A guide that doesn’t cover much new ground but nicely lays out the basics of resume writing in simple language with valuable...
A personnel consultant shares advice for resume writing in this short debut book.
The resume—often misunderstood and frequently maligned—is a basic tool for anyone seeking a job which virtually every employer uses to screen applicants. In this book, Janssen demonstrates what makes a resume good or bad, offering the perspectives of the more than 100 human resource professionals he surveyed. The author covers the obvious, offering tips on gathering the appropriate information, types of resumes, format, and content, but readers can easily learn about these elements elsewhere. Of greater interest are the chapters that delve into resume nuances, such as how to use bullet points, “the heart and soul of your resume and your opportunity to brag about yourself and your accomplishments.” Also useful is Janssen’s overview of personal branding, in which he describes how to write a “branding statement” and discusses how one can protect one’s own brand, particularly online: “Employers have reviewed social media accounts of current employees so be mindful of that. Your reputation takes a lifetime to develop and a moment to ruin.” Interestingly, he says that most HR professionals he surveyed didn’t think a cover letter “made a difference in their perception of the candidate.” Still, Janssen endorses its use so that one may list the attributes that one brings to a specific position; he also believes that the resume itself should be tailored to the job for which one is applying. But although such tips are useful, the chapters lack detail and are far too short (with some no more than a page and a half), suggesting that the topic might have been expanded to include other aspects of applying for a job, such as interviewing. The “Exhibits” at the end of the book, however, may be the book’s most useful portion; in them, the author provides five templates for specific cover letters and 10 detailed examples of resumes with different formats and content types.
A guide that doesn’t cover much new ground but nicely lays out the basics of resume writing in simple language with valuable examples.Pub Date: March 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5238-5251-2
Page Count: 88
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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