I saw the following great article on yahoo buzz this morning! As someone who once read over 300 resumes to fill one position, I would have really enjoyed a resume that sounded like the owner actually wrote it. For anyone tired of the corporate mumbo jumbo, make this your paradigm shift!
The Savvy Networker
10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes
by: Liz Ryan
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 me 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!
Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, former Fortune 500 VP and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. Contact Liz at liz@asklizryan.com or join the Ask Liz Ryan online community at www.asklizryan/group.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Progressive Pioneer
If you are in the motherhood, and looking for inspiration - give this blog a try! www.progressivepioneer.com. If you visit before Friday, you can register for a FREE subscription to Mothering Magazine, and who doesn't like a little FREE these days! Win or no win, this blog is informative, fun, and the author (AMY) will definitely challenge the norm and leave you thinking... now that's something!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Recipe of the Day - Monterrey Chicken!
I actually first saw this recipe on the back of an Uncle Ben's converted rice box, so they get the credit, but I've made a few adaptations. The recipe for Easy Monterey Chicken is below. It's easy to prepare, inexpensive, and creates little mess. In my book, that's a win, win, win!
Monterey Chicken
Ingredients: butter, 1 lime, 1 avacado, 1/2 white onion 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, 1 can of blackbeans, 1 can of pinto beans, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with liquid. 1 box of your favorite rice (whole grain, white, yellow, anything works! I used Uncle Ben's boil in bag rice.)
Butter a casserole dish. Arrange chicken breast or tenders evenly around the bottom of your dish. Salt and pepper chicken breast, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of cumin and about a palm full of fresh chopped cilantro (or one cube of frozen cilantro - you can find these at Trader Joe's.) Sautee chopped onion until traslucent. Sprinkle cooked onion evenly over chicken breast. Empty contents of both bean cans including liquid onto the top of chicken, onion mixture. Empty contents of tomato cans on top including liquid. Bake at 350 degrees about one half hour, or until chicken is cooked through. Prepare rice according to package directions. Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with lime wedges, and sliced avacado. Serve with hot crusty bread for dipping the sauce.
This dish was so easy, and both of the kids loved it, especially squeezing the limes. The best for mom: it onlly dirties two dished, and you can feed your family for under $10, unless you have like more than 4 kids, and then you need a personal chef at this point!
God Bless.
Monterey Chicken
Ingredients: butter, 1 lime, 1 avacado, 1/2 white onion 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, 1 can of blackbeans, 1 can of pinto beans, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with liquid. 1 box of your favorite rice (whole grain, white, yellow, anything works! I used Uncle Ben's boil in bag rice.)
Butter a casserole dish. Arrange chicken breast or tenders evenly around the bottom of your dish. Salt and pepper chicken breast, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of cumin and about a palm full of fresh chopped cilantro (or one cube of frozen cilantro - you can find these at Trader Joe's.) Sautee chopped onion until traslucent. Sprinkle cooked onion evenly over chicken breast. Empty contents of both bean cans including liquid onto the top of chicken, onion mixture. Empty contents of tomato cans on top including liquid. Bake at 350 degrees about one half hour, or until chicken is cooked through. Prepare rice according to package directions. Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with lime wedges, and sliced avacado. Serve with hot crusty bread for dipping the sauce.
This dish was so easy, and both of the kids loved it, especially squeezing the limes. The best for mom: it onlly dirties two dished, and you can feed your family for under $10, unless you have like more than 4 kids, and then you need a personal chef at this point!
God Bless.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Great Deals of the Day
Last night I did my weekly shopping sprint for groceries (the last time I went grocery shopping was last Saturday night.) Having scanned the sales circulars and clipped coupons both in the ads and online, I decided Target was the best place to go. I got the ingredients needed to feed my family of 4 for the week for $48! (Now, we do have staples in the pantry, so these were fresh ingredients and anything else we had run out of during the week, including laundry detergent, hair gel, and shampoo!) I'll say it again, $48! The total before my coupons was $91 dollars, which means I nearly cut my grocery bill in half. Some of my favorite deals of the day:
Kellogs Low Sugar Strawberry Poptarts (I don't buy these often, but the kids think I'm a hero when there are poptars in the grocery bag, and the low sugar ones aren't so bad.)
Regular Price: $2.19 My price: 24 cents! (new store special for $99 less 75 cents manufacturer coupon.)
