Sweet Careers Consulting

Your Resume Has Little Work Experience? Follow These Tips To Get a Job

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 21:58:24 +0000

Guest Author: Joe Flanagan

One of the most difficult aspects of finding a job for the first time is the catch 22 situation that you have no work experience. It’s a burden on millions of young job seekers but there are ways to window dress your resume to get that job.

1) Think about your extra-curricular activities

Life doesn’t start and end with a job. Your resume is a reflection of your life achievements and this includes things outside of the realm of work. Consider mentioning any teams you were a part of, this doesn’t just have to be sport, it could be a team of volunteers, a quiz team, a debating team … the list goes on!

2) Explain your studied subjects

You studied 17th Century Philosophical Anthropology? Write a sentence about it that sums up not only your academic qualifications but how that subject taught you specific skills that relate to the job description you are applying to.

3) Keep your resume to one page

As you have little work experience the last thing you want to do is write out pages and pages of waffle. Keep your resume succinct and you’ll find recruiters and hiring managers will find reading it a lot easier and help them zone in on what really matters.

Joe Flanagan is a Senior Consultant at the resume builder at Velvet Jobs. When he’s not providing a variety of career advice you can find him trying to study Mandarin Chinese and going on long hikes in the hills.

What name should you use on LinkedIn?

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 20:49:14 +0000

Your name is kinda a big deal! Not only does it identify you, but it’s part of your personal brand and is often the first thing about you that your professional community will come to know. But what if you go by a few different names? What if you have a preferred name that is different from your legal name? I am often asked what name to use on LinkedIn or resumes. Of course, the choice is yours, but I suggest using the name that your managers and co-workers would be calling you when you’re working – the name by which you want to be called. Whatever name you decide to use, be consistent using it across all professional platforms (LinkedIn, your resume, About.me, etc.), so that faculty who write letters of recommendation, internship supervisors, classmates, and other professionals can easily identify you. Remember to use the same name when you introduce yourself in interviews, in your email signature, and on your voicemail.

When you start working for an organization, you will need to provide them with your official “legal name,” but that will really only be used for official documents, such as for payroll and taxes.

Image source: Huffington Post UK

Is our door closing?

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 23:40:28 +0000

UPDATE (10-23-15): I wanted to give a quick update. A few weeks ago I shared that the deadline to renew Sweet Careers’ hosting was fast approaching. That deadline is tomorrow! Thank you everyone who sent us well-wishes and kept us in your prayers. By the Lord’s gracious hand, we have just enough funding to keep our doors open for at least one more year!! I feel so incredibly blessed! Thanks, again! ~Grace
Over the last 7 years, Sweet Careers has provided free resume and cover letter reviews to college students and recent grads from all over the world! It’s been such a huge honour and privilege to get to know so many talented, amazing young professionals. While we also provide affordable fee-based services, the bulk of our work is provided at no cost. In order to do that, we keep our operational costs as low as possible, and I don’t receive a salary for any of the work I do. That’s how much all of you mean to me! But every year, when it’s time to pay for our hosting costs (which takes up the bulk of our budget), we know it could be our last year in operation. That said, we are just weeks away from our hosting renewal date, and don’t yet have the funds to cover our costs for the coming year. However, every previous year, the Lord has miraculously provided just enough funding through sponsors and advertising to keep us going, so perhaps He’ll see fit to do so again this year. But if not, and our season of operation comes to an end, I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your support and prayers over the years. I praise God for making this all possible.

If you have received a review from us, I’d love to hear from you and learn how you’ve been doing. Again, thank you so much. Lord willing, we’ll be around for another year!

Bridging The Gap With Take Note Typing

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 20:15:01 +0000

Guest Author: Take Note Typing
With the constant demand for jobs, many university students feel they have a battle on their hands in the lead up to graduation day. With the constant reports of jobless graduates unable to find work, it is understandable that the task seems daunting. However, things are not as dark as you may think.

Brightside reports that there are less graduates left jobless than at any time, dating as far back as 2007. With the rise in graduate employment, experience in a work-place is still going to be essential for job success. This is where companies such as Take Note Typing come in. They provide full training and opportunities for the individuals they take on board.

Whether that is as an ‘undercover agent’, or another role; with the team of transcription specialists, employees will be able to gain that valuable experience that could be the turning point for job success. They also provide the added bonus of flexible working hours; perfect for students undergoing that final year of university.

Have you ever thought about being a transcriber? If you think this is something you could be good at, why not try out their typing game, which allows you to race with competitors while analysing your typing; reporting your time and level of accuracy. If you are able to type 70 words per minute, you could be their perfect candidate.

The team are currently recruiting, so whether you are looking to gain experience and cash during your last year of university life, or are interested in beginning a full-time role straight away, take a look at their character specifications and follow the instruction to apply.

Source: Brightside

Take Note Typing have been in operation since 2006, providing an accurate transcription service as well as carrying out market research, translation and proofreading services among others.

6 Tips for Starting Your New School Year

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 14:20:39 +0000

Take time to get to know who your academic advisor is; they can be an invaluable resource when it comes to planning your classes, understanding campus policies, and finding additional resources that you’ll need.
Definitely take advantage of your faculty’s office hours.
Try to follow a (flexible) schedule that takes into account class time, study, work, social time, exercise and sleep.
Surround yourself with a strong support network. And with all the available tech, that network doesn’t necessarily have to be on campus, or even in the same city.
Connect with your career services office early and often.
Have fun! College is a finite period of time in your life. Enjoy it!

