The Monster Blog

The Well-Punctuated Resume

In honor of National Punctuation Day, I invite you to proofread your resume! That sounds fun, right? Keep an eye out for these five common punctuation errors:

Misplaced apostrophes: I suspect that this error is the most common one--and it's an error that some persnickety types find especially irritating. Take a look at your resume now, and find the apostrophes. Each should indicate possession or a contraction. Here are some examples:

• Increased profits [this is just a plural word, so no apostrophe is needed] by 70% in six months.
• Led the company's [this is a possessive word, so the apostrophe is needed] first green initiative, which brought a 40% reduction in use of paper.
• "It's" is short for "it is"; "its" isn't. "You're" is short for "You are"; "your" isn't.

Misused quotation marks: Quotation marks are often used to indicate irony--a writer will put a word inside quotation marks to indicate that he or she means the word's opposite or is merely repeating someone. (Think of how people use so-called "air quotes" when they're talking with their hands.) So don't use quotation marks for emphasis. Doing so can give a sentence an unintended comic effect:

• Increased profits by "70%" [hmmm--what accounting tricks might be involved here?] in six months.

Improper comma use: The punctuation rules governing proper comma use are complex. For a full but succinct primer, check out this guide from Purdue University.

Exclamation points: They should be used sparingly (if at all) on a resume. (And unless you're confident that you know the proper way to use semicolons, they, too, should probably be avoided.)

Special characters: Because the first reader of your resume will often be a resume-reading software program, it's likely a good idea to keep dashes (hyphens are OK), symbols for foreign currency, indentations, italic or bold type, and even formatted bullets out of your resume--some programs turn those characters into a garbled mess. If you're copying and pasting your resume into an online form, save a copy of your resume as a plain-text file and make any adjustments in that file before you paste the text into the form (plain text is offered as an option when you save a file in almost all word processing programs).

Happy National Punctuation Day! If you have any grammar tips for resume writers, share them in the comments section.

Work Wisdom for Women

Jones New York has recently posted an online book you've got to check out. Called "The Little Black Book of Career Advice," it's a collection of career advice, wisdom, and humor from more than 100 of the world's most influential and interesting women. (But you don't have to be a woman to benefit from the great advice here.)

With a forward by Dee Dee Myers, a former White House press secretary and the author of "Why Women Should Rule the World," this collection provides not only pithy aphorisms and words of encouragement, but also these women's empowering, true stories of success--in their own words.

Find out what Sandra Bernhard thinks is the key to joy in life, which qualities Arianna Huffington is trying to instill in her daughters, and what life lessons Donna Brazile draws from cooking. From CEOs and inventors to world-famous artists, the women here offer a wide variety of perspectives--share "The Little Black Book of Career Advice" with friends and colleagues whenever they need words of encouragement.

We're also partnering with Jones New York to promote its "How to Wear It" series--it's got a walk-in closet's worth of great advice on workplace style. And we want to hear your tips on dressing for success. Send a tweet with the hashtag #monsterstyle; we'll be collecting the top tweets and publishing them in an upcoming blog post.

You may also want to check out this collection of stories about dressing for success at a job interview.

The Monster 5 for Friday -- Careers Edition -- September 17

Sure, social media enthusiasts like to think of themselves as “rock stars,” but as the MTV Video Music Awards proved, there’s still a long way to go before they’re the real thing. In typical fashion, Lady Gaga was the talk of the night with her “meat dress.” While we can’t think of many other offices other than the MTV stage where this qualifies as work-appropriate attire, we’re hoping this casual Friday comes and goes without any similar fashion choices. No matter what you’re wearing to the office or to interviews, here are the top five stories from the world of work you might have missed this week:

5. Lessons Learned in the Job Search: Job searching is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Molly Wendell outlines some tips from her colleague Mike that helped him save time and get back to work faster.

4. 5 Ways to Tell If Your Internship Is Legal, Regardless of Pay: Just because your internship is paid, doesn’t mean it’s a good opportunity. Heather Huhman discusses the five factors you should consider and why.

3. Dressing for the Interview, by Industry: There's no getting around it: In every job interview, you're going to be judged -- at least partially -- by how you look. But how you should look varies depending on your industry and the job you're interviewing for. Peter Vogt takes a look at general interview attire expectations for eight career areas so you can dress to impress.

