Start with an End in Mind

This section of our journey through Business Communication focuses on Section II of the book “Cha-Ching!” How to Make a Whole Lot More than $100,000 with Your College Degree, which was written by Andrew Grinbaum, M.S. and professor of Business Communications at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus.  Section II of Cha-Chang covers skills and how to make it to the top ten percent in any field and be a master of your destiny.  Professor Grinbaum offers 20- skills that individuals should master in an effort to earn $100,000 or more with your college degree.

The first and perhaps most important skill Andrew Grinbaum highlights is that individuals should start with an end in mind.  I am intrigued by this topic because I think that it is logical and employing this strategy in your career would save vital time and money associated with making bad career choices.

Andrew Grinbaum states “goals are important to have if you want to succeed.”  But he indicates that not just any set of goals will do but rather, goals which are realistic, well thought out and attainable.  He continues to advise that your set goals should not only ask you to push yourself to the next level, but they should also come with knowledge and experience to be able to get to your next level.

In creating and planning a career, individuals should create goals based on where he or she wants to be at the end of the career path.  What this means is that if an individual know that he or she cannot stomach to be in the presence of blood or open flesh, then he or she should not pursue a medical degree just because his or her parents are doctors and his or her older siblings are also pursuing medical degrees.  The individual should think about the industry in which he or she wants to work but more importantly the job and even the title of the job and position where he or she wants to reach.  Andrew Grinbaum advises that you should write down the one or three to ten places you would like to work, and the kind of work you would like to perform.  He further states that you use the research in his book Cha-Ching! or go online and take a look at Monster.com and see what sort of salaries people with five or ten years of experience are getting paid for the type of work you are thinking of pursuing.  He also stated that you should also consider where you would expect to live as this would be a key in creating a strategy that would allow you to maximize your potential.  If there are no opportunities in the city where you are living for an industry for which you have pursued a degree, then you have acquired a really expensive poster, and this is not effectively and efficiently planning your career.

The professor also suggest that individuals take a look at Salary.com and analyze the titles for which they have an interest, to see what kind of salaries are associated with these titles.  An individual may know that they love young children and may be seriously considering a career as a kindergarten teacher.  However, upon realizing that even after a decade as a kindergarten teacher the maximum salary that can be attained is well under $100,000 and insufficient to adequately pay for the degree acquired to pursue the teaching position.  In situations like this, not only is this a bad career strategy but also a poor economic decision.

Andrew Grinbaum recommends, you should take some time and work out the various fields in which you want to work and think 10 years into the future.  He also endorses that you should ask of yourself; how much do people in this field earn after five years?  After ten years.  Where are the jobs located?  How much do the top 10% in this field/profession earn after reaching seniority?

In a Wall Street Journal article title “Seeking to Match Skills and Jobs” by Justin Lahart and Ben Casselman, the author discuss what can result from not effectively preparing for a career.  The authors assert that one reason unemployment is stuck above 9% is the even some of America’s best educated workers don’t have the skills employers are seeking.  They further declare that there are plenty of unemployed workers with specialized skill but in the wrong specialty.  The authors state that these individuals face the choice of either taking a lower-skilled job or going back to school to learn more skills.  They further discussed the case of a Fresno, California nonprofit agency that provides nursing and other in-home health services, that is finding it difficult to hire an occupational therapist, “in a field where competition for talent is keen.”  The article indicated that the agency is offering $55 to $65 an hour, a $15,000 signing bonus and help paying off student loans.  The article include that the agency’s director has resorted to cold-calling potential therapists.  The authors of the article concluded that in theory these kinds of mismatches should ease over time and that young people looking at careers will be drawn toward areas with greater opportunities.  However, the demand for specialized skills can shift quickly, so picking a career that has good prospects doesn’t meant that it will be that way five or ten years from now.

