Stop Writing Crap!

A functional resume template

Shawna — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:52:17 +0000

There are basically two types of resumes. There is the chronological resume and the skills-based functional resume. The chronological resume tends to be the one that you see most often. However, for some people a skills-based resume would serve them better in their job hunt. Skills-based resumes work best for people that are looking to change careers or who have held a lot of jobs for short periods of time. For instance, if you are a consultant you would most likely want to use a skills-based resume as opposed to a chronological resume. Skills-based resumes are great because they really highlight the reasons why you would be a valuable addition to a company.

I have recently attained a great skills-based functional resume template. This template is used by one of the major recruitment agencies in the US. Feel free to download it and tweak the format to meet your needs. And don’t let the fact that it is focused on finance deter you as it can be used for any industry.

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Advice to writers

Shawna — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:55:19 +0000

If you want to be a writer then there is a pretty decent chance that you are looking for advice or motivation. If that is the case, let me point you in the right direction.

Have a look at How to Write With Style by Kurt Vonnegut. You won’t be sorry.

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How to be a travel writer

Shawna — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:00:51 +0000

As someone that majored in English and Journalism in college, being a travel writer is one of those writing dream jobs for me. I mean, how cool is it to get to travel to places that you want to visit and then get paid to write about those places. If travel writing is something that you dream of too then I came across an article that can help you out.

Becoming a travel writer is not as hard as you might think. To get started in your new career as a travel writer, just follow The 10 Steps to Becoming a Successful Travel Writer posted over at The Travelers Notebook.

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How to write a business plan, part 2 - the executive summary

Shawna — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:55:23 +0000

If you are ready to start working on your business plan the first thing you will want to work on is your executive summary.

The executive summary is the first part of your business plan. And it is also the most important part of your business plan as it gives an overview of the entire business plan as well as a history of your business.

Basically, you will use the executive summary to show where your business is currently, where it started and where you want it to go. It is important that you be truthful!

Since the executive summary gives an overview of the entire business plan, it should be the last part of your business plan that you write up. You only want to write the executive summary once you have worked out the rest of the business plan.

Contents of the Executive Summary

Mission Statement
Date business began
Names of founders and the functions they perform
Number of employees
Location of business and any branches or subsidiaries
Description of plant or facilities
Products manufactured/services rendered
Banking relationships and information regarding current investors
Summary of company growth including financial or market highlights
Summary of management’s future plans

For all of the above except for the mission statement, have the information in a bulleted listed or something similar. The point here is brevity. Your mission statement will be whatever length you need to get your mission across.

If your business is brand new you you might not have information for all of the areas above. That is okay and expected. Instead of worrying about that lack of info try to focus on your experience and background instead. If you can show expertise in the industry then you are going in the right direction!

While not necessary, you can include a table of contents directly after the executive summary. That way the reader will have an easier time going through your business plan as they can be quite lengthy.

Stay tuned for part 3 of writing a business plan!

And if you missed part 1, check out How to write a business plan, part 1.

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How to write a business plan, part 1

Shawna — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:22:41 +0000

Are you planning on starting your own business? If so, you will want to work on your business plan before you get too far along in your preparations. A business plan is a written guide to starting and running your business successfully. You will definitely need a solid business plan if you are planning on seeking outside financing for your business, whether it is from a local bank or a venture capital firm. A good business plan is also a great map for you to follow as you grow your business.

Business plans tend to vary by industry and size of business as to what you will need to include in your business plan. A good rule of thumb is to have the following categories in your business plan at a minimum:

Executive Summary
Market Analysis
Company Description
Organization & Management
Marketing & Sales Management
Service or Product Line
Funding Request
Financials
Appendix

Stay tuned for more on writing a business plan!

To read the rest of this series, see part 2,

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On using a thesaurus

Shawna — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:45:13 +0000

Thesauri and dictionaries are not mutually exclusive tools of the writing trade. It seems, though, that quite often people choose to use a thesaurus in lieu of a dictionary when both may in fact be needed. A good thesaurus will offer synonyms for a word that run the entire spectrum, not merely precise synonyms, but also words that mean “sort of” the same thing.

For example, using one of the words in the most preceding sentence, the Microsoft Word thesaurus returns the following for the word “precise”: exact, accurate, specific, particular, clear-cut, defined, strict and fixed. Some of these words would fit the sentence. Some would not. And that’s just in Microsoft Word. A large thesaurus will likely offer many more word options.

When using a thesaurus, it’s never a good idea to just pick the word with the coolest sound and assume that it carries the same meaning as the word that is being replaced. This can change the meaning of the sentence entirely.

The word “walk” returns a list of words, including “saunter,” “march,” and “stagger”. These three words call to mind very different images.

If you do not know the meaning of a word for sure, always double check the definition in a dictionary. Don’t count on a thesaurus to define a word.

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Which do you use: “a” vs “an”

Shawna — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:06:17 +0000

Judging from all of the blogs that I read as well as emails and memos at work, there is a lot of confusion when it comes to using “a”and “an.”

When I was in school I learned that the usage rule for “a” versus “an” is as follows:

for words that start with consonants, use “a”
for words that start with a vowel, use “an”

And generally I find this to be a god rule of thumb if you are unclear on usage.

However, while looking through some posts on Daily Writing Tips I came across some additional info, which can be found here.

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Metaphor vs simile

Shawna — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:56:04 +0000

I am certain that you remember the terms “metaphor” and “simile” from your days of sitting in English class.

If you were not paying attention in class you might think that a metaphor and a simile are the same thing. You would be wrong.

Daily Writing Tips has a great article that not only lets you know what the difference is between the two, but there are also some examples.

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Do you need to write a cover letter when applying for a job?

Shawna — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:21:53 +0000

These days it is just not enough to send out a resume without a nice cover letter. I suspect that if a hiring manager narrows the field down to two resumes and one has a cover letter and one does not, well, the cover letter resume is the winner. Writing a well-crafted cover letter to go with your resume says a lot about you as an applicant.

It says that you thought that the position that you were applying for was worth the extra effort and time of crafting the cover letter.

It says that you are serious about the position in question.

It also says that you are a professional.

So, the question is, how do you write a cover letter and what should be in it?

Well, first note that your cover letter should only be about a page. There is really no need for a novel length letter because it probably won’t get read if it is too long.

A cover letter is basically there to fill in the gaps. Every thing that you think is important about why you should be hired for the position that did not fit on your resume should be in your cover letter. And always be sure to include any info that the employer specifically requested in the job advertisement.

Here are some places to see some examples of cover letters:

Career services at Virginia Tech (scroll down the page to get to the examples)
Cover Letter Samples at About.com
Cover Letter Template
Dynamic Cover Letter Samples
Two Types of Cover Letters Examples

Here are other resources for tips on writing great cover letters:

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Need some help with punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage?

Shawna — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:07:13 +0000

Do you have problems with Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling (PUGS)? If so, you are not alone!

If you are looking for some pointers on using was versus were or on using vertical lists after introductory phrases then you need to check out PUGS Pointers at Absolute Write.

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