Template Resumes Cut you Out of The Competition
By Hucky Austin
So you want to write your resume and you think the best way to learn how to do it is to go online and find a template to “borrow.” So you just copy and paste one you like, then drop your information into it and then you have a perfect resume, right?
Wrong.
If you want your resume to stand out and be noticed, copying a template isn’t a wise option. Instead, let someone who KNOWS what to look for in a resume assist you. The big mistake most people make is thinking that the resume is just a summary of job experiences and education. It’s not. It’s a powerful tool to pitch you to a potential employer; which means it needs to look fresh and it must allow the reader to quickly assess your MOST RELATABLE skills for the position for which you are applying.
The resume needs to be visually uncluttered. It needs to be in a font that is simple to read and if at all possible, in a typeface that helps to express your personality. You may want to consider purchasing a unique font, but don’t get overly fancy with this. It may include a very simple graphic that serves as a statement as to your overall personal philosophy or perhaps incorporate a quote that is meaningful to you in some way. It should be professional and classy. Think about “branding” yourself so the graphic appears also on the envelope and cover letter. Be creative. If you are a creative person, offer ideas to the person you’re working with to get feedback and to help make your resume one-of-a-kind. Feel free to offer ideas and examples to show the professional writer what is is you like.
Lastly, spend as much time thinking about who you are-and what you have to offer an employer-as you do organizing the informational facts of the resume. Most job seekers are looking at the resume from the wrong point of view; their own. Imagine yourself as the employer reading the resume.
Also, be realistic as to your expectations. Your career objective cannot be an objective for which you do not have the appropriate skills or education or work history. There’s nothing wrong with the desire to move up in your field and to express that in your Career Objective, but it should be a step up that is supported by the body of the resume. (SEE ARTICLE “STEPPING STONES CAN TAKE YOU TO THE TOP“)
Phoenix Kidnapping Capital
Residents of Phoenix, Arizona are facing a frightening rise in crimes related to
Mexican drug cartels; last year there were 370 cases of kidnapping, and victims are both U.S. residents and illegal’s.
Mexico City is the only city with more kidnappings annually, with Phoenix running a close second-worst city in the world. If the ransoms are not paid quickly, the abductees are being murdered; their bodies brutally dismembered.
Local authorities believe “Washington, DC is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now.” (ABC News)
From Texas to California, crimes and kidnappings related to the Mexican drug cartels are spreading further across the Mexican border into the U.S.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BGC: This city is in dire straits and needs the help of qualified individuals to protect citizens and property. Without a doubt, much of the work will be dangerous and high-risk, but also rewarding; keeping the U.S. secure from this foreign criminal activity is just as important as protecting citizens from al Qaeda.
Individuals seeking employment may want to consider Phoenix, where the demand for protection is exceeding the supply of qualified individuals. Particularly, I imagine there is a need for individuals with solid EP background who speak Spanish and have either a Military or LEO background.
In the past I’ve said we must go where the work is; well, this is where it is right now.
Be safe and watch your back.
Working Your Network
By Hucky Austin
Someone wrote “your network is your net worth,” and yet, are you really investing your time in this tool? Time spent in entering personal contacts, updating contact information and maintaining relationships is time well spent.
According to Susan RoAne, the author of the book How to Work a Room, “As an entrepreneur, if you don’t have a network, you will keep reinventing the wheel.”
In the Internet age, networking has taken on a whole new meaning. Keeping up with the competition means staying in front of your peers, on top of the latest news and keeping in touch. Keeping in touch means not only sending an occasional email but spending time on the phone and face-to-face.
Many networking sites are free–and more are on the way. All help you stay connected to people you know and spark relationships with those you don’t–including customers, suppliers, partners and advisers. There are also software applications that help to update and maintain your networks. If you aren’t using these services already, sign up!
Here are some of the top Networking Sites:
- Linked In
- APSense.com
- Plaxo and Pulse
- Anagram (getanagram.com)
- Facebook & MySpace
Here’s a specific plan to really make the most of your network: Choose one day of the week (not a Monday) for the next four weeks in which you will randomly select three individuals from whatever database you use. Devote 15 minutes on the telephone chatting and catching up. Agree to do something with at least one of the three you call; plan a lunch or breakfast; or even a time to just meet in person for coffee. A month of “maintaining” your network will only take approximately four hours or so of your time, and has the potential of yielding results.
Bodyguard Loses His Edge, Loses Client’s Car
In January this year, London’s Princess Beatrice had her I Series BMW stolen from the West End area of the city.
The Princess, who is 20, went into a shop for a sandwich and unknowingly left her keys in the ignition and the doors of her luxury vehicle unlocked. Her bodyguard failed to notice the mistake, much to his chagrin.
The car was not recovered and no arrests were made, although the bodyguard is facing disciplinary action for his costly mistake.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BGC: This is a perfect example of how we can become complacent in our duties, if we’re not careful! (SEE BGC STORY: “KEEPING YOUR EDGE“) A few thoughts on watching the young, rich, famous and busy-they can often be extremely preoccupied-and so it is particularly important to be on the watch for these kinds of oversights. Also, it is a good idea for a Bodyguard to have on his person copies of his client’s car keys, as well as residence keys. . . that way, if the client misplaces them or locks them in a car, you have a back-up set.
Training to Task: Part Three
The Solution
In classes, we often hear, “Hey, I want to go to Iraq and run details for $1,500.00 a day…will your training help me?”
First, let me say that there aren’t many details paying that much any more (I know of one and you have to know the detail leader to get hired). Second, my answer is always, “This training certainly won’t hurt you, but you should find out who holds the contract for that particular assignment, and go take their course!” This will enable you to learn their systems while allowing them the opportunity to grow comfortable with you .
You should seek out training from competent instructors, but almost as importantly, from professionals who make their living in the environment that you want to join. As I mentioned previously, some of the skill-sets are transferable, but you have to admit that there is a world of difference between club-hopping with a rap artist and working a speaking event with the King of Spain and the Chair of the Federal Reserve.
In our methodological review and revolution we put training into a business process and determined first and foremost, “Know the elements of the job you want”; and train accordingly. Once you know where you want to be, it will be easier to identify the skill-sets that you will need to be successful. In our programs, we like to work that out with the students in advance of the course, so that as we cover the material, we are playing into their hand. The academic portion of the course focuses on an explanation of protection (historically and operationally) so that attendees have a realistic understanding of and appreciation for the components that they’ll be learning about for the next 40 to 80 hours.
By breaking the aforementioned core elements into modular lessons, we are able to expand or condense them consistent with the needs of the student and/or client. In short, these topics can be one-hour survey courses or two-day advanced training components. This also made it easier to format their delivery to meet military drill periods, college academic semesters or organizational time and budget slots.
We integrate hard-skills throughout the course so that students are not sedated by incessant lecture. This also allows us to cover the wide range of defensive tactics over an extended period rather than saturating students physically and intellectually by throwing six to eight hours of DT at them in one setting.
Our goal is to provide a firm foundation of academic and practical exercises in the first forty hours so that a student can begin to build experientially as soon as they hit the streets (Table 3). Then, after the specialist has an opportunity to gain practical experience, they are better positioned to return for the advanced (OPOTA Level II) course. Subjects to which they were introduced in the Level I program, such as Threat Assessment, are studied in more detail in the advanced program. Even critics can see that listening to a clinical forensic psychologist explain the effects of personality disorders in an assessment of an individual’s potential for violence…without the assessor having met any crazy people yet…is often wasted training.