Archive for July, 2008
Question Asked: Where Do You Get Your Answers?
Since I took the day off today, and I’m not sitting in front of my computer, I’m taking this easy question as the one to answer.
The majority of answers I provide on this site are either from my own general knowledge, or from doing searches online.
While I’d like to think I know everything, I certainly don’t, and sometimes have to rely on the power of Google to fill in the blanks.
Along those same lines, you may wonder where the questions come from, and the answer is you. Site visitors, thus far, have submitted over 70 questions (of which, 52, [including this one] have been answered.) Got a question? Scroll down to the bottom of this page, and submit it. When I answer it, I’ll e-mail you to let you know, assuming you provide your e-mail address.
Question Asked: How Do I Write a Great Resume?
In order to have a great resume, you have to be a great potential employee. While some people have more impressive work histories, others simply need to “sprurce it up”, when writing their resume.
The most important thing you should keep in mind when writing your resume is this: you’re trying to sell yourself. Think of it like a commercial that you’re airing on TV to sell your product. Only instead of airing on TV, you’re giving it to a human resources person, and instead of selling a product, you’re selling yourself.
A common misconception, in today’s day and age, is that a resume needs to be kept to one page. Many companies now will accept resumes three or four pages long. As long as it’s worth having it that length, it’s not a bad thing. However, if you’re including that you worked at McDonald’s 30 years ago, that’s something you can trim from the resume.
The typical start to a resume is to include a summary, or objective. The “old” way to do this, was to put a short paragraph about who you are, and what you want to do. The preferred way to do this, is to tell the company who you are, and what you can do for them. This is your first impression on a potential employer, and you need to wow them.
Your resume should break down quite simply, as follows:
Contact Information (name, address, phone, e-mail)
Summary
Work Experience
Education
Special Skills
References
How you format that information is entirely up to you.
Personally, I like to include my references on my resume. Many people opt for the “Available upon request” option. While that’s considered to be okay, to me, it seems as though it slows down the process. If your references aren’t included on your resume, the potential employer has to contact you to get them (post interview, usually). If they’re presented when you submit your resume, they can move on them faster.
Your contact information should contain any viable means to contact you (within reason). Generally your name, address, e-mail address, and a contact number are sufficient.
Your summary should contain a bit about yourself, as well as a blurb about what you can do for the company. Usually I try to include a bit about why I’m interested in the position (but not as detailed as in the cover letter.)
Your work experience should detail where you worked, the month/years you worked there (ie; July 2005 – September 2007), your title, and details about what you did there. This should be worded as accomplishments that you achieved, not as tasks that you performed. Ie; “Helped reduce the cost per account acquisition by 77%” – rather than “Used software to acquire accounts.”
Your education should detail where you went to school, what years, and what degree you received (if any).
Special skills often includes things related specifically to the job you’re applying to. For example, if you’re applying to a software programmer job, you wouldn’t include skills regarding fixing a car.
Some companies will tell you to include hobbies on your resume. According to professionals, this is a big no-no. Companies generally don’t care what your hobbies are. And if they’re interested, they’ll ask you during the interview.
Some helpful tips that you may not think of:
- Use a common font, nothing fancy.
- Stick to .doc format. People often frown on .pdf formatted resumes. If you’re using Office 2007, be sure to safe the file as .doc, not the default .docx, as many people may not be able to open the .docx file.
- Just like writing multiple cover letters, you should write multiple resumes tailored to each job you’re applying for.
- You’ll stand out if you FedEx your resume to a potential employer, in lieu of e-mailing it.
- Don’t use fancy colored paper when you print. Stick to white, or cream. People sell “resume paper”, which is a bit thicker, and more impressive.
- Try to stay away from e-mailing potential employers from unprofessional e-mail addresses (ie; hotboy69251@hotmail.com, etc.) First name dot last name @ provider is often acceptable, assuming you don’t have your own domain name. (ie; mike.smith@gmail.com)
- Use spell check. No matter how smart you think you are, you’re bound to make a typing mistake. And after you spell check it, have someone proof read everything for you.
- Check your verb tense, for jobs in your past, be sure to use past tense. For a job you’re still doing, be sure to use present tense.
The most important thing, again, is to remember you’re selling yourself. Read, and re-read your own resume. Are you someone you’d hire, if you were a hiring manager? If not, re-write the resume. If you come across as someone you’d hire yourself, you’re more likely to get an interview.
