I am back at work after having a nice weekend off. There are three selling days remaining in October, and I am a little behind my projections. Most customers wait until the end of the month to buy a vehicle, because they believe they will receive a greater discount. This is a well versed myth, but it does cause floor traffic to increase, which is good for me! Hope you have a great day!
It is 5:40 p.m. and I am starving! I typically eat breakfast, have a light lunch around noon, and a banana and apple, later in the afternoon. Today was no different, yet I am famished. I have gone through my fridge at work; Nothing! Looked through my desk drawers; Nothing! I will never make it till close!
Do hot saleswomen make more sales? I have been thinking about this today. Yesterday I had the privilege of being visited by two reps from a warranty company we use. They were young, gorgeous, smelled good, and knew their product. Today another beautiful rep from a phone systems company came a calling (get it? “came a calling” phone rep!). She was talented, and did I mention, she was beautiful? Do these beautiful women make more sales, than; how should I say this? Their less attractive counterparts? One thing I know; they did this week!
I guess play time is over for me. It is Monday and time to go to work. I will exchange my jeans and boots, for a button down oxford and dress shoes. Oh well, It was fun while it lasted! Have a nice Monday!
I spent the day working on my to-do list, and accomplished most of the listed items. The weather was spectacular. While doing my chores, I gave a great deal of thought to changing careers, this is nothing new, as I have been considering it for some time. I wondered what it would be like to not work on Saturdays, and to get home at 5:00 during the week. I am certain the money would be less, but I am not all about money anyway. It would simply be nice to have some time to work on the many projects I would like to accomplish around the house, but find myself to exhausted to tackle with my current schedule. I am certain I will be at the grindstone tomorrow, but thinking about a different career was a nice afternoon indulgence.
Morning All! I am running a little behind schedule this morning because I actually read all of the paper, and had an extra cup of coffee. It is going to be a hot one in Springfield, Ohio and that is not a complaint. Here’s my day…
+ 2 deliveries this afternoon.
+ Get a haircut.
+ Workout.
+ Stop by Target to get a frame for my “Nice Matters” award.
Have a good day!
By MARY LORENZ, CAREERBUILDER.COM WRITER
Fashion designer Coco Chanel had a personal rule: Before she left the house, the style icon always removed one piece of her ensemble to avoid the faux-pas of wearing too many accessories. Were Chanel alive today and working as a hiring manager, she would likely offer similar advice to job seekers: You don’t have to include everything.
Job seekers do themselves a disservice when they send out resumes with more information than they need. Most employers don’t have the time or patience to sift through the irrelevant details. Here are 10 things your resume could do without:
1. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. “If you are careless enough to send out this most important document with a mistake … I immediately assume you’ll never care enough about the work you send out representing my company,” says Jose Bandujo, president of New York-based Bandujo Advertising. He recalls one candidate who misspelled Manhattan, despite having worked in the city for a decade and another whose great educational background didn’t compensate for the fact that he couldn’t spell “education.”
2. Opening objectives. “These are generic … They do nothing to differentiate one candidate from another,” says Donna Flagg, president of The Krysalis Group, a human resource and management consulting firm in New York.
3. Personal attributes. Listing personal information such as height, weight and age and providing photographs is a pet peeve for Heather Mayfield, vice president of training and operations for Snelling Staffing Services. “It is amazing that we still see this on the resumes of today, but they are out there.”
4. Interests and hobbies. If these points of information don’t pertain to the job in question, there’s no need to include them. “Create a mystery and save these kinds of data points when you start the job,” advises Roy Blitzer, author of ‘Hire Me, Inc.: Resumes and Cover Letters that Get Results.’
5. Details of every task you’ve ever performed in every job you’ve ever had. “It’s too much information. Managers and recruiters need to know at-a-glance what makes a candidate special,” Flagg says. Focus on those details that pertain to the job for which you’re applying.
