Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

This is something that we cover frequently but I find more people wish to discuss it than I would think.  Resumes….lets focus, are the keys to the opportunities - THEY DO NOT GET YOU JOBS.  I take a look at most resumes and truly wonder what people are attempting to put together.  Is it for look, is it for their own personal praise session, what?  Resumes are to entice interest by the person reading them.  They are to dive quickly into the differences between you and everyone else, letting decision makers know how badly they need you and why.  The art of the resume has been lost, and the writing of it has become so common place that most resumes are given a poor review by the management reviewing them.  Want to know why - because professionals have stopped taking the career search process seriously, and sling pieces of paper out there (resume) seeing what will stick.  Sad state of affairs.

So how do we write a resume that creates a bubble of glee within the professional reading it?  Well that is simple - write it from the heart.  As someone that reads resumes daily, I am always most intrigued by two things.  One, the details that match well to the skill set I am looking for.  Two, the writing of someone that took the time to spill their guts, letting someone know who they were vs. what they did at a job.  Impact -how the effected the professional environment they were in.  What makes them different than every other jo-shmow that does the same job.  These are the things to write about and what make people want to read your resume further.  They draw the audience in, making them read an extra sentence and that extra word.  All of which concludes in the ultimate purpose which is to get them to pick up the phone and call you.

We have spoken on objectives before, and if you need a refresher, please take a look at the post I wrote back in July covering the matter - http://lambentpath.com/2008/07/18/resume-objective/.  The key here is after you have driven the person into wanting to learn more about you, how do you get them to pick up and phone and call you.  Most importantly, stop writing the resume like everyone else.  I am beginning to see more and more that people that make themselves stand are quicker to get the interview than the standard written resume.  So lets see how to make it pop.  When laying out the format of the resume and listing the professional jobs that you have had - we can spice things up by leading way with a professional reference with the job.  Take for example the following:

United Hospital,  St Louis MO, Aug 2002 -Present

Snr Systems Admin

Now normally under here we would give a brief of the hospital and what your responsibilities were.  However at the end or maybe even leading off, we can place a brief reference showing the level of work performed.  “John performed at a level that allowed United to become the leading MS environment in our hospital system.  His vision and technical expertise are invaluable, making him an integral part of our IT environment/staff * “  Now most people are used to seeing references in a separate document - but this gives a brief highlight into what they think about you and then you provided a bookmark to the full version.  They can check the * at the bottom of the page to see what the manager said in full.  What do you think the person reading this is going to do?  They are going to browse to the bottom of the page, see the full version and continue reading.  You have captured the audience interest, making them want to see why this person has said these things about you.  Once this is completed, the come back to your bullet points which highlight your impact on the environment, thus making them place you in the short stack or possibly the only resume that is worth calling.  You have thus made yourself different.

Resume format is not universal.   The purpose is universal but how to get to that end point is all up to you.  I find that too many people follow a template and it is simply boring.  So when reading the resume, think about the audience - what the person will want to see and what makes them want to read more.  Why would you want to read more if you were sitting in their chair?  Also, think about the specific job that you are applying for.  This helps dramatically in your resume writing as the audience is more defined and you understand the responsibilities of the job you are considering.   Sending a general resume is like all cars having to drive on the same size tire.  On most cars it simply does not work.  So tune your resume to the application and make yourself pop with specific pieces that say who you are.

First and foremost, let us place our prayers to all of those that suffered through the storm.  It was a terrible event for all of those that stayed, as well as those who have been displaced.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time.  I cannot imagine the event myself as I never been through one.

Fortunately, more so than not, the reports of the damage and interruption of refining capabilities due to the storm have been moderate.  Hurricane IKE, though one of the largest storms in recent memory, did not bring the certain death and destruction our liberal friends in the media were so desperate to report.  I think that there real focus was somehow to disparage the current administration in a hope to bring down GOP’s recent surge in acceptance, somehow showing their inability to understand the common man and acting in similar step to the Bush’s blunder of the Hurricane Katrina situation.

Gas prices have been rising her locally at a feverish pace however with no economic basis for the rise.  Threat and fear have allowed the gas stations and their respective puppet masters to raise the costs per gallon to an extraordinary amount to secure increased profits.  Now I will be the first to say, I understand price and demand and have no issue with companies making money.  My issue with this current situation is the use of a weather condition that caused no substantional  impact to line the pockets of some of the most wealthy companies on the planet.  Oil has come down at an alarming rate with gas inching down so slow in comparison, no one really knows why.  Look at the price of oil, in overseas markets, trading below 100 dollars a barrel with gas still hovering around 4 dollars.  Come on people, if there was ever a manipulation of the market for the benefit of the big players - it is now.  I operate more in the tech space, so lets look at the guerrilla in our market.  Microsoft.  They have been under more legal litigation and scrutiny for locking out competition than anyone.   Yet their pricing is not that bad.  This monopoly that has been created by the oil companies is the same however impacts more people and drives the cost of living up.  Computers are optional at the home level, and if not - there are options for purchasing.  People need to go to work - and that requires gas in almost all cases. 

Lets look at the history.  Prices at the pump have hit everyone causing an economic slow down.  Oil prices dropping should reflect at the pump but have not.  The last time oil was below 100 dollars was March of this year.  At the time, the cost of oil was on the rise and gas with it.  Gas prices were set at a record of 3.22/gallon.  OK.  So lets say that is the base.  Why are we not at that level now?  Currently sitting nearly 25% higher due to no economic force other than the increased greed of oil/gas companies to reap a profit.  I am not one for government interference but I do think there needs to be some checks and balances to ensure that the customer is not overtly leveraged to a point of despair.  Most people are hurting from the current sector prices and are getting no relief.  And why should they?  Our President and his buddies have a vested interest in ensuring the cost does not come down as they have their hands heavily leveraged in such resources and companies.  So who is to blame?  Not sure but there needs to be a better way of figuring out fair pricing policy.

What if there was simply a % increase effected into law that let the price of oil determine the overall cost of gasoline to the customer.  If oil costs A, then the price of gas is B.  The key here would be to keep normal economic factors in play for oil, so that price increases were not distorted by companies trying to make more money.  One of the largest contributing factors to this issue is speculation and the fact that oil companies drive the cost through this medium.  The more people I speak to, the more I notice that do not understand the trading of these contracts and the cost associated.  The oil costs that we see in the news is not the cost of oil now, but down the road - months ahead.  These contracts are set in place to secure pricing, understand the need of the domestic and international community, and therefore determine a host of other logistical factors based upon those contracts.  The need for this sort of forecasting I appreciate.  However, it comes with a twist.  Guess who is buying the oil contracts and therefore increasing the demand - yes, that would be our good friends and the oil companies.  Purchasing their own product, showing high demand, limited production and therefore driving cost.  WOW.  If there was ever a manipulation of the market - well that is plain as day.

So where do we go from here.  The system is broken and it requires leadership at the micro and macro levels to put in place a market system that spurs innovation, keeps costs at a reasonable level, and allows companies to make a healthy bottom line.  What that exact model looks like - well I do not have the magic answer.  But I do believe that if people that lead these companies looked farther than one SEC report down the road, they could determine a way to make this work for everyone.