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Make your resume appealing

Write a resume that would appeal to you if you were hiring for a job. Would you want to read your resume?  Include areas that you have excelled, your relevant skills, additional skills that you feel are essential to the company, education and volunteer projects you may have participated in.

Tip: Providing as much relevant information in the most concise nature. This will increase the number of interview requests you receive.

Job category title

The title of your career categories is important. It’s the eye catcher part of your resume because it serves as the headline of your skills. It must capture the recruiter’s attention. Your skills title should be compelling, but most importantly, relevant, so that recruiter picks up your resume over others. Choose skills categories that fit you; here are just a few examples: Customer Service Manager, Administrative, and Hospitality.  

Sell your resume opportunity

Give your prospective recruiter a reason to pick you out of all the other job seekers.

Tip: To help you sell your career opportunity, answer these questions: What made you decide to accept the position you’re in now? What attracted you to your position when you first applied?

Senior citizens represent 12%of the U.S. population, but are 35% of all fraud victims.

It’s a fact criminals historically target on the older demographic they report it’s easy to scam older people because they trust everyone. It’s not far but it’s a fact of life. The good news is scams are preventable and you have the power the power to stop yourself from being a victim! Where to start, well a good rule of thumb is this:  if it sounds too good to be true….well it is! Follow your gut, who cares if you upset the apple cart?  If a service provider doesn’t like your reaction then find a new service provider. You’ll be surprised that most service providers will be okay with your cautious nature as everyone has a set of parents.  

Scam Read Flags!

·         A phone caller asking for a donation however won’t tell you exactly how the money will be used and how you can verify the charity and what it does.

o   Legitimate charities are willing to tell consumers who they can check with to confirm that they are legitimate

·         A phone caller you have to take the offer immediately or you’ll miss the opportunity.

o   Legitimate companies don’t pressure people to act without time to look into the deal.

·         The caller asks for your credit card number, bank account number, or other financial information when you aren’t buying anything or paying with those accounts.

o   Legitimate companies only ask for financial information to bill you or debit your account for purchases you’ve agreed to make.

·         Remember, giving money to a fraudulent telemarketer usually means losing it forever.

o   Don’t let a criminal break into your home through your telephone line!

·         Law enforcement agencies don’t ask for payment to try to help consumers get their money back, and it’s illegal for a company to ask for advance payment for such services.

Remember you have to be careful, you have to be cautious and you have to watch out for yourself and your bank account.

This year The Great American Smokeout is Thursday, November 19^th.  This is the day that smokers are encouraged to try and quit smoking for 24 hours.

These days, everyone is living longer.  People who quit smoking live longer than those who continue to smoke.

Did you know:

·         After 20 minutes of quitting: your heart rate and blood pressure drop.

·         After 12 hours of quitting: the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

·         After 2 weeks to 3 months of quitting: your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

Mark Twain said “Quitting is easy.  I’ve done it a thousand times.”  He also did not have available to him the resources we have now.  The internet has many sites dedicated to quitting smoking.  There are also smoking cessation products available at your local drug store or supermarket.

Remember it is never too late to quit smoking. Who knows?  November 19, 2009 could be the beginning of a brand new you.

Are you going to be one of the ones who decide to quit smoking today?

Avoid the Travel Rush Hour Usually people travel the day before and the day after the weekend holidays. SO you can avoid the rush and hassle that you will find at the airport and fly in off times. You might also find that you save a little extra cash!

Be Early Make sure that you arrive 2 hours early to give yourself time to get throught the lines and arrive safe and on time at your gate.

Check Connections When booking your flights make sure you leave enough time in your connection city to allow for late flight and connecting flight. 1 hour should be your minimum connection time.

Online Check In Save yourself some time and hassle by checking in online before you leave the house. You can check in up to 24 hours in advance and most airlines allow you to pay for package fees online. This will save you time and aggravation and you will be able to check in at the curb and go right to your gate.

Pack Snacks Carry snacks to hold you over in case you need to need a snack in flight, you can even pack a sack lunch to control what and when you eat. Remember you will not be able to bring liquids but you can purchase a drink past security.

Stay Hydrated It’s important to drink plenty of water during your travels. Drink at least 2 bottles of water per flight.

Plan for Comfort Bring your own travel pillow and or coat, you will save yourself from germs and be able to ensure your comfort.  

Be Prepared to Entertain Bring entertainment a good book, crossword puzzle, Sudoku anything to pass the time.

Travel early or late in the day Airports are least congested at times when normal human beings would rather be at home or even asleep. Delays are far less likely for morning flights, and airports usually unclog as the afternoon and evening peak passes

Really? Yes you heard it here first a company out of London has created and marking a computer made especially for the senior demographic.  The new computer even has a cute name:  SimplicITy designed to help people over the age of 60 who have never before used PCs or the Internet experience the simple pleasures of chatting, social networking, online gaming, online shopping. The computer opens up to an operating screen called “square one” simple version windows and is built on a Linux operating system. Users can replace the SimplicITy desktop with a standard Linux desktop if they feel confident enough to move on.

Hold the phones and put away your credit card, the people over at Geek.com claim that the SimplicITy computer isn’t worth the hassle.  In fact the SimplicITy computer are so widely available now that makes two recently announced SimplicITy  brand computers seem so egregiously cynical and mercenary. The SimplicITy  suite of computers are low-powered, low-performance desktops.

In short it seems you would be better off finding a deal at Best Buy and getting the whole package for your investment.

Happy Shopping.

You only get one brain so you better take care of yours. Here are a few tips to help you keeps your sharp.

