How to recover from a mistake on the job

(CNN) -- When James Theodorou reflects on mistakes from past jobs, he cringes to think about the role he played in printing 4 million copies of a well-known U.S. magazine with the wrong date on the cover.

It was the early 1980s and Theodorou was working as an offset stripper, who performs platemaking and stripping for presses. He said he could only wait in horror as his little mistake was distributed across the country.

The memory is burned into his brain. It resurfaced earlier this month when he learned of the nurse in the United Kingdom who put through a prank call from two Australian DJs to the ward where Prince William's wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was being treated for acute morning sickness.

Who was nurse Jacintha Saldanha?

While the circumstances of the nurse's death remain unclear, the incident prompted Theodorou and many other CNN.com readers to share stories of dealing with stressful situations on the job, making mistakes and moving on.

Mistakes are an opportunity to see how you can do something differently, said commenter RealityChk101, a software engineer from North Dakota who has had "code blow up in my face several times, sometimes with disastrous results," he said.

"In almost every case I have had to take the action of documenting every little thing that went wrong, why it went wrong and how this was never going to happen again."

The commenter, who asked not to have his real name used, said he once was mortified to find that he had somehow stripped last names from everyone in a database. His co-workers made up a song about him, to the tune of "Candy Man," asking "Who can take the last name, and throw it all away?"

After his initial panicked reaction, he calmed down and came up with ways to rectify the situation.

"I spent two days calling those 500 people, getting their last names," he said. "Management figured that was punishment enough."

The commenter said his situation pales in comparison to the stress nurses and hospital workers deal with daily, where lives are at stake.

"Hospitals are by their nature a stressful place: you have births, sickness and death, all under one roof," he said. "Caregivers are bombarded by every type of emotion on a daily basis."

The incident caused him to fear that he would lose his job. But talking to co-workers proved to be helpful, he said.

"In most of those cases, my co-workers were supportive, and when I needed more support, I just unloaded emotionally on my wife of 33 years."

Seeking support from others can be helpful, especially in cases where you think you might be in danger of losing your job, said Christine Porath, associate professor of management at Georgetown University. They may help you see things differently.

Porath said people of all occupations often place their self worth in their jobs because they see them as much more than a task.

"Their heart and soul is in their job, so their identity is wrapped in it, which is great, but when your job is threatened or you make a mistake, that makes it all the more harder."

It helps to get a bit of perspective on the situation by disengaging and "stepping away from the workplace to focus on everything else that you have," she said.

"I think it makes the support aspect all the more important. You really need to focus on other parts of your life."

Employers also benefit from keeping their employees happy, said Porath, who researches the effects of incivility in the workplace. Most people are focused on the outward display of anger and far less aware of the devastating effects of being afraid or sad about one's status in the organization, she said.

These latter two emotions are the ones that are more likely to cause people to leave their jobs, she said.

Since his first public gaffe, Theodorou said he has learned to handle workplace stress by maintaining an emotional detachment from the task at hand while making decisions.

"By using logic, and following the (standard operating procedures), everything is no longer personal, just business. Even errors. I then go home and engage my hobbies."

Theodorou had no choice but to try to do better on the next issue of the magazine. He slowed down and went over his work again carefully. He made a checklist and had another technician perform a quality control inspection before starting the four-hour process of printing the covers.

"It only added about 15 minutes to the job, but they were a well-spent 15 minutes," he said.

Corporate recruiter Steven Raz said the recession can increase people's concerns about doing well at work.

He advised that if you do make a mistake, you should have a plan to correct it. If the mistake is big, get help.

"It's always recommended that if something happens like that, and it's too big to handle, that's when you should bring in your boss," Raz said.

Some people may be tempted to say nothing, but that can be dangerous, he added.

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to worry about what truth you've told," Raz said.

What do you think? Have you ever made a big mistake at work or encountered a stressful situation? How did you get through it?

Share your views in the comments area below or post video commentary on CNN iReport.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/17/living/recovering-from-mistakes/index.html

Five career-changing mistakes

The state of today's business world is fast-paced, constantly evolving and undeniably competitive. Having a successful career, regardless of what position you are in, is highly dependent upon several factors, including knowledge, confidence and finesse. Many people decide to change careers midstream for a variety of reasons, including wanting to try a new line of business, learning new skills or to make their resumes appear more marketable to hiring managers. Changing work paths can revitalize your career, increase your earning potential and help you secure the dream job you've been chasing. If not done carefully, however, a drastic job change can sabotage your career. While the jury is still out on the perfect way to change careers, there are plenty of career-changing don'ts and career changes that you simply do not want to make. Here is a look at five career-changing mistakes that professionals should avoid at all costs.

