Read on
There’s never a good
reason to lie on a resume.
A good budget
strategy is not painful.
Being prepared for the
interview helps get job.
The News Argus
Sprinq/Sumnner 2006
CAREER FOCU
A little white lie on your resume can cause big trouble
By Joy Buchanan
KRT WIRE SERVICE
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.
People at the pinnacle
of their careers still
might not be safe
from lies — big or small —
that they told on a resume.
Many people, including
top-level executives, embel
lish their r^sum^s. Usually,
the lies are added early in
their careers, when people
are least experienced and
looking for a boost.
Executive-search firms and
career consultants say the
fiction tends to come back to
bite people the higher up the
corporate ladder they climb.
If the employer doesn't catch
the fibs, it's increasingly like
ly that news reporters, dis
gruntled employees or other
job candidates will check a
person's credentials and
expose any inaccuracies.
Why do people continue
to lie if it can get them in so
much trouble? They simply
don't think that they'll be
caught, said Ronald Simms,
a professor of business ethics
and leadership at the College
of William and Mary's
Mason School of Business.
Over time, the lie snowballs
as the person lies again to
cover up the original fabrica
tion.
"I've seen people who for
got what they put on their
resumes. Some people actu
ally convince themselves
that they earned degrees
they lied about before," he
said.
Many companies automat
ically do background checks.
Some hire outside security
firms to confirm the claims
that people print on their
resumes.
"If the checks aren't done,
then that's a mistake," said
Peter Felix, president of the
Association of Executive
Search Consultants in New
York City. "You can't afford
to take the risk with officer-
level positions in public
companies."
Despite that, some compa
nies estimate that half of all
resumes have significant
falsehoods on them, though
there are no widely used sta
tistics about how much
embellishment goes on.
"There has probably been
more resume deception in
the last 10 years than I
would dare imagine," Felix
said. "But I don't think it's
going to change."
Most experts say young
people trying to make them
selves stand out in an
extremely competitive job
market are most likely to lie
on their resumes. The trou
ble is those lies follow them
forever, and they're harder
to live down later.
Education is probably the
No. 1 thing that people
embellish because it's impor
tant early in a person's
career.
Former Notre Dame foot
ball coach George O'Leary
was forced to resign in 2001
— six days after he got the
job — after it was learned
that he invented a university
and said he earned a mas
ter's degree there.
Ken Lonchar, former chief
financial officer of Veritas
Software (which merged
with Symantec Corp. in
2004) lied about earning an
MBA from Stanford
University in California. He
resigned in 2002.
Aside from imaginary col
leges and degrees, education
credentials are very easy to
check. That includes grade-
point averages, which many
people tend to round up.
Career consultants say that's
a mistake. "Everything
that's on the resume should
be true," said Vivian David,
career counseling director at
Hampton University.
"You should be able to
defend what's on it."
Instead of bumping up the
GPA, David said, include
detailed descriptions of your
coursework and projects that
you completed.
People fudge employment
dates to hide a short stint at
a job or even jail time. It's
deceitful to put on your
resume that you worked at a
job from 2005 to 2006 if you
were there from December
2005 to January 2006. If there
are any gaps in employment,
you'll have to explain them,
either in a cover letter or an
interview, but don't try to
hide it on your resume.
Job seekers also lie about
duties, titles and licenses. "If
you were responsible for tak
ing out the trash, you were
not 'manager of garbage dis
posal,"' David said. The title
that you put on the r6sum6
should be the same title on
file with your employer's
human resources depart
ment.
Some people say lying is
rampant, but others say they
think it's rare. Dennis
Barden, a consultant for
Chicago search firm Witt
Kieffer, said that he didn't
think many people lied on
their resumes but that when
they did, it can be cata
strophic.
"When these people fall,
they fall hard," Barden said.
"One of the reasons they fall
so hard is because they fall
so far."
Barden, who recently com
pleted a search for the vice
president of development at
William and Mary, said it's
unfortunate that good peo
ple were sabotaged by their
own fibs. "A person doesn't
get that much rope when it
comes to this," he said.
"While I don't believe
zero-tolerance policies are
always a sensible way to
make judgments, it doesn't
take very much to be dis
qualified from a search or
job consideration."
With a good game plan, test taking doesn’t have to be stressful
By Michaela Siegrist
ARGUS REPORTER
With mid-terms completed, most students
are already beginning to feel the pressure of
finals. Phyllis N. Smith of the University
Counseling center helps alleviate some of
that stress. "Do you get to class on time?