This article emphasizes the need to effectively planning your career.  Individuals can easily pick the “flavor of the month” opportunity to pursue as a career of they can carefully plan a career in which there is stability and longevity.  As indicated by Lahart and Casselman, while there may be strong prospects in a career today, it does not necessarily mean that the prospects will be there five to ten years from now.  Be wise and plan with a goal in mind.

Customize Resumes and Cover Letters

This section of our journey through Business Communication focuses on Section II of the book “Cha-Ching!” How to Make a Whole Lot More than $100,000 with Your College Degree, which was written by Andrew Grinbaum, M.S. and professor of Business Communications at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus.  Section II of Cha-Chang covers skills and how to make it to the top ten percent in any field and be a master of your destiny.  Grinbaum offers 20- skills that individuals should master in an effort to earn $100,000 or more with your college degree.  Mentioned number 6 in Andrew Grinbaum’s list of 20 skills to make it to the top 10% is “Customize Resumes and Cover Letters.”

I am intrigued by this topic which I feel should be second nature in the job posting process because responding to a posted opportunity is similar to answering a question.  Your answer would be tailored to fit the question, which was asked so why shouldn’t your resume and cover letter be tailored to match the posting but in an honest manner.  A common mistake for applicants is that in an effort to quickly respond to job postings, the applicants submit generic resumes and cover letters as if in a one-size-fits-all manner.  However, since these resumes and cover letters are generic and does not match or directly answer the questions of the job posting, they are overlooked or dismissed without close analysis of the applicant.

Andrew Grinbaum wrote in Section II of Cha-Ching “I hire a lot of people for my real estate business in New York.  Also as a marketing consultant, I have been involved in hiring people for over a dozen companies.  I can tell you that 99% of resumes and cover letters simply suck.”  Professor Grinbaum lays out the strategy to make sure that yours don’t suck.

First, he states before you begin you should review resume writing books, which can be found at a library of in a bookstore.  Professor Grinbaum advises that you should take what looks good and use similar formatting and design elements in your resume.  Additionally, the professor recommends that you should take your resume with the new design elements and formatting to a guidance or career counselor so that they may critique your resume as they may have seen numerous resumes and are privy to the appearance of an effective resume.

The professor also advises that to stand out from 99% of the resumes and cover letters that really stink, you have to customize each and every one that you post in response to a job posting.  Furthermore, the professor recommends that the key is to customize your resume and cover letter with buzzwords and phrases from the job description.  It is important to speak the same language as the person to whom you are writing – use the same jargon.  Professor Grinbaum states that you should explain concisely why you are specifically the right choice for the opportunity for which you are applying.  The final piece of the puzzle according to Andrew Grinbaum is to include testimonials on your resume or cover letter.

In a Wall street Journal article titled “Generation Jobless: ‘No One Wants to Hire Me’” by Leslie Kwoh, Leslie writes about the difficulty young adults find to in trying to be successful in the job application process.  Leslie discusses how unemployed workers under the age of 24 with little or no college education find it hardest to find gainful employment but that even those with degrees are also having trouble landing jobs.  Leslie chronicled 25 year old Brett Murphy, who hold a BBA, M.B.A and is still unemployed after applying to over 100 organizations.  Leslie indicated in the article that some fresh graduates said they were starting to question the value of their education.  Leslie also stated that Randy McKeen said that he felt like he’d been conned into thinking higher education was essential, only to be offered jobs he could have gotten without the education and the eternal debt.  Leslie discussed how even parents are concerned about sons and daughters who have struggled to find work of any kind.  Leslie shared the story of LeAnn T. Ngo who said she graduates next month with an accounting degree and has been freaking out because she can’t find work.  LeAnn stated that people keep telling her accounting jobs are still plentiful but she thinks that they are lying of no one wants to hire her.

Despite the bleak current economic outlook, companies are still hiring but the pool of applicants is large.  It is important that applicants make a strong first impression with their resumes and customize their resumes and cover letters to answer the questions asked on the job description.  Following the steps outlined by Professor Grinbaum could prove to be helpful as this is a strategy recommended by career counselors.  Should this strategy be utilized, employers will want to hire you.

