Here are suggestions to improve your resume. I review resumes often and these mistakes are very common but easily fixed.
Use bullet points for easy scanning.
Keep paragraphs to no more than two to three sentences long.
Use the title of the job you are applying for as a resume objective.
Use a strong summary of qualifications. This section needs to be a big picture view about the dynamic and professional person you are.
Don’t use I’s on resumes. Instead, start sentences with action verbs.
Use common section headers such as Professional Experience or Related Experience or Education instead of something unique.
Use year dates for the jobs held throughout your resume…2008-Present; 2006-2007; 2004-2006.
Use keywords relevant to the type of job you are applying for on your resume.
Get rid of the responsibility/job duties bullets. Instead use accomplishment statements. One way to do that is to finish the thought by telling, “which resulted in…” at the end of each bullet point.
Have you thought of having your own Virtual Assistant (VA) business? I have had several help me over the years and it seems like a great way to work at home if that is a kind of transition you would like to make.
VA’s can specialize in bookkeeping, clerical, multimedia…whatever they are good at and enjoy.
You can also freelance picking up a project at a time on sites like:
O*Net is an excellent site for exploring occupations. They also have a skills search which I linked below. Only put checks on the skills you enjoy using…any skill you are good at but do not enjoy using is a recipe for burnout.
Go to the homepage to begin researching careers when you have a career choice you are curious about or just browse careers by clicking the pull-down menu in the “Find Occupations” area on the homepage.
You’ve noticed a potential mentor but suspect they are too busy to be a mentor? Or maybe you just don’t know how to break the ice with them. Try informational interviewing. Its not just for students or those choosing a career for the first time! Informational interviewing can help you transition to a new career field, further your network, or find a mentor.
Approach people who you suspect are too busy to be mentors and ask them for an informational interview. This is only one meeting of 30 minutes or so in duration but it has great potential for you to get excellent advice and information about the transition you are considering. It is also a way you can receive a little mentoring from several different people. Of course, be on the lookout for ways you can contribute to your interviewee’s efforts too, now or at a time in the future.
Here are the steps to make an info interview happen. Call your contact. Let them know you want to learn more about their career field and you were hoping they could help. Ask if you can schedule a time to speak with them for 30 minutes because you would like to ask them how they got into the field and about their recommendations for people considering entering the profession.
Following are some questions typically asked in an informational interview. Remember you most likely will not be able to ask them all since you want to keep the interview to only 30 minutes unless they encourage you to continue.
How did you get to this point in your career?
How did you find this job?
What would you do differently if you were starting over in this field?
Are there any professional associations you can recommend?
What do you read to stay up-to-date in the field?
What is happening in this industry?
What recommendations do you have for a person interested in this field?
Do you know others I should speak to about this career field?
Be sure to take a pen and paper for quick notes and recommendations and ask for their business card before you leave. Don’t forget to write and send a thank you note the following day.
Sometimes people are surprised to realize what an inside game career management is. In fact if you are feeling stuck about what major to choose or what career to choose or what job to look for next, a great first step is to start envisioning what your ideal career or job looks like. This can only come from the inside! Only you know what you prefer and how you would like to live.
People really underestimate the importance of thinking about the the lifestyle they prefer when choosing too. It reminds me of a story I once heard about a fisherman who goes out to fish for a few hours everyday to earn his living. Then comes home, enjoys lunch, plays with his kids, then goes to town to play guitar each evening with his wife. Some vacationers come to town and one guy can not resist telling the fisherman how he can get more wealth by building up his fishing operation. Long story short, the fisherman is already living how he wants to live! The point is that that often lifestyle choice is a good way to weed out distractors. You might like to hear the short story for yourself though.
Another thing to consider early on in your decision making process is your natural strengths. This is very important because a fulfilling career is built upon natural strengths which enable one to work with ease and to gain expertise faster. Sometimes defining your strengths can be tough because we often tend devalue what we do well — everyone can do that, it’s not special…that kind of inaccurate thinking.
So one action to take is to record what you believe your strengths are. Then take some time to go to 3-6 people who know you well and ask them what they have observed that you do easily and well. Take notes and compare responses, including your own, to come up with a list of your natural strengths. Another good tool to try which I have mentioned before to get more data about your natural strengths is Marcus Buckingham’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”
Next, you can take what you have learned about yourself and start comparing that data to what is required in careers you are considering. You do that not only with internet research but with invaluable field research a.k.a. informational interviewing. Can I just tell you, it is amazing how much the view of a potential choice can change after talking to a few folks already in the career field. I cannot overemphasize how learning about careers in this way brings career choice to life (in addition to the other perks of actually talking to people and building networking relationships)!
