#TBT: Tom Brady's Resume

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Back 14 years ago, before he made it to the big leagues, Patriots star Quaterback Tom Brady had a resume! That's right, for #TBT a couple of weeks ago, Tom shared a photo of his post-college resume with his 2.4 million Facebook fans. The caption read: "Found my old resume!  Really thought I was going to need this after the 5th round. #tbt"

Fast forward 14 years and see Business Insider's feature of the Pro's and Con's of Tom's resume as shown right here.

Formatting your resume for today's job market can be overwhelming.  Here are a few tips for creating a stand out resume to capture your next dream job. Recruiters and managers want to know what you bring to the table, so tell them just that! Keep it brief and to the point.  A clean, clear and concise view of YOU!

What should be on the resume?

Contact Information: Make your name stand out in LARGE, BOLD Print at the top. Be sure your Phone #, Email and LinkedIn url are visible - at the top. Addresses are secondary, and take up valuable real estate.  If you do put it on - only list one.

Professional Summary: This is your "Elevator Pitch", share what value you bring to the company, along with your career goals.  Be brief and to the point.

Education: List your school, graduation year and degree(s) List scholarships and academic achievements.

Professional Experience: List your jobs chronological order - be sure you have your most recent experience on it. Don't have any gaps in time - if you do, explain it!  Better to have something than nothing at all.

Technical Skills: Summarize your technical skills and core competencies in a bulleted format.

Accomplishments and Extracurricular Activities: Share your accomplishments. List your activities; sports, clubs, volunteer work.

Be prepared to explain any section of your resume if asked for details. Check more information from Business Insider and their feature on Tom's resume here. When was the last time you updated your resume?

Motivational Monday

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Ambition is today's motivational word - My challenge to you this week is to keep this word in your mind with everything you do this week. Defined, the word means having a strong desire to do or achieve something. What will you achieve this week? Don't give up, and always remember to achieve great things!

Smile

Happy Friday Y'all! Today is world smiles day - What better way to spend your friday than putting a smile on someones face today! Here's a few ways to help spread the smiles today!

Pay it forward - Grabbing an afternoon coffee? Pay it forward and pay for the customer behind you too!

Open the door for a stranger - Be kind and share a silent gesture by holding the door open for someone!

Write a Thank You note for someone - Have someone you've been meaning to send a thank you note to? Put a smile on someones face by sending that note that you've been putting off.

Just a few reminders of small and silent gestures that are bound to put a smile on someone's face!
Have a great weekend!

Let's Do This: In Person Interview

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Prior to reaching the "in person interview" phase, you may have had a number of phone calls with the the company. Well here you are, you made it to the "in person interview" phase. Also known as the "onsite interview". Congratulations! 

Are you ready for this step?  Do you know what to expect and what's expected of you? In this phase you may meet with upwards of 5 people. Each interviewer will have a different style of interviewing - some better than others. You may be asked some pretty interesting and crazy questions like: "If you were a brick, what would you be used for?" Yup that's right, today's interview questions are getting pretty crazy. Why? Well they want to see how you think on your feet!

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Some other questions might be:

• Explain a situation where you had to work in a team:
• what were the dynamics
• how did you communicate
• were there expectations set - how and what were they
• what is the greatest lesson you took away from that experience
• What would you say your top 3 strengths for this position are?
• What would you say are your top 3 development areas for this position?
• Explain what you bring to the table to help us succeed?
• How do you keep yourself and work organized so nothing falls through the cracks?
• Why would you not accept this position if offered to you?

How you present yourself and answer these questions will be the difference of moving forward and receiving an offer or not.  Here are some tips and tricks to get you through:

• Don't jump into the answer - take a deep breath and speak clearly and concisely
• Don't ramble
• Have enthusiasm and be engaging
• Think about your answer - but not too long.  You want to keep the conversation moving along
• Watch how many "Fillers" you use. 
• Fillers are "um's", "ah's", "you know's", "like"...  
• Have a sense of confidence when you speak

It's a 2 way conversation - They are interviewing you and you are interviewing them.

• Prepare questions for each interviewer - Yes you can ask the same question of each person you speak to.  WHY?  You want to compare their answer

When the interview is done - send each person a personal Thank You email:

• Thank them for their time in speaking with you
• Express your interest in the position and working for the company
• Ask any final questions and let them know they can contact you if they have an additional questions.

Remember, Be Yourself - You Can Do This!