Delivering a Presentation

This section of our journey through Business Communication tackles the challenges of effectively delivering a presentation.  After you have created your outline, speaking notes and any visual notes that you plan to use in your delivery, you are just about ready to deliver your message to your audience.  According to Bovee & Thil authors of Business Communication Today, 11^th Edition, there are five essential topics that will help you prepare for and deliver engaging and effective presentations.

The first phase in the process is choosing a presentation method.  Presentation methods vary in that it could be memorized, read, given orally from an outline or notes, or impromptu speaking.  Depending upon the length of your presentation, memorizing the entire presentation may not be ideal.  The worst case scenario would be that you could forget your lines and make for a very embarrassing situation.  Additionally, your audience may ask questions during your delivery, which can potentially throw you off track.  The presentation can also be read from a prepared script, however unless you are required to read your presentation verbatim, reading is not a good choice.  Reading from a script has the potential to result in an unnatural delivery, which will result in a monotonous, uninspiring presentation.  The presentation can be delivered orally with the help of an outline or note cards, which is almost always the easiest and most effective delivery mode.  In this method, the outline or notes serve as a guide to help you flow through the speech, while giving you the freedom to speak naturally and spontaneously, to maintain eye contact with your listeners, and to respond and improvise as circumstances warrant.  The presentation can also be delivered by way of impromptu speaking without the benefit of any planning or practice.

After you have decided upon a method of delivering your presentation you should practice your delivery.  This is the key because the more you practice, the more confidence you will have in yourself and in your material.  Prior to the day of your delivery you should ask some such questions of yourself relative to your ability to present you material naturally without using your slides.  You should ask as to whether or not you can make a compelling and complete presentation if there is an equipment malfunction and you had to proceed without the slides of a PowerPoint presentation.  You should question whether the equipment is working and your ability to operate it.  You should also question your timing and flow and your ability to clearly pronounce the words you indeed to use with conviction.  Finally, you should question as to whether you have anticipated all likely questions and objections to your material.

After practicing you should prepare to speak and in doing so, visit the venue where you will be presenting or simulate a presentation of the venue.  Simulating a performance at the venue allows you to familiarize yourself with the venue and the equipment.  In addition to familiarizing yourself with the venue and equipment, practicing allows the presenter to overcome anxiety.  There are several techniques, which can be employed to convert anxiety into positive energy.

To convert anxiety into positive energy, the presenter should focus on not being perfect and understand that everyone makes mistakes.  The speaker should also prepare more material than necessary as this will give the speaker the aura of invincibility as he/she will feel knowledgeable relative to the subject matter.  The speaker should visualize images of a successful presentation; he or she should also remember to breathe.  The speaker should have to first sentence memorized and be on the tip of the tongue raring to go.  The speaker should be comfortable but dressed appropriately and drink plenty of water ahead of time to hydrate his/her voice.  The speaker should concentrate on the message and the audience only, and maintain eye contact with friendly audience members.  Finally, the speaker should keep moving as confidence generally builds with momentum.

I was intrigued by this topic because I think that individual are always presenting in every facet of their lives, whether it is sharing a story about the previous night's events or interviewing for employment, we are always consciously or unconsciously giving presentations.

In a Wall Street Journal article title As Perry Slips, Lead Narrow by Patrick O'Connor and Jonathan Weisman discuss how as a result of a poor presentation performance, presidential hopeful Rick Perry has suffered lost of support in his presidential campaign.  The article cited Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire GOP Chairman as stating "Mr. Perry looked like a fourth-grader when he criticized Mr. Romney, delivering his lines with his head down and voice muffled."  Mr. Cullen indicated that when you are in a race with as high as expectations as Mr. Perry had, you have to deliver, with respect to his presentation.  The article discussed how Mr. Perry failed to deliver his presentation with conviction and lost credibility as a result of a lack of preparation.