1.    Get Some Shut Eye- both your body and your brain need at least 8 hours of solid sleep to remain active and alert.

2.    Feed Your Brain – BRAIN FOOD Keep your brain firing in all cylinders with 3 square meals full of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. You can find omega 3 fatty acids in any fish start with tuna fish and protein is easy to find in places you least expect..Maybe a peanut butter sandwich?

3.    Catch a Breath- learn to tune in and tune off.  It’s important to get time to relax and recharge the body and the brain.  Take time to enjoy peace, quiet and a good book.

4.    Stay curious and involved, commit to lifelong learning.

5.    Read, write, and do crossword puzzles.

6.    Join social groups like bridge clubs or square dancing.

The Medicare Open Enrollment Deadline Approaching is rapidly approaching as a matter of fact it’s December 31^st so if you have questions you better get answers. Here’s some information I found.  Medicare FACT Sheet as well as a Medicare Cheat sheet of definitions.

Who can join a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare Health Plan?
You can join if …

• you already have Medicare Parts A and B, AND (With a Medicare Cost Plan, you may join with only Part B.)
• you live in the plan’s service area, AND
• you don’t have End-Stage Renal Disease*

Who can join the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan?
You can join a plan in your area if…

• you have the Original Medicare Plan, OR
• you have a Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plan that doesn’t offer drug coverage, OR
• you have a Medicare Cost Plan.

When can I join these plans?
You can join…

• When you initially become eligible for Medicare. See our Medicare section for eligibility information.
• Medicare Advantage and other Health Plans, in certain instances, anytime. If you move, for example, you can join the plan in your new area.
• During the annual General Enrollment Period between January 1 and March 31st each year (starting the year after you first become eligible for Medicare).

How do I join these plans?
Since this is the first year Medicare has offered prescription drug coverage, several special rules apply. To find which plans are available in your area, what each one offers, and how to enroll, please request more information from one of our featured carriers.

Good Luck!

Have you ever gone hungry?  I mean so hungry that it hurts?  I would bet you haven’t and that when you say “I’m starving” you really don’t know what it feels like or perhaps what that phrase really means.  And that my friend is a blessing and my hope for you is that you never go hungry. However this year alone 35.5 million AMERICAN’S go hungry every day and what’s even more frightening is with the change in economy those who are going hungry could be your next door neighbor.

So what can you do?  Feed a family this Thanksgiving holiday.   Bringing Hope to the Table is a program that Kroger Food is hosting where they are selling recyclable bags- the proceeds go to feeding the hungry. Grocery stores across the country are making it easier than ever to help out. Stores have prepackaged bags of food that you can purchase for as little as $10.00 and they take care of the actual donation of food. To find a program for your specific city try searching on Google for these “phrases”

Food Drives 2009                         Canned Food Drives

Thanksgiving Food Donations        Food Bank Donation

Remember anything you do small or large will make a large impact.  The statistics are staggering, and we can make a difference.  

For 1 in 8 people in our country, hunger is a reality.

• 35 million Americans don’t know where they will get their next meal. 
• 9 million of them are children.
• 3 million of them are senior citizens.
• 36% of these households have one or more working adults.
• 42% of these households are in rural and suburban areas.

What if this holiday season you consider donating to your favorite charity. Instead of giving gifts to friends, family and co-workers I guarantee the person/charity that receives your donation really needs it…and more importantly will appreciate it. Over the next few weeks I will be gathering donation suggestions and posting them. If you have a suggestions please send them my way via Twitter, Email, LinkedIn or comment to the blog today! 

In honor of Friday the 13^th I thought we could celebrate it by celebrating why older workers will substantially benefit any business.  

1.    Everything can be improved: Experienced workers take pride in their work.

2.    You get what you expect: Older workers stay on task until it is completed.

3.    Pleasure in the job put perfection in the work: Older workers have a knack for paying attention to detail.

4.    Finally being old pays off: Older workers have many years of experience

5.    Only those who do nothing make no mistakes: Older Workers make excellent mentors and role models

6.    Act the part and you will become the part: The older worker is not afraid to voice his opinions

7.    Concentration is the secret of strength: Less likely to play office politics.

8.    The best vision is insight: They can be left unsupervised more often and get the job done efficiently.

9.    Just go out there and do what you’ve got to do: Willing to stay over and work until the job is completed. 

10. Quality is everyone’s responsibility: Older Workers often know where problems may occur and how to prevent it

11. Only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it: Older employees are able to take things in stride and find workable solutions without “losing it.” 

12. Built in Training Department:  Older workers can easily train younger workers and encourage their progress.

13. We all have ability. The difference is how we use it : Usually they only have to be told once how to do a job.

You have the power to change; Hire an Older Worker!

Today I read an article about how older workers have unrealistic expectations of the job market. I found the article to be extremely misleading; the article was talking about the interview process not about getting a job. Really the job market has changed a whole lot in the last 15 years so it’s hard to have ANY expectations because who knows what to expect. Never fear I a resource for you from our friends over at the AARP Foundation.

In the current economy, it’s all the more important to know what kind of job you are suited for before applying. So before you rush out in a panic to find a job let’s at least find out what type of occupation that’s best suited for YOU that’s where the AARP Foundation WorkSearch Assessment System comes in to rescue YOU.

The assessment’s goal is to help you determine your job interests and work skills so that they can match you with the best possible job.  When you are finished the assessment will give you possible job matches based on where you live. And those job matches come right from WiserWorker.com Pretty Nifty!

It’s a no-brainer no cost solution to helping you create expectations both you and an employer can live with!  Check it out!