Tech Tuesday: Online Resume Building

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The spring semester is winding down at Champlain, and many of our senior student employees here at the EMC are knee-deep in job searches, compiling portfolios to showcase all the work they have produced over the last four years.

With the portfolio, potential employers also require a resume, and more and more people are looking to online resume builders to ensure they produce a professional representation of their skill set and prior work experience. The problem is that there are so many sites to choose from, each boasting templates and phrasing that will be sure to help the user create a resume that is a step above all the rest. 

But the thing is, not all those sites are everything they seem, and many charge for their services even if they don't explicitly say so. That means building a resume can easily become an added strain in the already stressful search for a job.

Never fear—this site details some things to look for in your search for a resume template, and at the bottom there is a list of free resume builders to choose from. 

Even if a site appears to be free, many charge you for printing, so before you start inputting your information into the template, make sure you'll actually get a free printable resume when you're done.

These builders are actually really innovative in that you answer questions—typically your name, address, employers, education, etc.—and then the site compiles that information and formats it, but that doesn't mean you should leave it all up to the site. Edit your information thoroughly before printing it, and make sure the template you've chosen fits with the job(s) you are applying for. A resume is a huge part of your first impression, so make it as professional as you possibly can.

That said, a recent Mashable.com article emphasizes that in an interview or on a resume, the things you do not say are just as important as the things you do, and then lists nine words and phrases to leave off your resume.

Stay away from clichés—words like "innovative," "team player," and "results-oriented" are so overused that they no longer have an impact, so instead focus on detailing your specific accomplishments. Take your high school work experience off the resume, because using that make it look like you're reaching for things to include. Don't list an objective, because by submitting a resume, the objective is, obviously, to get a job. It appears redundant to a hiring manager, and realistically they do not really care. 

In summary, here is the list of words and phrases to leave off your resume: 

1. Try
2. Clichés
3. References Available Upon Request
4. Irrelevant and Outdated Experience
5. Objective
6. Responsibilities Include 
7. Vague Claims
8. Love
9. Qualitative Descriptions 

Good luck to all graduates of the class of 2013, and best of luck in your job searches! 

Picture: www.123rf.com

Written by Jillian Casey '15

Tech Tuesday: Games for Change on Facebook

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More than three hundred million people play Facebook games each month—Farmville 2, Words With Friends and Candy Crush Saga are some of the most popular games on the social networking site. Sheryl WuDunn, author of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” has turned her Pulitzer Prize-winning book into a Facebook game of the same name.

In an effort to take advantage of a global audience, turning the book into a Facebook game raises awareness and funds for girls and women across the world.

“It is probably the most ambitious social impact game ever,” the author said in an interview on The Today Show, “sort of the Farmville for social change.”

The game follows a woman living in a fictional village in India, who goes on various quests with a lot of obstacle, and it is up to the player to help her navigate those quests. There are a number of partners and causes along the way that can be supported with monetary donations, but the most important aspect of the game is its ability to raise awareness of the issues women and girls face in the developing world.  “Half the Sky Movement- The Game” debuted on Facebook on March 4^th, and already has more than five thousand followers.

Here at the EMC, games like BREAKAWAY are similarly designed to raise awareness on modern social issues, but the idea of designing and marketing them specifically for Facebook users is a relatively innovative idea—why not try and take advantage of the amount of people utilizing Facebook in a given day to make a difference?

Do you think games for change like “Half the Sky” will be successful on social media networks?

Written by Jillian Casey '15