Preparation is the key to effective presentations and a thorough knowledge of the subject matter with anticipation of possible questions and objections can only bolster confidence when the bright lights are turned on.

Planning Business Messages

This section of our journey through Business Communication tackles the challenges of composing effective business messages.  There are three steps that should be understood, when attempting to compose effective business messages.  Bovee & Thil indicated in their text titled Business Communication Today, 11^th Edition, "the three step writing process helps ensure that your messages are effective (meeting your audience's needs and getting your points across) and efficient (making the best use of your time and your audience's time).  In the three step business process, individuals should first plan the business message, and then follow up the planning stage by composing the message and finally completing the message.
As with any effective strategy, planning your business message can arguably be the most critical stage in the process, when composing a business message.  Bovee & Thil indicates that to plan any message you should first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience.  The authors continued, when you are sure what you need to accomplish with your message, gather information that will meet your audience's needs.  This is followed by selecting the right medium (oral, written, visual or electronic) to deliver your message.  Finally, you should organize the information by defining your main idea, while limiting your scope, selecting the direct or indirect approach, and outlining your content.

I find this topic intriguing because in business communication, composing effective and efficient business messages is critical.  In the business environment where there are numerous scheduling conflicts, the business message has become a key method of communication.  However, ineffective and/or inefficient business messages can be costly and hazardous to an individual's credibility.  In an effort to retain credibility, individuals should plan effectively when writing business messages.

There are multiple stages in the planning stage of the business writing process and it starts with analyzing the situation.  The writer should be considerate of the specific message, which he/she is trying to send to his/her specific audience relative to a specific set of circumstances.  The writer should be considerate that situations will vary and he/she must make the right choices, which starts with defining your purpose clearly and understanding your audience's needs.

The writer's message should have a general purpose, which may be to inform, persuade or collaborate with his/her audience.  The general purpose helps to define the overall approach the writer will need to take form gathering information to organize his/her message.  Within the scope of the general purpose there should be a specific purpose, which would identify what you hope to accomplish through your message and how your audience should interpret your message.

After the purpose has been defined the writer should develop an audience profile, which should include information relative to the audience's identity, the size and geographic distribution, the composition of the audience, the audience's level of understanding, an understanding of the audience's expectations and preferences and lastly a forecast of the possible reaction of the audience.

The writer should then gather information, which would include information relative to the audience's perspective – imagine what the audience is planning, thinking or feeling.  The writer should read reports and any other company documents that would give him or her insight on the potential audience.  The writer could also ask supervisors, employees or members of the potential audience for information, which can give insight into what type of information, would persuade the audience to sway in the direction of the writer.

The writer should select the right medium through which he/she wants to deliver his/her message.  Based upon the information which has been gathered the writer would know which medium would be most effective and efficient.  There are four possible medium; oral media, written media, visual media and electronic media.

After selecting the right medium the writer should organize the information and then define the main idea.  The main idea would be a specific statement about the topic, which is the overall subject of the message.

In a Wall Street Journal article title A New Course for Tepper by Melissa Korn, she discusses how the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, which has built its reputation on teaching quantitative skills, is now broadening its approach and is incorporating more leadership and writing into its curriculum.  In the article, Melissa shared excerpts from an interview with Robert Damon, Dean and professor of Financial Economics at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, who indicated that the new curriculum strengthens the focus because it gives students better opportunities as a result of being able to communicate.  Mr. Damon indicated "you can do the best analysis in the world on a problem, but you are going to have no effect on anybody if you can't communicate."

Proper planning will be critical in effectively and efficiently composing business messages for communication in all areas of business.

Communicating in a world of Diversity

This section of our journey through Business Communication tackles the challenges of effectively communicating in a world of diversity.  This topic relates to understanding and being sensitive to individuals from differing regions and cultural backgrounds because as a result of today's global economy and market place, you will almost certainly have to communicate with individuals from other cultures at some point in your career.  With this knowledge in mind and a sensitivity and understanding of other cultures, you are on your way to successfully and effectively communicating in a world of diversity.

