Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Resume

How should I express my internal promotion on my resume?

cosmic.osmo — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:44:11 -0800

I was recently received an internal promotion in my current team from a junior level to senior level title. This promotion is due to experience and performance: I will continue to work on the same projects as before in the same role. How should I express this promotion on my resume? There's also a further complicating factor (to me at least): my manager has been trying to get me this promotion for a year, but due to the economy, it hasn't happened until now. So this doesn't represent an actual career milestone to me, just when HR got around to putting their stamp on it.

I see three options:

1. List it under the same job, with just the new title, and mention the promotion and promotion date in the summary. I like this one the best, since nothing except my title and pay have changed, but I worry that some people might think it's misleading.

2. List it under the same job, but with two titles. I don't really like this as much, since it could be confusing, but it is a little more up front than #1.

3. List it as a different job. I've seen this mentioned in other places, and it has the plus of calling attention to the new title, but it's awkward since I will either have to describe the same projects twice or divide them up arbitrarily.

What to do with a CISSP and little tech experience?

zombieflanders — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:45:34 -0800

I have a CISSP and 6 years experience in the IT Security field. Problem is, most of my experience is with policy, not technology. Where can I go from here? I've been working in IT Security as a government contractor since 2003, and got my CISSP earlier this year. Most of my work has been on the policy side of things such as audit response/remediation, contingency planning, and certification & accreditation. Unfortunately, I've neglected to keep up with or even study a lot of the underlying technology supporting all of it. In other words, I could quote NIST or OMB regs all day long, but put me in front of a monitor with a bunch of logic statements or log extracts on the screen, and I probably couldn't say what I'm looking at. Even worse, my only degree is a bachelor's completely unrelated to any work I've done (thanks, liberal arts education!), and I had no prior experience in the field before this job. In terms of my career path, I'm kind of spinning my wheels, and despite the itch to move on to something and somewhere else, an informal browsing of job openings tells me many employers seem to place a high value on several year's worth of experience with the tech side of things, such as VPNs and firewalls or database management. This would seem to put a kibosh in my hopes of finding something within the next 9-12 months.

So, having belatedly realized that I've been an idiot and painted myself into a corner in the short term, education- and experience-wise, am I SOL in the job search given the timeframe above? Would moving into the auditor side of things be a viable alternative? And regardless of the job search itself it's clear I need to add a lot to my skill set, so where's a good place to start?

How do I make my resume email friendly?

marimeko — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:38:17 -0800

What can I do to make my resume more email friendly? Also: Do I need to do anything? Maybe this isn't as bad as I think.

Problem: I wrote a resume using Word Perfect (a lot of people laugh whenever I mention Word Perfect, so I realize I might be in way over my head). When I test send it to myself and hit my resume attachment to see what happens (via g-mail) a box opens up where Word Perfect itself first uploads, then my resume opens up (not as a unique page, but as a page obviously within the context of Word Perfect - that is, as though the person is viewing my work-in-progress via WP).

Something tells me this is seriously awkward.

What I would like is for the potential employer to hit my resume attachment and have it simply open up to my resume. Or, if there is something even better (that I am woefully unaware of), I want that.

How do I (where do I) upload this WP document in my computer to make this possible?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Resume help

anonymous78 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:40:51 -0800

How do I cite a book review that I wrote for an online academic database in my resume?

Resumes & NDAs

scratch — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:41:40 -0800

Resume Hell: How to cite a consultant position when you can't name the client? (Less inside: identifying details smudged.) I have a freelance gig working for ZYX Company on a project for Joe Smith's Super-Impressive Industry Leader, Inc. (hereinafter, "the Client"). I had to sign an NDA, but it kills me that I can't put the Client's name on my resume, because it would be a much-needed boost. MUCH needed. So how do I properly word this? My point being that there's no point in citing ZYX Company because they're just the contractor, and their name is not impressive. Right now the heading on this part of the resume says "Data Consultant, ZYX Company, 2009-present"; below that, the description goes "Evaluate and critique horse feathers information for leading hovercraft industry company."

