Without a doubt, the most important part of any job application is the résumé. Along with a cover letter, it is the first impression a prospective employee makes on a potential employer. Therefore, it is important that a résumé provide as much relevant information as possible while remaining 'brief. A résumé should be no more than one full side of a sheet of paper. All too many candidates make the mistake of submitting several pages which, more often than not, don't even get a second glance. A résumé must be neatly printed, with at least three-quarter inch margins on all four sides. Use underlining, capital letters and asterisks to highlight important information. A resume should be single-spaced with an extra line between blocks of information.

Begin a résumé with your name, address, and contact information (e.g., telephone or fax, numbers, email address). Do not include age, marital status, or other personal facts. Next, many resumes state the position sought or career goal. Then comes perhaps the most important part: a chronological outline of work experience-starting with the most recent job and working backwards-including for each position a brief description of relevant duties and skills used or acquired. Finally, include an outline of your educational background from the most recent backwards. Make sure to list dates of completion, full names and locations (if not common knowledge) of schools, and diplomas or certificates awarded.

Fax

To: Peter Cooke, Headly Electronics

From: Darren Simpson, Customs and Excise Bureau

Re: Shipment

Date: April 2nd

A shipment of 48 refrigerators has now been cleared for collection by the Dover Port Authority Customs and Excise Bureau. This shipment arrived on March 27 ^th. An import tariff of £13 is payable on each item in the shipment. At £13 x 48 that comes to a total of £634. This is payable before the shipment will be released for collection. Payment should be made to Westman Bank, account #223003, account holder: Custom and Excise. Please fax us once payment has been made.

Sustainability Magazine

Volume 10, No. 6

June 2009

Manufacturers Going Green

By Leo Durham

An increasing number of manufacturing companies around the country are going green, which they hope will put more green into their cash registers.

The Manufacturers Extension Partnership (MEP) works with a variety of state and regional industry associations and economic development groups to teach companies "lean" manufacturing techniques.

This not-for-profit organization, administered by the Department of Commerce, demonstrates how to reduce waste, or "fat," in the manufacturing process. This includes things such as cutting energy use, incorporating more efficient production techniques, and finding cheaper methods of packaging and shipping goods.

The result is better not only for the environment, but also for company profits. Last year, MEP helped more than 1,000 firms save about $1.4 billion and increase their sales by $10.5 billion. These actions led to the creation of nearly 57,000 new jobs.

"It was tremendous for us," said Mark McCartney, general manager of the Clear Water bottled water company. "MEP showed us how to cut our energy production in half, which led to a 3-percent increase in sales, and a 100-percent increase in production capacity."

McCartney has been quick to spread the wealth. Last year, a bottle of Clear Water retailed for $1.50. Now, MEP training has enabled the company to slash the price to $1.20.

Dear editor:

I enjoyed the article on MEP in the June issue of Sustainability Magazine. When manufacturers pass savings onto customers, everybody wins.

Overall, the writer did a fine job. However, there is one mistake in the article I would like to point out.

After our company finished training with MEP, sales jumped 30 percent, and our production capacity increased by 10 percent.

I would encourage every manufacturer to consider partnering with MEP. There's always some fat that can be trimmed from the production process.

William Lyons

CEO, Clear Water Bottling

Biz Weekly

July 15th, 2011

Diabetics Need Exercise

By Pat Warbrouck

For Chris Carter, exercising is as simple as a lunchtime walk. Carter, a software developer, knows it's vital to find ways to do so during work days that require sitting for long stretches of time. His life literally depends on it. "Exercise is like the one trump card I have," Carter said. "I realize that I have a lot of control over my condition." His condition, Type 1 diabetes, robs his body of the ability to produce insulin -- a hormone needed to convert glucose (blood sugar), starches and other food into the necessary energy for daily life. This puts him at risk for a host of serious complications that includes heart disease, blindness, and nerve and kidney damage.

Though Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, it can be controlled through a regimen of monitoring, diet and exercise. Carter keeps careful track of his glucose level, takes daily insulin shots, and keeps juice and energy bars close at hand. Most importantly, he said, he takes care to get enough exercise. Carter will stroll outside during lunch breaks, or hike up and down the stairs of the company parking garage.

It's a good example of the types of activity busy diabetics should be doing, said Dr. Arnold Asher, director of the Diabetes Health Center at Michigan Health and Science University (MHSU). Physical activity helps control blood sugar in three ways, according to Dr. Asher.

First, it burns glucose, ensuring energy is delivered to the body and that glucose does not build up in the blood. Second, it increases bodily sensitivity to insulin. As fitness increases, the body needs less insulin to move glucose into cells.

Finally, exercise helps reduce weight. For overweight patients, losing about 7 percent of body fat will lower blood sugar.

Sound off

Editor: Thank you for running the article on Chris Carter in last week's issue. As a diabetic myself, it renewed my determination to make sure I get up from my desk and exercise a few minutes every day.

I also hope your story will open the eyes of supervisors, and remind them of the importance of exercise -- not only for employees who have diabetes, but also everyone else in their office. When you're sitting at a computer all day, it's sometimes hard to tear yourself away from the screen and move around.

I would love to see more companies encouraging employee exercise by giving them free gym classes, taking group stretching or walking breaks, and subsidizing those who walk or bike to work.

Robert Fuda

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Hays Marketing, Inc. Merging with Marketing Experts, Inc.

Hays Marketing, Inc. announced last week that its expertise in marketing data processing will be merged with marketing publications created by Marketing Experts, Inc. The two companies are among the most prosperous marketing research firms nationwide.

Dr. Ethan McCaskey, vice president of Hays Marketing, states that the two firms will function independently but will be able to offer marketing professionals useful research data and practical training. He also adds that the merger will enable them to take advantage of the best employees from both companies.

For the last few years, the two research firms have been separately devising innovative methods to enhance their services. Now that they share the same objective - to discover what works in marketing - they are hoping better to serve their clientele with the merger.

Saving Time When Computing

Here is the second installment in our monthly "Computing for Business Users" guides.

A common complaint among computer users is the amount of time they spend waiting for their laptop to start up and perform its tasks. Here are some handy tips on how to eliminate some of that waiting time. Don't shut your laptop all the way off between meetings; just put it in the low-battery consumption "Standby" mode. Shutting it down and waiting for it to reboot at the next meeting wastes valuable time. This way you are ready to start as soon as you arrive.

Having too many programs in your computer's Start Up folder really slows things down. The solution? Eliminate all unnecessary programs.

Stop too many programs from running at the same time when you start up the computer. Don't know how? It's easy if you follow these instructions: click the Start menu, choose Run, then type "msconfig" to launch the System Configuration Utility. Next, on the "General" tab, click "Selective Startup." Then go to the "Startup" tab and uncheck any startup items that aren't necessary. These are small but simple changes that you can make for yourself to save precious time. Next issue we'll be looking at extending your battery life.