FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER RESULTS WITH YOUR RESUME

Is every job description you read the same? No. 

Is every job you submit your resume to the same? Of course they aren’t. 

If all these job descriptions are different, why do you submit the same resume? 

Every day, people send the same generic resume out as though each position was identical and each employer was attempting to hire identical skills and attributes. Too often, the results they receive are like the broken watch that is right twice a day—hit or miss success. 

They list their name, address, phone numbers and email address, list an objective, education, and chronology of experience with dates of employment. The resume includes some successes or accomplishments. This is their resume. 

In the days prior to computers when changing a resume required you to re-type different versions, this made sense. Today, when computers allow you to customize, spell and grammar check documents so easily, you are missing out on opportunities and costing yourself money by being lazy and not tailoring your resume for each opportunity you are interested in. 

Here are several steps that you can do to improve your resume and get better results. 

1. Each employer will be interested in different attributes of your experience. They often indicate it by the items they describe in their job ad. Emphasize the experiences that you have that relate to the skills being sought and the functions you will perform in the job they will ask you to perform. If you are applying for a staff position, emphasize your staff experience and minimize your management experience. If you are being hired to be a leader, write about your recent leadership. 
2. Employers are more interested in recent work, rather than work you did many years ago. Use more space in your resume to highlight recent experience, rather than things you did before George W. Bush became President. 
3. Like setting a goal where you make them specific, measurable, achievable within a specific period of time, describe your successes or achievements concretely. Reducing costs is a nice start but it is more powerful to describe something as reducing operational costs globally by 2%. Increased departmental sales by 27% resulting in . . . You get the idea. Use action verbs wherever possible (For more on this, read my article, Preparing an Effective Resume” on www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com). 
4. Ask someone you trust to critique what you’ve written. Too often, people believe that they can do everything by themselves without asking for help. Ask a friend in your industry to critique what you’ve written to insure you’re on target and aren’t missing the mark. 

When you go to a restaurant and order a meal, you have the expectation that it will be prepared in a way that will please you and be presented on the plate beautifully. Writing a great resume requires that you be the chef and prepare a meal that is both visually appealing and tastes great too! 

Five Leadership Secrets for Challenging Times

We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and “left out sizing.” We are faced with the question, “How do we lead in this storm of change?” It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long-term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these difficult times. 

1 Integrity. 
I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday’s heroes in today’s villains. For example, “MCI was the apple of the business community’s eye. High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition hands down. 

Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management made a decision, “Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs and lay off thousands of employees to compete with MCI’s false numbers. The lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also the livelihood of thousands and the industry as a whole. 

I was recently speaking with a recently retired City Council member who is well respected in the community. I asked her what the secret was to her success while on the council? She mentioned that one of her political adversaries said to her, “While you were on the council, I didn’t like the way you voted, but I respected the way you voted because you were consistent with your votes and had the city’s best interest in mind.” 

Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long term? Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management, your team, or your family. 

2. Knowledge. 
With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely important that you gain the knowledge to master these changes. You owe it not only to yourself, but to your team and management. As I always say, “It’s not having the right answer, it’s that you have the right answer faster than before.” Many times during my teambuilding programs a student will say, “I didn’t know where to find the answer.” Then I will say, “That is an unacceptable answer.” Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills to find the right answers. With the Internet, classroom and online training, mentors, etc., the knowledge is at your fingertips. 

Challenge your team members to use the same resources to acquire the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring this knowledge, you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of change and achieve your goals. 

3. Decisiveness. 
You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information before making a decision. Then they need more information to support the information they already have.Then they need a committee to analyze the information. Then they wait for the perfect time to make the decision. 

Well, you know what I mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision! Good things happen when you take action; you grow, you adapt, and your team grows. There is no perfect time to make a decision. Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if needed. But make the decision. The worst quality you can show your team is indecision. What do you think your team sees when you can’t make a decision? Make the decision and go for it. 

4. Vision. 
This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone can do that - it’s the ability to see the future. Outstanding leaders can not only see their team for what they can do now, but what they can become, and paint the picture for them. These leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team members to that vision. One of the best ways, and least used methods, to convey your vision is the team meeting. 
Every meeting should start out with the team vision, mission, and goals; and the rest of the meeting should tie into the vision. For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the training portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, etc. Also, invest time to develop your team members’ personal visions and show them how they can accomplish their personal goals by tying into the overall vision. By consistently communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose, feel they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals sooner. 