Is "leading" enough? Or "major"? How about "industry dominant"? (I really like that one.) First time I've ever had to deal with this situation. Please help the needy this holiday season. Thank you.

I hear the internet is on computers now.

otters walk among us — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:24:02 -0800

When completing an online job application that gives you the opportunity to attach a cover letter and resume at the end, is it necessary to fill out all of the fields if the resume contains the information? I'm applying for a professional position in the administration of a local college. The online application is designed to be applicable to every possible position and most of the fields (employment and education history, skills, etc.) are not noted as mandatory. Is it necessary to essentially retype my resume into their system when the information is attached?

The main reason I ask if it's necessary is that the online application asks for information such as education starting with high school and office equipment skills. Does someone with a Master's many years into a professional career need to tell them where he went to high school and that he can use a computer and copier? Would it annoy hiring managers if I don't fill this information in?

Self-Promotion 101 for the Self-conscious

Methylviolet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:57:14 -0800

You: Would you be willing to write me a letter of recommendation/professional reference letter? Boss: Sure! Hell, you write it, I'll sign it. You: ??? You: [Profit] What. Job reference letters are like this:
Prunella did an excellent job in this position and was an asset to our organization during her tenure with the office. She has excellent written and verbal communication skills, is extremely organized, can work independently and is able to follow through to ensure that the job gets done... blah blah blah Prunella is so awesome blah.

Am I really supposed to write something like this about myself? It seems like the highest praise I'd be able to give myself without feeling like an asshole would still be way more measured than I would hope my rec letter would be!
Or maybe does the fact that the guy wants me to write it mean he's actually lukewarm about being a reference for me? (I don't think this is true...)
Is there any polite professional way to say NO U to this?

I am proud of the job I've done, I do think that I've brought something valuable to the company, AND I've got "Writer" in my job title for fuck's sake -- but I am just paralyzed by this. Have you ever written your own rec letter? How? WTF did you write?

I don't know if you know this, but I am kind of a big deal.

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:40:09 -0800

Résumé Filter: I work for Blank Inc. I started working there about 4 years ago when it was just 2 other people, losing money and totally unknown. Now it is well over a dozen people and has been featured in many well known publications and partnered with big name companies and organizations. How do I best display my contribution on my résumé? Although the company is far from a household name, I was instrumental in bringing it from the brink of ruin and complete obscurity to profitable and partnered with big name companies. If my company was a household name, I wouldn't really have this problem as it would speak for itself. It probably won't become a household name, so I am wondering how to best display its success.

I am wondering how to really display my contribution on paper. When I am talking to people, I feel comfortable explaining things, but on paper, mentioning other companies seems a bit weird. Is it appropriate to namedrop publications, features or partners on your resume? I mean, some of these partners are definitely eye-catching and I am proud to have been associated with these companies, but I don't want to come off douchey.

My job description is unique, so it is best to just tell people what I have accomplished. Right now I have a Professional Profile on top of my résumé, which I think it best for me because I have a lot demonstrable achievements. I would like to make it as strong as possible, but am wondering if discussing partners, features and whatnot will just come off pathetic.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Can I omit educational experience from my resume?

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:17:40 -0800

Can I leave out some educational background from my resume? I went to a university, then transferred and got a degree from another university. Will it harm me if I only list the university I got a degree from? I went to an Ivy League university for three years, felt burned out, and left. I didn't fail out, nor was I academically disciplined. In the end, a year later I transferred to another university and eventually graduated from there. I don't really wish to explain to employers why I left, nor are any of the jobs I'm applying for really relevant to the exact content of my education. Will it hurt for employment purposes if I omit that I went to the other school from my resume? If I am hired and they find out later, could there be potentially negative consequences?