Large bag of Fritos Scoops for popcorn night:
Regular Price: $2.75 My price: 75 cents! (on sale for $1.75 less my $1 off store coupon)
5 lb bag of Green Giant Russett Potatoes:
Regular Price $3.19 My price: 49 cents! (on sale for $1.49 less my $1 off store coupon)
160 Pack of Huggies Sensitive Wipes:
Regular Price $6.19 My price: 49 cents! (on sale for $5.99 less $5 off huggies manufacturer coupon printed from website, less 50 cents store coupon.)
Fiber One Bars:
Regular Price $3.19 My price: $1! (on sale for $2.25 less $1.25 store coupon.)
Gold n Plump Farm Raised Chicken Breast = 1.25 lb pack of boneless skinless
Regular Price$3.49 My price $1.50! On sale for $2.50 less $1 store coupon from sales ad
California Pizza Kitchen BB@ chicken Pizza:
Regular Price: $5.49 My price: $1.99 (on sale for $3.49 less $1 off store coupon, less 50 cents manufacturer coupon.)
There were many more great deals, but those are the ones that really made me smile! I do love a great deal. I also had a $5 off a $50 purchase coupon, and I got a $10 gift card for transferring a prescription, so I still have $10 left to go back and purchase some more FREE stuff!
Kellogs Low Sugar Strawberry Poptarts (I don't buy these often, but the kids think I'm a hero when there are poptars in the grocery bag, and the low sugar ones aren't so bad.)
Regular Price: $2.19 My price: 24 cents! (new store special for $99 less 75 cents manufacturer coupon.)
Large bag of Fritos Scoops for popcorn night:
Regular Price: $2.75 My price: 75 cents! (on sale for $1.75 less my $1 off store coupon)
5 lb bag of Green Giant Russett Potatoes:
Regular Price $3.19 My price: 49 cents! (on sale for $1.49 less my $1 off store coupon)
160 Pack of Huggies Sensitive Wipes:
Regular Price $6.19 My price: 49 cents! (on sale for $5.99 less $5 off huggies manufacturer coupon printed from website, less 50 cents store coupon.)
Fiber One Bars:
Regular Price $3.19 My price: $1! (on sale for $2.25 less $1.25 store coupon.)
Gold n Plump Farm Raised Chicken Breast = 1.25 lb pack of boneless skinless
Regular Price$3.49 My price $1.50! On sale for $2.50 less $1 store coupon from sales ad
California Pizza Kitchen BB@ chicken Pizza:
Regular Price: $5.49 My price: $1.99 (on sale for $3.49 less $1 off store coupon, less 50 cents manufacturer coupon.)
There were many more great deals, but those are the ones that really made me smile! I do love a great deal. I also had a $5 off a $50 purchase coupon, and I got a $10 gift card for transferring a prescription, so I still have $10 left to go back and purchase some more FREE stuff!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saving $$$ while you Save the Planet!
In the current economy, advice on how to save money is cropping up everywhere. Cheap is suddenly the new chic and the blogging world has gone crazy with soccer moms becoming experts on how to save your family hundres of dollars per year. (Something the greatest generation knows we should have been doing all along.) Admist the frenzy of all this clipping and saving, there is a tiny little nagging voice in our heads about not forgetting to be responsible about how we take care of our planet, the foods we feed our kids, etc. Let's call it a "bargain hangover" created by the guilt we feel when shopping at the big name stores, forgetting the little local grocer who depends on us, buying stuff you wouldn't normally feed your children because it's nearly FREE, abandoning organic because of the hit it takes on your wallet. Well I love it when I find a way to still make the best choices, be "green-minded", wholesome, and still save $$$. The following shopping guide from Kelli B. Grant of SmartMoney.com will show you when it's good to buy organic, and when it really isn't necessary!
Organic Produce
Sure, buying organic makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing, but it isn't always the best choice for your wallet. Fruits and vegetables like kiwis, sweet corn and broccoli require very little pesticide to grow. Others -- like avocados, onions and pineapples -- have thick or peelable skins that reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. “Any pesticide that remains is not getting through,” says Lempert. For a handy reminder as you shop, download the Environmental Working Group’s wallet-sized organic produce guide.
Potential Savings: Organic broccoli costs $2.99 per pound at online grocer FreshDirect, which also offers conventional broccoli for $1.49. A pound of navel oranges is $4 for the organic and $2 for conventional. Someone buying a pound of each item weekly could save $182 over the course of a year.
