Read-Think-b4-u-Write

You hear it all the time from your English teachers; "Hook your reader in the first paragraph or you'll lose them." Now, English teachers everywhere are sitting smug, their red pens resting easy because hiring managers have figured out the "hook." Liz Ryan at Forbes is recommending that applicants ditch the cover letter to write the "pain" letter, and it begins with . . . A hook (duh!). Ryan recommends a fresh news item about the company that acknowledges something great they do - who doesn't like that? Then, and here's the tricky part, you present a "Pain Hypothesis." A what? An example works best: "I can imagine that hiring as many people as you are, keeping tabs on payroll issues might be a constant challenge. With regulations constantly changing, it’s not easy to keep everyone paid correctly and well-informed in a growing company." That's a Pain Hypothesis. You are saying “You have a guinea pig, eh? Have ...

One would think that Leonardo da Vinci, the guy who invented the helicopter, created the most famous picture of man (you know the guy in the circle holding out his arms), and painted the Mona Lisa , wouldn't have to create a resume', but then one would be WRONG!  Before da Vinci was the toast of Renaissance Europe, he was a nobody, a student, just like you, and just like you he had to send out a resume' or two. Marc Cenedella posted a translation of DaVinci's resume as follows: “Most Illustrious Lord, Having now sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and operation of the said instruments are nothing different from those in common use: I shall endeavor, without prejudice to any one else, to explain myself to your Excellency, showing your Lordship my secret, and then offering them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at opportune moment...

It may be hard to see in this home/work space, but there it is a cute little picture proclaiming "Do What You Love" next to another cute little graphic "Love What You Do." We've all heard this phrase, but at Jacobin an article entitled "In the Name of Love" claims that "There’s little doubt that 'do what you love' (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem is that it leads not to salvation, but to the devaluation of actual work, including the very work it pretends to elevate — and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers." After all, we're not all Bill Gates building computers in our garage. Is DWYL just a bit of self-aggrandizing fluff? Jacobin makes a good point when saying, "By keeping us focused on ourselves and our individual happiness, DWYL distracts us from the working conditions of others while validating our own choices and relieving us from obli...

Are you special? Over at Huffpo "Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy" hit the blogosphere claiming that Generation Y GYPSYs (Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies) think they are "the main character of a very special story" and since they are the protagonist of their own story they are easily disappointed when everything doesn't go their way. Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Let's back up a minute here.  Who are these GYPSYs?  GYPSYs are "the generation born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s . . [who are] also part of a yuppie culture that makes up a large portion of Gen Y." So I guess that's most of today's traditional age college students. GYPSY parents are part-Hippie, part-Yuppie.  Their grandparents are part of the Greatest Generation who grew up during the depression and then fought and won World War II - hence the "Pussies" comment from Gramps (btw, gramps says that about every succeeding generation). GYP...

According to the graphic " Anatomy of the World's Top-Performing CEOs " created by Domo the average CEO is a married guy with a receding hairline who has 3.1 children (I feel sorry for that .1 child). Furthermore he went to some fancy college.  On the other hand, only 29 percent hold an MBA and 61 percent were educated outside of the United States. Here's a stat that should make you smile, 79 percent were promoted from within; meaning hang in there and you can make your way up the corporate ladder. Here's another plus.  Many of the top companies are in California. What's missing? How old are these guys?  Receding hairlines and 3.1 children implies middle age.  It seems that experience (not just education) has a lot to do with a CEOs capabilities. What else is missing? Women.  Only two of the top 100 CEOs are women! Why in the 21st century do you think there are so few top women CEOs?  Do women dislike being CEOs?  Are women not cut ...

The Chronicle of Higher Ed 's article Employers and Public Favor Graduates Who Can Communicate displays ambivalent attitudes and a complete lack of real world experience--not by students or employees--but by managers, employers, and professors that peddle such nonsense to students and the community-at-large. What nonsense you ask?  Being "well-rounded with a range of abilities" will land you that fab job you've been dreaming about. Why the attitude?  Here's why.  If a company is hiring for a position that requires a Bachelor's Degree in marketing, finance, or business, it doesn't matter that upper management or your local professor believes "Being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having industry expertise because job-specific skills can be learned at work." Upper management is never going to meet that well-rounded person because that well-rounded person will never pass the initial screening process.  This ...