5. Unselfishness 
Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones he or she leads. The leader must be able to “give of oneself for the good of the team.” In other words, be unselfish in words and action. Be unselfish in praise of others, in public, especially in front of management. 
Be unselfish in the ability to take time to listen, really listen to your team’s concerns. A recent management survey said that the average time management invests doing “pure listening” to employees during the year is a mere two hours- just two hours! What was meant by “pure listening” time was listening with eye contact, acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening, not speaking with another person while listening, etc. Be unselfish in the ability to help your team. Whether it’s the ability to readily assist with a difficult telephone call, jump in and remove road blocks for team members, or “be there” for a team member during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember those moments and excel for you. 

Now I challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership techniques I mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission, and your goals in the future. 

7 Numbers that Could Save Your Life

A little bit of math could make a big difference in your health. Here, the stats you need to know.

Exercise minutes: 150
The World Health Organization recommends that adults complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. Whether you split those minutes into short, 10-minute bursts or longer sweat sessions, hitting that target will lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and colon and breast cancers.

 Blood sugar: A1C less than 5.7%
 The percent of sugar in your bloodstream indicates if you're heading towards diabetes - which increases your risk of heart disease, says Tracy Stevens, MD, a New York cardiologist and spokesperson for the American Heart Association. Your doctor will likely check this at an annual physical. Normal blood sugar results are an A1C (a test that measures your average blood sugar for the past few months) of less than 5.7 percent and fasting blood glucose (which measures your blood sugar after not eating for at least 8 hours) of less than 100.

Think you're not at risk? The American Diabetes Association reports that 79 million people are pre-diabetic. But, here's the good news: Losing 7 percent of your body weight and exercising for 150 minutes a week can lower a pre-diabetic's risk of developing type 2 diabetes by a whopping 58 percent.

 Blood pressure: 130/80 mm Hg or less
Your blood pressure is a measure of how hard blood is pushing against the walls of your arteries as it circulates through your body. Ideally, your blood pressure should be less than 130/80 mm Hg; a too-high number can lead to weakened and damaged blood vessels, putting stress on your heart and increasing your risk of heart failure. "Everyone should have a blood pressure cuff in their home," says Stevens. "It's affordable and gives you so much information." Keep your blood pressure under control with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.

Target Heart Rate: 85 to 145 beats per minute
This is the pulse rate that signals whether you're exercising hard enough to promote heart fitness. A healthy range for a 40-year-old woman is 85 to 145 beats per minute. Historically, Target Heart Range (THR) has been based on a unisex formula, but now researchers believe that number may be too high for women. THR decreases with age - we've done the math to help you find your female-friendly target.

Cholesterol: below 100 mg/dL for LDL, above 50 mg/dL for HDL
The American Heart Association's recommended ranges for women's cholesterol levels are below 100 mg/dL for LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), above 50 mg/dL for HDL (the "good" cholesterol), and below 100 mg/dL for triglycerides. Too-high LDL can lead to plaque buildup in arteries, says Stevens, which can contribute to heart attack or stroke. Improve your LDL through exercise and diet, specifically lowering your intake of saturated fats, which are found in fatty cuts of meat and full-fat dairy products. And avoid trans fats, which lurk in margarine and in many ready-made baked goods.

Weight: BMI up to 25
One way to find out if you're at a healthy weight is to calculate your BMI. A body mass index over 25 can raise your blood pressure and risk of diabetes. But losing just 10 pounds can help lower your risk of heart disease. Pay attention to your waist size, too. You can have a normal BMI and still carry excess fat in your midsection, which may put your heart at risk. The AHA recommends that women aim for a waistline smaller than 35 inches.

Daily Steps: 10,000
If formal exercise routine intimidates you, try increasing your daily activity. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park your car at the back of the lot, or get off the train one stop earlier and walk the extra blocks. An easy way to track movement is to wear a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps each day.

The 10 Best Careers Right Now for Recent College Graduates

One of the biggest fears for many college graduates is finding a good job that pays well and has solid career prospects.

