From AvidCareerist, By Donna Svei
Yawn. This sounds like something you’ve heard before, doesn’t it? It’s not. What you’ve heard before is “be sure your resume has lots of white space.” Lousy advice. I’ve probably given it myself. Many times.
Why is it lousy advice? Because it doesn’t quantify “lots,” that’s why. “Lots” is left to the resume writer’s judgment. Let’s end that. Now.
Here’s the rule: Never let a block of resume text exceed four lines.
Whoa! Never? That’s strong language! Yes, it is, and I mean it.
Why? Here are three good reasons:
- Research has shown that format is the second most important aspect of resumes. Really? Yes, click here.
- It hurts, as in physical pain and ouch, to try to read more than four lines of text blocked together. Some people won’t bother.
Like me.
- You will tell a better story about yourself when you tighten what you want to say into four lines or less. I promise.
From Forbes.com, By Bill Rosenthal:
Todd Combs, newly named as the heir apparent to Warren Buffett, got his job after he had lunch with Berkshire Hathaway‘s vice chairman, Charles Munger. Abbie Raven, the chief executive of A&E Television Networks, says she insists on breaking bread with anyone she’s going to work with. It’s common anywhere for a job candidate’s final interview to take place over a meal. If the boss is busy, even the first interview might be at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Dining out with a prospective boss presents all the same communications challenges you’ll encounter in an office interview–plus some even tougher ones as well. Here are three things to remember when you’re going on a job interview across the table.
1. You must show your social smarts.
Abbie Raven says she eats with job candidates to see “how they walk into a restaurant, how do they deal with a waitress, how respectful are they to people around them.” Your host will want to know if you’re a social animal or a just-the-facts bean-counter. Would you be great or gauche with peers and customers outside the office? Would you fit in with the company’s culture? If you’d be reporting to the person across the table, are you someone he or she will want to work with? A restaurant meal gives you a great opportunity to show your social smarts.
Let the boss’s behavior and the choice of restaurant set the tone for how you act. Be formal with a boss in a starched shirt and tie who takes you to a place with a sommelier. Hang loose with one who chooses to kick back at a chili parlor.
Give the boss the chance to open the conversation. Never begin talking business until you’ve exchanged some pleasantries. If the boss doesn’t say much, you can get the discussion going by commenting on something relevant to the job you’re seeking, perhaps an article just published on a business website. Show the required deference, but don’t act like a supplicant.
The boss may not warm up to you the way you would hope. Don’t let that discourage you. It’s possible he or she is seeing how you handle an awkward situation. Stay upbeat and attentive.
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