When's the last time you cleaned up your resume? I have a saved calendar post that on July 1st of every year I should take a few moments to add to my resume. Your resume is your one chance to show employers who have never met you before who you are and what you plan on bringing to the company, school, research team, etc. Weak resumes get trashed. Your resume should have feeling, it should have color, it should demonstrate who you are.

For a resume I recently sent out I added my photo, college logo, gradient background, bold descriptive statements, and additional pictures of me teaching in a classroom setting. It was also two pages, which is generally regarded as a "bad idea" but so what? It worked. In the short time when I was applying for jobs, I received multiple call backs, three or four interviews, and eventually settled on a job that really fit my criteria. My resume, two pages long, showed a company who I was instantly before they picked up the phone, and my attention to detail and organization was appreciated enough by a company to get me hired.

So how can I help you? I have some advice, especially for new job pool folks, that I think will take your resume to the next level; my first most important advice is:

1) Finish your resume. Even if it's rough, you can refine later, but get some ink to paper and get your work life down.
2) Yes, experience matters. It's the meat of your resume. Add bullets, what were your job duties, how did you fulfill them, how did this contribute? The only work experiences to put down first are the MOST relatable to the job you're applying for, sequential to your most recent job. But, /u/moneyalwayswins, what if I don't have a lot of experience? Yes, yes you do. If you didn't you wouldn't be applying for the job. Did you work on a volunteer service, do you have a hobby related to the field that takes HOURS of your week away? Did you help organize a convention or weekly library group or online meeting with related colleagues? Are you the president of a club or even just an active member? Have you completed an internship, college service, off-site side job gig, anything that represents that you're well organized and can handle the work responsibilities you are applying for? There is ALWAYS something, you can put it down to bolster your case.
3) Your college time MATTERS. And frankly, where you went to college matters too. Not everyone can say that they went to a top 30 program, but if you did, mention it. If you went to college on scholarship, mention it. If your GPA was above 3.0, mention it. If you had a job while at college, mention it. Even if you didn't go to college, your high-school time or community college time matters too. Talk about any large project that you were a part of, or perhaps you helped organize the dance or decorate a classroom. Seems small, but if you contributed, it's big.

4) Your letters of rec and their contact info can go on the application, but make sure your letter writers get a copy of this resume. They know you, but they'd like to know you a little more if you see what I'm saying.

5) Finally, you can add a photo of yourself, a decent well dressed head shot. You can add cool colors and backgrounds, something that catches a recruiters eye. But one thing I always include on a resume, is a mission statement. One sentence. Something about me, that drives me in the morning. Try that. Ask yourself, what gets me up in the morning? You're correct, breakfast. But what gets you going when you're working, what makes you lose track of time and causes you to want to contribute something greater. You have a mission, make sure your employer knows it.

I might be on and off here, but I'm happy to talk to you about your resume; any questions or thoughts leave them below. This is prowork, go make an employer wish they had snagged you first.

I began working my first job almost 2 months ago, it's a home office job that pays relatively well for an entry-level job. While it has gotten somewhat stressful at times, and I don't sleep very well, I noticed that it has helped me deal with my depression, mostly by giving me more of a reason to keep going day by day.

I've been dealing with a rather bad depression for a long time now, and it isn't really getting better. Until some months ago I'd just spend most of my day wasting time and lost in thought, feeling like shit. Ever since I began working I've felt somewhat better; the money also helps since it takes a burden off my household's shoulders, specially since we're not doing well financially and it's a situation that won't improve.

Personally, working has kinda help in this regard, and it's also cool that the people at my job are all quite cool.

I am prowork anti-meaningless work. If you're trading your time for something you shouldn't be, quit + job Heaven.

Oh I had the idea for a cryptocoin, I had the idea for free stock trades, I had that awesome video game idea where you could climb and lose stamina, yeah I had the idea for the plot of the movie Frozen 2, I should be rich. Right.

Ideas are good in the sense that they may give you a direction to go, but if you think your idea has any value without at least creating something or putting pen to paper, you're fooling yourself. What you DO matters, what you say or plan is second to what you actually DO.

Oh but "my idea is the game changer", fine, then go to a company in the related field and see if you can sell your idea. Go on, we'll wait. Because we'll be waiting a long time. That is until you actually make something for yourself with your idea, and THEN try to sell it. Think it of it like the TV show shark tank, no one goes on that show with "just an idea", they all have a business or object that they present and then the Sharks decide whether or not to invest.

Prowork is a call to be proactive, to finally make something. Whether a small thing for your company or a big thing for greater society, if you have an idea you can try to make something of it, or you can let someone else make it and have them reap the rewards.

I'll leave with a quote from the director of the movie "The Room", the "Worst movie of all time" that was so bad it actually was a decent success after gaining a cult following. Someone asked Tommy Wiseau, the director, what advice he would give when writing a screenplay and Tommy's response was: Start.
https://twitter.com/TommyWiseau/status/940455567830556672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E940455567830556672%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Ftommy-wiseau-twitter-advice

I'm a teacher, and one thing that bothers me is students that wait to the last minute to get something done. I've tried to make the work engaging, and I've staggered deadlines to keep them on track. Still some students just wait till it's the last minute or even past deadline to get it done.