Diversity is most often associated with ethnic background, however the broader scope of diversity includes, according to Bovee & Thill the authors of Business Communication Today, "all the characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals.  Merck pharmaceutical company was able to identify separate dimensions of diversity in its discussions of workforce diversity which included race, age, military experience, parental status, marital status, and thinking style.  These characteristics can have a reflective effect on the way individuals communication with each other in a business environment.

I am intrigued by this topic because in today's global market place companies are doing business and communicating with other companies from various regions within the global market place as these companies explore new growth opportunities.  There are companies in and of them that are global and there is a great possibility that you will have to work with individuals or counterparts within your company who are working from a different region in the world, where the language and culture is different from yours.  There may be instances where the way of doing business even though it is within the same company, is vastly different to the way you are used to doing business, however it may be acceptable to the company's standards in based upon the culture in a given region.

Additionally, I think that in big market or metropolitan areas like the New York market area, the diverse pool of potential talented employees give employers a competitive advantage because these diverse employees offer a broader range of views and ideas and have to ability the enhance a company's strategy relative to marketing to individuals of targeted cultural background.

While there are advantages to diversity in the work place there are also challenges relative to intercultural communication.  These challenges are faced by the supervisory personnel within companies as they are challenged with connecting to and motivating their diverse workforce.  In addition to connecting to and motivating their diverse workforce, the supervisors must also work tirelessly towards fostering cooperation and harmony amongst their diverse workforce.  To accomplish this, managers should be aware that culture influences everything about communication including but not limited to language, nonverbal signs, word meaning, time and space issues and rules of human relationship.  Managers should also be mindful that a company's cultural diversity affects how its business messages are conceived, composed, delivered, received and interpreted.

Furthermore, in sensitizing for a diverse workplace individuals should be aware of cultural variations relative to contextual differences.  In today's diverse global market place, to be successful individuals must be sensitive to high-context cultures, where individuals rely heavily on nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning versus low-context context cultures, where individual rely more on explicit verbal communication much like the way individuals in the United States communicate.  Individuals in the United States tend to say what exactly they intend to convey in their message and seldom require environmental settings for interpretations.

In a Wall Street Journal article title "Workplace Deals Sealed With a Kiss" by Sue Shellenbarger, she tackles diversity and communication in the workplace relative to contextual differences.  In this article Sue discusses how the "right" response relative to how individuals approach and greet each other depends on the shifting workplace culture, which is shaped by increasing international diversity, age differences and worker's casual communications styles.  Sue further indicates that as a result of the confusion, many people hesitate or can even become paralyzed relative to the uncertainty over what is appropriate.  Sue gave an example of how Ashley M. Harris, who worked for a San Antonio, Texas public relations agency which was very "huggy" and had a culture where it was normal to walk into a meeting and give your client a kiss on the cheek and a hug, while greeting them.  However at a university where she later worked, she threw her arms around a former professor of hers, who immediately back away.  The former professor was more comfortable with a handshake.  Sue further discussed that the traditional handshake is still the rule in finance, banking and law, unless you are celebrating someone's promotion or a new job.  At this time a hug or a pat on the back is acceptable.  Sue indicated that kisses and hugs are welcomed by entertainers and restaurateurs, and many twentysomething guys favor bro-hugs.  Additionally, Sue indicated that the four generations currently work in the word often differ on what is suitable, with Generation-Y workers often viewing greetings as a chance to establish distinct identity.

Sue's article solidifies why individuals should understand and be sensitive to the diverse cultures of the global market place.  Being understanding and sensitive to the varying cultures of their working environment puts the individuals in the position where they can appropriately meet and greet their co-workers.