Some career paths are going to be more beneficial and open to a recent grad. To help new degree holders find the right field, the University of California, San Diego has compiled its fifth annual list of "Hot Careers for College Graduates."

For this report, UCSD looked at four criteria — "current employment in the field, projected growth in the occupation between 2010 and 2020, median annual salary in the occupation, and workplace environment characteristics."

The study also looked at "bridgeability factor," a yes or no decision "based on whether a college graduate could bridge into the career with one or two years of study or reskilling." Several careers — such as nurse, veterinarian, and pharmacist — scored well on UCSD's criteria, but would be unobtainable for an untrained college graduate.

Almost half of the careers in the top 10 dealt with computers and technology, including the top two on the list. Although two different types of software developers — applications and systems — tied for the first spot on UCSD's rankings, we decided to solely designate systems software developers as the number one career, based on its stronger long-term job prospects.

#10 Insurance Sales Agent

"As the population lives longer, there will be an increased need for insurance agents; the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects this career path to increase by 22% by 2020. Our research shows there are 336,740 insurance agents nationwide, earning a mean annual salary of $63,400. Although one third of all insurance sales agents in 2010 reported having at least a bachelor’s degree, only a high school diploma is required for entry to this job — a unique factor among the top ten hot careers."

#9 Public Relations Specialist

"Compared to other jobs on the hot careers list, public relations specialists represent the smallest number of people currently employed (201,280), but the field has a projected growth rate of 23% by 2020 ... The mean annual salary in the field, counting both corporate and self-employed public relations specialists, is $61,980."

#8 Management Analyst

"There are a reported 540,440 employed nationwide at present. All industries — even government organizations and not-for-profit organizations — rely on the unique expertise of management analysts to operate efficiently. With the onset of the global economic recession that began in 2008, utilization of management consultants has been growing, and demand for these professionals is projected to continue to grow by 22% by 2020. The mean annual salary for management consultants is $88,070."

#7 Computer Systems Analyst

"Computer systems analysts scored strongly in every category of hot careers evaluation. With 482,040 systems analysts currently employed in the U.S., the career category is projected to experience growth in demand of 22 percent by 2020. With a mean annual salary of $83,800, it is among the most highly remunerative job categories on the list."

#6 Elementary School Teacher

"Elementary school teachers have chosen an occupation that is high on the hot careers list because of the number of currently employed teachers—1,360,380. Outnumbering any other single occupation nationally, a teaching career path tends to offer a form of stability that is relatively rare in other fields of pursuit ... Overall demand for teachers is significant on a national level. From 2010–2020, a large number of teachers from the Baby Boom generation are also expected to retire, which will create additional positions for new teachers and results in projected national growth in the career of 18% by 2020."

#5 Network/Computer Systems Administrator

"The criteria that landed this occupation on the hot careers list are a mean annual salary of $76,320 paired with a projected growth rate of 28% by 2020. Increased reliance on technology in homes and every economic sector will continue to generate strong demand for graduates who can fulfill the numerous needs of users and enterprises. Currently, the U.S. government reports 350,320 systems administrators employed, but increasingly complex security threats, cybersurveillance, and upcoming 'meaningful use' requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will no doubt continue to require additional manpower on the front lines of computer networks and systems."

#4 Accountant/Auditor

"Accountants and auditors earned the number four spot on the hot careers list because of the sheer demand for accounting jobs. At last official count, 1,129,340 people in the U.S. were employed as accountants and auditors, with a respectable projected growth rate in the field of 16% by 2020. The mean annual salary for accounting and audit careers is $71,040, which has increased by nearly $10,000 in the past three years alone (from $61,690 in just 2010). Salary growth also illuminates why this is a promising career path for individuals with financial aptitude."

#3 Market Research Analyst/Marketing Specialist

"Government data shows 392,740 currently employed marketing research analysts under classification code 13-1161. Although the mean annual salary, $67,380, is considerably less than the number one and number two careers in the hot careers list, the job outlook between now and 2020 shows a deep and urgent need for more qualified individuals in these positions, with a projected growth rate of 41 percent by 2020."

