Archive for November, 2011
Applying for a Job
There are four general methods of applying for a job including:
(1) mailing your resume,
(2) emailing your resume,
(3) faxing your resume, and
(4) hand delivering your resume.
Mailing Your Resume
Some companies prefer that you mail your resume. For this type of approach, it is best to include a cover letter with your resume. The cover letter is a basic letter that describes the position that you are interested in and a few details of your qualifications and skills. It is basically your lead in to it. Before writing your cover letter, you should know whom the letter is to be addressed to. You never want to begin a cover letter with “Dear Sir or Madame” or “To whom it may Concern.” It shows that you have not prepared, and that you are not looking for a specific position with their company, but any job that you can get your hands on. Basically, it is disrespectful to your prospective employer.
Emailing Your Resume
Emailing resumes is becoming a commonplace way for recruiters to get them. Attach it as a word document or a PDF file. These are the most common formats and what most companies will accept. The subject line should read like this: Smith, John (Accounting Position). This makes it easy for the recruiter to know who the email is from, and what it pertains to. It also assures that your email will be read. Sometimes there are specific methods for addressing an emailed resume. Some companies have certain subject line requirements (so follow them!). If the company wants you to paste it, don’t send attachments because your email will be deleted right away.
Faxing Your Resume
You will need to include a cover letter when faxing your resume. If you are not using your own fax machine, be sure to include your proper contact information. The rules for your cover letter are the same as for mailing it.
Hand Delivering Your Resume
You will want to dress appropriately, as you would for an interview. Generally, companies ask you to do this if you are going to be working directly with customers. They ask for a walk-in because they want to get a look at your grooming habits right away. Sometimes, the employer will give you a brief interview on the spot to see if they will require a formal interview later. So be on your best and most appropriate behavior. Also, walk-ins do not require you to bring a cover letter with your resume. Your appearance is sort of the cover letter. Sometimes, you will be requested to fill out an application form as well. Smile and be polite, no matter who you are speaking with.
In this article I will share some tips on how to come up with a creative blog name even if you’re not feeling very creative.
Think about what your website or blog is about. If you can, summarize what it’s about in a few short sentences, it will help. Come up with a list of 5-10 keywords that describe your niche or topic.
Go for a walk or step away from the computer and brainstorm potential name ideas using the keywords you have come up with. Think about local attractions that will associate you with your local neighborhood or town. Use your personal name or initials in the name. Combine words that sound like the real word but are spelled differently.
Combine your initials or your name with the keywords that describe your business. Your blog or website is your business so be proud of it and treat it like one. For example if you are a graphic designer, think about using your name accompanied with endings like Desktop Publishing, Design, Media, or Studios.
Use name generators to combine your name with other creative words. One of my favorite tools to use when I cannot figure out a name is Musicians Friend’s Band Name Generator. Yes it is for band names but you can use it for coming up with a creative name for business too. I find that this Generator gives me some very creative names and stimulates my creativity and ideas.
Keep your name short. Usually three-word domains are the longest you want to use. One exception to this is using keywords to target traffic. For example, makemoneyonlinefast.com is long but it does target specific keywords. Using your keywords in the domain name can be beneficial. But if you are going for a broader niche or starting a company, its best to keep it at two or less words.
Be remarkable and unique by using web 2.0 generators that will create fancy words out of ordinary words. Sometimes this can be successful. Look at Flickr or Yahoo. Also look at Squidoo and others that are web 2.0 names.
The bottom line is to create a short and remarkable name by combining keywords that describe your business and add a personal touch with words that could be your initials, your name, or a noun.
Below you will find a link to my blog which will show you all of the name generators on the web that will combine words for your. It’s like auto pilot naming… sort of. Be sure to check it out.
Recently, Keith Olbermann, on his MSNBC news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, cited Fox News as the “worst persons in the world.” He claimed that the Fox News Channel is blatant right-wing propaganda. He also noted that President Obama, in a recent TV interview (the same interview, incidentally, as the now-notorious fly-swatting incident, in which, according to news reports on MSNBC, NBC, CBS, CNN and elsewhere, the President demonstrates his “remarkable fly-swatting skills”) claimed that there was at least one news channel dedicated to undermining his administration at all costs. Olbermann suggests that the President was referring to Fox News.
Back in the day when the Republicans controlled both houses as well as the Presidency, a period that might well go down in history as a modern-day Dark Ages or Reign of Terror, the Fox News channel was considered to be the bastion of credible news. So much so that all other news agencies were too afraid even to question their authority.
Fox News, owned by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., had started on the premise that conventional news sources like CNN and network news operated on a principle of a subtle left-wing cultural bias resulting from the educational and social milieu of their journalists. The solution that Fox News apparently proposed was to dedicate a news channel to supposedly “fair and balanced” news coverage. “Fair and balanced” became their watchword, but it soon proved to be ironic. Over time, their supposedly objective news coverage has been exposed as right-wing propaganda that was pretty blatantly pandering to the Bush administration while they were in power.
This brings us to MSNBC’s news lineup. MSNBC is a news channel that is produced as a joint venture, as the name suggests, between Microsoft (the monolithic software giant founded by Bill Gates) and NBC. Their lineup of news shows supposedly offers us the alternative to Fox News, but, as implied by Keith Olbermann, what they are really offering us is left-wing propaganda that panders to the Obama administration.
The tragic consequence of all this government pandering and institutional propaganda is that the number-one casualty in mainstream news coverage is credibility. Where are the Woodwards and Bernsteins of today, with their stunning expos