warned. "They can charm the birds out of the trees, so pin them down. Assess their performance using clear measures so that they can't get around things using glib explanations."
Because these types of employees tend to do the least amount of work that they can and alienate colleagues with their lack of civility, it's especially important to identify and reject job seekers with anti-social personalities.
Always check references and confirm the applicant's claims of achievements in past jobs. Be wary if you detect repeated inconsistencies in the candidate's comments.
Obsessive-compulsive personalities place undue emphasis on minutiae. Their productivity can suffer because they spend too much time fussing and nit-picking, although their love of detail can work well for certain complex or multistep projects.
Manage these individuals by encouraging them to take breaks and appreciate the big picture. Direct their focus on what matters most so that they don't approach every aspect of their job with excessive orderliness.
By:
Morey Stettner
Manage enough employees and you'll face individuals with personality disorders. The way you respond can either promote calm or provoke turmoil.
"We all have diverse personalities," said Laurence Miller, a clinical business psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla. "But when personality traits turn into personality disorders, you have a problem."
"From Difficult to Disturbed," Miller describes the most difficult people to manage as "personality stealth bombs." The severity of their dysfunctional personality may not manifest itself at first, but it eventually grates on everyone on the team.
Difficult employees may exhibit narcissism, anti-social behavior and obsessive-compulsive characteristics, Miller says. By knowing how to spot these problems, you can take steps to contain the damage and disruption that these individuals often cause.
"Managers don't need to be psychologists and make clinical diagnoses," Miller said. "They just need to be aware of what to look for and use their intuition."
Narcissistic personalities have a wildly inflated sense of themselves. They think they are superior to others -- smarter and more special -- and as a result they may ignore rules and chafe at constructive criticism. Rarely modest, they tend to hog credit for team accomplishments and make suggestions that they deem brilliant.
"It's important to coach narcissists to follow through on their good ideas," Miller said. Because they crave attention, reward them for implementing their ideas by praising their execution and inviting them to lead training sessions.
Anti-social personalities disregard the respectful communication that characterizes a healthy workplace. They are often "the most malignant" types of employees, Miller said, because they're apt to cheat or steal without compunction.
"Anti-social personalities lie and they're good at it," Miller warned. "They can charm the birds out of the trees, so pin them down. Assess their performance using clear measures so that they can't get around things using glib explanations."
Because these types of employees tend to do the least amount of work that they can and alienate colleagues with their lack of civility, it's especially important to identify and reject job seekers with anti-social personalities.
Always check references and confirm the applicant's claims of achievements in past jobs. Be wary if you detect repeated inconsistencies in the candidate's comments.
Obsessive-compulsive personalities place undue emphasis on minutiae. Their productivity can suffer because they spend too much time fussing and nit-picking, although their love of detail can work well for certain complex or multistep projects.
Manage these individuals by encouraging them to take breaks and appreciate the big picture. Direct their focus on what matters most so that they don't approach every aspect of their job with excessive orderliness.
Investor's Business Daily
Defusing Personality Bombs At Work
Friday November 30, 6:05 pm ET
Morey Stettner
Manage enough employees and you'll face individuals with personality disorders. The way you respond can either promote calm or provoke turmoil.
"We all have diverse personalities," said Laurence Miller, a clinical business psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla. "But when personality traits turn into personality disorders, you have a problem."
ADVERTISEMENT
Author of "From Difficult to Disturbed," Miller describes the most difficult people to manage as "personality stealth bombs." The severity of their dysfunctional personality may not manifest itself at first, but it eventually grates on everyone on the team.
Difficult employees may exhibit narcissism, anti-social behavior and obsessive-compulsive characteristics, Miller says. By knowing how to spot these problems, you can take steps to contain the damage and disruption that these individuals often cause.
"Managers don't need to be psychologists and make clinical diagnoses," Miller said. "They just need to be aware of what to look for and use their intuition."
Narcissistic personalities have a wildly inflated sense of themselves. They think they are superior to others -- smarter and more special -- and as a result they may ignore rules and chafe at constructive criticism. Rarely modest, they tend to hog credit for team accomplishments and make suggestions that they deem brilliant.