Have your book? Try to study?" asks Smith
of the students looking for help with test-
taking skills.
If the answer is "yes" to all of the above
questions. Smith will gladly share her three
most valuable secrets. "The first key in suc
cessful test-taking is review time," Smith
said. Review is essential in letting informa
tion settle in. There are three specific times
to review Smith said, "daily, weekly and
monthly." Daily involves pre- and post-class
review. Reviewing just-leamed information
helps students retain information more easi
ly. Smith advises students to do a weekly
review as well. "One hour per subject, every
week," she said. A helpful tool in weekly
review is creating questions and answers to
pertinent information about the subject.
As for monthly reviews, these should be
done before big tests, especially mid-terms
and finals. This should provide students
with a complete, easy to apply, understand
ing of all of the material. One key piece of
advice Smith added is, "Don't do a 10-hour
marathon for studying for tests."
Freshman Whitney Maddox agrees.
"Don't wait till the last minute to study,"
she said. "This will hurt you more than help
you."
Smith said correct studying is another
important point. There are three basic steps
in effective studying: pre-study, post-study
and the style of studying. Smith said she
asks students to prepare before they actual
ly sit down to study. Create a good, quiet
environment, and ask yourself if you have
everytKing you need to begin stiadying,
meaning books, computer, paper, flash
cards, etc. During the actual study session,
use all available material to create success.
Take good notes in class, use the book as a
guide, especially if it uses Internet tools,
and any old tests, quizzes and paper that
might be helpful to know for the test.
Sophomore Lashonda Harris said "when
you study, be comfortable with the materi
als."
The last step in effective test-taking occurs
during the actual test. Smith advised the
following; Be on time. This assures that you
don't miss anything. How awful would it
be to find out five minutes after the test is
about to end that it was open notes?
Secondly, scan the test before you do any
thing. Answer the easiest questions first.
Last but not least, write so the instructor
can actually read what you've written.
"By doing these steps it will ease your
mind, increase you knowledge and make
you much more prepared to take the big
test," Smith said.
Take steps now to learn how to overcome procrastination
By Asheleigh Neal and
Ivan Jones
ARGUS REPORTERS
How do you tackle procrasti
nation? Step by step.This is
the advice that Todd
Davis, a lecturer in the Department
of Mass Communication, gives
students in his Mass Media
Management class.
"It all about the deadlines,"
Davis said. "What is most impor
tant is to be done first. 'WHAT'S
DUE, DO FIRST' Make a to-do
list, then prioritize the to-do list."
Kiayana Hamilton, a senior mass
communication major, admits that
she's a big procrastinator. "I wait
to the last minute," she said. "The
reason why I do this is because I
have anxiety about doing some
thing, and that's why I wait so late
to do things."
With final exams and com
mencement less than a month
away, it is especially important for
students to pace themselves and
avoid putting off things to the last
minute. Cramming and other such
behaviors can lead to new prob
lems, such as sleep deprivation.
It's not uncommon to either lose
sleep or sleep restlessly when out
standing tasks are left imdone.
And lack of sleep, of course, can
lead to difficulties absorbing infor
mation for classes, as well as
insomnia and other sleep abnor
malities. Cameron Davis, a junior
marketing major, said he often suf
fered from sleep deprivation until
he reduced his class load. Instead
of taking 18 semester hours, he
said he dropped down to 12. Plus,
Davis said he works part-time to
cover car payments and rent. The
job plus full class load proved
more than he could handle.
Here are a few ways that stu
dents can tackle the problem of
procrastination and, hopefully.
eliminate associated sleep
problems:
1. Breakdown tasks into multi
ple, smaller and more manageable
tasks.
2. Finish one task at a time —
start with one project and finish it
completely, before starting another.
3. Set aside a specific period of
time to work on the task, so that
you will not be distracted or inter
rupted. Repeated interruptions can
easily cause you to lose focus.
School offers help with resumes
By Kiayana Hamlliton
ARGUS REPORTER
Is your r^sum^ ready to
win? If not, you need to see
Arthur Hardin, coordinator
of community services in the
Office of Career Services.
Hardin heads up project
G.I.V.E (Getting Involved
through Volunteer
Experiences). This project
allows students who do not
have work experience, the
opportunity to volunteer and
gain on-the-job knowledge.
