When writing a resume the number one rule is complete honesty, check your facts. If you think for one moment you can embellish your educational background, your past positions, or even your references, think again! In today’s world of information sharing any future employer can get a fully detailed report on you and your background. What a shame it would be to finally be offered  that dream job only to be called into the bosses office to be told that the PHD that you so eloquently listed on your resumes was not actually a PHD but rather a GED.  FIRED BEFORE YOU START! and there goes that dream job and any semblance of personal  pride.

Always be candid, if you didn’t finish college there are ways to address it that are not detrimental to your career advancement, but if you lie and it’s found out you are out of luck and your advancement is stopped dead in it’s tracks!

For tips on writing effective and honest resumes sign up for one of our seminars at www.abusinessplanforlife.com

Let me first begin by saying that I personally have no issue with body art, tattoos, piercing and the like. While I must admit that I freaked a bit when my son came home from college sporting  an ear ring but I got over it and he is now well into his career and has traded his ear ring for a tattoo on his shoulder and this too I am good with, well kind of !

That said I would ask you to consider  that if you are in the workplace, or if you are interviewing for a job, chances are you might be sitting across the table from someone who is not as appreciative as you of your body art.  Main stream business today is as conservative as it ever has been. That’s not to say that the hiring authority him or herself doesn’t have a tat or two hidden somewhere but they know that the conservative nature of their company will not look favorably on exposed body art.

I spoke a couple of years ago in the Pacific Northwest to a large group of people, mostly younger job seekers either right out of college or close to that stage in their career. At the end of my presentation a very attractive, obviously very astute young lady came up to me  and asked for my opinion. She explained that she had recently graduated with honors from a local university and  would be pursuing a career as a Paralegal once she obtained her certification. She went on to explain that  during her freshman year she and a group of friends decided after a night of drinking  partying  that it would be cool to adorn themselves with some homegrown tattoos. She shyly  raised her hand which very prominently read f__k! across her knuckles. She went on to say how embarrassing this has been for her but being a college student she had little money to have  this “freshman” social statement removed from her otherwise lovely  hand. Her concern was obvious, would her  body art be problematic in the upcoming  interview process she was about to undertake?  My answer of course was absolutely! (by the way don’t ask a question of me unless you’re ready for very direct answer   I went on to counsel her to do what ever she could to remove or to at very least mask her “art work” before meeting with the hiring authorities of the law firms she was hoping begin a career with.

My point here is to say, always  be thoughtful as, “an adverse action taken today may adversely effect your ability to act upon an opportunity  tomorrow”. Make sure you think about the consequences before you act. I know, sounds like a parent but in this case mom was right on! This is the case for body art or anything else that might impact your future. Avoid doing something that might limit your opportunities for future success.  For more about this and other topics visit our website and sign up for one of our seminars. www.abusinessplanforlife.com

That’s right George Orwell was not that far off. Big Brother is watching or at least your next employer might be watching. With the advent of  all the social media sites life Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, Twitter and so on, virtually anyone can gain access to your postings and many employers today do just that when making hiring decisions.  Traditional background checks or reference checks are becoming a thing of the past. So beware when you think it’s a cool idea to post that drunken picture of you and your friends on your Myspace page, it might just preclude you from getting your next position or career advancement.

Socail media is great fun but you need to think twice before posting something you might not want your future employer to see. Have fun be  cautious and sensible.

Your resume is a living document that chronicles you career growth, educational growth and body of knowledge.  It’s important especially in these uncertain times to have an updated, current resume ready in hand at all times. Most people only update their resume when they change jobs. By updating  your resume regularly, noting  your promotions, awards, certificates, additional  education or training,  allows to use your resume as a tool, not only for finding a new job but for advancement in your current position. Consider setting aside an afternoon every six months or so and refreshing you resume. After all, your resume is like your personal store front, if you were to visit a store that never updated it’s merchandise you probably would not buy anything. Keep your merchandise (you) up to date, fresh and marketable! www.abusinessplanforlife.com

Check out our website at www.jmitchelladvisors.com under continuing education for a list of topics. We will come to your location and provide half or full day training programs customised to your needs. Give us a call and we can arrange everything.

We are launching our newly revised “Business Plan for Life” seminar series this September in Phoenix, Arizona. Make sure you get your reservations early as it looks like this series will be even more popular than the past ones. I look forward to meeting everyone of you as we move across the country with this exciting program. Let me know what topics you want to hear more about? See you in your town soon. JM

We are here to give you the help you need to insure that you find the right job or career that is best suited for you. We want to be your resource for questions, guidance and general information about the entire job seeking process, whether you are a seasoned executive or someone just starting in their career we are here to help. So ask away!

We have been working on websites, power point presentation, course content, marketing, advertising,  you name it and we are almost there. Check out the website at www.abusinessplanforlife.com and give us your feedback. We have designed this series to be a very practical service and a means to inhance your career and life in general. We would like to hear from you, we  have a comments page on the website  or let us know here.