"It's important to coach narcissists to follow through on their good ideas," Miller said. Because they crave attention, reward them for implementing their ideas by praising their execution and inviting them to lead training sessions.
Anti-social personalities disregard the respectful communication that characterizes a healthy workplace. They are often "the most malignant" types of employees, Miller said, because they're apt to cheat or steal without compunction.
"Anti-social personalities lie and they're good at it," Miller warned. "They can charm the birds out of the trees, so pin them down. Assess their performance using clear measures so that they can't get around things using glib explanations."
Because these types of employees tend to do the least amount of work that they can and alienate colleagues with their lack of civility, it's especially important to identify and reject job seekers with anti-social personalities.
Always check references and confirm the applicant's claims of achievements in past jobs. Be wary if you detect repeated inconsistencies in the candidate's comments.
Obsessive-compulsive personalities place undue emphasis on minutiae. Their productivity can suffer because they spend too much time fussing and nit-picking, although their love of detail can work well for certain complex or multistep projects.
Manage these individuals by encouraging them to take breaks and appreciate the big picture. Direct their focus on what matters most so that they don't approach every aspect of their job with excessive orderliness.
"Make sure they don't get bogged down," Miller said. And point 15ut the difference between performing a task well and striving for an unrealistic standard of perfection.
Defusing Personality Bombs At Work
Friday November 30, 6:05 pm ET
Morey Stettner
Manage enough employees and you'll face individuals with personality disorders. The way you respond can either promote calm or provoke turmoil.
"We all have diverse personalities," said Laurence Miller, a clinical business psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla. "But when personality traits turn into personality disorders, you have a problem."
ADVERTISEMENT
Author of "From Difficult to Disturbed," Miller describes the most difficult people to manage as "personality stealth bombs." The severity of their dysfunctional personality may not manifest itself at first, but it eventually grates on everyone on the team.
Difficult employees may exhibit narcissism, anti-social behavior and obsessive-compulsive characteristics, Miller says. By knowing how to spot these problems, you can take steps to contain the damage and disruption that these individuals often cause.
"Managers don't need to be psychologists and make clinical diagnoses," Miller said. "They just need to be aware of what to look for and use their intuition."
Narcissistic personalities have a wildly inflated sense of themselves. They think they are superior to others -- smarter and more special -- and as a result they may ignore rules and chafe at constructive criticism. Rarely modest, they tend to hog credit for team accomplishments and make suggestions that they deem brilliant.
"It's important to coach narcissists to follow through on their good ideas," Miller said. Because they crave attention, reward them for implementing their ideas by praising their execution and inviting them to lead training sessions.
Anti-social personalities disregard the respectful communication that characterizes a healthy workplace. They are often "the most malignant" types of employees, Miller said, because they're apt to cheat or steal without compunction.
"Anti-social personalities lie and they're good at it," Miller warned. "They can charm the birds out of the trees, so pin them down. Assess their performance using clear measures so that they can't get around things using glib explanations."
Because these types of employees tend to do the least amount of work that they can and alienate colleagues with their lack of civility, it's especially important to identify and reject job seekers with anti-social personalities.
Always check references and confirm the applicant's claims of achievements in past jobs. Be wary if you detect repeated inconsistencies in the candidate's comments.
Obsessive-compulsive personalities place undue emphasis on minutiae. Their productivity can suffer because they spend too much time fussing and nit-picking, although their love of detail can work well for certain complex or multistep projects.
Manage these individuals by encouraging them to take breaks and appreciate the big picture. Direct their focus on what matters most so that they don't approach every aspect of their job with excessive orderliness.
"Make sure they don't get bogged down," Miller said. And point 15ut the difference between performing a task well and striving for an unrealistic standard of perfection.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Manager's Scheduling Skills
4 Step Scheduling Secrets
Now, finally, you have reached the climax where you learn how to put together an effective, time management schedule aimed at providing you with the very best results. It takes just five steps to make this successful.
