Welcome to The FreshGigs Weekly Recap. We know how busy you are, so every week we’ll help you get caught up on some of the best career related stories from around the web. Weekend reading from last week that you can apply for the week ahead.
4 Signs You Talk Too Much at the Office (Entrepreneur)
There’s an office blabbermouth in every company. You know the person—the one that makes you stop in your tracks and turn right around if you hear his or her voice overflowing nearby. These office loudmouths may not realize that they talk too much, and unfortunately, talking too much can be a cause for career derailment. But… what if you are the office chatterbox?! [Que Suspense Music] Kim Lachance Shandrow provides four ways to find out if you’re the one in the office that people avoid having a conversation with—and what you can do to fix this. Read the article here.
Too many writers try their hardest to tell people what creativity isn’t, which only hurts the readers’ expectations of themselves.
Article Snippet: “If everyone everywhere you look has earbuds stuffed into their ears, or if they quickly jam them into their ears upon your approach, sorry, bud, they’re trying to avoid you. Hey, it could be worse. They could ruthlessly red light you.”
3 Ways to Make Sure Your Resume Bullet Points Will Impress Recruiters (The Muse)
There’s a lot of advice online about resume do’s and don’ts—and we certainly add to the conversation here at FreshGigs. But it’s all for good reason, as your resume is the tool that gets your foot in your door, and ultimately helps you land a job. One of the biggest problems people struggle with in regards to creating or updating a resume is what to include as “key points” under each job title. If you’ve worked at a company for 2 years, for example, how can you condense all that down to 3 or 4 bullet points? Lily Zhang provides some insight on how to strengthen your bullet points—and what recruiters look for in a resume—in her latest article for The Muse. Read the article here.
Article Snippet: “Let’s be realistic for a moment. Your resume isn’t going to just be made up of awards and numbers. Some things need to be included because they are such a significant part of your responsibilities that it almost feels like lying to omit them. If you’re a staff writer but all your bullets focus on the awards you got for video editing—that’s not okay. Save some room for your core duties.”
Demystifying the Muse: Five Creativity Myths You Should Stop Believing (Crew)
Creativity is mystifying. Some people seem to have “it,” while others don’t. Or are both of those statements myths?
Creativity is hard to discuss with definitive facts and figures because it’s so unclear as to what exactly constitutes “creativity” and how it differs between people. One thing that we can say for certain, however, is that too many writers try their hardest to tell people what creativity isn’t, which only hurts the readers’ expectations of themselves. Jory Mackay at Crew tackles this subject head on and outlines a few creativity myths you need to stop believing immediately. Read the article here.
Article Snippet: “Saying you can’t teach someone to be creative is just another facet of the ‘born creative’ myth and a favourite saying of art school dropouts worldwide. All this does is add to the mysticism of creativity, making it some ethereal quality that can’t be tamed by the average man or woman.”
Stop Apologizing for Wanting Work/Life Balance (99u)
Have you ever felt guilty about taking time off for a vacation? What about for leaving the office while everyone else was still there (even if you arrived at the office in the morning before anyone else did)? Have you felt defiant about refusing to answer work emails late at night or over the weekend? Work/Life balance is important, and you shouldn’t ever have to feel guilty or apologize for valuing your personal life. Maria Rapetskaya knows about long days and stressful nights all too well—but she also knows about the value of taking a break from it all and ensuring her work/life balance is always in order. She takes a look at work/life balance in her latest article for 99u, which can be read here.
Article Snippet: “On March 1, 2013, I got on a one-way flight to Kathmandu. Over the next few weeks, I crossed the Himalayas at 18,000 feet, got bathed by an elephant, checked Bhutan off my bucket list and learned to ride a scooter in Laos. I’ve traveled to more than 30 countries in the past 10 years alone, often escaping to some really remote places. I’ve also seen my share of 18-hour workdays.”
Why The MBA Remains One Of The Most Valuable Degrees Ever (LinkedIn)
Here’s a hot topic for 2015: is getting an MBA worth it? A lot of people have debated the value of MBA’s over the recent years as the way education is approached, and what employers now look for, is changing. It’s more about experience over education, and people, as a result, have put their aspirations for obtaining an MBA on hold. But are MBAs really that deadweight right now? Not so fast says John A. Byrne, in his latest article for LinkedIn. Read the article here.
Article Snippet: “For graduates of the Class of 2015, it looks only to get better and in all likelihood could be the single best year in history to graduate with an MBA. In fact, the latest research is suggesting that the demand for MBA talent is so great that major corporate recruiters are now reaching deeper into the pool at second tier schools ranked between 20 and 100.”