Don't sell yourself short

This evening I was discussing, with a law student from China, her resume. In a paragraph regarding one of her previous jobs, as a judicial intern, she wrote about her responsibilities of cataloging files, conducting research and observing trials. When I saw her this evening, I asked her for more details about that job. Well, it turned out that she was one of several interns from her law program, at her university, in that courthouse. Not only that, but she actually was the supervisor of these other interns. Even better: she was the liaison between the court and the university, meaning that she reported to one of the deans of her university regarding this intern program. None of this information appeared on her resume. I made clear to her the importance of including this information, because it shows leadership and responsibility--traits that a prospective employer wants to see.

When you are preparing a resume or preparing to attend a job interview, don't sell yourself short. Go through what you are doing and what you have done. Don't just list tasks and responsibilities. List your accomplishments as well. How can you show responsibility and leadership? How can you show that you added value to the place where you worked? Take the time to think these things through, because they will only help you later.

Anticipating the trouble spots

I just got back from AAA, having successfully obtained a license plate and registration for one of our cars. During my four month stay in China, that car was never to be driven. Therefore, I removed liability insurance from that car, and (in compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regulations) surrendered the old plate prior to my leaving for China.

Now that I have returned, I wanted to get a new plate and registration so I could drive the car. I went to AAA, and eventually was able to accomplish that task. However, it took longer than it needed to, because the AAA staff had trouble figuring out which computer screens and commands to use.

Looking back, I should have anticipated this problem, and prepared for it. Prior to leaving for AAA, I actually had called PennDOT to ask about what documents I needed. When I had them on the phone, I should have asked them, "Is there anything AAA should know when processing my request?" There's no guarantee of course, but maybe PennDOT could have told me to tell AAA to use a particular screen or command.

I know the customer shouldn't have to do the job of the service provider, but sometimes it's necessary if you want the job done right and done quickly.

Continental boarding pass--why make us guess?

I left Beijing on December 31, 2008, on Continental flight 88, nonstop to Newark Liberty. Great flight, but the information could have been clearer. All the boarding pass and reservation said was that my flight was leaving Beijing Capital Airport at 5 pm. Well, I got to the airport, went into Terminal 3, looked for Continental and didn't see them. I went to an information desk and guess what? I should have gone to Terminal 2 instead.

Fortunately, I had gotten to Terminal 3 at 2:15 pm, so I still had time to take the shuttle bus to Terminal 2. I checked in and boarded the flight.

Why couldn't the boarding pass simply have told me to go to Terminal 2 rather than 3? I realize that the gate assignment might not have been final. However, with an airport like Capital or JFK, where your terminal DOES matter (unlike, for example, Atlanta), knowing the terminal can save time and aggravation.