Tag Archive for COVID-19

| January 23, 2021
Comments Off on Six Ways to Update Your Resume in 2021

Six Ways to Update Your Resume in 2021

Six Ways to Update Your Resume in 20212020 changed everything. The job search process is no exception. Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic means you need to update your resume. These six simple resume updates can improve your chances of getting an interview. Do not submit your 2020 resume in 2021.

Some reasons the job hunt has changed in 2021 include:

  • 7.3 million workers are looking for jobs  due to COVID-197.3 million workers are looking for jobs due to COVID-19 layoffs, leading to a mass influx of job searchers in the employment market.
  • 33% of job seekers are willing to accept a lower salary than their most recent salary do to COVID.
  • 99% of Fortune 500 Companies use Applicant Tracking Systems to screen resumes.
  • Up to 75% of qualified applicants have been rejected by an ATS because the software could not read their resumes.
  • Recruiters spend about 7.4 seconds glancing at resumes before deciding if the applicant is a potential fit.
  • On average, a corporate job attracts 250 applicants, of which only 5 will be invited to interview.
  • During the pandemic, 63% of companies conducted remote interviews and onboarding, compared to just 12% before the pandemic.

With job search odds stacked against you should make some COVID-19 changes to your resume to increase your odds of getting an interview for your next job.

Update your resume with work from home

Update your resume with work from homeMore and more employers are embracing remote work. Therefore, you should include any work-from-home skills on your resume. Look closely at the job description to see if the company mentions any remote work collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Trello, Google Docs, Slack, Zoom, etc. Include these keywords on your resume where applicable.

Now is the time to widen your search. Look beyond the suburbs around your home. Instead, consider remote work with organizations where you can offer value.

Add resiliency to your resume 

Next, make sure to highlight how you worked through COVID-19. The fact you got through the pandemic shows you are resilient. Highlight your achievements during the lockdown. How did you continue building on your experience? Or how did you help your business stay afloat? What new skills and tools did you learn?

Appear younger on your resume

Age discrimination is a serious issue that impacts job seekers over 45 more often than they realize. Unless the job you are applying for specifically wants 15+ years of experience with a particular skill delete it. Listing dates on your resume prior to 2005 is only going to age you. Remove outdated software versions or skills too.

Update your resume to be smart enough

If you are applying for a job requiring a bachelor’s degree but you are listing your advanced degrees (e.g., master’s or doctorate), you may be disqualified as overqualified or too expensive. Adjust your Education section to target the job posting.

  • Remove your high school & graduation date.
  • If you graduated from college more than five years ago, remove college graduation dates.

Be reachable on your resume

You need to use current communications channels during your job search. It makes the search easier and you can appear younger on your resume.

  • Sanitize your address – a city and state are good enough – especially if you 3rd parties are involved – your safety is important.
  • Dump that aol.com or yahoo.com email address. Use a Gmail or Outlook account. Careerbuilder says that 35% of hiring managers view an unprofessional email address as a deal-breaker.
  • Put a LinkedIn link on your resume. A report by Jobvite says that 87% of recruiters regularly use LinkedIn.

Update your resume keywords

Update your resume keywords34% of hiring managers told Careerbuilder that missing quantifiable results on a resume is a deal-breaker. You should include keywords in your results bullets. To identify which keywords should be used in your resume, check out a free word and phrase frequency tool like Online-Utility.org’s Text Analyzer. All you need to do is copy and paste the job description and Text Analyzer will return the terms that are regularly used throughout the JD. If you possess these skills or qualifications, incorporate these terms into your resume.

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You need to update your resume with these new best practices forced on use by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. These resume changes will tilt the job search odds in your favor. 

Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| January 9, 2021
Comments Off on 9 Tips and Tricks to Master Zoom

9 Tips and Tricks to Master Zoom

9 Tips and Tricks to Master ZoomIn case you have been living under a rock Zoom Video Communications (ZM) is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite security concerns and reports of links to China, Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing options available. As Statista documents Zoom’s Q3 total revenue was up 367 percent from the same period of last year. The company expects to end the year with $2.58 billion of revenue.

Zoom logoA growing number of project managers are using collaboration software like Zoom while working from home until at least the summer of 2021 – to get updates from team members. Here are 9 tips and tricks to master Zoom in 2021.

