Your questions about from monster career advice

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 12:05 pm  
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Sandra asks…

How do you write a restaurant resume (food server position) and do you need a cover letter?

I have been on the job hunt for a little while now after moving away to go to school. I used to work at a restaurant(as a host, busser and server) and now it seems that on craigslist, almost all restaurants want you to submit your resume online (regardless, i’ve decided that it is probably best to just have a resume ready, as it looks more professional). Does anyone have any good examples of what my resume should look like? I found a few, mainly here-

http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resume-samples/sample-resume-restaurant-server/article.aspx

and

http://www.career-development-help.com/sample-food-server-resume.html

Both of those look relatively simple. Do I need to attach a cover letter? What exactly does the letter entail?

I hope I can get advice from a restaurant manager or something, because I want to know what you would normally see on a resume and how I can not make a fool out of myself by either under-doing it or overdoing it.

linda answers:

Under-do it. Restaurants have always been less formal about resumes and cover letters. Even the most expensive restaurants often do all their hiring face-to-face with no paperwork. The boss knows exactly what he is looking for. Skip the cover letter.
Walk in the door at the places that interest you. Someone will need your skills.

Mark asks…

Is anyone familiar with careers from Hartford Financial?

I received a call from someone with Hartford Financial and they requested an interview. I have a resume posted on Monster and I typically get phone calls from folks claiming to have job openings but are really recruiting for multi-level management type businesses. From what I found on their website they seem to be a high level company but it seems a tad odd that they would recruit someone from the retail industry as a sales professional in finance and insurance. I’m excited for an opportunity but wary when the only info I can find is on their website. Any advice would be appreciated!
He didn’t ask if I had any certifications or licenses. All he said was “You work in sales right? I’m looking to expand my team in this area …..(etc)”

By the way, I noticed I said multi-level management, I meant multi-level marketing.
Went to the interview. They were a joke. They aren’t even the reputable “The Hartford” who has been around since 1810, they are a 10 year old company “Hartford Financial”. They were recruiting Loan Officers as they are a mortgage loan company. The guy basically gave me Ben Affleck’s “act as if” speech from Boiler Room (if anyone has seen that movie) telling me I could be a millionaire while saying that they don’t give any leads on loans because that would take money out of his pocket. They barely asked any questions, just gave a speech on how they need hard workers not “slugs” who “waste their time.” I held my tongue, but wanted to tell them where to stick it.
Thanks for the help, btw, Joel F.

linda answers:

HF as I remember is a firm that specializes in the sale of stocks and bonds. The job may be for a telemarketer “cold calling” clients in order to sell them stocks and bonds. This is a tough job and pays very little unless you are good at it. Did they ask if you have a Series 7? That would be a good clue. In any event it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a call to see what the job is. It might be something you are looking for and good luck.

Ken asks…

need career advice?

hi,

graduated from college last month. i can not find a place that will hire me or even talk to me.

I placed my resume on Monster.com and Careerbuilders.com and all i get are fly by night places or pyramid schemes for search results.

what should i do?
i just need some advice as to how to get by w/o losing my mind. i really am worried that i will be unemployed for a good length of time. i really am scared.

linda answers:

I marked this as interesting and put this question on my watch list. I am having the same problem. Everyone tells me to be patient and remember the economy. That is difficult to do, especially when I am in debt now for an education that is not paying off, and I am working at a job I cannot stand! Good luck to you, and if you find the secret to landing a good job, let me in on it!! Thanks!

George asks…

Big problem with being laid off from my job?

Well I got laid off from my job. I have my associates in medical assisting. The big problem is that there are no CMA jobs in town. 1 because lpn’s are a first pick and 2 no one is retiring to leave open jobs. I’m not lazy by any means and check the web and paper daily. Former classmates can’t find work either. I do the monster and career builder thing but nothing…any advice or similar fields I could get into. I’m SOL right now. Can use any help cause I’m going bankrupt
The reason being laid off wasn’t cause I’m bad but I just got out of school and they cut the cord six months into the job so the veterans could keep it.

linda answers:

well why don’t u try getting into some sort of pharmaceutical company.. doing sales for them…. i know how u feel dude.. i really do..

look into that and also look into anyother type of medical sales

Steven asks…

Which career/job hunting sites are the best?

I live in Michigan and have been laid off since April. The economy is suffering here, and it is difficult finding something. I am using Careerbuilder and Monster, but it isn’t enough. Are there any other sites that may be beneficial? I have tried Hotjobs before, but it seems their concentration is on “Work from Home” opportunities or staffing agencies. I am a career professional in Sales Administration. I could really use some help. Any advice or feedback would be much appreciated!
I really should have said “effective” as opposed to “the best”.
I absolutely agree. I am not spending a substantial amount of time on the job boards. I printed out Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest, and will be working off of the Forbes and Crains list as well.

linda answers:

Snagajob.com is another site that you could go to…Most of the professional jobs don’t do a great deal of advertising their careers on job finder sites. They are advanced enough to have their own websites and hiring managers. I suggest looking at company websites. Go for some of the fortune 500s, especially if you may be planning on moving. They have locations everywhere and you’re bound to find something. Also, people who identify companies that they want to work for and take a visit ther/network are really successful at finding jobs.

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Stop Divorce and Save Your Relationship

Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at 8:25 pm  
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If you want to stop divorce, you have to convince the person what wants to divorce you to give the relationship another try. This isn’t always possible, but it’s absolutely necessary if you have a chance of stopping a divorce. A divorce can be stopped at virtually any stage—before it’s filed or just before it needs the final paperwork. The earlier you stop a divorce, the more likely it is that the divorce won’t be restarted, at least not anytime soon.

So to stop a divorce, you must convince the person to give the relationship another chance. If you have been begging the other person to give you another try or pleading for them to get back together with you, stop now. This might seem counterproductive, as if now that the person has less resistance it will make it easier for them to divorce you. But your pleading probably wasn’t doing anything but convincing them that divorce is a good idea anyway. Who wants to be around someone who is behaving that way?

If you can start acting more mature and behave in a more pleasant manner, it might surprise the other person and help stop divorce. Explain that you really don’t want the divorce and you want another chance in a calm way. The person already knows this so you screaming or carrying on won’t help your chances. Just make it clear that you’re hurt and very sad, and you really want another chance. You might be surprised how the other person reacts when you change your behavior.

You can also show a mature side of yourself that the other person might not have seen over the last several weeks and suggest marital or couples counseling to stop divorce. Counseling has worked for million of couples and your relationship could benefit from it, too. If you can get the other person to agree to couples counseling, then you have precious time before they file for or attempt to finalize a divorce to convince them to give you and the relationship another chance.

During counseling you’ll have the opportunity to show the person why they fell in love with you. You can remind them why you’re together in the first place. And if you can show honest effort in wanting to deal with the problems that come up during the counseling—and many probably will—that might be enough to convince the other person not only to stop divorce temporarily, but permanently.

When you succeed and stop divorce, you must remember that the person was about to divorce you and it would be easy enough for them to change his or her mind and file for divorce later. Having already thought about divorce and maybe even having gone far enough as to file for divorce at one time makes the decision to file again easier. So be aware of the state of your relationship, and perhaps continue counseling. It’s easier to stop divorce temporarily than to have a good relationship for the long term.