#2 Software Developers — Applications

"The difference between these types of software developers is that the applications software developers are more focused on the consumer side of the software development, testing and modifying the product to ensure the desired results, and the systems software developer’s role pertains to the formulation and analysis of software requirements. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or mathematics, as well as strong programming skills, are what an applicant usually needs for a job as an applications software developer."

#1 Software Developer — Systems Software

"Although the demand for applications software developers is higher, systems software developers have a better projected employment growth rate (32% by 2020 versus 28% by 2020 for the applications software developers) as well as a higher mean annual salary ($102,550, almost $5,000 more for the applications software developer)."

1st Fully Bionic Man Walks, Talks and Breathes

He walks, he talks and he has a beating heart, but he's not human — he's the world's first fully bionic man.

Like Frankenstein's monster, cobbled together from a hodgepodge of body parts, the bionic man is an amalgam of the most advanced human prostheses — from robotic limbs to artificial organs to a blood-pumping circulatory system.

The creature "comes to life" in "The Incredible Bionic Man," premiering Sunday (Oct. 20) on the Smithsonian Channel at 9 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. CDT. [Watch Video of the Bionic Man]

Million-dollar man

Roboticists Rich Walker and Matthew Godden of Shadow Robot Co. in England led the assembly of the bionic man from prosthetic body parts and artificial organs donated by laboratories around the world.

"Our job was to take the delivery of a large collection of body parts — organs, limbs, eyes, heads — and over a frantic six weeks, turn those parts into a bionic man," Walker told LiveScience during an interview. But it's not as simple as connecting everything like Tinkertoys. "You put a prosthetic part on a human who is missing that part," Walker said. "We had no human; we built a human for the prosthetic parts to occupy."

The robot, which cost almost $1 million to build, was modeled in some physical aspects after Bertolt Meyer, a social psychologist at the University of Zurich, in Switzerland, who wears one of the world's most advanced bionic hands. [See Photos of the Bionic Man]

The bionic man has the same prosthetic hand as Meyer — the i-LIMB made by Touch Bionics — with a wrist that can fully rotate and motors in each finger. The hand's grasping abilities are impressive, but the bionic man still drops drinks sometimes.

"He's not the world's best bartender," Walker said.

The robot sports a pair of robotic ankles and feet from BiOM in Bedford, Mass., designed and worn by bioengineer Hugh Herr of MIT's Media Lab, who lost his own legs after getting trapped in a blizzard as a teenager.

To support his prosthetic legs, the bionic man wears a robotic exoskeleton dubbed "Rex," made by REX Bionics in New Zealand. His awkward, jerky walk makes him more Frankensteinian than ever.

Factory-made organs

But it doesn't end there — the bionic man also has a nearly complete set of artificial organs, including an artificial heart, blood, lungs (and windpipe), pancreas, spleen, kidney and functional circulatory system.

The artificial heart, made by SynCardia Systems in Tucson, Ariz., has been implanted in more than 100 people to replace their ailing hearts for six to 12 months while they wait for a transplant, Walker said. The circulatory system, built by medical researcher Alex Seifalian of University College London,consists of veins and arteries made from a polymer used to create synthetic organs of any shape.

While it might not satisfy the Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz," the bionic man's "brain" can mimic certain functions of the human brain. He has a retinal prosthesis, made by Second Sight in Sylmar, Calif., which can restore limited sight in blind people. He also sports a cochlear implant, speech recognition and speech production systems.

The engineers equipped the bionic man with a sophisticated chatbot program that can carry on a conversation. The only problem is, it has the persona of "an annoying 13-year-old boy from the Ukraine," Walker said.

The most unnerving aspect of the bionic man, though, is his prosthetic face. It's an uncanny replica of Meyer's face. In fact, when Meyer first saw it, he hated it, describing it on the show as "awkward."

The bionic man successfully simulates about two-thirds of the human body. But he lacks a few major organs, including a liver, stomach and intestines, which are still too complex to replicate in a lab.

The bionic man brings up some ethical and philosophical questions: Does creating something so humanlike threaten notions of what it means to be human? What amount of body enhancement is acceptable? And is it wrong that only some people have access to these life-extending technologies?

The access issue is especially troublesome, Walker said. "The preservation of life and quality of life has become basically a technical question and an economic question."

The bionic man made his U.S. debut at New York Comic Con Oct. 10-13, and he will be on display at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. this fall.