Hardin discussed some of
the crucial mistakes students
make when preparing their
r^sum^s.
1. Not being specific
enough about their objective.
Don't write, "I need a job in
the objective statement area,"
said Hardin. This is a sure
way to loose the attention of
perspective employers.
2. Failing to attach a cover
letter.
3. Not proofreading. Don't
let spelling errors cost you a
job. "Students have their
very own professional
r^sum^ service right here on
campus; it's called Career
Services," Hardin said.
4. Too many pages. Keep
your r^sum^ to one page.
5. Inappropriate e-mail
address. Open a new account
or use your college address.
6. Music on voicemail.
Show that you are mature
and that getting the job is
most important.
7. Not being specific about
education background. If
you have a 3.0 grade-point
average or better, let it been
seen; likewise, if you have a
3.0 in you major courses, let
that be seen. Also if you
haven't graduated, put your
anticipated graduation date.
Don't forget to list school
organizations that emphasize
leadership skills.
8. Use action words. You
want to give the impression
that you're professional, edu
cated and well-rounded.
Don't go overboard, but use
words such as responsible
for, aided, contributed, docu
mented, edited, etc.
«
"Come and see us as a
freshman, so we can get to
know you," Hardin said.
Knowing you needs and
goals early-on is the only
w’ay you can really benefit
from the service.
Developing a spending plan helps you see where you money goes
By Argus reporter Travis Stinson
and Andrea Coombes of
MarketWatch (KRT)
Brandon Roland knows what it
means to live within a budget. A 21-
year-old junior from Charlotte, Roland
lives off-campus, does his grocery
shopping, prepares his meals and
washes his clothes. And, more often
than not, he buys no-name brand
goods when he goes to the grocery
store, because they cost less than
brand-name items.
Living within a budget is not easy,
but he does it. After all, Roland said,
you never know when money will run
short.
Budget. Was there ever a word less
likely to incite excitement, even among
those eager to get their personal
finances in order? We all know we
should tally our expenses for a few
months to plug the holes down which
our hard-earned loot is disappearing,
but planners say budgeting is a com
mon area of financial failure.
Deprivation — having to resist that
spur-of-the-moment handbag or elec-
tronic-gadget purchase — doesn't
motivate consumers to stick to their
budget homework.
To top it off, tallying expenses is bor
ing, said Jane Bryant Quinn, a colum
nist with Newsweek magazine, and
author of Smart and Simple Financial
Strategies for Busy People.
Consumers "start with a big bang and
then they don't keep it up," she said.
While we all know one person who
religiously jots down every expendi
ture, most people are unsuccessful at
daily financial record-keeping. To ease
the pain, avoid the word "budget," and
use "spending plan" instead. That
phrase creates a different attitude, said
James Gottfurcht, a clinical psycholo
gist and president of Psychology of
Money Consultants, a Los Angeles firm
that counsels individuals on financial
issues. "I'm allowed to spend. I'm enti
tled to spend."
Another idea Gottfurcht employs
with clients: Break the budget process
into small bites. "Start by just keeping
track of your credit card" expenses, he
said, organizing them into different
categories such as auto, books, restau
rants. After finishing that task, tackle
expenses that flow through your check
ing account.
Competition for jobs is fierce, be prepared for interview
By Kiayana Hamilton
ARGUS REPORTER
Your suit fits just right, your hair is one color rather than
five, your nails trimmed, tattoos hidden and clothes crisp and
clean. Now you're ready to interview and get that job.
But do you know what to say to win that desired position.
Here are a few tips from Arthur Hardin.
1. Do some research on the company. Be knowledgeable
about the company, as well as the position you're applying for.
The more you know, the more confidence you'll exude.
2. Demonstrate confidence. For entry-level positions, in par
ticular, a show of confidence in your ability to contribute to
the company is critical.
3. Show the interviewer that you can and will do the job.
4. Be sure to have at least five to six questions ready for
your interview. The interviewer probably will answer three or
four through the course of the interview.
5. When asked about salary, let it be known that you know
what the indusby is paying, but try to highlight that your
main objective is the position you are interviewing for.
6. At the end of the interview be sure to thank the interview
er for his or her time, express interest and enthusiasm, and
shake hands.
Hardin said the biggest problem students have from HBCUs
is their lack of confidence in the school from which they've
graduated.
"Students from HBCUs do not need to feel less prepared
then someone who graduated from Chapel Hill," he said.