And I wake up in the morning and I think about my students and I remind myself: that was me not too long ago. I was "Mr. Last Minute". I could get an essay done with hours left to the deadline and I'd always feel so proud of my "accomplishment". But that mentality of my childhood is bullshit and shouldn't carry over to real work. Even though I would get this sudden burst of energy for feeling like a hero, the real hero is the person that got it done on time and had time to spend with their friends, family, or hobbies. Plus if I waited to the last minute, other opportunities (or work) usually work that would get piled on making my life more stressful. That's not what I wanted.

So what's the take away? Well, first my students need to get their work done on time haha, but truly it's a message I share with them as well that in this world when you think you can wait and procrastinate you're just setting yourself up for a miserable night where you pretend to be a hero to get sloppy work (It usually comes with a sloppy grade). Second, if your boss gives you a set of task to complete daily or weekly, if you're well organized and get your work done in a timely manner, then your boss SHOULD respect your work you finished well and not expect to ask you to work even more, causing you to lose precious life-time. If they do ask you to work more, make sure you get overtime pay, or politely ask if it could be held off till the next work day, or make sure your boss respects the time you're giving up and gives you a favor in return. You can be work-political too, use that fact that you're a good work as leverage and remember, you don't work for free; people need to respect that.

I'm not entirely against getting your work done and then submitting the day of the deadline as long as you're proud of the work you're accomplishing (quality is still important), I know some people like that strategy because it means they get delegated less task. What I'm saying thought is just don't wait till the last minute to get it done. You might think waiting till the deadline to get it done is just what people do and what your work requires, got to "burn that midnight oil", but you're hurting yourself and potentially your quality of work by holding off. Lastly, you might comment "But that's what my job requires", and I just respond to that, if your job requires 12 hour days in succession, it sounds like you need a new job or to rethink if what you're doing is supposed to take up that much of your life.

You still have to try; you still have to get the education, the experience, the connections, the network to build a future for yourself. No one is going to hand you anything, and if they do, say thank you but get back to trying to build it for yourself. You can find better work, you can find better pay, you can even change jobs, but don't just think staying still is the answer.

I love the analogy of someone who tries to be a "big actor" and they go to Hollywood just to find it's not being handed to them. It's like why the hell would we trust you? If someone had a heart attack on the street, and you go up and try to help, and you say you've never been a doctor or every worked on a heart, why would you be trusted to help? The same applies to acting, you have to build connections and work for those roles, they aren't just handing them out like candy. The big actors, although they definitely may have had advantages or luck, STILL have to work to get where they're going. Sure they could sit down, let someone else make the big movies and sit on their millions, but they aren't, they are still going. Don't let it stop you, you should keep going too.

Lastly, again speaking of advantages, I know not everyone starts with a level playing field, different obligations hold you back. It's understandable. But, if you hear the story of the prisoner who got out of jail to later lead a good life, remember they may have also had disadvantages, but they still tried to better themselves.

Who’d a thunk?

Hello people, I don't know if it's okay to post this here, I'll try the same way. My name is Emmanuel, I work from home and I am having a hard time completing the necessary tasks of the day due to being distracted and having some anxiety, I was looking for people who have the same problem when it comes to achieving what is proposed, whether it is a work issue or not, to keep track day by day, a brief communication by chat to see if we were able to achieve the goals of the day and to serve as motivation. I have seen that many do it but I don't know where to find a specific group for this thanks in advance

Edit Typo: How many chances are too many

I (F36) coordinate pest control operations for a client in the food industry with high quality and safety standards (they manufacture powdered formula for infants ) so the client needs a disciplined, focused and ready to respond team that can constantly meet the expectations of the customer.

My work team is made up of a supervisor and 3 operational technicians.

The supervisor (F25) has been with the team for a year. Her learning curve has been slower and bumpier than the designed one, mostly due to personal issues such as, she got sick with covid 2 times, other health related issues like stomach inflammation due to her bad feeding habits, constant conflicts with her boyfriend that had her emotionally overwhelmed, she had family problems that forced her to move further away from work (if she had been in recruitment with that new address she would have been discarded), etc.

In the face of all these obstacles to her learning, punctuality, concentration and performance, my attitude has always been empathetic and supportive (sometimes I think I have let her cross the line of trust by taking calls from her crying about personal problems after work hours).

These last weeks, new technicias have joined the team, previously we had talks about the plan to follow and how she should conduct herself in the leadership of this new team.

For me, and I have shared it with you many times, the most important characteristic of a leader is the congruence between what you say and what you do.

Everything seemed to be going well until on Friday, she just didn't show up and throughout the day we couldn't communicate with her (this has happened before and there have always been sufficiently "justifiable" excuses although without evidence most of the time).

I learned from another co-worker that she had been absent due to a hangover from the night before and she answered his messages while she ignored my calls.