The Warrior Employee

This section of our journey through Business Communication tackles the “Warrior Employee” and his or her approach to career growth.  In this post I will refer to “Cha-Ching!” a book written by Andrew Grinbaum, M.S and professor of Managerial Business Communication at Long Island.

I find this topic interesting is because as a youth it appeared to be the norm for individuals of my grand parents’ era to retire from companies for which they had worked their entire careers.  I had even heard my parents discussing ambitions of establishing careers with companies, with the hopes of one day retiring from the same company.  At the time, my parents were in their 20s which would mean that they were looking at a 40 years career at a single firm.  Being raised in such a culture, I too as a youth had ambitions of finding a company at the start of my career, where I would anchor myself and pay my loyalty until I decided to retire or I was retired.

However, this was the day of my grandparents and the earlier years of my parents’ careers but we are now in the days of the ”warrior employee.”  According the Andrew Grinbaum, the days of working for one company and the loyalty that comes with it are long gone.  In the days of the “warrior employee” there is no loyalty in companies anymore as individuals seem to be faceless characters or simply employee identification numbers.  Companies seem to have gotten increasingly more focused on the bottom line as they chase profit margins and the desire to keep their shareholders happy.  These companies will reduce headcounts by laying off employees in an effort to reduce overhead, and in some cases some of the reduced employees may have been productive.  Andrew Grinbaum indicated that even in his company he would try to give employees every chance to perform, but if he sees that they are underperforming, he will fire them.  Grinbaum further indicates that as a business owner, it is his obligation to make sure that he is running a good business and his clients are happy.  With the company owners’ perspective in mind it is easier to understand why individuals in our current environment can be warrior employees.

According to Andrew Grinbaum, the warrior employee is an individual who is professional but does their job with little or no emotion relative to their commitment to live out their career life expectancy with any one company.  The warrior employee is someone is always thinking one or two steps ahead of everyone else.  The warrior employee starts looking for new opportunities while still gainfully employed as employees are more attractive while still employed.  Andrew Grinbaum indicates that there is nothing to lose even if the opportunity you are interviewing for carries the same title as the current role you are in because you can ask for a 10% to 15 % raise in the process.

In a Wall Street Journal article title “Ginni Rometty: Benefits of Staying Put” by Rachel Emma Silverman, she discusses the advantages of staying loyal to one company throughout an individual’s career.  Rachel Emma Silverman spotlighted the career of Virginia Rometty, who was named the next Chief Execute of IBM and is the first woman to hold that position in the company’s 100 year history.  Silverman also reported the Virginia Rometty had been at IBM for 30 years, which is much longer than many professionals stay at a single company in this era of frequent job-hopping and layoffs.  In her article, Silverman asserted with the support of various reports and studies that the benefits of staying within the same company varies based on gender, with job hopping being more beneficial to men.  Silverman indicated that a recent study, which was completed by Catalyst – a group which researches women in the workplace – found that women who climb the career ladder within a single company tend to have more career success and earn more money than women who switch employers.  The report found the men are rewarded with higher salaries if they move around.  Silverman further stated that women who changed jobs two or more times post M.B.A. earned $53,472 less than women who rose through the ranks.  However, in contrast, men who switched from their post M.B.A. job earned $13,743 more than those who stayed with their first company.  Silverman further indicated that plenty of other women have been able to leverage their successful career successes with higher pay and more responsibility by jumping to new opportunities as well as developing powerful networks outside of their firms.

There will be exceptions to the rule in every situation however, while some individuals may find success in spending their career life time with a single company, many more individuals have found it advantageous in more ways than one to job hop.  Not only is there the opportunity of a bigger pay day but individuals can get opportunities for increase responsibility and the chance to build powerful networks.