Read Kelli's whole article here: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106780/7-Things-You
Organic Produce
Sure, buying organic makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing, but it isn't always the best choice for your wallet. Fruits and vegetables like kiwis, sweet corn and broccoli require very little pesticide to grow. Others -- like avocados, onions and pineapples -- have thick or peelable skins that reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. “Any pesticide that remains is not getting through,” says Lempert. For a handy reminder as you shop, download the Environmental Working Group’s wallet-sized organic produce guide.
Potential Savings: Organic broccoli costs $2.99 per pound at online grocer FreshDirect, which also offers conventional broccoli for $1.49. A pound of navel oranges is $4 for the organic and $2 for conventional. Someone buying a pound of each item weekly could save $182 over the course of a year.
Read Kelli's whole article here: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106780/7-Things-You
Friday, March 20, 2009
Siblings
Ok, so I wasn't adbucted my aliens or savagley chased down by some wild turkeys at the library (don't laugh, this happened to Beth!) Now that Emalee is getting close to 2, I am learning to survive two toddlers. It's interesting, and we'll leave it at that for now. I'm not here to bitch about my job, on most days I love it, and I am totally grateful that I get to stay with my kids.
My favorite thing this week (maybe i should rename the blog) is watching the relationship grow between Emalee and Cayden. They are so funny when they are making each other laugh. Most of the time, they are even funny when they fight. I love the way Cayden is so protective of her when we go somewhere, and the way he always wants to speak up for her, and let me know what she wants. He's always quick to make sure she doesn't get left behind in a crowd. I love the way Emalee looks up to him, but not too much. She's definitely her own person, and can put her big bro in his place when he's trying to boss her around. She's going to be a tough one, for sure. She may be a little peanut, but there's a big wild woman in there waiting to come out.
Nothing warms a mother's heart like seeing her siblings looking out for each other. I'm sure this doesn't change no matter what age your children are. I think my hubby's mom would say she is still so proud when her kids (all in their 30's) are helping each other out or laughing over something together. I guess at the end of the day, there's nothing like Family, and watching the one within your own four walls develop is really a gift from God.
God Bless you all, and your own families too.
My favorite thing this week (maybe i should rename the blog) is watching the relationship grow between Emalee and Cayden. They are so funny when they are making each other laugh. Most of the time, they are even funny when they fight. I love the way Cayden is so protective of her when we go somewhere, and the way he always wants to speak up for her, and let me know what she wants. He's always quick to make sure she doesn't get left behind in a crowd. I love the way Emalee looks up to him, but not too much. She's definitely her own person, and can put her big bro in his place when he's trying to boss her around. She's going to be a tough one, for sure. She may be a little peanut, but there's a big wild woman in there waiting to come out.
Nothing warms a mother's heart like seeing her siblings looking out for each other. I'm sure this doesn't change no matter what age your children are. I think my hubby's mom would say she is still so proud when her kids (all in their 30's) are helping each other out or laughing over something together. I guess at the end of the day, there's nothing like Family, and watching the one within your own four walls develop is really a gift from God.
God Bless you all, and your own families too.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wine Cubes
No, I'm not talking about cheap wine that comes in a box. Take your leftover wine and pour into ice cube trays (you can find them at the dollar store) and freeze. They are great when you want to cook with wine, but don't need/want to open a new botte. Now I know many of you - especially those who knew me BK (before kids) are thinking Leftover wine? What? Well, we traded in lots of wine for lots of whine around here recently, and too much wine with dinner does not help one to pop out of bed at 6:30 am rounding up sippy cups, brushing teeth, and changing diapers! The frozen cubes are a great addition to flavor stews, sauces, gravy, or soup. And since you should never cook with a wine that you would not drink, (the flavor concentrates) it's a great way to save on adding some wonderful flavors to your favorite dishes. Ok, before you think I am a total June Clever here, its also a great way to add ice to your favorite mixed drinks without fear of watering down your booze! Pop them in Sangria, wine coolers, summer wine, tinto verano, martinis, you get the idea.
The concept also works well for marinara cubes, chicken stock or broth, etc.... Just make sure to label your storage containers, as chicken stock flavored Sangria will not go down well at your next cocktail party. Enjoy!
The concept also works well for marinara cubes, chicken stock or broth, etc.... Just make sure to label your storage containers, as chicken stock flavored Sangria will not go down well at your next cocktail party. Enjoy!
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