Step One: Identify and implement time for your tasks. If you are working at home, you need time to be scheduled to be dedicated to the job at hand. If you work in an office, be sure to note that your time is from 9am to noon then from 1pm until 5pm, for example. Your personal life can be scheduled around as needed, but schedule time for work specifically.
Step Two: Now, schedule the time you need for accomplish the regular activities of your job. This may include things like working with others, giving direction, paying invoices, organizing your schedule and so forth. This should be time that you must dedicate to making your job successful. These are items you do not have a choice but to do even if they are at a set time.
Step Three: Use your To Do List to help you to schedule in the important activities on your schedule. Start with all of your number one or highest priority items and block them in on your schedule. Then, move on to the next times until you go through your entire list, allotting time to each of the most important tasks.
Some items may not make it into your schedule. That is to be expected. That is not necessarily a problem if they are truly the bottom of the line. If their priority changes over time, change them to fit into your schedule as you see fit. Be sure that all tasks that can not be given to anyone one else are scheduled for you here.
Step Four: Extra time schedule as necessary. Here, you need to begin by knowing how long it will take you to complete the task. For example, if you have to write that column you may know that it will take you one full hour to actually write out the column. Block in that hour.
But in addition to this, do give yourself what is called contingency time. This is time that is provided to you as a padding because as you know it is not likely that you will get an entire hour that is uninterrupted by something or someone. Over time you can make better decisions on how much of this time you will actually need.
You will need to be sure that you are giving yourself enough time here. You may actually find yourself struggling to find the time to accomplish this task too. Yet, go back and find spots and locations where you can grab a few minutes here and there so that at the end of the day you do have this time.
You should also remember that delegation is a key to success. If you have to handle something yourself, by all means do so. But, when you can give off a bit of that to someone else, go for it. All successful business people must master delegation to gain the most benefit for their time and their money.
As you can see from this five step program, managing your time can be quite simple when you work through the program. You will need to consistently revisit your goals, tweak them and your Action Plans to actually help you to make all aspects work at their best, but that is a simple method of achieving success that can not be avoided.
Be sure to take full advantage of the benefits that scheduling can offer to you. Don't jump ahead and try to have a schedule without goals as it will not produce the same results!
Now, finally, you have reached the climax where you learn how to put together an effective, time management schedule aimed at providing you with the very best results. It takes just five steps to make this successful.
Step One: Identify and implement time for your tasks. If you are working at home, you need time to be scheduled to be dedicated to the job at hand. If you work in an office, be sure to note that your time is from 9am to noon then from 1pm until 5pm, for example. Your personal life can be scheduled around as needed, but schedule time for work specifically.
Step Two: Now, schedule the time you need for accomplish the regular activities of your job. This may include things like working with others, giving direction, paying invoices, organizing your schedule and so forth. This should be time that you must dedicate to making your job successful. These are items you do not have a choice but to do even if they are at a set time.
Step Three: Use your To Do List to help you to schedule in the important activities on your schedule. Start with all of your number one or highest priority items and block them in on your schedule. Then, move on to the next times until you go through your entire list, allotting time to each of the most important tasks.
Some items may not make it into your schedule. That is to be expected. That is not necessarily a problem if they are truly the bottom of the line. If their priority changes over time, change them to fit into your schedule as you see fit. Be sure that all tasks that can not be given to anyone one else are scheduled for you here.
Step Four: Extra time schedule as necessary. Here, you need to begin by knowing how long it will take you to complete the task. For example, if you have to write that column you may know that it will take you one full hour to actually write out the column. Block in that hour.
But in addition to this, do give yourself what is called contingency time. This is time that is provided to you as a padding because as you know it is not likely that you will get an entire hour that is uninterrupted by something or someone. Over time you can make better decisions on how much of this time you will actually need.
You will need to be sure that you are giving yourself enough time here. You may actually find yourself struggling to find the time to accomplish this task too. Yet, go back and find spots and locations where you can grab a few minutes here and there so that at the end of the day you do have this time.
You should also remember that delegation is a key to success. If you have to handle something yourself, by all means do so. But, when you can give off a bit of that to someone else, go for it. All successful business people must master delegation to gain the most benefit for their time and their money.