Unclear or indecisive career planning
One mistake that can significantly limit your career potential is not having a long-term goal. If you are switching career tracks frequently, or have no real direction in your career, you are not likely to get very far in your profession. Build upon the experience and education you already have, and opt for a career move in which you can apply your previous knowledge. Career goals, whether long- or short-term, act as a road map. Without clearly-defined goals, your career does not have much definition or depth. There are plenty of skills that are diverse and can easily be applied to a plethora of different careers. Make sure you have at least a general goal in mind before making any major changes. There are many organizations that can help if you don't have any idea what career path you want to take.

Changing paths without doing your homework
Another mistake that can cost you big in the long run is changing career paths without doing any homework or research. While the position may sound interesting and lucrative, it is vastly important to fully research where it can take you and what training or experience you need to succeed in this field. Prior to changing career paths, make sure this is the route you truly want to take and that any assumptions you may have about the new career path are actually true. By fully researching the limitations and potential of different career paths you will also be helping to ensure that your career is not negatively impacted by a rash or ill-conceived decision.

Making a career change out of desperation
Take a poll and ask your friends and colleagues if they are truly happy with their current positions and the state of their careers. Chances are that you are going to receive some feedback about just how unhappy they are in their professions. While it may seem desirable to escape a dead-end job that you are miserable in, it is not advisable to escape your profession completely based on that fact. Career changes tend to work best when you are at the top of your game in one profession and want to make a change to further your earning potential or knowledge base. Changing careers just to escape an employer you do not enjoy working for is probably not a good idea, because the chances are you will make a rash decision out of desperation.

Following the money
A major reason for anyone to have a career is to earn money to support his or her lifestyle and loved ones. Although money is the main reason most people work, it should not always be the deciding factor when changing careers. While the salary may exceed your expectations, it is important to research whether or not this career will take you to where you want to be. Changing careers based upon money alone may be a decision you later regret if you do not do the necessary research to justify the career switch. Make sure your new career path is something you're passionate about. Many successful people found success by following their passions, and they did this by aligning their work with their preferences. You will want to ensure that the type of work you will be doing and the amount of work you will have to put in will be worth the pay increase.

Taking an entry-level job in a new field
You've spent years bulking up your resume and gaining important skills and knowledge to perform your job well. When making a career change, you want to make sure you can apply past skills and knowledge in your new job. While you may be desperate to make a change in your career, it is vital that you do not sell yourself short. Never opt for anything less than a lateral move. A lateral career move will allow you to maintain your salary and expertise level, while learning a new trade.

The bottom line
While there is no surefire recipe for success in the business world, there are plenty of pitfalls that professionals can fall into when changing careers. It is vital to consider each career move with care. Not only will your experience go on your resume at some point, but your work history is the backbone which your entire career is based off of. Smart business moves that build on your strengths, knowledge base, experience and personality make for a strong career, while poorly thought out career moves can sabotage all that you have worked so hard to achieve.

 http://www.nbcnews.com/business/5-career-changing-mistakes-1C7574788  

Avoid These 10 Resume Mistakes

As a resume writer, I see hundreds of resumes, and the vast majority of them are much weaker than they could be. I see the same mistakes over and over. This article describes the 10 I see most often. All are easy to fix.
Don't make these resume mistakes:
1. Resume lacks focus.
A sharp focus is an extremely important resume element. Given that employers screen resumes for between 2.5 and 20 seconds, a resume should show the employer at a glance what you want to do and what you're good at. In a recent study by Career Masters Institute, employers wanted resumes to show a clear match between the applicant and a particular job's requirements. A "general" resume that is not focused on a specific job's requirements was seen as not competitive. In an even more recent study by CareerBuilder.com, 71 percent of hiring managers preferred a resume customized for the open position.
One way to sharpen your focus is through an objective statement. Your objective statement can be very simple and straightforward; it can be simply the title of the position you're applying for, which can be adjusted for every job you apply for. Or you can embellish your Objective statement a bit with language telling how you'll benefit the employer. Something like:

Objective: To contribute strong ________ skills and experience to your organization in a _________ capacity.

In this day of being able to manage our own computer files, you could have several versions of your resume that are essentially the same except for the objective. A specific objective is always better than a vague or general one. You can read more about resume objectives in our article,Should You Use a Career Objective on Your Resume?