6. Excessive bragging. Stating one’s accomplishments can be helpful, but when it’s overdone, the candidate can come across as narcissistic, a huge turnoff for employers, Flagg says.
7. Outdated information. Leave off the activities that you did in high school if graduation was a few years ago and omit jobs you held 10 or more years ago, as the information is probably irrelevant to the position you’re trying for now.
8. False information. “Putting that you have a B.S. on a resume when you do not have one is BS,’” jokes Stephen Viscusi, author of ‘On the Job: How to Make it in the Real World of Work.” Not only is lying on a resume unfair and dishonest, it’s also not very intelligent. “Companies verify dates of employment — often after you start. If you have lied, they fire you…Nobody wants to hire a liar. Nobody.”
9. Unexplained gaps in work history. While job seekers should account for these gaps, they should be careful with their wording. “One of the weirdest things that I ever saw on a resume … was a candidate who explained a 10-year lapse in work experience as being in jail during those years for killing her husband,” recalls Linda Goodspeed, marketing recruiting manager at VistaPrint. In such a situation, she says, the best thing to write would be “left work for personal reasons,” and the candidate would be able to explain the criminal record later.
10. A lack of professionalism. Colored paper, cutesy fonts, links to personal web sites and childish e-mail addresses all scream unprofessional and are a turn off to hiring managers. One otherwise qualified applicant didn’t get an interview at Bandujo’s firm solely because of the name in her email address: “weird2themax.” “I recognize the advertising industry is full of talented, interesting ‘characters’,” Bandujo says, “but did I really want one who thought she was weird to the max?” No, he decided, he did not.
Good Wednesday morning to everyone! I try not to think of work when I am home, but this morning I woke up thinking of a very messy problem I am going to have to deal with at work. It made me nauseous. It is one of those situations you wish would go away on their own, but they never do. So here’s the plan for this morning…
Cut back on the caffeine (I don’t need it today).
Have a good work out (Clear my head).
Put on my favorite clothing (helps with my frame of mind).
Handle my business!
Recently I have been thinking about some of the people I have worked with in the car business, over the past six years. It has been an interesting lot to say the least. These description are not exagerated. Here’s a sample…
1. A Gambler: This woman got a paycheck for $10,000 on Friday, on Monday, I had to loan her a $20 for gas.
2. A nose picker: This guy would put his finger in his nose up to the knuckle, while holding a conversation with you.
3. A farter: This guy had gas so bad we had to call in a company to install professional air freshners.
4. A Spitter: He would chew tobacco and spit it in a clear cup while talking with customers.
5. The sex kitten: This chick asked if she could use my cell phone, she put it vibrate mode and placed it in her lap. That is all I will say about this one.
6. The short tie guy: A nice guy but his tie fell about 5 inches above his belt buckle.
7. The nose hair guy: This guy would use a battery powered nose trimmer every morning, clip his toenails at his desk, then ask if you wanted to use his clippers.
8. The nail the bosses wife guy: This guy was screwing the boss’s wife, everyone knew it but the boss.
9. The bitch: She had worked there for years and thought she was entitled to everything. She had nothing good to say about anyone especially me.
10. The chain smoker guy: I don’t remember seeing him without a cigarette. He died of cancer recently.
They were all characters but I miss of them.
The month ended with a flurry! I fell just 2 cars shy of my best month in the car business. To celebrate, I will take tomorrow off, play golf, work in the yard, and later in the evening ride to Jackass flats for some music, motorcycles, cigars, and a little relaxation! Anyone want to join me?
This has been a rough year for the car biz. I have never really enjoyed this business, but it has been good to me in several respects…
1. Provided me a good income.
2. Met several quality people.
3. Offered me an opportunity to learn.
Yet, over the past few months I have grown increasingly weary of selling cars. I realize that no matter what your occupation, at some point, we all grow frustrated with the politics, responsibilities, etc. But this is different! I am not simply frustrated, this is not something a vacation will fix. I am ready for a change!
So I will put it in your hands; What should my next career be?