As you can see from this five step program, managing your time can be quite simple when you work through the program. You will need to consistently revisit your goals, tweak them and your Action Plans to actually help you to make all aspects work at their best, but that is a simple method of achieving success that can not be avoided.
Be sure to take full advantage of the benefits that scheduling can offer to you. Don't jump ahead and try to have a schedule without goals as it will not produce the same results!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
WRITE A RESUME WITH POWER
PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
The job of the employer is to pour through, sometimes, hundreds of resumes each and every day. They have a well-trained eye for scanning and for identifying the candidates that interest them most. All the same, they must read through all kinds of really boring information.
Some resumes read like a long list of data that is anything like remarkable. Your resume, however, will not. Your resume will be formatted to give your prospective employer your most meaningful and interesting information first and then all of the pertinent, less exciting information, after.
Your resume packs a punch to begin with and then you boldly assert your best qualities and talents. Now, you will back up your assertions by proving you know your stuff. You will now show how qualified you are for the job based on your work experience.
WRITING YOUR RESUME WITH POWER
Use These Resume Power Words with Confidence
A
accomplished advertised arranged
achieved advised assembled
acquired analyzed assisted
adapted appraised audited
adjusted approved augmented
administered arbitrated authored
B
budgeted built
C
calculated conceived coordinated
catalogued conceptualized copyrighted
charted conducted corrected
closed (a deal) consolidated corresponded
coached constructed counseled
compared consulted created
compiled contacted cultivated
completed controlled
composed convinced
D
debugged detected discovered
decreased determined dispatched
delegated developed distributed
delivered devised documented
designated diagnosed
designed directed
E
edited enhanced examined
elicited enlarged exceeded
eliminated established executed
empowered estimated expanded
engineered evaluated explained
F
fired flagged formulated
founded
G
gathered generated guided
H
headed hired
I
identified initiated interpreted
ignited innovated interviewed
implemented inspected invented
improved installed inventoried
increased instituted
influenced instructed
J
justified
L
lectured lobbied logged
led
M
maintained mediated motivated
managed modified
manufactured monitored
N
negotiated
O
obtained ordered overhauled
operated organized
P
patented prepared programmed
performed presented promoted
persuaded presided proposed
placed processed provided
planned produced purchased
posted proficient
Q
quantified qualified
R
recognized reorganized researched
recommended repaired restored
reconciled replaced reviewed
reduced reported revised
referred represented
regulated rescued
S
scheduled sold suggested
screened solved supervised
selected steered supplied
served streamlined systematized
simplified studied
T
taught tracked transcribed
tested trained translated
traced
U
updated utilized
V
vended
W
won wrote
As a practice exercise, take your old resume, and at random, look for places to insert good power words. Watch how quickly your old resume will be transformed!
Make good use of adjectives when writing your resume.
Remember, an Adjective Describes. When writing your resume you want to be able to describe all that is important to you and your accomplishments.
Write with description and your resume will be more interesting!
KudoSurf Me!
Adrienne Manson
www.skill-center.highpowersites.com
Monday, November 5, 2007
WRITING EFFECTIVE GOALS
Making Goals Reality
Now that you have your goals down on paper, you can begin to schedule your day around what you plan to achieve. It is important to complete that step because everything that you do in your life, no matter how large or small should reflect in a positive manner on your goals.
Effective scheduling helps you to put everything down on paper that you need to do, helps you to positively identify the important tasks for you to complete to reach your goals and helps you to ultimately make decisions that are on target with your life.
The end result: you manage your time in the best way possible to make your goals reality.
With any form of scheduling, you need to analyze several key things. First, realize that you have a limited amount of time to make anything happen. Second, you need to find the best use of your time to obtain the goals that you have.
Now, here are some tips to help you to use proper scheduling to benefit your overall life, your time and your goal achievements.
1. Be realistic. Always plan for what can be accomplished in the right amount of time. Overbooking yourself does not help you in any way at all.
2. Plan for important things first. Giving yourself the ability to achieve your goals is important, but some things are must do things that you can not avoid.
3. Provide yourself with some level of flexibility. Bad things happen all of the time. Even just unexpected but important things need a place to be put when the time comes.