To sharpen your focus, you can also add a section called something like "Summary of Qualifications," "Profile," or the like. Such a section can contribute to powerful resume opener that draws the reader in; it can be part of the top third of your resume that showcases your best selling points, catches the prospective employer's attention, and immediately demonstrates your value as a candidate. "Think of this section as an executive summary of your resume," writes my partner, Dr. Randall Hansen. "Identify key accomplishments that will grab the attention of an employer."
You can use your Profile/Summary section to position yourself for each job you target by tweaking the wording to fit each type of position.
2. Resume is duties-driven instead of accomplishments-driven.
Resumes should consist primarily of high-impact accomplishments statements that sell the job-seeker's qualifications as the best candidate.
Never use expressions such as "Duties included," "Responsibilities included," or "Responsible for." That's job-description language, not accomplishments-oriented resume language that sells. After all, if you were an employer and wanted to run a successful organization, would you be looking for candidates who can perform only their basic job functions, or would you want employees with a proven track record of accomplishments? In these days in which most resumes are placed into keyword-searchable databases, you won't find employers searching resumes for words like "responsibilities," "duties," or "responsible for."
Instead, focus on accomplishments that set you apart from other job candidates. In each job, what special things did you do to set yourself apart? How did you do the job better than anyone else? What did you do to make it your own? What special things did you do to impress your boss so that you might be promoted? What were the problems or challenges that you or the organization faced? What did you do to overcome the problems? What were the results of your efforts? How did the company benefit from your performance? How did you leave your employers better off than before you worked for them? How have you helped your employers to:

• make money
• save money
• save time
• make work easier
• solve a specific problem
• be more competitive
• build relationships
• expand the business
• attract new customers
• retain existing customers

