People use the words RESUME, C.V., and BIO-DATA interchangeably for the document highlighting skills, education, and experience that a candidate submits when applying for a job. On the surface level, all the three mean the same. However, there are intricate differences.

RESUME

Resume Is a French word meaning “summary”, and true to the word meaning, signifies a summary of one’s employment, education, and other skills, used in applying for a new position. A resume seldom exceeds one
side of an A4 sheet, and at the most two sides. They do not list out all the education and qualifications, but only highlight specific skills customized to target the job profile in question.

A resume is usually broken into bullets and written in the third person to appear objective and formal. A good resume starts with a brief Summary of Qualifications, followed by Areas of Strength or Industry
Expertise in keywords, followed by Professional Experience in reverse chronological order.

Focus is on the most recent experiences, and prior experiences summarized. The content aims at providing the reader a balance of responsibilities and accomplishments for each position. After Work experience come Professional Affiliations, Computer Skills, and Education

C.V CURRICULUM VITAE

C.V Is a Latin word meaning “course of life”. Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) is therefore a regular or particular course of study pertaining to education and life. A C.V. is more detailed than a resume, usually 2 to 3 pages, but can run even longer as per the requirement.

A C.V. generally lists out every skills, jobs, degrees, and professional affiliations the applicant has acquired, usually in chronological order. A C.V. displays general talent rather than specific skills for any
specific positions.

BIO-DATA


Bio Data the short form for Biographical Data, is the old-fashioned terminology for Resume or C.V. The emphasis in a bio data is on personal particulars like date of birth, religion, sex, race, nationality, residence, martial status, and the like.

Next comes a chronological listing of education and experience. The things normally found in a resume, that is specific skills for the job in question comes last, and are seldom included. Bio-data also includes applications made in specified formats as required by the company.

A resume is ideally suited when applying for middle and senior level positions, where experience and specific skills rather than education is important. A C.V., on the other hand is the preferred option for fresh
graduates, people looking for a career change, and those applying for academic positions. The term bio-data is mostly used in India while applying to government jobs, or when applying for research grants and
other situations where one has to submit descriptive essays.

Resumes present a summary of highlights and allow the prospective employer to scan through the document visually or electronically, to see if your skills match their available positions. A good resume can do that very effectively, while a C.V. cannot. A bio-data could still perform this role, especially if the format happens to be the one recommended by the employer.

Personal information such as age, sex, religion and others, and hobbies are never mentioned in a resume. Many people include such particulars in the C.V. However, this is neither required nor considered in the US
market. A Bio-data, on the other hand always include such personal particulars.

There was a time when myths ruled the world. Myths were used to explain why the crops did not grow or why villagers got sick or why it did not rain. Despite the significant strides humanity has made since the Ancient times, it is very surprising that myths continue to proliferate even in the corporate world of the 21st Century, especially with resume making. Most of these resume myths have handed down from one generation to another by word of mouth, and in writing by some, giving more credence to these myths and making them more believable.

We shall deal with the top eight (8) common resume myths, examine them and expose the folly behind them. After separating the fact from fiction we hope that you will learn something from this exercise and make your own excellent resume

Myth 1. RESUMES SHOULD NOT EXCEED 1 PAGE

People who give credence to this myth argue that regardless of a person’s experiences or his competencies and skills, it is always possible for a job applicant to reduce all his accomplishments, experiences and skills in a one-page resume format. The basis logic this myth is not difficult to understand. People think that Human Resource Managers and professionals do not have time to read resumes in a more-than-one-page format and that they will prefer a single-page resume compared to a two-page resume.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. While it is true that a job applicant’s failure to condense his resume in one-page resume may leave the impression that the resume is verbose and wordy, there is, however such a thing as a resume that is “too brief.”

A job applicant who has an extensive employment history may find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to actually prepare a one-page resume. We advise you not to make this mistake. You will be committing a serious injustice to yourself by omitting important achievements and significant accomplishments in your career. It is not a one-page resume that the employers what to see but an extensive listing of your accomplishments and achievements that is relevant to the position you are applying for.

In sum, if you are held more than three jobs or have worked for more than three employers, we strongly recommend that you list down all the relevant accomplishments and achievements even if it reaches the second page.

Myth 2. MORE THAN THREE –PAGE RESUME IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN A SINGLE-PAGE RESUME

Myth 2 is the exact opposite of Myth 1. Both are equally wrong!

While writing your resume in more than three pages gives you the opportunity to fully disclose all your accomplishments and achievements, the reality is that the Human Resource Manager do not have the time and patience to read everything that is written in your resume. You have to realize that these professionals have to scan through hundreds if not thousands of resumes. With the explosion of Internet technology, the task of Human Resource Managers and employment professionals in scanning through resumes has become more difficult. Writing your resume in this manner will only give these professionals justification for not reading your resume.