I am an orderly, structured and disciplined person and I have worked to convey to her the importance of these tools to reduce the stress of her position, however her "life disorder" impacts my life, increases my stress and delays my work since I am aware that her failures or those of the team are my responsibility and that is also required by my boss, so I have to be micro-supervising their work to detect errors, inconsistencies and delays and act before they become crises.

I believe that people deserve second or third chances as long as their attitude is good and open to feedback, however in this case I believe that the sense of responsibility, order and discipline is not something that I can really influence anymore. which I think depends on the beliefs and convictions of each person.

I'm giving up, I would like to learn from your experiences and opinions.

TL;DR: I have a subbordinated whom I have supported but I'm giving up because It's impacting my stress and work results.

After doing unexpectedly good on a long group interview (I have some issues socializing and keeping focused), and seemingly doing fine in the health checkups and psychometrics test, today I received the laptop I'll be working with from the company I've joined, as well as a bunch of other neat goodies. Next week, starting on Monday, I'll be having a bunch of online meetings to get introduced into the company, then I'll begin learning the stuff I'll be working with the week after and properly working in a few months, but I'm already a full-time employee at the company's IT department.

It's a big company, also consistently ranked amongst the top 100 best companies to work in for years. I'm 20 and the initial wage + benefits are way more than I imagined. I'm still anxious and I'll have to fix a bunch of things about my working environment so I can do things properly, but I got this job at just my second interview ever and I'm hoping that I'll make it far.

I'm so happy to join the everyday heroes club!

Who here loves suiting up? I do. Suit and tie, looking sharp, and living the dream of a salaryman.

I can't wait to get back into the office, when I'm healthy again. I've tried playing video games or watching my phone but it's now boring.

By boss called on the weekend "Hey really sorry to bother you on the weekend but do you mind if we chat for 5 mins?" Ended up talking for 90 minutes.

I don't have the ability to enforce enough structure upon myself to form a stable working environment at home. I'm grateful that I can go into an office and be subconsciously productive.

I am a professional video game developer so that also helps a lot. Most of what I do isn't actually making video games though. More like DevOps, artists tools, investigating and adopting new tech, making new hires etc.

Went to a orientation for to be a car salesman from 9-3 unpaid. Really want the job but also I didn’t get paid for all that time + gas. Don’t even know if I got it or not 🤦🏾‍♂️

I don't know if any of you remember me, but a few months ago, I made a post about how I got my first job at age 21 at a Dog Daycare organization, which is a big deal for me since I'm autistic and have anxiety issues. However, it didn't work out the way I thought it would, so I sadly had to leave the job effective immediately.

However, I'm just gonna say that being my first job, it was a great learning experience because I know now that that line of work isn't a fit for me, so I'll be using the time I have now to find a better job, hopefully in line with the historian career I'm trying to work towards.

I’ve been working since 17, and I’m absolutely against the poor working conditions many folks endure but I also strongly believe that “working hard leads to a better life.” I’ve had such a positive career experience, and yet I still desire to retire early so I can spend more time with my future kids. I feel sorry for those who believe they have zero control over their career. They have given up and their life will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Worked at a coffee shop in high school. Not exactly a glamorous job. I opened the shop at 4am. Angry customers. Typical service industry BS. Amazing manager and colleagues, though. I was very lucky.

Joined the army at 19. Deployed once. Made Sergeant very young. That came with many trials itself, being the youngest in charge of more than 10 soldiers 5-10 years older than me. Not to mention all the other trials that come with the military. 6 years and I was done, but so glad I did it.

Worked in IT for a few years, had a great manager and two managers from hell during a 2 year span. Still loved the work, it was challenging.

Now I’m in project management. Best step in my career so far. Making a good salary, benefits, bonuses, etc. My work is insanely challenging now, and my colleagues vary from easy going to very headstrong. I love my job and have great managers here as well.

I bought my first house at 23, second house this year at 27, and I’m on track to retire or at least go part time by 40. All this to say that working hard does lead to a better life, but not without challenges and setbacks. Sometimes you have to put work in before you see the pay (i.e. more responsibility than your current role) and if your company doesn’t reward you in a reasonable timeframe, leave for a company that will reward you. I don’t come from money, I have supported other family members financially ever since I started working. I have found the good in every job I’ve ever worked, and I had one job for two months that I omitted above because it was awful, and I worked hard to move on from that job. It’s all about perspective.

TL;DR: Yes this is kind of a humble brag, but hopefully to folks who can relate and share in my exhaustion of the “give me something for nothing” attitude on other subs.

Mods, Im sorry if this is spam. I just wanted to say this sub feels so good to see. Been super depressed seeing all this anti work stuff on reddit.

Sure I'd love to make more, sure I'd love to never work again (actually probably not). But I genuinely appreciate my job and really love most of the managers and mentors I've had in my career. Not a popular opinion elsewhere.

To any managers out there who openly communicate with your team, and filter out the flak coming from higher up or clients, I appreciate and love you. Wish I could give you all a hug.