Accomplishments are the points that increase reader's interest, stimulate a request for a job interview, and really help sell you to an employer -- much more so than everyday job duties. In the above-cited study byCareer Masters Institute, content elements that propel employers to immediately discard resumes include a focus on duties instead of accomplishments, while documented achievements were highly ranked among content elements that employers look for.
For more about how to identify your accomplishments, see our article,For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments. You may want to use our Accomplishments Worksheet to help you brainstorm your achievements.
Some job-seekers list accomplishments in a separate section or isolate accomplishments from duties/responsibilities when describing their job functions. I don't support this practice because everything on your resume should be accomplishments-driven. If you label only certain items as accomplishments, the reader's assumption is that the other things you did were not accomplishments.
Be sure also that the accomplishments you list support your career goals and that you tailor them to the job you're targeting with this resume.
3. Resume items are listed in an order that doesn't consider the reader's interest. 
"The Resume Ingredients Rule," set forth by Donald Asher, author of numerous resume books (see our Q&A with him), says that information on a resume should be listed in order of importance to the reader. Therefore, in listing your jobs, what's generally most important is your title/position. So list in this preferred order: Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment. I can't tell you how many resumes I've seen that list dates first. Dates can be important to some employers, but they're generally not as important as what your position was and whom you worked for.
Education follows the same principle; thus, the preferred order for listing your education is: Name of degree (spelled out: Bachelor of _____) in name of major, name of university, city/state of university, graduation year, followed by peripheral information, such as minor and GPA. If you haven't graduated yet, list your information the same way. Since the graduation date you've listed is in the future, the employer will know you don't have the degree yet.
By the way, the Resume Ingredients Rule is also the reason that experience and education are listed in reverse chronological order on your resume; it's assumed that your most recent education and experience are most important and relevant to the reader.
Also consider whether your education or your experience is your best selling point and which should therefore be listed first. Generally, brand-new graduates list education first, while job-seekers with a few years of experience list experience first. When job-seekers add value to their education by attaining an MBA or other graduate degree, they often switch education back to the more prominent position because it now becomes the hot selling point. In fields such as science and higher education, in which education remains a more important selling point than experience, education tends to be listed first consistently. In many countries outside the U.S., education is also considered more important than experience.
4. Resume exposes the job-seeker to age discrimination by going too far back into the job-seeker's job history.
The rule of thumb for someone at the senior level is to list about 15 years worth of jobs. Age discrimination, unfortunately, is a reality, and even more likely, employers may think you're too expensive if you list too much experience on your resume. Similarly, don't provide the date of your college graduation if it was more than about 10 years ago. Read more in our articles, Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview Strategies for Older Workers and Positive Attitude is Key When Fighting Prejudice Against Older Workers.
5. Resume buries important skills, especially computer skills, at the bottom.
There are few jobs today for which computer skills are not important. Yet many job-seekers, even those in technology fields, tend to tack a "Computer Skills" section to the end of their resumes. If computer skills are relevant to your field, list them in your Summary or Profile section. That way, they'll catch the reader's eye in the first third of your resume. If you are in the technology field, list your technical skills in a separate section called something like "Systems Proficiencies," but be sure it's on the first page of your resume. You may want to set your skills up in a reader-friendly table, as in these samples: IT Resume and New Grad IT Resume.
Similarly if language and international-business skills are important in the type of job you seek, list them in your Summary or Profile section, not at the end of your resume.
6. Resume is not bulleted.
Use a bulleted style to make your resume more reader-friendly. In the above-cited study by Career Masters Institute, use of bullets was the 2nd-highest ranked preference by employers, and density of type (paragraphs rather than bullet points) was ranked highly as a factor that would inspire employers to discard a resume.
Use bullets consistently. Some job-seekers bullet most of their resume but don't bullet the Profile/Summary section, for example. Or they will list the overall scope and responsibilities for each job in an unbulleted section before beginning a bulleted section describing accomplishments. Given that the reader can't easily discern a rationale for why some material is bulleted and other material isn't, it's best to bullet consistently throughout the resume.
7. Resume uses a cookie-cutter design based on an overused resume template.
Most resumes created from a Microsoft Word template are instantly recognizable to employers as such. There's nothing wrong with that except that employers have seen a million of them, so they don't stand out. The employer immediately senses a certain lack of imagination in the job-seeker. These templates are also somewhat inflexible and contain problematic formatting. "Using a template or any kind of boilerplate to demonstrate your value to a company is the worst thing you can do to yourself when job hunting," says Nick Corcodilos of Ask The Headhunter. "You're supposed to be uniquely qualified so the company will choose you instead of some cookie-cutter drone -- right? Do you really want a template?"
8. Resume lacks keywords.
Job-hunting today increasingly revolves around the mysterious world of keywords. Employers' reliance on keywords to find the job candidates they want to interview has come about in recent years because of technology. Inundated by resumes from job-seekers, employers have increasingly relied on digitizing job-seeker resumes, placing those resumes in keyword-searchable databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords that relate to job vacancies. Most Fortune 1000 companies, in fact, and many smaller companies now use these technologies. In addition, many employers search the databases of third-party job-posting and resume-posting boards on the Internet. Pat Kendall, president of the National Resume Writers' Association, notes that more than 80 percent of resumes are searched for job-specific keywords.
The bottom line is that if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your resume doesn't have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much dead in the water. To read more about keywords and how to identify the best ones for your field, see our article, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume's Effectiveness.
9. References are listed directly on your resume.
Never list specific references directly on your resume. List them on a separate sheet, and even then, submit them only when specifically requested by an employer.
Even the phrase, "References: Available upon request," is highly optional because it is a given that you will provide references upon request. If you couldn't, you would have no business looking for a job. The line can serve the purpose of signaling: "This is the end of my resume," but if you are trying to conserve space, leave it off.
10. Resume's appearance becomes skewed when sent as an e-mail attachment and/or resume is not available in other electronic formats.
Have you ever noticed that when you send a resume (or any document) as an attachment from your computer to someone else's computer, it sometimes doesn't look the same on the other person's computer as it did on yours? Maybe it has more pages on the other computer, or maybe Page 2 starts at the bottom of Page 1, or maybe the fonts are different.
If you are regularly sending your resume as an e-mail attachment, you may want to experiment with sending it to friends' computers to ensure that the formatting appears consistently from computer to computer.
Beyond a resume that can be sent as an e-mail attachment, it's crucial these days to have at least one type of electronic version of your resume for sending via e-mail and posting to Internet job boards. It's an absolute must these days because, as noted earlier, 80 percent of resumes today are placed directly into keyword-searchable databases. Read more in our article, The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online. A text version of your resume is the most common and preferred format for electronic resumes. Read more about them and about other electronic formats you might need in our article,Your E-resume's File Format Aligns with its Delivery Method.

by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_mistakes.html

5 Biggest Job-Applicant Mistakes

Interviewing for a job can be a stressful experience. The applicant wants to make the best impression but often isn't sure exactly what to do.

DiversityInc interviewed recruiting experts from companies ranked among The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list to hear what mistakes are made and how to best ensure a successful interview process.

Here are the five biggest mistakes job applicants make and how not to commit them:

No. 1: Not researching the company before the interview

Researching the company's web site, its statements on diversity management, benefits and the requirements of the job for which you are applying are all advisable. But Joseph Hammill, manager of talent acquisition for corporate human resources at Xerox Corp., No. 35 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, adds that applicants should be more comprehensive in their research. Network with people already working at the company; call professional organizations the company is associated with, and ask any fellow college alumni who work at the company about their experience.