Lateral move to a different company where I hope to stay for a long long time?

sio42 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:52:02 -0800

CareerFilter: Do I jump ship now or wait it out while finishing my (2nd) degree? I have never seen myself on a career path and could never envision one for myself. Now I do. Should I run with it? I would really like to apply for this job: intellectually stimulating and in a department where I would like to end up career-wise - Public Health. It's an adminstrative assistant position in the dept at the university hospital near me but the job description makes is seem like it's more than updating a spreadsheet with invoice payments and sorting the mail (which is the major focus of my job now. blah.)

I am starting classes for Nursing school and plan on getting a job at this university hospital when I'm through. and then taking their MPH program in a few years. My current job pays ok, has good benefits, but I really hate it. (as mentioned in a previous post) After talking with career counselors and other folks who work in the medical field, I really think this is the right path for me, mentally, emotionally, career-wise. I've had a real interest in public health/health policy for a long time and by getting the RN, I'll be getting experience and a background that is required for admission to the MPH program.

That said, I'll be doing clinicals in a 18-24 months, so I wouldn't be in the position long term.

Do I stick it out here for another year or two or do I jump ship in hopes that I can get a foot in the door at the institution where I hope to spend a good part of my career? I've never even thought "career" before, but since deciding on this whole nursing/public health thing, I see a path where before there was none (or none that looked at all like anything I'd want to do.)

If I do apply, should I mention the nursing school in my cover letter? I have admin experience, and I've worked in HR and IT. The only reason I'm at my job right now was because it took me a long time to find a decent paying job after I graduated college and this was the first thing that came up. (I graduated in May 2008). I'll turn 31 this December and have a fairly decent job history (no firings or anything). Going backwards, I have been here since July 2008, prior to that, I had a temp job for 3 months, prior to that I had some time off to finish school (1 year), and prior to that I had a job for 2 years (the HR one). I've been at all previoius jobs a year or more, but sometimes I had to change jobs because of school.

The program I'm in now is all evening classes until clincals.

Part of me says stick it out, part of me says go for this other job. I kinda think I won't even get an interview, but ... hence, I turn to askmefi.

How graphic is too graphic?

wabbittwax — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:14:01 -0800

I'm back on the job market and considering applying to a few graphic design firms, help me decide how fancy to make my resume. I've been working in print shops for the last 6 years, doing pre-press and some graphic design as necessary. I've done a few other little graphic design projects on the side as well but haven't amassed a very large portfolio.

In applying to graphic design firms, should I get really design-y with my resume and cover letter? I've always believed that simplicity is best in resumes so I go to great lengths to lay out my resume very cleanly and simply. But looking at these firms' websites makes me feel that this approach might be inadequate and that I need to supply something with more flair and colour.

So what I really want to know is, does a full colour resume package with a logo and other graphics sell me better or does it get dismissed as noise? More generally, should I include samples of my work at this stage or wait to be asked for them?

How do I get hired in the UK?

theraflu — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:51:58 -0800

My favorite site is hiring developers and I'm qualified. I'm American and they're in the UK. Possibly assuming they're willing to sponsor me for a work visa, what do I need to know? Information on differences in the application/hiring process, any business-related etiquette quirks an American might miss out on, and how to present myself as an employee worthy of sponsorship are all helpful.

A little background: I am young, married, no kids and have a very small amount (just enough for maintenance) in the bank. I've been professionally working in Web dev for about two years - the position I'm looking at is entry/associate level. The company has fewer than 100 employees but is an internationally-known site. I'd be going from a very rural to a very metropolitan style of living.

I'm pretty sure that getting what would be my dream job is a (very) long shot, but I'll be more disappointed if I didn't give it a go. I want to give it my best shot. Any advice and input is more than welcome and I'd like most to hear from Americans working abroad in the UK.

