When it comes to the job search, just getting going can be the most difficult part.  From the Wall Street Journal: The most difficult part of making a career change is starting it, especially with only your desire to propel you.

David Allen, the author of “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity“, says:

You have to be able to take action in your life without being bumped around like a victim..It helps to recognize that being a self-starter is a set of behaviors that you can adopt.

If you’re having trouble thinking of a project to get you moving in the right direction, start with the basics:

Your first project could be something as simple as making a career-opportunities folder, in which you put interesting articles you cut out of magazines or read online…It could be setting up a time each week to reflect on the bigger picture of your life. It’s not a bad thing to hold off on the biggest decisions until your thinking has matured.

For more, check out our career advice resources or our job listings.

Related articles that may be of interest…

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (bluearchipelagoreviews.com)
• Early-Bird Discount on “Back to Basics Productivity” Ebook Expires Today – Order NOW! (lifehack.org)
• Nexty Is a GTD-Focused, Web-Based To-Do List [Getting Things Done] (lifehacker.com)
• David Allen on Getting It All Done (ducttapemarketing.com)
• You: Focus Your To-Do List with a “Skydiving List” [Productivity] (lifehacker.com)

Great advice from the Resume Writing Blog. And 1 more tip, contact our recruiters for a second set of eyes on your resume after working through these steps!

Tip 1: Check spacing and make sure your page margins are set to at least a .07 all around. This will not only ensure that your resume is inviting but that it meets universal printing standards (abating printing issues).

Tip 2: Bold your name and enlarge the font to 16 pt. or 18 pt. Also, centering your name is a great way to make immediate impact.

Tip 3: Separate your personal contact information with a bullet or divider, providing great visual appeal and easy email and phone number identification.

Tip 4: Add your target Job Title to introduce your Summary or Profile instead of the more common labels such as “Qualifications Profile or Summary.” This will help you add a great resume keyword right at the top and will lend to your expert image/ brand.

Tip 5: Edit your Summary or Profile, ensuring sentences end quickly; combine ideas and try to limit this introductory paragraph to five to six lines. This will help create a nice crisp look and you will deliver your marketing message more clearly.

Tip 6: Go through the rest of your resume and remove all orphan words (words left on a line by themselves). This just causes an unorganized look and it really isn’t necessary.

Tip 7: Bold resume sections (Employment, Education, etc.) and enlarge the font size to 14 pt. This will nicely separate the areas of your resume and guide readers through.

Tip 8: Group job accountabilities together in a paragraph form, separating from achievements. Keep the number of sentences to no more than six. People lose interest when paragraphs are long-winded. Plus, long sentences and paragraphs makes it easier for your message to become convoluted.

Tip 9: Separate your achievements (how you actually performed and the results you generated) from the job description. Bullet them; no more than five to six bullets. Any more than that will look too busy and unwelcoming to the reader.

Tip 10: Ensure you have begun all bulleted sentences with action verbs. Here: Download Resume-Writing-Academy-Verb-List provided by the Resume Writing Academy.

Tip 11: Make sure all your bullets line up and match! Inconsistency screams sloppiness and conveys unprofessionalism.

Tip 12: Eliminate any hobbies or personal information (picture, marital status, age, religious associations). These do not belong on your resume.

Tip 13: Read the entire resume aloud to catch awkward phrases end errors. As you read aloud, analyze if what you have just read is relevant to your new career target, if not–remove it!

Tip 14: Check if you have created a second page that is at least a third full. There is no excuse for a second page with just a few lines on it.

Tip 15: Remove the phrase, References Available Upon Request, this is very antiquated and unnecessary.

Related articles that may be of interest…

• Polishing Your Résumé Part II (halliecrawford.typepad.com)
• 10 Tips to a Kick Ass Resume (bargaineering.com)
• The 10 Commandments of Cover Letter Writing (timesunion.com)
• Ten Resume Mistakes You Must Avoid (bargaineering.com)

Interesting presentation about the power of email from Merlin Mann at 43folders.com.  Like a superhero, it can be a force for good or evil. The assertion here is that managing your email instead of letting email manage you will make you more productive and allow you to focus on the task at hand.

When searching for a job, it is easy to get distracted by email, the television, or your children just to name a few, but in order to accomplish the goal (landing the job you want), we believe the job search must be treated (ironically enough) just like a job. This presentation can help you eliminate distraction, increase productivity and help you remained focused on the task at hand.

Similarly, once you have landed the job, it is imperative to maximize your productivity.  This is especially true in call centers.  When working in a call center, there is the potential to be overwhelmed with information – whether it is a forwarded email from a co-worker, new policies to be followed, or communication with your manager, it is critical that you figure out the best way to handle the daily influx of information.

If you can focus your efforts allowing you to be more productive, you can be sure you will remain a highly valuable member of your employer’s call center workforce.

Related articles

• HOWTO Run a meeting like Google (boingboing.net)
• Watching the Clock Can Be Just As Distracting As the Web [Distractions] (lifehacker.com)
• 5 Ways to Manage Distractions for Increased Productivity (freelanceswitch.com)