Use keyboard shortcuts 

It is estimated that you are spending up to 64 hours every year on unnecessary keyboard-to-mouse coordination in Zoom and other GUI’s. To save time, use these keyboard shortcuts to be a more efficient project manager during a Zoom video call.

A is for audio – Press Alt + A to mute or unmute audio (macOS Command + Shift + A).

I is for invite – Press Alt + I to jump to the Invite window, where you can get the link to the meeting for others users (macOS Command + I).

Zoom keyboard shortcutsM is for mute – Press Alt + M to mute everyone else on the call when you are the meeting host (macOS Command + CTRL + M).

S is for share – Press Alt + Shift + S to share your screen (macOS Command +Shift + S) and press Alt + T (macOS Command +Shift + T) to pause or resume screen sharing.

V is for video – Press Alt + V to Start or stop video (macOS Command +Shift + V).

Y is for Yo – Press Alt + Y to Raise or lower hand (macOS Option+ Y).

For the full list of Zoom keyboard shortcuts click here. 

Zoom Annotation toolsUse Annotation Tools – Zoom’s annotation tools let all the meeting participants collaborate by drawing and highlighting on the screen shared by the host. This type of collaboration can be very helpful for project managers when brainstorming, collecting requirements, or developing a work breakdown structure (WBS). To annotate a Zoom while viewing someone else’s shared screen.

1. Select View Option from the top of the Zoom window.
2. Choose Annotate.
3. A toolbar appears with all your options for annotating, including;
• text,
• draw,
• arrow, etc..

Zoom Annotation tools

The presenter can use the save button on the toolbar to capture the image with annotations as a screenshot to be used in the project meeting minutes. 

Look better on Zoom

Zoom has a feature called Touch Up My Appearance. It can soften the focus on your camera. The feature will smooth fine lines and bags under your eye bags –  theoretically minimizing issues with your skin. It can make even the weariest PM look like you got a great night of sleep. To use Zoom’s Touch Up My Appearance:

  1. Zoom Touch Up My AppearanceSelect Zoom’s Settings menu.
  2. Click on the Video option in the left panel.
  3. Under My Video, select the option for Touch Up My Appearance.
  4. A slider bar will appear next to this option, and you can further customize the feature by sliding the bar left or right to increase or decrease its use in your video.

Bonus tip – If you have the internet bandwidth – Select the HD option in the Camera section of the Video settings page. So you can be seen in high definition glory.

mute your microphoneBe Quite – You do mute your microphone when you are not speaking during a Zoom call right? Nobody wants to hear you munching Doritos in the background. When you are called on to speak – you can just press and hold the spacebar to quickly unmute and mute rather than scrambling to click the microphone button with your mouse. 

Use an Emoji

Even if you are muted in a Zoom meeting, you can still participate. Use emoji reactions to let the hosts know your thoughts. You can send a thumbs up or a clapping emoji to communicate you can still participatewithout interrupting the meeting. To react with an emoji during a project meeting:

  1. Click the Reactions tab at the bottom of the meeting screen and choose the one you want.
  2. The emoji will disappear after 5 seconds.

By default, emoji reactions have a yellow skin tone, but you can customize that to match your identity. Desktop users can:

  1. Select their profile picture,
  2. Click on Settings, and then under the General tab,
  3. select a skin tone from the six options available.

Zoom reaction emoji skin tonesPro Tip #1 – If you’d prefer not to be seen at all (and you’re not planning to speak) in the meeting you can use a screenshot of yourself in a Zoom meeting as your profile picture. That way, you’ll always look sharp and that you are paying attention.

Zoom attendee attention tracking featurePro Tip #2 – Zoom offers an “attendee attention tracking” feature. This feature lets the employers check to make sure you are paying attention. So if you’re tweeting away during a meeting, or answering a personal e-mail, Zoom is going to tell your boss.

Stay Up to Date – Keep your Zoom application up to date. Updating Zoom will get you the latest bells and whistles and it will keep you more secure. To update your Zoom client

  1. Sign in to your account.
  2. Click on your profile picture, and select Check For Updates.
  3. If there are new updates, you’ll be able to download and install them right away via the updates screen.
  4. Follow the on-screen prompts.

You can also download updates from the Zoom update website.

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Hopefully, these 9 tips and tricks will help you master Zoom and be a better project manager in 2021. 

Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Project Management | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
| December 31, 2020
Comments Off on 10 Step 2020 Detox

10 Step 2020 Detox

10 Step 2020 DetoxI think we can all agree that 2020 sucked. Covid-19, Trump, COVID deniers, a plummeting economy, TP hoarding, Australia burning, U.S. wildfires, police shootings, civil unrest, anti-maskers, a derecho, murder hornets, 5,000 pets killed, and the fly. Now that 2021 is here it is time to detox from 2020. Here are some steps to take the help you welcome 2021.

Write it down – Review the events of 2020 the good, the bad, and the ugly. Write the highlights and the lowlights down on a piece of paper. Identifying the good as well as the bad brings them all to mind.

Let go – Let go of the good and bad with a fire ceremony. If you can, give thanks first. Summarize the challenges and then burn the lists. Or if you live in NYC the Times Square Alliance offers an industrial-strength shredder to detox the unpleasant 2020 reminders are printed and shredded.

industrial-strength shredder to detox the unpleasant 2020 remindersHome Cleansing – You may need a little extra help getting the 2020 bad juju out of your home. In Feng Shui, clearing is healing. So, cleansing our spaces is important to replace old or stagnant energy with positive and new energy. Cleansing will impact your physical and mental well-being activating the positive feelings and emotions we are looking for in 2021. Practitioners of Feng Shui believe clearing the energies at home brings peace, and connects you with your home so that together you can achieve your 2021 goals. New energies support and nurture each person who lives and spends time at home.

How to perform a 2020 cleansing

Step 1: Open the windows to allow the energy to move freely.

Step 2: Start the cleansing process from the back of the house to the front. Light a sage bundle and start walking from the back of each room to the front. Walk around the room covering as much of Light a sage bundleit as you can. Using a hand fan, waft the sage smoke into the corners of the room up to the ceiling. Make sure to go into every room as you move from the back of the house to the front. When you’ve reached the front, walk out the door and smudge sage around the door and frame.

Step 3: Sounds also clear up energies. Ring a bell to remove stagnant energy behind furniture, under the bed, and hidden spaces.

Digital detox – Technology dominates the way we live our lives. It is not hard to see how people are unable to go a few hours without using their phone or tablet. On average, a person in the US spends almost 5.4 hours on their smartphone while kids and teenagers spend 5.7 hours. A typical user taps, touches, or swipes their spends almost 5.4 hours on their smartphonephone a staggering 2,617 times per day. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently published research linking the use of social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram to decreased well-being. The results revealed that limiting social media use decreased symptoms of depression and loneliness. A digital detox is a way to stop being so dependent on technology, taking steps to cut out how often you check your phone or use it. Here are some key ways to detox yourself from your tech.

Step 1: Turn off push notifications – Turning off push notifications cut-down how frequently people check their phone. You won’t receive notifications from apps. Cutting out some parts of social media at the start of the detox can be crucial later when you only allow yourself certain times to check social media sites.

Invest in an alarm clockStep 2: Invest in an alarm clock– Most people use their mobile phone as their morning alarm. They have their phones in the bedroom with them every night. How many times do you check your phone through the night? Scrolling through Instagram at 3 am rather than getting 40 winks, is surely not the best way to spend the early hours of the morning.

Step 3: Delete social media apps – Uninstall the apps that you check most. Only check your favorite site from another device, or in a web browser. Schedule social media time that suits you, and stick to the schedule to cut down on how often you use them.

Step 4: Make your phone screen grayscale – Many phones offer the choice to have a color screen or not. Set it to grayscale. Colors can make you more likely to check apps and look at your phone. Sites purposely use blues in their design because the color communicates trust. Blue light is used to boost attention and moods. At night they can lead to lack of sleep and even bad skin. As simple as it sounds, switching your phone to black and white can stop you from using it so often!

Step 5: Designate phone-free times during the day – Start with one hour a day, at mealtime or before bed. Leave your device somewhere instead of carrying it around. Or turn it off. The more time you spend away from your device, the more likely it is that you will stop depending on it. There are simple ways around not using your phone for tasks like checking the time.

Welcome 2021

 

Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Holidays | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| December 18, 2020
Comments Off on Old Man Parker Says ….

Old Man Parker Says ….

Christmas 2020 be like ….

