Primula, Présumé and Tactile Learning: A Day in the Life Sunday

Nothing like a shot of Baileys and coffee made in my Primula Coffee Press to start off a lazy Sunday morning.

We have the requisite coffee maker for guests but the husband and I don't use it. Grinding, scooping, smelling, brewing, and pressing our way to the perfect cup of coffee is so . . . tactile.

Sharing my love for Moleskine, my friend Trish McFarlane wondered in a recent post, "Miss Being Tactile? Is There an App for That? 

I have Evernote at home, on the Blackberry and on the iPad (complete with wireless keyboard) but given the choice, I reach for the kid's 24-pack of ultrathin Sharpies and a blank sheet of paper and mind map my ideas. Circles here, arrows there and a splash of color to draw the eye into the main points - does it get any better than that?

I struggled with my Nook 1st Edition, barely used my Kindle and am now just getting ok reading with the Nook for iPad. If I could only dog-ear a virtual page or two, I'd be golden.

You see, I am in my element when I can see if, feel it, and touch it.

Although I am the first in line to want to make a good first impression when visitors come knocking, I am also the first to blow past the gloss to see what's really behind the curtain. This may be why I question the wisdom of job seekers who put the shine before the substance with creative resume displays like  Présumé.

Take a look at this Présumé. I hate it. Actually, I love it (what I hate is that I lack the creativity to do this.) This was the absolute perfect approach for the job she was seeking but it would not work for everyone in every situation, like applying for a position with me.

This very cool presentation would lose it's appeal when I printed it off so I could hold it in my hot little tactile hands and mark it up with my yellow highlighter as I read for evidence of proven #trenchhr experiences.

It's me, not you. Sometimes a traditional dry, black and white, no more than 2 page resume with no life but a ton of hand-on organizational human resource practitioner experiences it just what this HR Director ordered.

Now, who's going to bottle up a touch of that creativity for me?

Photo credit weevermedia.com/services/app-marketing

Is Your Resume Fact or Fiction?

This guest post is authored by Jeri Johansen, PHR, Executive Assistant at Crimcheck. Crimcheck.com provides background checks for businesses large and small nationwide. Crimcheck.com background checks include criminal history, education verification, employment verification, driving records and more.

Ok, so you got your degree and are on the road to begin your career. Why not make your resume shine above the rest with some minor embellishment? Well, for one, gone are the days when you could walk into an interview with a copy of your diploma and that would suffice for authenticating your degree. These days, employers will verify degree, date of graduation and school, at the least. In reality, honesty on a resume is much more highly valued than anything else.

The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that 53% of all resumes contain some form of inaccuracy. Human Resource departments are very aware of this statistic. In my line of work I see all sorts of resume fraud, ranging from the older worker who changes their date of graduation because they think that will help get them in the door, to the recent graduate who states they have one year of managerial experience (while they were still away at college). We won't even discuss criminal records and personal references in this blog, but I could write a novel on the issues that come up during interviews, employment applications, and resumes that immediately rule an applicant out of the pool.

The education portion of your resume should reflect accurate dates, school name and degree type. It will be verified, and these days, verification is as easy as a couple of clicks of the keyboard. Your work history should be truthful regarding non-paid work and internships. Don't try to reflect them as if they were paid jobs. List your job responsibilities accurately, as they will most likely be verified with a phone call to your supervisor.

Employers know that when the job market tightens, resume fraud increases. Employers can afford to be even more selective in selecting candidates. Any false claim or date is a red flag to the recruiter. If the applicant would lie on their resume, how trustworthy could they be?

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