4. Do not over commit yourself. It can be quite powerful to say no to someone when you know that you just can not commit to it. This helps you to say yes to those things that are more important to you.
5. Always plan to use your time in the best manner possible.
When you do these things, you can put together a schedule that is well thought out and planned for success. A schedule like this that is used at work or in your business helps you to maximize the amount of time you have so that you dedicate all of your energy to the most important things, accomplishing more in a shorter amount of time. Then, you can have your time to yourself!
www.skill-center.highpowersites.com
Now that you have your goals down on paper, you can begin to schedule your day around what you plan to achieve. It is important to complete that step because everything that you do in your life, no matter how large or small should reflect in a positive manner on your goals.
Effective scheduling helps you to put everything down on paper that you need to do, helps you to positively identify the important tasks for you to complete to reach your goals and helps you to ultimately make decisions that are on target with your life.
The end result: you manage your time in the best way possible to make your goals reality.
With any form of scheduling, you need to analyze several key things. First, realize that you have a limited amount of time to make anything happen. Second, you need to find the best use of your time to obtain the goals that you have.
Now, here are some tips to help you to use proper scheduling to benefit your overall life, your time and your goal achievements.
1. Be realistic. Always plan for what can be accomplished in the right amount of time. Overbooking yourself does not help you in any way at all.
2. Plan for important things first. Giving yourself the ability to achieve your goals is important, but some things are must do things that you can not avoid.
3. Provide yourself with some level of flexibility. Bad things happen all of the time. Even just unexpected but important things need a place to be put when the time comes.
4. Do not over commit yourself. It can be quite powerful to say no to someone when you know that you just can not commit to it. This helps you to say yes to those things that are more important to you.
5. Always plan to use your time in the best manner possible.
When you do these things, you can put together a schedule that is well thought out and planned for success. A schedule like this that is used at work or in your business helps you to maximize the amount of time you have so that you dedicate all of your energy to the most important things, accomplishing more in a shorter amount of time. Then, you can have your time to yourself!
www.skill-center.highpowersites.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
INTERVIEWING: The Prospective Employer
Questions That You Should Ask Your Interviewer
Just like you will be fielding questions from your interviewer, it is best to ask a few of your own. It shows that you are genuinely interested in working there, and that you have some concerns of your own. It also shows that you feel relatively certain that this is the place for you.
Asking the right questions to your prospective employer will show him/her that you are serious in you efforts to work for their company, and that you are an organized individual. You should steer clear of asking any personal questions or any questions that are not directly job related.
If you wish, you may jot down some of the answers that you are given for reference later on. Keep your questions simple and polite. Make sure that you are asking direct questions about the job and/or work environment.
Here are some questions that you should ask your prospective employer:
1. Why is this position available right now?
2. How many times has this position been filled in the past 5 years?
3. What should the new person do that is different from the last person that had this position?
4. What would you most like to see done in the next 6 months?
5. What are the most difficult problems that this job entails?
6. How much freedom do I have in the decision making process?
7. What are my options for advancement?
8. How has this company succeeded in the past?
9. What changes do you envision in near future for this company?
10. What do you think constitutes success in this job
Just like you will be fielding questions from your interviewer, it is best to ask a few of your own. It shows that you are genuinely interested in working there, and that you have some concerns of your own. It also shows that you feel relatively certain that this is the place for you.
Asking the right questions to your prospective employer will show him/her that you are serious in you efforts to work for their company, and that you are an organized individual. You should steer clear of asking any personal questions or any questions that are not directly job related.
If you wish, you may jot down some of the answers that you are given for reference later on. Keep your questions simple and polite. Make sure that you are asking direct questions about the job and/or work environment.
Here are some questions that you should ask your prospective employer:
1. Why is this position available right now?
2. How many times has this position been filled in the past 5 years?
3. What should the new person do that is different from the last person that had this position?
4. What would you most like to see done in the next 6 months?
5. What are the most difficult problems that this job entails?
6. How much freedom do I have in the decision making process?
7. What are my options for advancement?
8. How has this company succeeded in the past?
9. What changes do you envision in near future for this company?
10. What do you think constitutes success in this job
Thursday, October 25, 2007
RESUME SUMMARY
WRITING YOUR SUMMARY
The Summary element of your resume needs to pack a punch to be most effective. It contains the best about how and why you qualify for the job.
