IEEE Career Alert: Resumes: When It's Not Good to Know It All

ADVERTISEMENT   Forward to a Friend Print this Issue IEEE Job Site Career Alert for 7 July 2010 Your bi-weekly report on jobs, education, management, and the engineering workplace, from the editors of IEEE Spectrum. IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Resumes: When It's Not Good to Know It All 2. Too Much of a Good Thing... 3. A Career's Worth of Advice 4. In UK, College Degrees Offer No Insulation from Effects of Economic Downturn 1. Resumes: When It's Not Good to Know It All Job seekers have all been taught that resumes should, in as few strokes as possible, paint a picture of the candidate as unassailable. But a California Job Journal article presents a counter-intuitive strategy: letting hiring managers know right up front that despite your credentials and experience, you view yourself as a work in progress. Your resume should begin with a qualifications summary that highlights how you will make a meaningful contribution and indicates that you are actively engaged in furthering your knowledge by pursuing a degree or earning a certification.  Read on. 2. Too Much of a Good Thing... If a little is good, more is better, right? Not so, says an article noting the seemingly good workplace skills and traits that can harm your chances at advancement if taken to the extreme. Though you might think yourself perfectly capable of juggling three tasks at one time, cognitive scientists have found that the quality of your performance of each task is hampered by a lack of focus. And while conventional wisdom says that you should remain visible so that higher-ups are aware of your accomplishments, doing so by taking credit for colleagues’ work or minimizing their contributions may ultimately backfire.  Read on. 3. A Career's Worth of Advice A longtime Wall Street Journal careers columnist recently distilled what she considers the best bits of advice to job seekers into five important lessons. Among them are: remembering that it’s important to sweat the small stuff such as whether your shoes are polished, your palms aren’t sweaty, and you speak like a professional instead of an adolescent; and knowing that you must continuously take stock of how your skills, desires, and values line up with your job (or your industry as a whole) and be prepared to reinvent yourself.  Read on. 4. In UK, College Degrees Offer No Insulation from Effects of Economic Downturn The London Daily Telegraph is reporting that one-sixth of UK college graduates under the age of 25—a group that is nearly a million strong—are now considered to be “NEETs,” short for “Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” (A separate Telegraph article notes that says 69 UK graduates are competing for every available entry-level job there.) To help unemployed graduates weather this period between leaving school and landing their first positions, the newspaper offers advice including seeking further training, making use of their university’s careers service, and even doing volunteer charity work.  Read on. View Positions Available ADVERTISEMENT To ensure delivery of the IEEE Job Site Career Alert, please add ieee-career-alert@ieee.org to your e-mail address book or Safe Sender List. If you are still having problems receiving our communications, see our white-listing page for more details. Interested in other IEEE Newsletters? Sign up here. Unsubscribe from receiving promotional offers from the IEEE Job Site. © 2010 IEEE 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor New York, NY 10016-5997 Tel +1 212 419 7760 Fax +1 212 419 7589 www.ieee.org/jobs