Excellent resumes are similar to a woman’s skirt. It should be short enough to attract attention but long enough to cover the essentials. Resumes that are either too short or too long will not do the trick. We strongly suggest that in writing your resume you should limit it to no more than two-and-a-half pages in length.

Myth 3. UNUSUAL AND UNIQUE RESUMES GIVE THE EDGE

Advocates of the third myth argue that in resume writing it is absolutely imperative that the job applicant captures the attention of the Human Resource Manager. As a result, job applicants have gone to great lengths just to attract the attention of these professionals. Some have used orange resumes or black resumes. Others have gone as far as attaching a full-body picture on their resume. Others have made a collage out of their resume. Do not make the same mistakes as these job applicants.

While it is true that these kinds of resume attract the attention of Human Resource Managers, it does not necessarily mean that they will automatically schedule you for an interview. On the other hand, this plan may even work to your disadvantage as the manager may think that you are not serious about your job, or you are eccentric or you are immature. We do not believe you want your Managers to have this kind of first impression about yourself!

Myth 4. CHARACTER REFERENCES ARE A MUST

People who give credence to the fourth myth argue that by including a list of your character references to your resume you personality will be enhanced. They think that this will give the Human Resource Managers the impression that the job applicant is more qualified than the other candidates. While it is true that listing two or three of your references in the resume may give you the appearance of being reliable and trustworthy, it is equally true that references are not as important as listing all your achievements, accomplishments and qualifications. It will be better for you to wisely use this space and include therein everything that has relevance to the position being applied for.

Reality check: employers will not ask for your references unless they have actually shown interest in you as a potential candidate. You will not get their interest simply by enumerating your references. The key is to convince them first that you are the right man/woman for the job.

Myth 5. SALARY HISTORY ADDS TO YOUR GLORY

Supporters of this myth argue that if you have received substantial salary raises throughout your career, then you must include your Salary History. Their reason is obvious. They think that by showing your salary progression you create an image in the Human Resource Manager’s and employment professionals’ mind that you are important in your own company. It creates an impression that you are a contributor and are valued in your own company.

The following reasons however will suggest that it will be better for you to make good use of the limited space in your resume by including your accomplishments and achievements:

1. It is suggestive that you are more interested in money that the kind of work that you do

2. Human Resource Managers would rather see in your resume what you can give them not what you want to receive from them.

3. Focusing on you high value before convincing them that you are worth the money may turn off your employers

The better marketing strategy is not to immediately reveal how costly you are instead let them know first how important you are and what you can contribute to the company.

Myth 6. SPORTS AND HOBBIES SHOULD BE SPECIFIED

Another myth that found its way in the corporate world is that it is a must for you to include your sports, hobbies and other extra-curricular activities in your resume. The advocates of this myth would want you to believe that Human Resource Managers and employment professionals are looking for well-rounded individuals whose skills are not limited to what they are applying for. They want you to think that you will have an edge over the other job applicants if you will create an image that you are multi-talented, physically active, and interesting individual.

We strongly advise against this plan. While we believe that you should continue with your sports and hobbies, we do not find it necessary for these topics to be included in your resume. You should realize that an extensive enumeration of all your sports and hobbies in your resume may even create a wrong impression about you. Your employer may think that you are not interested in your job. Or they may think that you devote more time to extra-curricular activities rather than your job. Or they may think that you have an unhappy marriage and you make sports and hobbies as your outlet. We do not believe you want your employers to have this first impression on you.

Myth 7. AGE, SEX, MARITAL STATUS, HEIGHT AND WEIGHT MUST BE INCLUDED

Of all the Resume Myths this is considered as the worse. Age, Sex, Marital Status, Height and Weight have no place in a resume. Please be reminded that because of the enactment of civil rights legislations decades ago you no longer need to include personal information about yourself. The Civil Right Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 have rendered this idea obsolete. From the point of view of employment professionals and managers they are not interested in seeing your personal information for fear that job applicants may later on complain that they have been discriminated against. Besides, including personal information in your resume may even work against you as the Human Resource Manager may even use this personal information as a way of excluding you from the short list of candidates.

We strongly suggest that instead of writing personal information about yourself you should make good use of the limited space by emphasizing your accomplishments and achievements.