Good Resume Books

mjcon — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:40:58 -0800

I'm a career advisor looking to expand my collection of resume, cover letter or interviewing books and am looking for suggestions. I've got a pretty decent collection of books for individuals looking to build their first resume, and those looking for more entry level work. Because of all the layoffs in my area, I've started seeing a lot more mid-career professionals, people with strong educational backgrounds and lots of responsible work experience. I need materials or books that suit this population. Any suggestions of really helpful books or web resources?

icanwritewhateveryouneed.blogspot.com

SinisterPurpose — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:03:29 -0800

Have you ever referenced your personal blog as a writing sample for a job? I've been trying, as of late, to find work actually related to my degree in English. I haven't done any work as a paid writer ever. At best, writing and editing have been small portions of previous employment. But I can't really send a copy of a customer contact letter (or other official document) I edited or wrote previously due to one circumstance or another. Most of the creative writing I have done has been on my various blogs. Content and my affinity for being generally offensive aside, can I reasonably use these blogs as writing samples? Have you ever utilized your personal blog in this way and what were the results? Have you ever hired anyone based on what you saw on their blog?

And obviously if you look at my sites and have design notes you want to give me feel free. I'm all about improvement and I really have no feelings. So go nuts.

Best practices for finding a job in the US without US work experience

cimton — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:06:54 -0800

I'm a US citizen, but all of my work experience since I graduated a few years ago has been in francophone countries. I've been thinking about returning to the US, and am uncertain about how best to update my English language resume and, more broadly, how to navigate the job market without US work experience. I'm not sure if it makes any difference, but I'm a woman in my mid-twenties with a BA from a university in the US. For the past few years, I've been working in France and Senegal with non-governmental organizations involved in social service provision and advocacy work, and I would be applying for positions at similar organizations in the US.

(1) When I list an organization on my resume, should I provide a translation of the organization's name? Should I provide some sort of summary of the organization's work? All of the organizations I have worked with have French names and are unlikely to be recognized in the US. That said, all of them are easy to find on the internet.

(2) How should I deal with the fact that most of my potential references are non-native speakers of English with varying degrees of English language competence? I've heard of grad school applicants having letters of recommendation from non-anglophone professors professionally translated--is this something that I should consider, and would translated references be acceptable to US employers?

I would be happy to hear any other advice or personal anecdotes relevant to my situation, and would love to be directed to resources (both online and off) that might be useful.

Is my husband unemployable?

Jacqueline — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:22:07 -0800

Is my husband unemployable? My husband is almost 29 and has been playing poker for a living for the past 7 years, with no other job, business, or source of income. It's been fun to joke about him living off $6 for 7 years, but now he's burnt out and wants to do something else for a living.

Immediate problem: I'm trying to make him his first resume, due tomorrow for a career event at school. I'm great at making resumes but I just don't know what to put on his. We don't want to lie, but initial Googling suggests that putting "professional poker player" on a resume is the kiss of death.

Long-term problem: He knows he doesn't want to play poker for a living anymore, but he's not sure what he wants to do instead, either now for a short-term job or in the future for a long-term career. Probably something quantitative and business-related.

Education: He just returned to college, as a junior, majoring in Accounting. He has an associates degree from before he dropped out of college to play poker. He plans to complete a BSBA of Accounting in 2 years and then either a MS Accounting or MBA Finance. However, it will be obvious that he's much older than the other fresh graduates, so he'll still need to explain what he did in his 20s.

Experience: His pre-poker work experience was with a railroad from age 18 to 21 (started as trainee, advanced to engineer) and in his dad's tire shop from age 14 to 18 (sort of a combination mechanic / cashier / assistant business manager -- he did the bookkeeping, taxes, etc.). So he does have some "normal" work experience but it's quite old.