Thorough research will reveal what positions are available but moreover what type of employee the company wants, says Steve Bean, associate director forNorth America talent supply and human resources at Procter & Gamble, No. 11 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list.

"People need to understand the differences from company to company and be ready to address how they best fit the bill for a particular company," says Bean.

"Not knowing reveals itself in the interview process," says Tony Jenkins, market president for Central Florida and vice president of cultural competence and diversity for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, No. 32 on the Top 50 list. "Sometimes [the interviewer] asks questions around how [the applicant] would approach a problem and their answers do not relate to the company's business. You want to hear answers that relate to the company's business."

No. 2: Inability to articulate needs and desires

"Too many people don't spend time upfront understanding what they bring to the party and they might undersell their particular skills," says Bean. "People need to take time to say, 'Here's what's important to me by rank order.' That can be geography, level of pay, benefits, work/life balance, the type of work you get to do, or even what does the daily grind look like."

Companies are hiring because they either need to solve problems or have opportunities that require more employees, which is why the best applicants are those who can articulate how their experience is best for the particular position, says Hammill.

Michelle Kuranty, retail, financial-services staffing manager for Chase, agrees.

"Knowing what you want to do and applying for it is important because we see people ... apply to every job, and when they're called they don't know what job they applied for," says Kuranty. "That's not professional." Chase is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, No. 15 on the Top 50.

"And many people say they did something on their résumé but then can't remember in the interview," adds Dan Tiernan, manager of national recruiting for Verizon, No. 12 on the Top 50.

"Interviewers ask open-ended questions to bring out an applicant's experiences or skill sets that apply directly to the job so you should be generally accurate to represent what's on your résumé," says Tiernan.

No. 3: Being unprofessional in the interview

Of course, be early to all interviews and don't bring food unless asked to do so. At Verizon, one of Tiernan's recruiters told him about an applicant who walked into the interview with a sandwich in hand. Upon reaching the recruiter's office, the applicant placed the sandwich on top of the recruiter's desk. When the recruiter asked the applicant what he planned to do with the sandwich, the applicant said he planned to eat the sandwich and asked if that would be a problem. Think he got the job?

Tiernan says that applicants often commit faux pas that can be excused among friends but that make them less desirable to recruiters. During summer months, people on the East Coast may have hay fever. Tiernan has seen incidents where an applicant dealing with hay fever or other allergies sneezed into their right hand and then put it out for a handshake.

"And it's hard not to screen a person out when you hear about their personal medical history and/or their family's medical history or their date from last night," says Tiernan. "Don't share personal information that's not germane to the job."

Another unprofessional faux pas is to speak ill of a current boss. Applicants do not persuade a recruiter to hire them when they complain that a boss micromanaged. It makes the recruiter think the micromanaging was needed.

No. 4: Demonstrating poor communication skills

"It's about being able to talk with confidence and expertise about who you are and why you're the best fit," says Kuranty. "That's communication skills."

Practice the basics of communication before going to the interview, listening and responding and not talking over the other person. Too many applicants over-talk and don't listen to the questions being asked of them.

"I've had people come in to an interview and all they want to do is talk and not listen at all," says Jenkins. "Within the first 10 to 15 minutes I've made up my mind ... At the start, I'm looking at body language and speaking style."

Hammill agrees that part of having a good interview is listening.

"You have to tell but you certainly don't want to blab on forever and miss a point," says Hammill. "The more you can get an interviewer to do some telling is a good sign."

But don't be dull or fear showing enthusiasm. Companies seek enthusiastic, focused, passionate recruits, says Jenkins.

"I can't put someone in front of customers who is lackadaisical or who has no passion," says Jenkins. "In today's competitive world, the person has to be passionate about the product and business and enthusiastic and show that."

No. 5: Not keeping the personal to yourself

With the proliferation of MySpace and other social-network web sites, people often think it harmless to include their social-network identification in their résumés or in an interview. But it is not harmless - too often what is posted on those sites does not demonstrate corporate professionalism.

"Don't dare put your social-network identification on your résumé or mention it in the interview," says Tiernan. "Some of them are a little bit over the edge as to what we want to know about the person."

Kuranty adds that applicants should make sure their voicemails reflect a professional attitude as well. When searching for a job, keep the outgoing message simple, such as who they've reached and that you'll return the call soon.

An applicant's e-mail address should also reflect a professional attitude. E-mail addresses often describe people's personal attributes. The e-mail addresses given to recruiters should simply state the professional name of the applicant.

Job interviewing can be a stressful experience. But if an applicant conducts the proper research into the company, his or her own experience and desires, and a professional demeanor, the chances of being hired are greatly increased.

http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article