Myth 8 PERSONAL PHOTOS MAKE YOUR RESUME MORE APPEALING

Unless you are applying for the position of a commercial model or an actor or actress, you personal photo has no business being included in your resume. No matter how attractive you think you are it is better practice not to include your personal photo in your resume. Again, we would like to emphasize, your appearance simply has no relevance. Instead, we strongly suggest that you make good use of the limited space by emphasizing your accomplishments and achievements.

If you need more help in writing or editing your resume please visit our website at www.ewritegigs.com.

Okay you got the job offer. Your referral has earned you an interview. You prepared for the interview with some great interview tips. You got selected in the interview, in fact, you got the offer. You cleared all the rounds of the interview and get the offer just to learn that your offer has put on hold.

Here are the few tips to help you to take the steps forward.

1. Think Right: You are not the only one whose resume gets shelved, but there are also many other candidates. So don’t make wrong assumptions about the sudden stop of communication between you and the company or take unnecessary stress. Remain stress free. There could be many reasons For example: The project for which you are hiring is not any more with the company so there would be no more requirements or there might be some internal candidate who just got in and qualify to fulfill the requirement.

2. Next Steps: Okay now you know that your job offer is on hold, but don’t just sit back and relax. There is very less possibility that your offer could be unfreezes. If it was the dream job that you were looking for then you can wait for sometime but get the deadlines cleared up with your contact in the company so that you won’t wait a lot of time in hope to activate your offer.

Just keep yourself prepared for the interviews and get your interviews scheduled for the other openings. Keep your spirits high and don’t loose your confidence or think that you’re cheated.

There are tons of reason why you should get started working from home. But the mega two reasons are:

1. You get to work at home!

2. You get to spend more time with your family!

Besides this two, I want you to know that working from home has a lot of advantages. That is why many people out there are trying to find a job that allows them to stay at home and work. A possible few reasons that people want is job are:

1. People who are out of job

2. People who are lazy to travel to work

3. People who want to save travelling fee

4. People who want to earn some extra income

5. People who want to make it big online

6. Retirees who want to earn some income

7. People whom are tired of being reprimanded by bosses for even the slightest mistake

8. People who hate office job to the core that you would die if you stayed on

9. People who are always late for work, hence the deduction in your monthly salary

10. People who always love staying up just to catch a soccer match and are unable to get up in time for work.

Now, why should you get started working from home? Besides the two reasons I mentioned earlier, these are a few more:

1. Money earned easily from your home.

2. You can have tons of toilet breaks and no one can stop you.

3. You can take naps for as long as you like, as long as the assignments are complete otherwise you won’t get paid.

4. There will not be any overtime work. If you have time to spare, you can complete more assignments for more income.

5. No one to reprimand you of your mistakes.

6. You need not get up early just to work. You can work anytime.

7. You can surf the net and complete your assignments at the same time.

8. You can watch a replay of your soccer match and complete your assignments at the same time.

9. No limit to your lunch breaks and tea breaks and whatsoever breaks.

10. Expect no salary cut at all.

You would be thinking, what if everyone quits their day job and start working from home? Well, there are people in this world who loves being stuck in his office cubicle and enjoys being reprimanded by their supervisors and boss.

Therefore, if you wish to start working from home, do not hesitate at all and start as soon as you like. Working from home has no boundaries.

Work from home is increasing as employers have realized the value of this category. It is not a difficult task, the cost of getting everything set up is also not high. One of the main reasons why many people would like to work from home is so that they can take care of their children. To work from home is not an impossible goal; it is something to work at and hardly becomes a reality overnight. Whoever she is she has come to the decision that work from home is an improvement to working outside the home.

Being able to work from home is in fact becoming a way of life for millions of people each year, and these people are doing it successfully. One very important consideration when choosing to this work is self-discipline. In reality, a lot people think that work from home is very senseless and that to have a secure life especially when you have a family is to get job working hard and saving money but the best thing about being able to work from home is the control of our time.

There are a wide variety of work at home opportunities, but not all of them are what you might think they are. Other work at home opportunities which can make you money if you put some time into them include taking surveys and filling out opinion polls. Every day more and more people are looking for work from home income opportunities. Since most work from home opportunities are in the area of network marketing, sales and communication skills are required too.

With so many opportunities for computer work from home, there is no reason not to pursue one of these great chances to become your own boss while working from the comfort of your home. In fact, there are a number of computer works from home opportunities that require very little computer knowledge at all.

The most important thing you can do in organizing yourself to work from home is to set your office hours and one of the obvious rewards you reap when you work from home is that you can fit in time for your children’s activities without having to ask someone else for permission. Deciding where to begin when wanting to work from home is the first step you need to take to be successful in finding the right telecommuting job.

