Ten Things That Spell Checkers Won’t Catch! Be Careful Out There!

10 Things That a Spell Checker Won’t Catch!

We always tell applicants to have their applications and resumes proofed carefully before hitting the ‘submit’ key on the application website. That means printing out your application and resume and having it checked for errors ‘by eye’ rather than trusting a spell checker to do the job for you. In case you’re wondering why, here are some examples of mistakes that most spell checkers will not catch:

• Homonyms (words that sound the same but mean different things depending on their spelling and use): Spell checkers won’t realize that you intended to write ‘pair’ instead of ‘pare’ or ‘pear,’ or ‘there’ instead of ‘their.’
• Incorrectly divided compound words: Spell checkers won’t tell you that ‘court yard’ should be spelled ‘courtyard,’ or that ‘inter net’ should be ‘internet.’
• Incorrect pronouns: Spell checkers won’t realize that you typed in ‘his’ or—worse—’its’ when you should have typed ‘hers,’ or ‘she’ when it should have been ‘he.’
• Usage errors: Spell checkers probably won’t alert you to typos involving ‘its’ and ‘it’s.’
• Missing words: Spell checkers probably won’t catch the missing word in a phrase like, “I attended University of Michigan… “
• Wrong words: Spell checkers won’t alert you to a gaffe like, “My supervisory experience sensitized me to the martial difficulties that married employees can encounter when pressed to work overtime.”
• Wrong dates: Spell checkers won’t question a statement like, “Entering the workforce in the late 0200s, I learned…”
• Misspelled names: Spell checkers won’t catch mistakes with people’s names or with most place names.
• Incorrect verb tenses: Spell checkers won’t warn you that you mixed up past and present verb tenses.
• Repetition: Spell checkers will alert you if you’ve typed the same word twice in a row, but they won’t catch other kinds of repetition, like typing the same phrase or sentence twice in a row—or saying the same exact thing twice, in different words.

Spell checkers are a handy tool for screening out many of the small mistakes we all make when we write. They can’t catch every mistake, however, and they’re not able to catch the really big mistakes, which can only be recognized and corrected by careful editing. Use a spell checker as a first step in proofing your application, but don’t count on it to do the entire job for you.

Source: Admissions Consultants -Hiring Manager Resources

Hurray! Troops Returning Home – Military to Civilian Job Search – Military to Federal Resume and KSA

President Obama’s announcement that all U.S. troops still deployed in Iraq will come home by the end of 2011 is very welcome news.  Professional Resume and Career Development Center is proud to support our troops in finding job  positions after returning home.

Where once some 160,000 U.S. soldiers were in Iraq, now about 40,000 remain.

Since the Bush administration invaded Iraq in 2003, a million U.S. troops have served there. Over 4,400 died and 32,000 were wounded, many with injuries they will suffer for a lifetime.

So far, the  cost of the war to the U.S. is estimated at $1 trillion – a sum that could have kept thousands of public workers including teachers and health workers on the job, repaired vast amounts of crucial U.S infrastructure, and more. Many of the costs are not yet calculated, including those for the future care of veterans.

Efforts by the Obama administration and some in Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s government to have several thousand U.S. troops remain after Dec. 31 reportedly foundered on U.S. insistence that its troops must come home and be immune from prosecution under Iraqi law.

It is also worth noting that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the largest embassy in the world. The State Department says some 5,000 security contractors will remain in the country to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities around the country.

As important as the troop withdrawal is what happens to troops after they leave Iraq. Will they go now to Afghanistan? Will they serve in some other location abroad or be able to come home and secure jobs?

Or will they, and the funds needed to deploy and maintain them, come home, where funds and people can be employed instead to build a truly 21st century network of education, health care, child care, affordable homes and human services for all?

We hope withdrawal from Iraq will be a giant step toward full withdrawal of all troops and contractors from Afghanistan  and adoption of a U.S. foreign policy based on cooperation and development aid.
The next step will require a vast movement of all who seek a world of peace, economic, social justice and gainful employment.

Military to Cilvilian – Military to Federal? Hire Professional Resume To Do It Right

As a former or current member of the armed forces, you have already demonstrated personal dedication, perseverance and strong commitment to your country. Today, the US government is better prepared than ever to offer you new, economically competitive civilian employment opportunities. Whether you’re an officer, bookkeeper, aircraft repairman, supply clerk or administrative officer, the federal government may have the right job for you.

Professional Resume can create great Military to Civilian and Military to Federal Resumes.

First you will need a “military to civilian” or  “military to federal resume.” This resume style includes details of military experiences and duties, ranks, military operations and campaigns, specific training and certifications, security clearance levels, awards and honors, projects and accomplishments.  The resume is usually anywhere from 10 – 25 pages and also may include a KSA – Knowledge, Skill and Abilities that may be 10 – 15 pages.

Many military veterans find the resume-writing process difficult. In a recent class, soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center were interviewed about the hardest parts of writing good resumes.  They are:

•     Telling a good story.
•     Bragging about yourself.
•     Unlearning what you already know about resume writing.
•     Describing your work in detail.
•     Explaining the challenges of work experiences.

It is critical that you meet stringent requirements for your resume and KSA to be reviewed and ‘accepted’ .

Professional Resume has expert resume writers certified in creation of top-notch military resumes.

Call us now on 415.314.0982 to begin the process.  We can help.

How Important is a Thank You Letter?