You want the employer to focus in quickly on this section because it will highlight your most important accomplishments, talents, and qualities.
After reading your Summary, the employer should know, without any doubt, that you are the best man or woman for the job. This is where you will shine! This will be your moment to show your stuff. After reading this section, the employer will be compelled to read more!
Writing this section, you will use many colorful and descriptive words. If one of your best talents is sales, write that you are a gifted salesman, able to close the deal in record time!
If your talent is hairdressing, write that your creations have been featured at XYZ hair show and that your technique is now copied in Salons throughout the Mid-West! You get the idea.
This section will only contain information about you that is commendable and that will set you apart from the crowd. Using the right kind of descriptive, complimentary words, you achieve this handsomely. Your summary will show your prospective employer that you alone will be the best fit for the position needed to be filled.
Tailor your Summary to your Prospective Employer’s Needs
Before writing your resume, you wrote notes on what makes you the best candidate for your intended position. You will have looked at the many characteristics and qualities that you believe your prospective employer will be looking for in the ideal candidate.
Now is the time to tailor your Summary section to matching those specific needs. Every statement made in your Summary section will be targeted to show the employer that you have what it takes to fill that position.
Work on writing positive and affirming statements that exemplify your unique abilities and talents to be most affective in the intended position. Practice using descriptive words.
If you want to write that you are a good leader, write instead that you are “proven leader” with initiative and motivational skills that cause others to act! Describe why you are good at what you do and leave no room for interpretation.
Using words like “good” and “competent” speaks in general terms. Describe how you possess these attributes and you will have done your job well!
Below, you will find a variety of suggestions for composing your Summary section. You can select those that best suit your skill-set. Experiment a bit, first, and then zero in on those that best reflect what you have to offer a perspective employer. Remember, your Summary section is critical to your resumes success.
Few people will use all of the suggestions. Doing this might be seen as over-kill. You are encouraged to say the most, while writing the least.
Start with a concise phrase that describes your profession.
Next, another concise phrase showing your broad or specialized experience.
Make a few more concise statements to show the following:
- the full extent of your skill-set
- the variety of your skills
- diversity in your experience
- an accomplishment worth noting
- Anything remarkable about your accomplishments.
Optional
Professional achievements
Personal Characteristics worth noting
Concise statement to highlight professional objective.
WRITING THE SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS SECTION
In the Summary section of your resume, you can brag a little. In the Skills and Accomplishments section you can brag a little more.
This section will cap off all that qualifies you for your intended position. You will show your prospective employer that there can be no other and the journey stops with YOU!
How do you do this best? You continue to show that you are the right one for the job by going into better detail about all that you wrote of in your Summary section. This requires careful wording so as not to be repetitious. If you can pull this off professionally, using words that glow, you will have the attention you are looking for!
The most key point about writing this section is you are not going to inform. You are going to highlight in more detail, what your prospective employer already believes to be true about you as an ideal candidate.
The Purpose of your Skills and Accomplishments Section
Go into good detail about the following:
• Any benchmarks or landmarks accomplished as the result of your unique skill- set.
• Using facts, figures and statistics, show how your best efforts showed the best results.
• Your specific talents and unique gifts as related to your job.
• All accomplishments that sets you apart.
To be most effective, you will use clear, crisp writing that sums up. You are going into detail here, but not so much that this section reads like a story.
Key Point -- Write so that you give hints and not complete details. You want your prospective employer to call you in for the interview to learn more!
The Summary element of your resume needs to pack a punch to be most effective. It contains the best about how and why you qualify for the job.
You want the employer to focus in quickly on this section because it will highlight your most important accomplishments, talents, and qualities.
After reading your Summary, the employer should know, without any doubt, that you are the best man or woman for the job. This is where you will shine! This will be your moment to show your stuff. After reading this section, the employer will be compelled to read more!