So, how to search for a job which allows you to be working from home? There are many ways that allows you to be able to search for a job like that. But there are also many scam websites out there wanting to cheat you of your time and money. To prevent that from happening, I have come to warn you of the scam techniques used out there.

A website is usually the primary source for scammers.

If you happen to stumble upon a website that looks somewhat unprofessional but you are tempted into doing the job, think twice before you even agree to them. Remember to check by keying in the company name into search engines and see if you can find results about them. Usually, there would be some results coming from several forums and sites which have reviews about the company which you are searching for. So, look through the comments, and if none of them are negative about that company, go ahead and join them. If there are tons of negative comments, you might want to avoid being in contact with it anymore. If the searches give little or no search results, the company might still be new, but you better take a little precaution and step away from that site at the moment until there are some reviews about it.

If your friend happens to be working from home, you might want to consult him/her about it. Ask him/her to give you some advice and if he/she permits, ask them to let you in on what company they are working for. This way, you are surely a hundred and one percent safe from being conned.

Sometimes, companies would advertise on papers to look for people willing to work from home. You should get a copy of your daily newspapers and make an effort to scan through each and every advertisement so as to make sure you are not missing out on any offers that allows you to work from home. This might seem to be the safest way, but you must also be alert. If they do advertise their website together with the ad, go have a look at their website and decide for yourself whether it seems like a scam or not. If they want you to give them a call, go ahead. If the personnel attending to you sound somewhat unprofessional, do not hesitate and just hang up, they are just wasting their time trying to rip you off.

Even though it’s an “employer’s market” with millions of capable people looking for work due to the recession, many employers are making these five costly employee retention mistakes. 

Mistake #1: Assuming employees “won’t dare leave now due to the recession.” 

Many organizations have discontinued their employee retention programs, figuring they aren’t needed because their employees would be crazy to leave now. 

While it’s true that most of your good employees won’t leave now, some employers lose some of their most valuable employees during economic downturns and recessions. 

Why? 

Having already undergone several waves of layoffs, many organizations now operate as lean as possible, continuing to employ only their critical skills and best-performing employees. 

If even one of those key or high-performing employees leaves, the impact can be significant. 

Every time there’s more bad economic news, reduced customer orders, or another layoff, many employees ask themselves, “I wonder if I’ll be next?” 

If another employer, possibly one of your competitors, can offer them a job with more security, don’t you think some employees will at least consider it? 

Or, if their families are complaining about increased workloads and time away from home, including nights and weekends, and another employer offers a job with improved work-life balance, won’t some employees consider taking it? 

Is this really the time to potentially risk losing the employees who are getting you through the recession? 

You want to be looking for ways to better serve and retain customers, not dealing with costly employee turnover. 

Mistake #2: Assuming other employers aren’t hiring or making strategic job offers. 

Many organizations have kept only their most valuable employees: the ones with the most skills, knowledge, expertise, important customer relationships, and highest productivity. 

All of these are attributes other employers, especially competitive ones, value. 

Even though their talent management plans don’t include hiring new employees now, some employers will make special allowances to hire valuable employees away from key competitors. 

And, it’s also not unheard of for companies to terminate one or more existing employees in order to gain another employer’s “star.” 

Mistake #3: Not talking with your best employees about how they’re coping. 

Many high-performing employees were already working to full capacity before the recession; now, many of them have even more demands and responsibilities. 

Meet with them one-to-one in private, asking questions like these: 

1) Do they feel overloaded or overwhelmed? If so, what might help reduce this? Can some of their work or projects be delegated to others? 

2) Have their families complained about the hours they’re working? 

3) What would they like from you to help them work more comfortably and effectively? 

4) If they were going to consider leaving the organization within the next six months, what might make them do so? (Don’t be afraid to ask this question fearing you’re putting thoughts in their heads that aren’t already there. They’ll appreciate your honesty). 

5) How do they describe their relationship with their immediate boss? 

While this dialogue is always important, it’s especially important now; it helps establish relationships of open communication and trust which is one of the most effective employee retention strategies there is. 

Mistake #4: Not paying enough attention to the relationships between employees and their immediate bosses. 

Research has continually shown that the quality of the relationship employees have with their immediate boss is the number one reason they leave. 

If their boss places more and more demands on them while treating them as less than a valuable asset during a difficult economy, this will prompt some employees to look now, or decide to leave once the recession’s over. 

Train managers how to retain good employees; make retention part of their job descriptions; and make good employee retention at least 25% to 33% of their bonuses. Employee turnover will usually decrease. 

Notice that the one-to-one conversations recommended in Mistake #3 can help you uncover and correct concerns in this area. 

Mistake #5: Assuming employees will stay once the recession’s over. 

