The Official Blog of Jobaloo.com

Penelope Trunk on the BostonWorks.com website had an interesting post about how blogging can be a personal asset to your job and career. When running a personal blog, two of the keys are to pick a topic and stay focused. Once you have your blog underway, here are some of the benefits that you can get from it. (The article fleshes out each point further.)

1. Blogging creates a network.

2. Blogging can get you a job.

3. Blogging is great training.

4. Blogging helps you move up quickly.

5. Blogging makes self-employment easier.

6. Blogging provides more opportunities.

7. Blogging could be your big break.

8. Blogging makes the world a better place.

Some of their points are interesting. For instance, under item 4, the point is made that high-level jobs are for people who specialize, and with your blog, you can show yourself to be a specialist in whichever niche you might choose.

A couple weeks ago we looked at Jobby as another online resource for job hunting. Today we’re going to summon the vast power of Google and harness it for job hunting purposes.

Google Base is an online, searchable database, which people can use to upload almost anything. Here’s what it looks like:

You’ll notice there in the second column to the left, right at the top of the column, there is a link to “Jobs”. It brings up a page where you set the terms of what you’re looking for in the jobs posted to Google Base.

The options listed (If you can’t squint hard enough to read that screen shot) are as follows:

Location: (within XXX miles of Zipcode)

Job Function: (Tech jobs right now)

Employer: (About 20 listed so far)

Job Industry: (20 choices here)

Job Type: (Full Time, Permanent, w-2 Contractor)

Education: (4 year college or high school)

You can also choose to get your result by most recent posting, or by relevance.

After you put in your information and search, you’re brought to a pretty neat results screen which not only lists the jobs, but also provides a map of your area with the jobs that came up highlighted and marked on the map:

Right now, there’s not a whole lot of jobs in Google Base, but it’s probably something you want to keep an eye on for the future. If companies keep adding to it, it could be a very useful took for scouting out available jobs in the area and their relation to you as far as distance. Keep checking back, and if you’re in the middle of a job hunt, why not give it a whirl, you ever know what you might come up with.

Resume Finesse: Tell Me Again, Why Did You Leave Your Last Job After Six Months?

That’s not a question you want to field during an important job interview, especially if the details are gory. And why would you be asked such a question? Because you included it on your resume so that it would be sure to come up during the interview!

A resume isn’t just a bunch of facts typed up neatly. A resume presents the best picture of you, the professional. A good resume shines a spotlight on your business accomplishments while sweeping your shortfalls and shortcomings under the carpet (or at least putting the best face on these ‘difficult’ resume entries.)

The Fudge Factor

There’s a big difference between emphasizing career highlights and creating highlights that never took place.

During your last semester of college you dropped out to tour as a roadie with Aerosmith. Good times. But, you never quite went back to get that degree. You almost got it, but not quite.

You might be tempted to apply the fudge factor here and claim a degree that you haven’t quite earned. Don’t do it. Your resume must be 110% accurate in every fact. However, what facts are included or excluded and how the remaining facts are positioned are simply aspects of good resume preparation.

Resume Blemish #1: 12 Jobs in Four Years

You quit for a better job, got laid off, downsized, moved across country and picked up an additional certification so your staying power at any one position is rightfully suspect to a prospective employer.

Pick the jobs that are most relevant to the one for which you’re applying. No lies. Just put your relevant experience to the forefront.

Provide accurate employment start and end dates and when the subject comes up during an interview, you’ll be prepared to explain the holes in your work history. This brings up blemish number two.

Resume Blemish #2: Holes in Your Work History

Prospective employers like to see a nice, steady work history with nice, steady advancement as you move from company to company: more responsibilities, more varied experience, and greater impact on the company’s bottom line. (It all comes down to the bottom line.) That’s what your next employer is looking for.

So how do you explain the fact that you left your last job in the previous millennium? Or that two year block of time when you hiked through the Andes?

Holes like this stand out, but they can be addressed in your cover letter. Again, honesty counts, so be truthful. You’ve been out of the workforce since 1999 raising your family, and now, you’re ready to re-enter the job market (with your completely up-to-date skill set). Or, you wanted to follow your dream to trek the Andes before you got too old. Straight up, tell the truth.

The Resume Statute of Limitations

Typically, you can leave off anything older than 10 years. In today’s job market, anything before that is ancient history. So, if you had a few “misfires” early in your career, leave them off.

Also, if your most relevant experience also happens to be your most recent (usually the case as you work your way up the ladder), you can omit that old two-year stint as a bank teller before you got into marketing. Again, the key is to choose selectively the information that best demonstrates your value as the company’s newest employee.

Finally, the Details

Read it. Reread it. Read it again. Have your spouse read it, the kids, or your mother-in-law – anybody you can collar. You’re looking for input and reaction. Does it grab your attention? Does this sound right? Edit and polish each entry accordingly.

Proof it. No mistakes. No spelling errors, grammar’s up to snuff, proper format. If it’s professional, it’s perfect.

Don’t Try This at Home

If you don’t have a clue how to structure your work history and play down your job-jumping binge, hire a professional resume preparer. It’ll cost a few bucks, but it’ll be the best investment in your future you ever make.

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Teena Rose is a columnist, public speaker, and certified/published resume writer with Resume to Referral. She’s authored several books, including How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book, 20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer, and Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales.