I have a terrible habit of losing my cell phone in the strangest or sometimes obvious places.
Once last year, I lost it while riding in 50 acres of waist high grass, and since it was on vibrate, I had no way of finding it until the alarm went off at 6:30 the next morning. I waited out in the field, hoping I would hear that alarm go off. Luckily my plan worked.
Later that year, around October, I lost my cell phone again. No clue where it was, but I had looked everywhere and assumed it was gone on the trail somewhere. It wasn't a big deal as my work provides me with a blackberry, so my personal phone was more of an emergency phone. I just waited the 5 months until I was due for a new phone.
Then on Monday, I went to the BlueJays game with Joe and Lee. At least 3 times, I rummaged through my purse in a panic thinking I had lost my phone. I literally would empty everything out of my purse in search of it. Every time, it turned out to be in my coat pocket. How embarrassing.
Well this morning I decided to snoop through my closet for a different jacket to wear and put on something suitable. But wait, why is the pocket heavy? Yes... there is the phone I lost in October.... in the pocket of a jacket. Figures.
Anyone want to buy a Bell phone?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Scary Barn Creatures
With the cold wind last night, we decided it would be best to ride indoors. Its been a long time since we have been in the indoor, so it was not without challenges in the form of imaginary horse eating monsters.
Funny start to it, as I was grooming him, we had the music playing. I took a lot of the songs off youtube for the CD I currently have at the barn, and I guess in one of the videos, the first 30 seconds is a walk in the woods? This being sounds of footsteps and birds chirping. It was very convincing because as soon as Bentley heard the footsteps, he became very concerned about how he couldn't see the person walking towards him. Eyes popped out of his head and he moved as far away as the crossties would let him. He had the funniest expression on his face, priceless!
I put the bit on him for the 3rd time, it was difficult again, but it didn't take quite as long as the first time (2nd time must have been a fluke). When we rode however, he was shaking his head a LOT. After about 15 minutes of this, I tried trotting around on the buckle, and all the fussing magically stopped. In fact he was brilliant. I suspect he must be sore in the mouth from the first 2 times, most likely because he has not gotten his teeth done yet. We switched to the bitless bridle, our first time bridling him without the security of the narrow barn aisles (we did it in the arena). I guess its something he has to get used to anyway.
For a while, he was really frustrating to work with in the bitless... trying to run as much as possible and wouldn't stay straight along the one side. I had Lee clear out all the poles and pylons that were in the centre of the ring and started to do circles, figure 8s and serpentines, and voila, magically I had a different horse underneath me. I need to give him things to do, I think he was just bored of the track and frustrated because of our bit experience at the start. In fact, once I really put him to work, he performed the best he ever had in the bitless.
Woah... tangent time. A strange noise from above, i was thinking the air conditioning got turned on or something. I look outside and we got 60 seconds of small but intense hail. While the sun was still shining and no clouds were to be seen. Hm I guess the clouds are on the side of my office without windows. Very weird sight!
Back to my main post. About 15 minutes before I planned on stopping our ride. Someone came and dumped a bucket of water in one corner of the arena. I didn't mind as it was really dusty (hence why it was a short ride, we both were coughing and Lee couldn't see out of his glasses). Bentley sure minded however, he spooked severely at the different colour ground and wouldn't go anywhere near the corner. I spent that last 15 minutes trying to get him near the wet dirt. Eventually we got through it both ways, but not before several of the girls had to pass through the arena and had a good laugh at his antics. Ok those ghostly footsteps are scary, but wet dirt? Come on! Too funny and cute.
Funny start to it, as I was grooming him, we had the music playing. I took a lot of the songs off youtube for the CD I currently have at the barn, and I guess in one of the videos, the first 30 seconds is a walk in the woods? This being sounds of footsteps and birds chirping. It was very convincing because as soon as Bentley heard the footsteps, he became very concerned about how he couldn't see the person walking towards him. Eyes popped out of his head and he moved as far away as the crossties would let him. He had the funniest expression on his face, priceless!
I put the bit on him for the 3rd time, it was difficult again, but it didn't take quite as long as the first time (2nd time must have been a fluke). When we rode however, he was shaking his head a LOT. After about 15 minutes of this, I tried trotting around on the buckle, and all the fussing magically stopped. In fact he was brilliant. I suspect he must be sore in the mouth from the first 2 times, most likely because he has not gotten his teeth done yet. We switched to the bitless bridle, our first time bridling him without the security of the narrow barn aisles (we did it in the arena). I guess its something he has to get used to anyway.
For a while, he was really frustrating to work with in the bitless... trying to run as much as possible and wouldn't stay straight along the one side. I had Lee clear out all the poles and pylons that were in the centre of the ring and started to do circles, figure 8s and serpentines, and voila, magically I had a different horse underneath me. I need to give him things to do, I think he was just bored of the track and frustrated because of our bit experience at the start. In fact, once I really put him to work, he performed the best he ever had in the bitless.
Woah... tangent time. A strange noise from above, i was thinking the air conditioning got turned on or something. I look outside and we got 60 seconds of small but intense hail. While the sun was still shining and no clouds were to be seen. Hm I guess the clouds are on the side of my office without windows. Very weird sight!
Back to my main post. About 15 minutes before I planned on stopping our ride. Someone came and dumped a bucket of water in one corner of the arena. I didn't mind as it was really dusty (hence why it was a short ride, we both were coughing and Lee couldn't see out of his glasses). Bentley sure minded however, he spooked severely at the different colour ground and wouldn't go anywhere near the corner. I spent that last 15 minutes trying to get him near the wet dirt. Eventually we got through it both ways, but not before several of the girls had to pass through the arena and had a good laugh at his antics. Ok those ghostly footsteps are scary, but wet dirt? Come on! Too funny and cute.
Monday, April 9, 2012
On the Bit
Happy Easter, it was indeed :)
Friday, I had the day off for the holiday, but I certainly didn't take it easy. This was to be my first lesson with Margie on Bentley. I really wanted to try Bentley in a snaffle bit for our lesson. Historically, I have always done lessons in proper breeches, saddle and bridle, although for fun rides... i have even gone as far as riding in trackpants and sneakers. For me its a sign of respect to the coach. But this posed a problem, as Bentley has never had a bit in his mouth. We have been riding for 3 months in a Nurtural bitless bridle. He was very headshy when we got him, just getting the bitless on him was often a struggle. My plan was always to introduce the bit once he was comfortable with the bridling process.
But how do I go about introducing the bit? Typically I would search for articles online, but it was sort of a spur of the moment decision. I started by putting my fingers in his mouth, asking him to open for me. When he was comfortable with that, I put the bit up to his lips. He decided it was NOT going to happen, raised his head and avoided me like I was trying to put a cactus in his mouth. New plan. I earned his trust back by feeding him his favourite treats... mints. Then I put only the bit in my hand (so he couldn't see the bridle) and put a mint underneath it. He was interested and eventually worked the mint out around the bit. I did this a second time, but quickly pulled the bit into his mouth as he accepted the mint, holding the cheekpieces tight to the sides. Success! Oh wait no... the bridle was underneath his jaw (since i was hiding it from the bit and treats)... I had no way of getting it up over his ears. I tried twisting the bit around in his mouth to get it around, but it was still backwards, and eventually the bit dropped out... I think i needed extra hands. I thought I was doomed, considering he must now know my trick, but I was able to get the bit in again. Still, my bridle was underneath, inside out and upside down. So instead, I held the cheekpieces below his jaw with one hand (as he chomped and waggled his tongue) and dismantled the bridle with the other. I rebuilt the bridle around his head somehow... I honestly cant tell you how my fingers worked this magic, but after the entire 20 minute process, Bentley had a bit and was happily munching on his beet pulp reward.
On Saturday, I also chose to put him in a bit, expecting it would take again 20 minutes, but surprisingly, it only took a few seconds. We still used the mint, but he opened his mouth, I didn't hide the bridle, and just slipped it over his ears. I almost think he wanted the bit in his mouth, maybe it still tasted good from the day before. It was even easier than putting on the bitless. I was so surprised by this reaction!
As for riding in the bit, what a dream come true! I was very nervous at first, not sure if he would be afraid of it and toss his head, bolt, buck or whatever. None of the above happened, in fact he was so wonderfully behaved. I'm attributing it to a number of factors, one being the respect of the bit itself, two being I was extra soft with my hands gradually taking contact as I saw he was comfortable, and three, it was our lesson, so I had an extra voice reminding me of all the things I needed to change. Not far into our lesson, he was relaxed and slow in the trot, we were doing beautiful figure 8s, and he was even stretching out, seeking contact with my hands. He was being very dressagey, I guess that's the trakehner coming through, its nice to see his two sides!
He was doing well again on Saturday and we took video. It was not quite as good as our lesson, I didn't have a coach to impress at the time.
What I was very pleased with was how easily he took obstacles. Trot poles, trotting and cantering over raised pole, over a log, garbage blowing around his legs, and finishing the video walking up the "stairs" on the cross country course - didn't even hesitate, was so easy! Plus, hes just so darn pretty to watch.
Friday, I had the day off for the holiday, but I certainly didn't take it easy. This was to be my first lesson with Margie on Bentley. I really wanted to try Bentley in a snaffle bit for our lesson. Historically, I have always done lessons in proper breeches, saddle and bridle, although for fun rides... i have even gone as far as riding in trackpants and sneakers. For me its a sign of respect to the coach. But this posed a problem, as Bentley has never had a bit in his mouth. We have been riding for 3 months in a Nurtural bitless bridle. He was very headshy when we got him, just getting the bitless on him was often a struggle. My plan was always to introduce the bit once he was comfortable with the bridling process.
But how do I go about introducing the bit? Typically I would search for articles online, but it was sort of a spur of the moment decision. I started by putting my fingers in his mouth, asking him to open for me. When he was comfortable with that, I put the bit up to his lips. He decided it was NOT going to happen, raised his head and avoided me like I was trying to put a cactus in his mouth. New plan. I earned his trust back by feeding him his favourite treats... mints. Then I put only the bit in my hand (so he couldn't see the bridle) and put a mint underneath it. He was interested and eventually worked the mint out around the bit. I did this a second time, but quickly pulled the bit into his mouth as he accepted the mint, holding the cheekpieces tight to the sides. Success! Oh wait no... the bridle was underneath his jaw (since i was hiding it from the bit and treats)... I had no way of getting it up over his ears. I tried twisting the bit around in his mouth to get it around, but it was still backwards, and eventually the bit dropped out... I think i needed extra hands. I thought I was doomed, considering he must now know my trick, but I was able to get the bit in again. Still, my bridle was underneath, inside out and upside down. So instead, I held the cheekpieces below his jaw with one hand (as he chomped and waggled his tongue) and dismantled the bridle with the other. I rebuilt the bridle around his head somehow... I honestly cant tell you how my fingers worked this magic, but after the entire 20 minute process, Bentley had a bit and was happily munching on his beet pulp reward.
On Saturday, I also chose to put him in a bit, expecting it would take again 20 minutes, but surprisingly, it only took a few seconds. We still used the mint, but he opened his mouth, I didn't hide the bridle, and just slipped it over his ears. I almost think he wanted the bit in his mouth, maybe it still tasted good from the day before. It was even easier than putting on the bitless. I was so surprised by this reaction!
As for riding in the bit, what a dream come true! I was very nervous at first, not sure if he would be afraid of it and toss his head, bolt, buck or whatever. None of the above happened, in fact he was so wonderfully behaved. I'm attributing it to a number of factors, one being the respect of the bit itself, two being I was extra soft with my hands gradually taking contact as I saw he was comfortable, and three, it was our lesson, so I had an extra voice reminding me of all the things I needed to change. Not far into our lesson, he was relaxed and slow in the trot, we were doing beautiful figure 8s, and he was even stretching out, seeking contact with my hands. He was being very dressagey, I guess that's the trakehner coming through, its nice to see his two sides!
He was doing well again on Saturday and we took video. It was not quite as good as our lesson, I didn't have a coach to impress at the time.
What I was very pleased with was how easily he took obstacles. Trot poles, trotting and cantering over raised pole, over a log, garbage blowing around his legs, and finishing the video walking up the "stairs" on the cross country course - didn't even hesitate, was so easy! Plus, hes just so darn pretty to watch.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Well my birthday IS coming up
Well it is still pretty far away, but I keep finding things I want. Today I came across this and wanted to share:
Yes, I want my very own flying saucer. Just kidding, its an mp3 player/speaker combo.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/genius-genius-magnetic-portable-music-player-speaker-sp-i400-met-silver-sp-i400-met/10187626.aspx?path=8c6b7d1f6abf77ecbe8b1df043afc16cen02
I came across this idea when writing about the mileage program... thinking how great it would be to toss speakers in my saddle bag and have music for my rides. I would be either the most loved or most hated girl on the trail haha.
Cool thing about this one, is you can put an SD card right in it. You don't have to plug in an MP3 player, meaning no cords, and less things to carry. There aren't any measurements online, but from the size of the slots in the picture, i cant imagine having any difficulty putting it in saddlebags.
Part of what got me so excited by this too was a bit of reminiscing. I look fondly back to highschool, when we were the genius girls who found a pair of battery operated speakers, and plugged them into our discmans. One would carry the discman, ever so careful so as not to make the CD skip, and another one or 2 would carry the speakers. We would bring them to concerts and play our best CDs in line, while wearing our favorite band shirt (of course, never who we were there to see, that's not ok until after you are in and have visited the merch stand) Everyone thought we were so cool, especially us.
Great memories!
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/genius-genius-magnetic-portable-music-player-speaker-sp-i400-met-silver-sp-i400-met/10187626.aspx?path=8c6b7d1f6abf77ecbe8b1df043afc16cen02
I came across this idea when writing about the mileage program... thinking how great it would be to toss speakers in my saddle bag and have music for my rides. I would be either the most loved or most hated girl on the trail haha.
Cool thing about this one, is you can put an SD card right in it. You don't have to plug in an MP3 player, meaning no cords, and less things to carry. There aren't any measurements online, but from the size of the slots in the picture, i cant imagine having any difficulty putting it in saddlebags.
Part of what got me so excited by this too was a bit of reminiscing. I look fondly back to highschool, when we were the genius girls who found a pair of battery operated speakers, and plugged them into our discmans. One would carry the discman, ever so careful so as not to make the CD skip, and another one or 2 would carry the speakers. We would bring them to concerts and play our best CDs in line, while wearing our favorite band shirt (of course, never who we were there to see, that's not ok until after you are in and have visited the merch stand) Everyone thought we were so cool, especially us.
Great memories!
Something to get excited about (If you ride at GEC)
WOW I have had a busy week working with Linda on a fun project for you all. For those of you who were at GEC last October, you will remember how much fun our Harvest Hack was. Chances are for a lot of you, this was your first introduction to trail and distance riding.
It was great to see you all taking an interest in the sport, and comparing heart rates, speeds etc. Many of you keep asking us when we will be doing it again. While we are not planning a specific ride until Thanksgiving of next year (as will now be tradition), we are preparing a mileage program to help guide you through doing it yourselves!
If you WERENT here last year, let me explain. Distance riding is like doing a marathon on horses, but you don't start by running a marathon... you start small, set goals, and track your progress. The point of this is to teach you how to condition you and your horse for long hours of work. This is great if you want to do any sport, not just distance riding! Or maybe you find your new calling?
I have had the pleasure this week of making up the materials... rules, tips, property maps, and starting to maybe look at some prizes? Oh ya, we will make sure there are some great ones again this year!
I don't want to give away all the rules yet, but I will drop some hints.
First off, get your form and fee in ASAP! We will start recording your mileage this coming Monday and the sooner you start, the sooner your miles count. There are quite a few incentives for riding mileage, we will have a tracker in the viewing lounge to see everbodys progress, there will be points that can be cashed in for prizes. There may even be an opportunity or two to attend a real distance event. Did I mention its all closing on the day of the Harvest Hack? So it is a great way to start practising, conditioning and getting to know the course and sports.
We are also planning on hosting an information session/clinic for all mileage riders. Date is still TBA, but it will likely be in May. This will include a walk or ride of the property's trails while discussing health, strategy, upcoming events, and really anything else you want to cover!
Anyone who goes to GEC is welcome to enter. All levels, all disciplines, all ages are welcome (only restriction is kids under 18 must not ride alone... but who wants to anyway when you can bring a friend along?!). You don't need to be mounted to earn miles. You can also earn mileage in the outdoor sand ring if you aren't comfortable on trails yet.
Fee is only $10 and it covers you for the whole season. All the money will be pooled for prizes.
If you want to enter yourself with more than one horse, you need more than one entry (2 horses = $20). If you part board someone, that's ok, both riders can enter, but they will be calculated separately and require separate entries.
Even if you just ride one lesson a week, and cool out with a lap around the cornfields, your mileage will be tracked. Chances are, you are already putting mileage on your horse... just not getting any credit for it!
So if I have sold this to you, hunt me down and get an entry form from me! Even if you have to glue your form to my horse's butt... ok maybe don't do that... hes pretty messy. Linda and Laura also have forms and can take your entry. Get your form and fee in over the weekend and you will be given your info package on Sunday... not a bad head start!
Good luck girls! I cant wait to start watching your progress.
It was great to see you all taking an interest in the sport, and comparing heart rates, speeds etc. Many of you keep asking us when we will be doing it again. While we are not planning a specific ride until Thanksgiving of next year (as will now be tradition), we are preparing a mileage program to help guide you through doing it yourselves!
If you WERENT here last year, let me explain. Distance riding is like doing a marathon on horses, but you don't start by running a marathon... you start small, set goals, and track your progress. The point of this is to teach you how to condition you and your horse for long hours of work. This is great if you want to do any sport, not just distance riding! Or maybe you find your new calling?
I have had the pleasure this week of making up the materials... rules, tips, property maps, and starting to maybe look at some prizes? Oh ya, we will make sure there are some great ones again this year!
I don't want to give away all the rules yet, but I will drop some hints.
First off, get your form and fee in ASAP! We will start recording your mileage this coming Monday and the sooner you start, the sooner your miles count. There are quite a few incentives for riding mileage, we will have a tracker in the viewing lounge to see everbodys progress, there will be points that can be cashed in for prizes. There may even be an opportunity or two to attend a real distance event. Did I mention its all closing on the day of the Harvest Hack? So it is a great way to start practising, conditioning and getting to know the course and sports.
We are also planning on hosting an information session/clinic for all mileage riders. Date is still TBA, but it will likely be in May. This will include a walk or ride of the property's trails while discussing health, strategy, upcoming events, and really anything else you want to cover!
Anyone who goes to GEC is welcome to enter. All levels, all disciplines, all ages are welcome (only restriction is kids under 18 must not ride alone... but who wants to anyway when you can bring a friend along?!). You don't need to be mounted to earn miles. You can also earn mileage in the outdoor sand ring if you aren't comfortable on trails yet.
Fee is only $10 and it covers you for the whole season. All the money will be pooled for prizes.
If you want to enter yourself with more than one horse, you need more than one entry (2 horses = $20). If you part board someone, that's ok, both riders can enter, but they will be calculated separately and require separate entries.
Even if you just ride one lesson a week, and cool out with a lap around the cornfields, your mileage will be tracked. Chances are, you are already putting mileage on your horse... just not getting any credit for it!
So if I have sold this to you, hunt me down and get an entry form from me! Even if you have to glue your form to my horse's butt... ok maybe don't do that... hes pretty messy. Linda and Laura also have forms and can take your entry. Get your form and fee in over the weekend and you will be given your info package on Sunday... not a bad head start!
Good luck girls! I cant wait to start watching your progress.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Resume Tips
Yesterday, my good friend Shazia asked me if she could see my resume as a basis for her own. This does not seem to be a common occurrence for me, many friends and family have sought my advice on resumes and cover letters. I have had a lot of employers and career councillors compliment it, and consider it one of the best they have seen. It seems to be one of my hidden talents, so I thought I would share some of my most commonly told tips.
Format - Skills or experience?
My preference is to go with the experience based resume. If you have a fair amount of work experience, and you have given yourself credit for everything you have done, your skills should shine through this. The difference is with the experience laid out right above it, it feels more professional and gives you suitable backup for the skills you claim to have without the employer having to go back and forth through your resume. They wont waste their time trying to find things. The only time I recommend a skills based resume is for someone who is entering the workforce for the first time (ie highschool student looking for a part time job)
Building the Resume
Build your resume as you go, you should be adding to it every time your situation changes. Even if that doesn't mean you have a new job, it could just be when you are given a new project or tasks at work. Don't worry about it being too long or putting in too much detail. Describe your duties in 2 ways, a general way, and an industry specific way. NEVER EVER DELETE INFORMATION. This will be your master copy, it doesn't matter if its 2 pages or 17. Each time you apply for a different job, copy your master and then delete anything irrelevant until you meet 1 or 2 pages. Don't expect yourself to remember all the details every time you need to make a new resume.
Give yourself credit
A lot of resumes I read miss half of the major accomplishments or skills these people have. I just know it because they are friends who I help, but an employer wont know everything hiding behind those lines. Really think about everything you do, even if it is not listed as a part of your job description. Use things you are proud of at the time. Even if you are just a cashier, you must have done something right. How many customers would you process in a given day? Did you know your customers names? Did they know YOUR name? What compliments do they give you. Employers don't just want your paper skills, they want someone with a personality to fit into their company, don't be afraid to prove you are a nice person! Keep asking yourself questions, and talk to friends about what they think you do. Often your coworkers notice nice things about your work that you wouldn't even think of!
What is relevant
I had told you to write specifics and general information. An example I like to use for this is when I worked for Customs. I will write something like "Reviewed commercial importation paperwork and assisted customers with documentation and fees" as a general description and "Reviewed commercial importation paperwork including B3, B15, EDI and yellow wrapper forms. Calculated appropriate duties and made decisions regarding validity of documents" as my specific. To most people, B3 is a vitamin or will mean nothing on a resume and i will use it on a job that isn't customs related, but its an important part of my experience, particularly if I wanted to apply as a customs broker or in the transportation industry. Depending on the job description, I will choose the most appropriate line. Do you really think I would remember the numbers of those forms if I tried to remake my resume each time? Not likely! On a higher level, many jobs can be eliminated from your resume all together if they are not relevant. Study the job description carefully. Only you know what will be best in that situation. Take the time to really think it through.
Design
Don't let me ever catch you using a template. Employers see so many resumes, that all the template ones blur together. This makes it tough to find "that one" that they want to go back to, but also shows a lack of initiative on your part. Invest some time and show them how much you care. Design your own to reflect your personality and your industry. Remember to keep it tasteful. I like to add coloured underlines to my headers, and choose a non standard but easy to read font. Other places you can get creative is in bullet points, horizontal rules, simple page borders, even a light background. Depending on what job or industry you are, you may have more flexibility to pull off wilder ideas. Research the company you are applying for and find out what culture they have and try to work it into your styling.
Saving
So important. Save your resume as a PDF file. If you save it as a word doc or other format, you run the risk of the employer not being able to open your resume. Also, you could lose all your design from specialty fonts, to even the layout. When I was in the hiring seat, I had one that clearly someone had spent a lot of time on, but the file opened incorrectly and there were a whole bunch of squares and random code mixed in, it was impossible to read and hello... can this person even use a computer? Sure don't want your interviewer thinking that!
Review
Have someone review it. One of my bosses here told me a great story about how he submitted a business proposal for Nassau Bahamas. Spell check went in and changed Nassau to nausea. Needless to say, he didn't get approved. Spell check helps, but it shouldn't have the final say.
Format - Skills or experience?