Just because capable employees don’t leave during the recession, you can’t assume they won’t leave once it’s over. 

Because they often do. 

Several times after past economic downturns and recessions, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), has reported that two-thirds or more of existing employees intended to seek new employers. 

When the economy improves, you don’t want to be spending resources on employee recruitment and hiring and training replacement employees, you want to take advantage of increased business, and recoup lost revenues. 

Avoiding these five key employee retention mistakes will help you avoid spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars and substantial amounts of administrative time later.

“Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it.”

“Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly”

“Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for Reliance and for India.”

“You do not require an invitation to make profits.”

“If you work with determination and with perfection, success will follow.”

“Pursue your goals even in the face of difficulties, and convert adversities into opportunities.”

“Give the youth a proper environment. Motivate them. Extend them the support they need. Each one of them has infinite source of energy. They will deliver.”

“Between my past, the present and the future, there is one common factor: Relationship and Trust. This is the foundation of our growth”

“We bet on people.”

“Meeting the deadlines is not good enough, beating the deadlines is my expectation.”

“Don’t give up, courage is my conviction.”

“We cannot change our Rulers, but we can change the way they Rule Us.”

“Dhirubhai will go one day. But Reliance’s employees and shareholders will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become irrelevant.”

2. Be different. Think different. “Better be a pirate than to join the navy.”

3. Do your best. Do your best at every job. No sleep! Success generates more success. So be hungry for it. Hire    good people with passion for excellence.

4. Make SWOT analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don’t hesitate in throwing bad apples out of the company.

5. Be entrepreneurial. Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be quickly and decisively acted upon and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

6. Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. “I want to put a ding in the universe,” reveal Steve Jobs his dream.

7.  Strive to become a market leader. Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there’s a better technology available, use it no matter if anyone else is not using it. Be the first, and make it an industry standard.

8. Focus on the outcome. People judge you by your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don’t know it, they won’t buy your product. Pay attention to design. “We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.” “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

9. Ask for feedback. Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your product - listen to your customers first.

10. Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.

11. Learn from failures. Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

12. Learn continually. There’s always “one more thing” to learn! Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don’t like, learn to like them - praise them and benefit from them. Learn to criticize your enemies openly, but honestly.

Executive Summary by Vadim Kotelnikov ]]> http://simplywalkin.com/blog/2009/03/steve-jobs%e2%80%99-12-rules-of-success.htm/feed http://simplywalkin.com/blog/2008/10/tips-for-stress-free-life.htm http://simplywalkin.com/blog/2008/10/tips-for-stress-free-life.htm#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:46:03 +0000 admin http://simplywalkin.com/blog/?p=93 No matter how hard you try but there are still very fair chances that you’ll end-up your day with stress. The stress walks into our life with different nature. The inflation, the share market bubble burst, fears of layoff.

Not only IT and banking companies but many other industries are asking their people to leave. These companies are not even hiring new employees. The American market downtime is creating problem for almost all countries.

People who have invested in share market are having a very hard time to gain profits. People are getting very confused, tensed, irritated and stressful.

Here are few tips that could help you in living a stress free life.

1. Eat Healthy Food: The more your body gets the healthy food the tougher you’ll become in handling the stress. Eating junk food with high fat volume and that too not in proper intervals of the day would not be helpful. If your mind and body get the healthy and refreshing food it will help you get over the situation easily.

2. Breathe the stress down: Stress makes us breathe unconventionally; it makes us breathe fast and while you breathe fast your mind and body would never get relaxed. Calm down your mind and body and breathe slowly and don’t panic. This strategy would be very helpful while you try to beat down the stress.

3. Workout – Exercise: Working out a bit everyday would not only make you take better control of stress but it will also help you in handling pressure calmly and with more control. Finding time for exercise would be a problem for majority of people but you’ll have to find time yourself, believe it would be really helpful.

4. Fight stress while you sleep: Sleep at least 8-10 hours a day. Sleeping would calm your mind give relax to your body so that your body would get prepared for the next day pressure Throw away your laptop, listen to some music and sleep. Maintain a regular sleeping time.

5. Stick to your plan: You should never get annoyed by the way things are not going according to our plans. Don’t waste your time in tasks that are not important. If you have plans stick to your plan and don’t dump it. Think of the big picture and keep moving ahead. People used to move off track when things are not going accordingly, but when the time changes they have already wasted much time, so they have to start it again. So stick to your plan.

6. No Alcohol or drugs: Never drink alcohol or take drugs as they will destroy you emotionally and make you loose your confidence in yourself. Take healthy food and drink healthy drinks. The bad time would fade away.