Mostly though, I encourage you to follow what appeals to you now as that is a big indication of your intuition at work. Follow your nose with an understanding that you may not end up where you thought but career choice a process not a destination. I encourage you to dive into the process one optimistic step at a time.
Here are some tools that will come in handy for careerillionaires and infopreneurs!
Meta Search Engines (a.k.a metacrawlers)
This type of internet search sends search requests to multiple search engines at once and puts the gathered responses in one long list. It’s a good idea to use a metacrawler in addition to your favorite search engine just to make sure you aren’t missing anything major. Using a meta search engine saves time since you won’t have to go to multiple websites to perform the same search.
Check out this listing of the “Best Careers 2008.” This kind of stuff is great for career research! Of course the danger here is that this list is developed using someone else’s value system, or at least values that are presumed to be important to most people. But if you go into the article realizing that, you should be okay.
Also, keep in mind that what really make a career one of “the best” is how well it suits the individual. For example, just because audiologist is listed doesn’t mean everyone will be happy doing it of course!
But this article does get you thinking about trends and changes as well as profiling a few select careers so it is worth a looksy. I especially like the section on “Most Overrated” because we all have stereotypical ideas of what certain careers are like and so it’s good to get the rest of the story. Of course it would be even better to talk to someone in person yourself if you are seriously considering one of these careers.
There is not an OSFA (one size fits all) for career assessments. Generally, though, there are some important data sets that a person can consider when taking stock of career options – personality type, interests, skills, and values.
For personality type, I recommend the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). You can find a list of providers of the assessment here. There are some great books and free resources on the net too. Here is one option (scroll down).
For interests, I recommend the Strong Interest Inventory. See the list of providers above many who also give this assessment. Here is a quick version you can check out free online (click on the column headings in white).
For skills assessment, I like to reference the O*Net Skills Search checklist which is free online. Here is another good free one online.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://www.bls.gov/oco/) and the O*Net (http://online.onetcenter.org/) are great places to begin your research about different career fields. But once a specific career field is still being considered after written research, it is time to go out into the field to learn more. In fact, one of the most important aspects to choosing a career path is to talk to people who are doing the kind of work you are considering. This is called informational interviewing.
Typically the informational interview process involves finding people in the field of interest to talk to, scheduling a time to meet with them for 30 minutes or so to ask questions about their career, and sending a thank you note.
There are several ways to find people for an informational interview. The best method is to use your network of contacts to find people in the line of work that you want to learn more about. Begin asking family members, friends, and other people who they know working in the career field. For example you might approach your aunt and ask her, “Who do you know who works as a civil engineer?” Once a member of your network knows someone to refer you to, ask for that person’s name and phone number. You will be surprised how many people your contacts know and how easy it is to find people to talk to about all kinds of careers.
Next call the new contact. Give your name and how you were referred to them. Let them know you want to learn more about their career field and you were hoping they could help. Ask if you can schedule a time to speak with them for 30 minutes because you would like to ask them how they got into the field and about their recommendations for people considering entering the profession.
Following are some questions typically asked in an informational interview. Remember you most likely will not be able to ask them all since you want to keep the interview to only 30 minutes. Also be sure to take a pen and paper for quick notes. Get the correct spelling of your interviewee’s name and their address by asking for a business card which will be helpful when you send a thank you note.
INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
How did you develop your career path?
How did you get into this job?
What are your duties as a ____?
How long have you been in this position?
What do you like best about this career?
What do you like least about this career?
What would you do differently if you were starting over in this field?
What are the educational requirements of this field?
What is the typical salary range for this career field?
Can you recommend some professional associations for this career field?
What do you read to stay up-to-date in the field?
What further education do you participate in?
What are the advancement opportunities in this field?
What do you see as the future of this career field?
What is your career goal for the future?
What is happening in this industry?
What kinds of companies make up this industry?
Where has growth taken place in this field recently?
Who are your customers or clients?
How do you promote your products and/or services?
Who are some of your competitors?
What has helped to make companies successful in this industry?
What recommendations do you have for a person interested in this field?
Do you know others I should speak to about this career field?
You’ve noticed a potential mentor but suspect they are too busy to be a mentor? Or maybe you just don’t know how to break the ice with them. Try informational interviewing. Its not just for students or those 
.”