Preferences, aptitudes, and skills:
- He likes using his brain and would be unhappy if he didn't get to use it at work.
- He's very very very smart, but his intelligence is more mathematical than verbal.
- He's good with people and in stressful situations.
- He's learning Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in one of his classes, but has no experience yet using them in a work context.
- He's great at taking exams. (I mention this because I know that there are some careers you can effectively test into, which is what he did at the railroad, but I don't know what all the possibilities are.)
- He doesn't want to just trade poker for another high-variance job like sales or stock trading -- he wants a career that will provide a stable upper-middle-class income and benefits.
- We live in Las Vegas, which currently has a 13+% unemployment rate. Adding discouraged workers and the underemployed would probably push it over 20%.

So, I guess I have a few questions:

1. What should I put on his resume right now? Any ideas for how to honestly spin his poker experience in a positive way that will prevent his resume from being insta-rejected?

2. Are there any business-related jobs with steady incomes that he'd be able to qualify for now or very soon, before he graduates?

3. What are his long-term career options? Will he ever be able to get a professional job, or will having spent his 20s playing poker be an insurmountable black mark against him even after he finishes school?

4. Are we screwed? Please be blunt with me, especially if you've ever done hiring or screened applicants.

I'd really appreciate the hive-mind's thoughts on those questions or the general situation. Thanks!

HR-friendly wording for "Emergency family biz manager"

No-sword — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:21:07 -0800

A friend of mine is reworking her resume. It includes a brief period (less than 3 months) in which she was temporarily running her father's (small) business after he suddenly became incapacitated by illness. After this, her elder sister took over. Apart from the obvious point of listing the actual tasks performed + skills required, what is an HR-friendly way of describing this situation? She feels like she has to explain the family connection + emergency situation or a 3-month stint as manager will seem suspicious... but also doesn't want the whole thing to sound too nepotistic or "not a real job"-ish. The company itself is in a wildly different field from the one she is applying in.

Is it best to be completely transparent or selectively revealing?

pithy comment — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:25:03 -0800

I am quitting my job and moving to Minneapolis at the end of the month. Should I tell prospective employers (in the Twin Cities) this information, or be vague about the fact that I will soon be unemployed? Fortunately my wife has a job in MN so we won't be without income, but I know that negotiating from unemployed is a lot harder than from an employed position. I don't like the idea of lying about when I am moving or even putting a MN address on my resume when I don't live there.

What should my freelance writer resume look like if I'm actually an engineer?

olinerd — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:02:12 -0800

What's the best way to change my engineering resume into one more appropriate for a freelance writer? I'm an engineer and have a wonderful job doing engineeringy things. On the side, though, I've started doing freelance writing for blogs and magazines -- mostly in technology, related to my day job, but I have some opportunities to branch out.

But now rather than word-of-mouth references, I have to actually submit a resume as a writer. How do I make a good one? On an engineering resume I'd list my relevant skills (engineering design software, machine tools, etc) but I'm not sure what the analog is for writing.

My biggest concern right now is that the list of stuff I *do* have (education, info on the writing I already do) is too short -- I'm used to a good resume filling a page. Advice please!

Help me overcome my past and stop being so mediocre.

sartre08 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:15:40 -0800

Help me overcome my past and stop being so mediocre. Compared to my peers I can't seem to measure up, and I am looking for ways to change this. (I wasn't sure what category to put this in, but here goes)

During high school I never thought I would amount to anything. I smoked pot every day, did the bare minimum at school and was happy working my cleaning job at nights to pay for my addiction to junk food, pot and dvds. I come from a very poor background and went to a poor high school so there was nothing in my group of friends or my family life to indicate this was a particularly bad choice of lifestyle. My parents my both unemployed or had minimum wage jobs for most of my childhood, and my father disappeared to service his drug problem when I was a teenager, so I have not exactly had great role models to start me off on a good foot.

For some reason I decided to enrol at university straight after highschool (mostly out of an inability to find anything better to do), and found that I gelled with it perfectly - the material interested me and I worked hard, with all of my grades in a reasonably good range.

Fast forward to my second year of uni now (doing a double degree in law and arts) and I am still getting good grades and have a great group of friends who all look as though they have bright futures ahead of them, but apart from the papers I am doing at uni I can't help but feel I have nothing going for me.