What strategies do you use to manage your school year? Let us know in the comments.

We’re getting a makeover!

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:52:07 +0000

I’ve been working on a massive makeover for Sweet Careers for what feels like forever! Due to some unexpected problems with our old site, I’ve decided to pull the trigger on the new site earlier than expected. If you can’t find something or if there’s anything not working correctly, please let me know. Thank you so much for your patience!

Resume Phrases – Resident Assistant

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 22:57:47 +0000

As a resident assistant, the work you do is vital to your residents and your campus, but sometimes, capturing the richness of your experience on a resume can be challenging. Here are a handful of sample resume phrases to help you describe your Resident Assistant experience:

Designed and delivered wide range of programming options for residents, resulting in 5% increase in student participation over previous year
Participated in extensive safety training and on-going professional development

Acted as mediator for residents and helped identify practical solutions for disagreements
Maintained professionalism during emergency situations, being careful to implement standard protocols
Referred students to appropriate on-campus and off-campus resources as needed
Collaborated regularly with fellow RAs to ensure safe, respectful, fun, inclusive living environment
Processed and recorded all requests for maintenance repairs or custodial needs
Communicated with administrators, staff, faculty and community members in person, by phone, and through written correspondence
Recognized as approachable and energetic by residents, peers, staff, and administrators
Oversaw logistics for various programs, including securing venues, ordering food, coordinating schedules, and implementing marketing strategies
Organized collaborative hall events to raise awareness about sustainability efforts
Assisted with move-in day activities; welcomed freshmen and their families
Respond promptly and professionally to all resident concerns

Keep in mind that the phrases above are just examples and are provided to remind you of your many accomplishments as a student. Revise, edit and tailor the phrases as your needs require.

Involvement in extra-curricular activities in college can give you valuable experience, but how do you translate this experience on your resume? The Resume Phrases by Activity series provides sample resume phrases for experiences commonly gained through different extra-curricular activities. These sample phrases are intended to inspire students and recent grads to describe their college experience more thoroughly.

Image source: Bard College

Quick Tip: Remove comments before you submit your resume

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:28:54 +0000

If you’ve ever had a resume reviewed by a friend, professor, or career advisor, they may have added comments, made changes, or revised your document in some way. This feedback can be very helpful, but if you don’t remove those comments and changes, you may unintentionally send them to your prospective employer! (Just so you know, I don’t use the comment feature when I review your resume; I’ll send you a video review containing all my suggestions and revisions.)

When you open your resume file, you can choose “No Markup” in the “Display for Review” box, but that will only hide tracked changes temporarily; the changes have not been deleted, and they’ll show up again the next time anyone opens the document. In order to delete the tracked changes permanently, you have to either accept or reject them. If you’re ever concerned that some comments are still lingering on your resume, run Word’s Document Inspector. By the way, use this same tip to ensure your term papers and other class assignments are comment-free before you turn them in.

Quick Tip: Use a word cloud to improve your resume

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:26:09 +0000

I’m sure you’ve seen word clouds before – you know, they’re those fun collages made up of words. Sites like Wordle, Tagxedo, and Word It Out, allow you to paste text into a box then generate a word cloud that highlights the most frequently used words in the text. (Some sites, like Tagxedo, even let you create a word cloud based on a specific shape – like the Sweet Careers logo!)

Word cloud generators are also an easy, (and fun), way to check which keywords your resume, (or the job description for a position you’re applying for), is emphasizing. All you have to do is cut and paste your resume into the generator’s create box and click submit. The words that are the largest in the word cloud are the ones you’re using most. Are the biggest words the ones you expected? Are you using too many buzzwords, (e.g. effective, innovative, expert)?

You can also use a word cloud to analyze your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to let me know if you need help revising your resume or LinkedIn profile. Share your resume word cloud in the comments.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sweet - aka Grace Kutney — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 16:03:02 +0000

First off, I apologize for the lack of content lately. This fall has been an incredibly busy time for Sweet Careers and for me personally. But I am hoping to get into a more regular publishing schedule again, soon.

Thank-you!!
I also want to say a big thank you to all of the amazing students and young professionals I’ve had the pleasure of assisting these past few months. You’ve all been working so hard and I am so proud of all of you! Keep up the good work, and know I’m here if you need any help along the way.

A huge thanks has to be given to my amazing family and friends. As many of you know, I lost my dad at the start of September, and it’s been challenging, but I appreciate all your prayers and love. All I can say is, the Lord has been exceedingly faithful!

(Re-)Connecting
As we head into 2015, I would love to hear from ALL of you! Let me know what kind of content you would like to see on our blog, on our Facebook page, and on our Twitter feed. Many of you tend to reach out to me directly via email, which is fine, (especially for those of you who are job searching on the DL!), but if you’ve never connected with me, how would you prefer to connect? Twitter, LinkedIn, Viber? I’m pretty open, so let me know.

New services
Some of you have asked about new or additional services. In particular, there’s been increasing interest in the idea of hiring me on a “retainer” basis. For now, I’ve only made this available on a small scale. The basic idea is that you would be able hire me for 6, 9, or 12-month periods, giving you access to me as your personal career consultant for that period of time. Should I open this option for more people? Would you find it useful? We have a standard set of services, but are there other new services you’d like me to offer? How can I help YOU in 2015?

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here’s to an outstanding 2015!! Be safe!