So, how important is it to follow up with a Thank You Letter?  Let’s ask the experts:

Market Yourself Well
Thank-you notes are a nice gesture, and I would always encourage candidates to follow up with one after an interview. However, as far as influencing a hiring decision, I have yet to see someone being extended an offer because of it. The strongest candidate will get the offer. Every little bit helps in marketing yourself as the best and most enthusiastic person for the role. If you do send a thank-you note, always check for spelling and grammar.
– Bob Hancock, senior manager of global talent acquisition, Electronic Arts

No Question About It

Sending a thank-you note is a must. When a job candidate sends me a thank-you note, it shows me the person is truly interested in the opportunity. This simple gesture can distinguish one applicant over another. In fact, when considering multiple people for an open position, I typically recall who has and hasn’t sent a thank-you note.

The thank-you note is valuable for job seekers beyond demonstrating their interest in a position. This also is an opportunity to re-emphasize the skills and expertise they would bring to the role and address any outstanding concerns they may have from the interview.

The best strategy is to send a quick e-mail shortly after the interview followed by a handwritten note. Whether you choose to send a thank-you via e-mail or in writing, the key is to send one.

– DeLynn Senna, executive director of North American permanent placement services, Robert Half International

A Good Way to Stand Out

While my hiring managers or I would not make a hiring decision based solely on a thank-you note, a short and well-written note from a candidate following an interview will certainly not hurt their chances. As most candidates don’t follow up this way, you will automatically stand out if you do, and this can set you apart from the crowd in a positive way.

For example, a tasteful handwritten card sent to your interviewer is thoughtful, and will probably end up on their desk or bulletin board for a while, further reminding them of you when they see it. An alternative is to send an email note, which may appear more professional, will arrive more quickly and has the advantage of being able to be forwarded on to other interested parties within the company.

– Suzanne McFadden, senior technical staffing consultant, Wells Fargo

Boost Your Impact Easily

According to surveys, about 85 percent of executives say that a post-interview thank-you note has some influence on the hiring decision. While only half of candidates send thank-you notes, it seems to be an easy gesture everyone should use to greatly impact the hiring process. Surveys also suggest that hiring managers are divided in terms of preference for receiving thank-you notes by email or letter. It is therefore up to you to decide which method best fits the culture of the organization.

– Yves Lermusi, CEO of Checkster

Resume Writing Strategies – Hire a Professional Resume Writer

Resume Writing Strategies

1. Accent your strengths with “power” words.

Do more than describe yourself, sell yourself. Use adjectives (i.e. “successful”) and adverbs (i.e. “creatively”) to describe
your contributions & achievements.

2. Tell them not just what you DID, but also what you can OFFER.

Too many applicants fill their résumés with bulleted points merely listing their previous/current tasks & accomplishments. However, those who are more successful transform their tasks & accomplishments into points demonstrating what they’ve LEARNED.

3. Hire a professional résumé writer.

It is extremely difficult to write effectively about ourselves. Even talented wordsmiths can benefit from having an outside, professional source crafting a quality document for them; one that complies with all of the latest trends in career marketing.

Remember: Most employers like the idea of applicants going out of their way to delegate the task of résumé writing and invest in career assistance. 

Resume Tips

Make sure your résumé is FOCUSED -

The employer should not have to dig through your résumé in order to determine what it is you offer.  Avoid the all too common “catch all” approach of inundating the employer with volumes of unrelated experience. If the employer has to “guess” what you are targeting or offer, you’ve immediately lost their interest in what could be some dynamic qualifications.

Be CONCISE -

Keep the employer’s valuable time in mind when submitting a résumé.  Many people believe they need to provide excessive details, when in fact, what most busy employers want is a QUICK SNAPSHOT of what you offer them.  This is particularly true in challenging job markets in which the employer has plenty of résumés to choose from.

Information About Professional Resume

Tell me a little about your company:

• Professional Résumé is part of the world’s largest and oldest résumé writing service established in 1959.
• We are certified by the Professional Association of Résumé Writers (PARW) and Certified Professional Résumé     Writers (CPRW) associations, and each writer on our present team has a minimum of five years of experience. We are also members of the major trade associations including the Professional Résumé Writers Research Association (PRWRA).
•  We’ve been represented in the Kansas City and Bay Area marketplace for nearly 40 years.
•  Lifetime updating means that if you lose a copy of your résumé, we’ll still have it. We have a secure database of over 5,000 client résumés, cover letters, bios and client reference information.

Office Romance?? Stop.

Career Advice:  Don’t Fish Off The Company Dock. 

If a relationship goes bad with work colleagues, your job life will most likely be strained.  Job promotions/career aspirations may be in jeopardy.

Try to restrain yourself…

Character

Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway.  Going the extra mile in your job search is one of them.

What Your Resume Is – And Is Not.

Your Resume is a very important tool in your search for a job.  With the current state of the economy, a powerful resume could be your key to finding employment.  It is essential you understand exactly what a resume is and is not.
Your Resume is:

•     A concise presentation of yourself targeted to the needs of a specific employer
•     A marketing tool that distinguishes you from the competition (highlights your major accomplishments)
•     A document that focuses on “the whole person” (your unique qualities, experience and strengths)
•     A results-oriented document, which highlights not just what you did but the IMPACT your efforts had on previous employers
•     A document that demonstrates career progression or an increasing level of complexity in your work experience

Your Resume is NOT:

•     A history of your life from high school to business school
•     An autobiography which describes your life to date
•     A laundry list of everything you have ever done
•     A long (2+ pages) document that is dense and difficult to read; 2 pages are fine if your work experience requires two pages
•     A detailed list of all your job responsibilities