I don't have any extra-curricular activities to speak of - and I have no idea where to start if I were to take one up. The only interests I seem to have are reading books, watching movies and partying - which satisfy me but look crappy on paper.
I am still in a shitty part time cleaning job. A lot of my friends have good jobs in nice retail stores or legal firms, or as bartenders etc, and it makes me feel inadequate in comparison - all of my work colleagues seem to resent me for going to university, all of them are high school drop outs.

I have not got my drivers licence as I haven't been able to pay for lessons or car, where as my friends (who all seem to come from comfortable middle class backgrounds) have had all this handed to them.

Everybody seems to care about whether or not you went to the "right" schools and lived in the right parts of town, and I definitely don't fit the bill in this area. Not only did I go to one of the worst schools in town, I managed to underachieve there, where it would have taken almost no work to be top of the school.

On top of this I speak with quite working class inflections (despite how hard I try to hide where I came from), which I feel makes people underestimate me and disregard me as stupid. So although I don't have trouble speaking to small groups of people, things like running for student government or something like that at university seem out of my reach. I often feel like coming from a poor background is some sort of a crime, and I am always desperately trying to hide it.

I resent a lot of my new social network to some degree (as much as I don't really want to because they have accepted me despite my differences), mostly because they seem to have had everything handed to them and they don't understand how somebody like me, who they consider to be reasonably intelligent, cannot seem to advance further up the employment ladder or get internships etc.

When I try to apply for decent part-time jobs and internships I never get any replies, I guess because I mostly look useless on paper, compared to my friends and peers in general who seem to have a plethora of interesting and useful things to pad out their resume's with. I never used to care about this but now I do want to get ahead in life, and I feel like my attempts are futile, and that even with a degree I won't stand a chance against the couple of hundred people in better positions who also have the same degree.

So basically I am looking for ways to overcome this and get out of the rut of only being able to find cleaning/house keeping jobs, and also to stand a chance when applying for scholarships and other things like that. I am still over 19 and have 3 years of uni left, so I feel that I do still have time to improve my chances. My grades are just above average and I am happy with that, but I fear that because they are not all A+'s and because on paper I definitely not the "full package", I don't stand a chance.

I have considered lying on my CV about past work experience, because I know how to look the part and could bluff my way through job interviews I think, and I have also considered trying to find volunteer work to fill my CV out (though I have yet to find a place to volunteer in my area that doesn't need somebody who has a drivers licence/is not intensely christian/ or has anybody volunteering under 50).

Any ideas as to things I could do to improve my situation and look better on paper would be greatly appreciated.

Am I fluent or what?

Aizkolari — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:37:00 -0800

Can I say that I'm fluent in Spanish on my resume? Details and whatnot inside. I'm very tempted to say that I'm fluent in Spanish on my resume. Right now I have the phrase "proficient in Spanish," because I'm afraid of getting called out by a prospective employer if s/he thinks my language skills are not up to snuff.

My Spanish experience is as follows: I've been taking classes in it since 7th grade, did a study-abroad term for three months in Buenos Aires in college, where I spoke a ton of Spanish, and worked one summer in a legal aid clinic in which I counseled clients in Spanish about their legal problems. That summer, I would have said that I was fluent. However, its been a year since then, and I've gotten a little rusty, although I can still speak quickly and smoothly (I don't often stumble looking for conjugations or vocab words) and the other day I drafted an error-free letter in spanish for work without thinking too hard about it. I think that if I were using Spanish regularly as part of my job my comfort with the language would rise to fluency pretty quickly.

Basically, my questions are: Can I put "fluent in Spanish" in my resume?

If I do, and an employer is disappointed in my performance or abilities, would that keep me from getting a job?

Also, what would be a good way to explain in an interview that my claim to fluency might have a few caveats?