Parker Christmas 2020

 …  very Fra-GEE-leh

 

Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Holidays | Tags: , , , , ,
| December 15, 2020
Comments Off on 6 Things in the COVID-19 Vaccine

6 Things in the COVID-19 Vaccine

6 Things in the COVID-19 VaccineThe COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech – known by the code name BNT162b, has been in use in the UK for a week and is starting to be deployed in the US. With the regulatory approval to move forward from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration we now have the most detailed info yet on what is in the new COVIID-19 vaccine. MIT’s Technology Review looked at the ingredients in Pfizer‘s (PFE) vaccine and provided some context from scientists and biotech entrepreneurs for those of us without a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. 

Pfizer logo1- mRNA – Pfizer’s vaccine consists of actual genetic information from a virus in the form of messenger RNA, or mRNA, a type of molecule whose usual job is to transport copies of genetic instructions around a cell to guide the assembly of proteins. The authors describe mRNA as a long ticker-tape carrying instructions. It’s fairly delicate stuff, and that’s why Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be kept at around -100 °F until it’s used.

  • Nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2

The new vaccine, delivered as a shot in the arm muscle, contains an RNA sequence taken from the virus itself; it causes cells to manufacture the big “spike” protein of the COVID-19 virus, which the pathogen uses to glom onto a person’s cells and gain entry. On its own, without the rest of the virus, the spike is pretty harmless. But your body still reacts to it. This is what leaves you immunized and ready to repel the real virus if it turns up.

The mRNA in the vaccine, to be sure, isn’t quite the same as the stuff in your body. That’s good because cells defenses’ are ready to chop up RNA, especially any that doesn’t belong there. To avoid that, what’s known as “modified nucleosides” have been substituted for some of the mRNA building blocks.

But Pfizer is holding back a little according to the article. The spike gene sequence can be tweaked in small ways for better performance, by means that include swapping letters. We don’t think Pfizer has said exactly what sequence it is using, or what modified nucleosides. That means the content of the shot may not be 100% public.

2- Lipids – The Pfizer vaccine uses lipid nanoparticles to encase the RNA. The nanoparticles are, basically, tiny greasy spheres that protect the mRNA and help it slide inside cells. Pfizer says it uses the four different lipids in a “defined ratio.”

  • (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis (ALC-3015)
  • (2- hexyldecanoate),2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide (ALC-0159)
  • 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine (DPSC)
  • Cholesterol

four different lipidsThe lipid ALC-0315 is the primary ingredient in the formulation. That’s because it’s ionizable—it can be given a positive charge, and since the RNA has a negative one, they stick together. It’s also a component that can cause side effects or allergic reactions.

The other lipids, one of which is the familiar molecule cholesterol, are “helpers” that give structural integrity to the nanoparticles or stop them from clumping. During manufacturing, the RNA and the lipids are stirred into a bubbly mix to form what the FDA describes as a “white to off-white” frozen liquid.

3 – Salts – The Pfizer vaccine contains four salts, one of which is ordinary table salt. Together, these salts are better known as phosphate-buffered saline, or PBS, a very common ingredient that keeps the pH, or acidity, of the vaccine close to that of a person’s body. You’ll understand how important that is if you’ve ever squeezed lemon juice on a cut. Substances with the wrong acidity can injure cells or get quickly degraded.

sugar acting as a cryoprotectant4 – Sugar – The vaccine includes sucrose – plain old sugar. In the Vaccine, It is acting as a cryoprotectant to safeguard the nanoparticles when they’re frozen and stop them from sticking together.

5 – Saline solution – Before injection, the vaccine is mixed with water containing sodium chloride, or ordinary salt, just as many intravenously delivered drugs are. Again, the idea is that the injection should more or less match the salt content of the blood.

6 – No preservatives – Pfizer makes a point of saying its mixture of lipid nanoparticles and mRNA is “preservative-free.” That’s because a preservative that’s been used in other vaccines, thimerosal (which contains mercury and is there to kill any bacteria that might contaminate a vial), has been at the center of social media posts claiming vaccines cause autism. The US Centers for Disease Control says thimerosal is safe; despite that, its use is being phased out. There is no thimerosal—or any other preservative—in the Pfizer vaccine. No microchips, either.

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To counter social media fake news that Bill Gates put tracking microchips in the shots, or that the vaccine contains luciferase, a glowing chemical from fireflies whose name makes some people think of the devil – Pfizer has delivered a vaccine and an “official vaccine ingredient list.”


 Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Health care | Tags: , , , , , , ,
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