More Resume Writing Tips: Things That Absolutely, Positively Should Not Appear on Your CV

There are differences of opinions regarding whether or not to include certain things on a resume or curriculum vitae (CV). Some career specialists contend that it is okay to include things like an objective statement, “references upon request”, telephone numbers and hobbies on a CV whereas others do not. That said, most career experts agree that the following SHOULD NOT appear on a resume or CV 

  1. Martial status, religious preference or social security numbers (it is illegal in the US to require this information)
  2. Graduation dates from high school, college or graduate/professional school (this allows employers to estimate your age)
  3. Current business contact information (do you want a hiring manager to contact you at work about a new position or monitor your e-mail and phone calls?)
  4. An unprofessional e-mail address (hottie@gmail.com does not send the right message to prospective employers)
  5. Writing in the third person (it is your career and life so write in the first person)

While these recommendations may be obvious to many, they are not so obvious to others, especially people who come from other countries where inclusion of personal information like martial status, nationality, religious preference etc are allowable and in some cases expected.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

 

A Sign of the Times: BioJobBlog Takes the Plunge!

Many of you may know that I started BioJobBlog four years ago. To date, I have posted close to 1300 articles and over 1.5 million people have visited the blog. While the fact that between 65,000-70,000 unique users visit the blog monthly is emotionally gratifying and rewarding, I have been self funding the venture since its inception and my operating expenses have sadly gone up!  This, coupled with my oldest son starting college next fall (and my other son two years from now), I have come to the conclusion that I can’t afford to spend as much time on the blog as I would like. Put simply, I need to focus on paying jobs (not BioJobBlog) that help to pay the mortgage and defray the cost of supporting my family.

To that end, today, I want to formally announce that BioJobBlog is now accepting paid advertising on the site! If you look at the side bar there are (3)-125 x 125 pixel ads and (1)-120 x 240 pixel ads that are available. These ads are part of the OpenX ad network and I hope that the modest revenue generated from the ads will allow me to continue to invest the time and energy necessary to create the content for BioJobBlog.

I haven’t established firm pricing yet but it will be competitive and the first person to advertise will get a guaranteed deal. Contact me for additional information and pricing.

To be clear, the advertising will not affect the content or the point of view on any future posts. Despite my socialist leanings, the bottom line is that putting a kid through college these days costs an exorbitant amount of money. That said, abolishing tenure makes a lot more sense now than it ever has in the past!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Advertising (@BioJobBlog)

 

Job Growth in Healthcare and Education Services Expected to Be Robust

According to a report released by the president’s Council of Economic Advisers the biggest gains in job growth by 2016 will be in the areas of healthcare and education services. Moreover, most of these jobs will require postsecondary education degrees mainly in the form of certificates and associates degrees. To meet this demand, the report argues for ways to improve the US education system so that American workers can more easily adapt to a more skilled-base economy.

The report also notes that manufacturing will continue its long term decline and that small growth will occur in the business and financial sectors of the US economy. Construction and transportation are likely to begin to grow once the economy improves. However, the largest demand and increases will occur in healthcare services, environmental-related occupations and in education service providers. Whereas other sectors of the economy have been battered by the recession, growth in the healthcare and educational services sectors have remained robust.

In the past, emphasis has been placed on obtaining a baccalaureate degree to garner gainful employment. While this trend will likely continue, explosive growth is expected for occupations that require only an associate’s degree or postsecondary education certificate. Growth in these types of jobs is predicted to outpace occupations that require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The report also describes goals that must be met to improve the American postsecondary education system. These include: improving early childhood, elementary and secondary education; better school curriculums; closer collaboration between employers and educational institution to ensure that students learn the skills that they need on the job, better financial aid; and accountability for education and workforce programs that don’t work. I have long contended that both undergraduate and graduate programs in the life sciences introduce skill-based workforce development activities into their curriculums. Unfortunately, my attempts have fallen upon deaf ears. Perhaps this report will induce the administrators who can institute this type of change to take their “heads out of the sand”and take notice.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Learning!!!!!!

 

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