LaTeX + pdf = employment fail?

geos — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:30:37 -0800

LaTeX + pdf = employment fail? I am looking for a job and have been using LaTeX to generate my resume and cover-letter. At a recent job interview I was told that they weren't able to print my resume. It looked fine on their computer but when they printed it, it was as if most of the document had been whited-out: a couple of phrases appeared approximately where they should but, most of it was just missing. Are all of the resumes I've emailed screwed up or special unix snowflakes? I have been using texlive on ubunutu to generate a dvi of my resume and cover letter and then dvipdf to create the pdf. The laser printer they were using didn't appear to support postscript, and by clicking on the 'print as image' box in windows I was able to get the resume to print out fine...

What is the accepted practice for listing your publications in your resume?

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:35:27 -0800

When listing publications in your resume what is the accepted practice for the order of the authors? A number of years ago I collaborated with a university academic on a number of publications. In all cases, I was the lead author on the publications we co-wrote. Recently, I came across the publication list for this academic. In all instances, the academic had placed himself as first author for all of the publications (our papers and all others) regardless of the order the authors were listed in the publication. Is there any area of academia where this is the accepted practice? Also, if I brought this fact to the attention of the university what action would be taken against the academic? I have spoken to the academic about this issue but he maintains this is accepted practice in his area of research.

How should I send out my resume?

little_c — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:01:39 -0800

When looking for new job opportunities, what is the best way to get my resume in the hands of potential employers? I currently have a good job, but I am looking for something more/different. I'm a university administrator with two degrees in art history, and I'd like to bring my administrative skills to a not-for-profit organization, arts foundation, cultural institution, etc...I'm not TOO picky, I just want something that is more challenging than my current position, and at a place where I feel like I am really doing some good (I work at a big private university, in the philosophy department, so I am feeling sort of "ivory tower"ish).

I'm lucky enough to be able to search leisurely for a new job from my current position. What I'd like to do is just get my resume "out there," even if a particular place or organization is not hiring. Couldn't hurt, right?

When I apply for advertised positions, 100% of the time I am asked to email a cover letter and resume. With this approach (sending out resumes when no specific position is advertised), should I send it in the regular mail? Would that look ok? If I should only email to places, to whom should I send the email? My approach was going to be compiling a big list of places I think I could be of use and sending resumes and cover letters on out.

I'm sure everyone has lots of advice for this type of job-hunting in general, which is great, but if you have specific advice about mailing out resumes, that would be even better!

Thanks!

How niche, how personal and how spiritual should a blog intended to brand me be.

jeffreyclong — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:33:27 -0800

How niche, how personal and how spiritual should a blog be that's intent is to brand myself as a unique, and creative professional of distinction. I am working on some ebooks and other internet business projects. My current website www.jeffreyclong.com is currently too broad and includes personal and spiritual writings that I don't think contribute to me marketing myself as a creative professional. I'm going to change it into a static "about me" page that will be an advertisement for my skills, projects and services and link to blogs or static pages that are more niche, including a revamped version of my current blog. I'm still a bit vague on what those are services are, so I'm not able to be specific as I describe what I'm trying to accomplish with my blog.

I am looking to repurpose many of my old posts into different blogs or sites devoted to different markets. And I'm going to delete some that I think were too personal and probably post them in a vox blog that only my closest friends and family can see.

Seth Godin calls a blog that is about personal interests is a "cat blog." See the ebook at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/09/whos_there_the_.html

I want to keep my blog, but tune it up so that it expresses the multiple sides of my skills, projects and services so that people see me as a creative multi-dimensional contractor. While not being a "cat blog" it seems that _some_ personal things humanize a blog like this.

So the question is, how personal should a blog-for-the-purpose-of-branding be. I also have posted sermons and spiritual content on that site. I plan to move those off to a different blog. But assumed I would link to it from my landing page. Do you think that people who are looking at hiring my services would look askance at me linking to the spiritual writings that describe who I am spiritually?

Thanks