Writing this section, you will use many colorful and descriptive words. If one of your best talents is sales, write that you are a gifted salesman, able to close the deal in record time!
If your talent is hairdressing, write that your creations have been featured at XYZ hair show and that your technique is now copied in Salons throughout the Mid-West! You get the idea.
This section will only contain information about you that is commendable and that will set you apart from the crowd. Using the right kind of descriptive, complimentary words, you achieve this handsomely. Your summary will show your prospective employer that you alone will be the best fit for the position needed to be filled.
Tailor your Summary to your Prospective Employer’s Needs
Before writing your resume, you wrote notes on what makes you the best candidate for your intended position. You will have looked at the many characteristics and qualities that you believe your prospective employer will be looking for in the ideal candidate.
Now is the time to tailor your Summary section to matching those specific needs. Every statement made in your Summary section will be targeted to show the employer that you have what it takes to fill that position.
Work on writing positive and affirming statements that exemplify your unique abilities and talents to be most affective in the intended position. Practice using descriptive words.
If you want to write that you are a good leader, write instead that you are “proven leader” with initiative and motivational skills that cause others to act! Describe why you are good at what you do and leave no room for interpretation.
Using words like “good” and “competent” speaks in general terms. Describe how you possess these attributes and you will have done your job well!
Below, you will find a variety of suggestions for composing your Summary section. You can select those that best suit your skill-set. Experiment a bit, first, and then zero in on those that best reflect what you have to offer a perspective employer. Remember, your Summary section is critical to your resumes success.
Few people will use all of the suggestions. Doing this might be seen as over-kill. You are encouraged to say the most, while writing the least.
Start with a concise phrase that describes your profession.
Next, another concise phrase showing your broad or specialized experience.
Make a few more concise statements to show the following:
- the full extent of your skill-set
- the variety of your skills
- diversity in your experience
- an accomplishment worth noting
- Anything remarkable about your accomplishments.
Optional
Professional achievements
Personal Characteristics worth noting
Concise statement to highlight professional objective.
WRITING THE SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS SECTION
In the Summary section of your resume, you can brag a little. In the Skills and Accomplishments section you can brag a little more.
This section will cap off all that qualifies you for your intended position. You will show your prospective employer that there can be no other and the journey stops with YOU!
How do you do this best? You continue to show that you are the right one for the job by going into better detail about all that you wrote of in your Summary section. This requires careful wording so as not to be repetitious. If you can pull this off professionally, using words that glow, you will have the attention you are looking for!
The most key point about writing this section is you are not going to inform. You are going to highlight in more detail, what your prospective employer already believes to be true about you as an ideal candidate.
The Purpose of your Skills and Accomplishments Section
Go into good detail about the following:
• Any benchmarks or landmarks accomplished as the result of your unique skill- set.
• Using facts, figures and statistics, show how your best efforts showed the best results.
• Your specific talents and unique gifts as related to your job.
• All accomplishments that sets you apart.
To be most effective, you will use clear, crisp writing that sums up. You are going into detail here, but not so much that this section reads like a story.
Key Point -- Write so that you give hints and not complete details. You want your prospective employer to call you in for the interview to learn more!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Management's Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
Every single day, enthusiastic entrepreneurs start about 2,000 new small businesses. Three years from now, about 1,600 of those new businesses will have failed.
Being in the business of helping others break into the retail business, we've had a ringside seat to witness competitors battle it out retail arena, and we've identified the 12 differences that separate the champs from the chumps.
In this article, we reveal those differences and use our observations, experience, and expertise to steer you clear of the most common pitfalls and ensure that your business becomes part of the elite group of successful startups.
Poor management
People launch their own businesses for a variety of reasons. Some think it will be fun and easy. Others aren't happy with their current lifestyle and seek to better themselves financially. Still more look at their boss and think, "If he can do it, then I sure can!"
But the truth is that 80% of new businesses fail within the first three years. The number one reason small businesses fail is, by far, poor management.
Recognizing the essentials of good management
Good management boils down to developing a solid business plan and then effectively executing your plan or adjusting it to meet the needs of the current situation. Effectively managing a business, big or small, requires the following...
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