2. How to Ace the Interview Without Saying a Word: While you’re preparing for what to say in your next interview, have you thought about preparing for what you won’t say? Shadow Nightwing explains how to prepare your nonverbal communication for your next interview.

1. 9 Steps to Responding to a Lowball Job Offer: What can you do if you receive an offer that undervalues the skills you bring to a company? First step, remember that it’s a negotiation, and apply Donna Svei’s nine tips to negotiate your job offer to get what you deserve.

Which of these was your favorite? Did you write a great article we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

For more must-read content, check out the Monster 5: Works Edition for this week’s top articles from the world of talent management.

The Monster 5 for Friday -- Careers Edition -- September 10th

This week, the college and professional football season began to the delight of football fans across the country.  Adding to the football frenzy, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was involved in a very minor car accident in Boston’s Back Bay, which quickly escalated into a major media feast with sports reporters and fans nationwide.  Mrs. Brady, a.k.a. Gisele Bündchen, experienced a spike in traffic to her web site which nearly crashed the site, causing the super model wife and mom to issue a statement to Brady fans that her husband was quite fine.  As Brady returns to practice and you kick off your job search today, here are the top 5 stories from the world of job seeking you might have missed:

5.  Five Tips for Better Resume Writing: Forget all the writing lessons you acquired in college drafting term papers- it’s time to write a resume. Check out these simple tips from Max Messemer to update your mindset and get your resume ready for the job hunt.

4.  3 Job Search Lessons from HGTV: You’ve probably seen the shows on HGTV about flipping homes, but what tips can you apply to your career?  Jessica Holbrook Hernandez has 3 lessons to create some “curb appeal” for your resume.

3.  Why You Shouldn’t Live for Your Resume: Have you ever quit a job worrying how it would impact your resume? Ilona Vanderwoude reminds you to take action and not make career decisions based on your resume.

2. 10 Tips to Improve the Quality of Your Networking: In this age of metrics, it’s tempting for job hunters to seek solace in the sheer numbers of their effort but with networking, it’s about quality over quantity. These 10 tips from John Rossheim will help you get ahead and make the most of the time you spend networking.  If you want the condensed version, check out the Slideshare version.

1.  Careers - Climbing Up The Ladder Lightning Fast: The days of tenure with 1 company for 20+ years are over. Knowing you won’t be in one place for long, it’s important that you climb the ladder quickly. See what Fernando Tarnogo recommends and what you can start doing today to get on the promotion track. 

For more must-read content, check out the Monster 5: Works Edition for this week’s top articles from the world of talent management.

Which of these was your favorite? Did you write a great article we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

 

10 Tips to Improve the Quality of Your Networking

Is networking not working for your job search? Maybe it’s time to take a different approach.

Get ahead by checking out these 10 tips to improve the quality of your networking.

10 Tips to Improve the Quality of Your Networking

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The Monster 5 for Friday -- Careers Edition -- September 3rd

This week, we were all captivated by the gowns and glory of the Emmy’s- who won, who lost, who cried and what we need to get on DVD. As you’re setting your DVR for fall, this week’s Monster 5 are the job seeker equivalent of must-see TV.   Unlike most of the reruns and summer replacements dominating the airwaves, these 5 “can’t miss” posts are ready for primetime. Here are the top 5 stories from the world of job seeking you might have missed:

5.  Avoid 'the seven deadly sins of interviewing': In this job market, there’s competition for every job and the interview is your time to shine.  Eve Tahmincioglu talked to recruiting experts and hiring managers to figure out what you need to avoid to ace the interview.

4.  5 Things You Need to Do After the Interview: So you think you did well in the interview? Now follow up! Karen Flowers tells you 5 things you must do after the interview is over.

3.  Nine High-Paying Jobs You Can Get with an Associate’s Degree: If school isn’t your thing but you’d love a big salary, consider a job that requires a two-year degree. Dona DeZube highlights some of the high-paying jobs you can land with an associate’s degree.

2.  Does unrelated experience look bad on my resume? From the Microsoft Careers JobBlog : Wondering if you should include your summer job on your resume? Kenji on the Microsoft Careers JobBlog gives 4 questions to ask before deciding what work experiences to include on your resume.

1.  Laid off? Try these six tips for landing your next job: Who knew job hunting could be such a job? Follow these tips from Risesmart to get back to work.

For more must-read content, check out the Monster 5: Works Edition for this week’s top articles from the world of talent management.

Which of these was your favorite? What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.