Question Asked: How Does a Plane Fly?
There’s four elements to making a plane fly: thrust, weight, drag, and lift.
The aeroplane is designed in a way that all of the parts of it contribute to one of these four factors, in some way.
The engine creates thrust.
The ailerons combat drag.
The flaps combat the weight.
As air travels over the wing, it creates lift. The shape, length, and size of the wing is all carefully calculated out to each individual plane (or jet, for that matter.)
LiveScience has a great article on the ins and outs the subject of flight. Read it here: link.
Question Asked: What’s The Best Way to Save Money on Airfare?
Often times, people think that using one of the “travel sites” is the best way to save money, when it’s most often not. Sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and CheapTickets are in business to make a profit, not by selling things at rock bottom prices.
Airlines, however, are in business to sell as many tickets as they possibly can. An empty seat on a plane makes them less money than selling a ticket for half price. So they’ll often sell tickets at the last minute, just to fill seats.
Some tips to help you save money:
- Be flexible when you can travel. Being able to get where you’re going within a 48 hour window helps prices stay down.
- Check multiple airports around your area. Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly out of a smaller airport, than the bigger commercial one.
- Book directly with the airline, not through a travel agency/website.
- Book in advance. More than 8 weeks is recommended for the best rates.
- Book your flight on a Tuesday, or Wednesday. Rates are historically lower those days.
- If you need to have a layover, remember that you don’t have to take the same airline for the second leg. Multiple airlines could save you money.
Hopefully that’s enough to get you started on your shopping. Remember, shop around, don’t book the first flight that seems like a good deal.
Question Asked: How Do I Publish My Book?
First and foremost, protect yourself. Copyright any finished version of your book before sending it to anyone, even your mom. Spending the money to do so may seem like a waste, but it may come back to save you down the road if someone tries to steal your work.
With that said, getting a book published (assuming this is your first book), can be difficult. If you’ve written a good book, publishers should want to publish it, and pay you for it.
There are many “subsidized” publishers out there, that will put anything into print, assuming you pay for the majority of the costs to do so.
You should start by finding a publisher that you’d want to publish your book for you, and check out their website. The majority of websites will have information on their process, and where to send your manuscript to. Keep in mind though, that some companies won’t accept a manuscript if it’s not from some sort of literary agent. That helps them filter out some of the lesser quality books that they may get.
An important thing to keep in mind when trying to get a book published is to “never settle”. We all know you’re excited to get your book published, and would love to take the first offer you get, but that’s not always the best thing to do. If you’ve got a publisher that’s interested, have a professional, or a lawyer go over the contract to ensure that you’re not getting (for lack of a better word), screwed.
Things you’d want to look for are monetary compensation, up front cost (if any), movie rights, copyright ownership, and promotional backing.
It’s great that a publisher wants to put your book in print, but if they’re not going to pay you, make you pay up front, keep the copyright and movie rights, and not back it with any promotions, what good is the book? People won’t generally buy it on the back shelf at Barnes & Noble (except maybe my wife, she seems to buy every book on the planet.)
Once you’ve sent your manuscript to a publisher, it’s important to follow up. Try to send it via a trackable method (FedEX, UPS, DHL, etc), so you can be sure it arrives properly, and find out who signed for it. Once it’s there, give it a week, and call the publisher. Ask to speak to someone who reviews manuscripts. When you get that person on the phone, the important thing is not to nag them. You don’t want to be that person who says “Did you read my manuscript yet? Isn’t it great?” You simply want to introduce yourself, and make sure that they’ve personally received your manuscript, and ask what the general timeframe is for their reading it.
They’ll probably tell you that they’ll get back to you in 4 to 6 weeks, which is normal.
In the meantime, you should have sent your manuscript off to dozens of publishers. Think of it the same way as applying for a new job. You don’t only apply to one company, you set out a bunch of feelers, and see if there’s any takers. Shopping a manuscript (or even a screenplay, for that matter) should be thought of the same way.
The important thing to remember is, it won’t happen overnight. And, it might not happen at all. Don’t get discouraged, and keep trying. While some companies may turn you down, eventually someone will love what you’ve written, and want to put it out there for others to read.
Here’s a couple of links that will get you contact information for a few hundred publishers; start there:
http://www.bookmarket.com/newnovels.htm
http://www.everywritersresource.com/general.html
Hope that helps, and good luck with your manuscript!