It’s hard to write a resume that really makes you stand out from the crowd. Faced with that pressure, job seekers include all sorts of bizarre information, from totally unrelated job experience to outright lies.
How bizarre? Well, this week’s lead story crowdsources some doozies, including one applicant who shared that she enjoyed sewing costumes for her large collection of dolls … and another applicant who refused to share any of his job experience at all. That, plus answers to one of the trickiest job interview questions and small changes that can make you happier at work, in our roundup.
Alison Green at Ask a Manager: What Are the Strangest Things You’ve Ever Seen on a Resume?
A few sterling examples from Green’s list:
“One recent college grad listed that she was Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2006. No, I’m not kidding. Although it was technically true, she did not get an interview.”
“Marketing admin role. Nine-page resume. The first two pages detailed, in length, his career as a street hypnotist. It was a glorious full narrative.”
“Her name, degrees, marital status, religion, her husband’s names and degrees and her parents’ names and degrees. She didn’t have any experience in the field we were looking for (neither did her husband or parents).”
Read more here.
Liz Ryan at Forbes: How To Answer The Question ‘Why Don’t You Like Your Current Job?’
Looking for a job when you’re fed up with your current position is fraught with danger. You want to avoid lying in job interviews but badmouthing the boss or the organization doesn’t look great either.
Recently, a reader wrote in to Liz Ryan, founder of The Human Workplace, to ask about this very dilemma.
“I’ve been on three interviews so far and they all went pretty well,” she said. “On two of the interviews they asked me, ‘Why are you job-hunting? What’s wrong with your current job?’”
One interviewer seemed honestly curious; the other threw her shade.
Learn how to handle this tricky situation — and whether or not to give a job a chance, when the interviewer is obnoxious — in Ryan’s article.
Lolly Daskal at Inc: 25 Tiny Changes That Will Make You a Happier Person
“What if the workplace could make you happier?” Daskal asks. “Wouldn’t it give everything a positive new perspective? The Dali Lama has said, ‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’”
Small changes can make a big difference. Daskal’s tips include connecting with what your work really means, making fun part of your day and spending time with open-minded people.
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