Writing a Resume

This section of our journey through Business Communication tackles the challenges of writing effective resumes.  During your career search, your resume will be the most important document in the process.  An individual will be able to use it directly in many instances, adapt it to a variety of uses and reuse portions of the resume in social networking profiles and online applications.  However, as you go about developing your resume you should be mindful of four important points; first you should treat your resume with the respect it deserves being mindful that you should keep you resume honest as any detected mistakes can cost you an interview opportunity.  Individuals should also be mindful that employers conduct intensive background reviews on potential employees and are keen to detect and uncover misrepresentations.  Should an employer discover an egregious misrepresentation on your resume, it results in severe damage to an individual’s integrity.  Secondly, you should give yourself enough time to properly compose the resume.  Individuals should not wait until the last minute to throw together a resume in one sitting.  Thirdly, you should learn from the best, in that you should find good examples of well written resumes online at places like college websites and job boards, and model your resume after these effective models.  Fourth, individuals shouldn’t get frustrated or discouraged by the conflicting advice circulating about writing resumes.  Bovee & Thil indicated in their text Business Communications Today, 11^th Edition, “resumes are as much art as science, and there is more than one way to be successful with them.”  Bovee & Thil further stated that you should “consider the alternatives and choose the approach that makes the most sense to you.”

Individuals should be aware of the importance of adapting their resumes to their target readers’ needs and interests.  Individuals should know that in a competitive market such as today’s job market, the more you appear to be a good fit for an employer, the greater are your chances of being selected for an interview.  As a result individuals should translate their past accomplishments into a compelling picture of what you can achieve for potential employers in the future.  Additionally, material information like military service and other specialized experiences may need to be translated into terms more easily understood by the targeted audience.

After considering how you would adapt your resume to your target audience, it is time to compose your resume.  According to Bovee & Thil, individuals should write their resumes using a simple and direct style, using short, crisp phrases instead of whole sentences and focus on what it is that your reader needs to know.  In writing the resume, the writer should mindful not to extensively use the word “I” too often for fear of conveying a self-involved individual.  The over use of “I” can also make your resume appear repetitious by the time you have completed the outline of all of your skills and accomplishments.

Additionally, you should include supporting evidence, which is vital however you should not go overboard with small details.  Bovee & Thill indicates that you should include key words in your introductory statement, work history and education sections. 

The resume’s traditional lay out should be as follows from top to bottom; the name and contact information.  The writer should make certain that everything on the resume heading is well organized and clearly laid out on the page.  Bovee & Thill indicates that the writer should be sure to provide complete and accurate contact information as mistakes in the contact section of the resume are surprisingly common.  Bovee & Thill also advises that you should get a professional sounding email address for business correspondence.  The next section on the resume should be the introductory statement, which can be a career objective, a qualification summary or career summary.  The education follows the introductory section and this section is followed by the work experience, skills and accomplishments.  The activities section follows the work experience, skills and accomplishment, and in this section the writer would include accomplishments if they suggest special skills or qualities that are relevant to the jobs you are seeking.  The final section of the resume is the personal date and references, however because of anti-discrimination laws in the United States, personal information should not be included on resumes.  Finally, a list of references should be prepared but should also not be included on the actual resume.

I like and chose this topic because as an active member of the United States work force, I have learned that the resume is the single most important document in an individual’s career search.  Individuals are judge based on what is written on an individual’s resume and in the career search process the resume makes the first impression.  As a result, it very important that it presents the writer in the most positive and candid manner, and at the same time present an appealing candidate to potential employers.

In a Wall Street Journal title The Best Recruits May Not Be Who You Think by Mike Michalowicz, the author discusses how recruiters are considering qualifications first and last when hiring new employees.  The author indicates that recruiters are looking for someone with the best education, the most experience and the most impressive skills.  The author also discussed the interviewing process in the article, however before the interview the first impression is made with the resume, and if as is written by Michalowicz, recruiters are looking for someone with the best education, the most experience and the most impressive skills.  Then it is imperative that job seekers are effective when writing their resumes.  Individuals must be certain that they are presenting themselves as impressive and prudent on their resumes so that they can proceed to the next step in job search process, which is the interview.