My preference is to go with the experience based resume. If you have a fair amount of work experience, and you have given yourself credit for everything you have done, your skills should shine through this. The difference is with the experience laid out right above it, it feels more professional and gives you suitable backup for the skills you claim to have without the employer having to go back and forth through your resume. They wont waste their time trying to find things. The only time I recommend a skills based resume is for someone who is entering the workforce for the first time (ie highschool student looking for a part time job)
Building the Resume
Build your resume as you go, you should be adding to it every time your situation changes. Even if that doesn't mean you have a new job, it could just be when you are given a new project or tasks at work. Don't worry about it being too long or putting in too much detail. Describe your duties in 2 ways, a general way, and an industry specific way. NEVER EVER DELETE INFORMATION. This will be your master copy, it doesn't matter if its 2 pages or 17. Each time you apply for a different job, copy your master and then delete anything irrelevant until you meet 1 or 2 pages. Don't expect yourself to remember all the details every time you need to make a new resume.
Give yourself credit
A lot of resumes I read miss half of the major accomplishments or skills these people have. I just know it because they are friends who I help, but an employer wont know everything hiding behind those lines. Really think about everything you do, even if it is not listed as a part of your job description. Use things you are proud of at the time. Even if you are just a cashier, you must have done something right. How many customers would you process in a given day? Did you know your customers names? Did they know YOUR name? What compliments do they give you. Employers don't just want your paper skills, they want someone with a personality to fit into their company, don't be afraid to prove you are a nice person! Keep asking yourself questions, and talk to friends about what they think you do. Often your coworkers notice nice things about your work that you wouldn't even think of!
What is relevant
I had told you to write specifics and general information. An example I like to use for this is when I worked for Customs. I will write something like "Reviewed commercial importation paperwork and assisted customers with documentation and fees" as a general description and "Reviewed commercial importation paperwork including B3, B15, EDI and yellow wrapper forms. Calculated appropriate duties and made decisions regarding validity of documents" as my specific. To most people, B3 is a vitamin or will mean nothing on a resume and i will use it on a job that isn't customs related, but its an important part of my experience, particularly if I wanted to apply as a customs broker or in the transportation industry. Depending on the job description, I will choose the most appropriate line. Do you really think I would remember the numbers of those forms if I tried to remake my resume each time? Not likely! On a higher level, many jobs can be eliminated from your resume all together if they are not relevant. Study the job description carefully. Only you know what will be best in that situation. Take the time to really think it through.
Design
Don't let me ever catch you using a template. Employers see so many resumes, that all the template ones blur together. This makes it tough to find "that one" that they want to go back to, but also shows a lack of initiative on your part. Invest some time and show them how much you care. Design your own to reflect your personality and your industry. Remember to keep it tasteful. I like to add coloured underlines to my headers, and choose a non standard but easy to read font. Other places you can get creative is in bullet points, horizontal rules, simple page borders, even a light background. Depending on what job or industry you are, you may have more flexibility to pull off wilder ideas. Research the company you are applying for and find out what culture they have and try to work it into your styling.
Saving
So important. Save your resume as a PDF file. If you save it as a word doc or other format, you run the risk of the employer not being able to open your resume. Also, you could lose all your design from specialty fonts, to even the layout. When I was in the hiring seat, I had one that clearly someone had spent a lot of time on, but the file opened incorrectly and there were a whole bunch of squares and random code mixed in, it was impossible to read and hello... can this person even use a computer? Sure don't want your interviewer thinking that!
Review
Have someone review it. One of my bosses here told me a great story about how he submitted a business proposal for Nassau Bahamas. Spell check went in and changed Nassau to nausea. Needless to say, he didn't get approved. Spell check helps, but it shouldn't have the final say.
Monday, April 2, 2012
As usual, a horsey weekend
This weekend had its high and low points with the horses.
Over at Halton Place, the sweet old mare Grace had sustained an injury to her hock during the week, which meant extra horses in the barn to muck. More importantly however, she was not acting like herself at all. I spent a good part of my morning doing everything I could to get her to ear and to come out of the back of her stall, but no such luck. I was so worried for her. Fortunately, when Sunday came around, she was happy to dive into the special mash I made her. She didn't eat too much of her grain after that though, I think she may have realized that we just want her to eat something, and if she keeps refusing to eat anything but tasty mash, she will always get that tasty mash. Shes one smart lady, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was true! Best of all, she was coming to greet me at her stall door and much more social. I even gave her a good grooming and got enough fur out of her to stuff a queen sized duvet.
My sister Heather came with me to do my afternoon chores and meet the horses. They were happy to have her fawning over them and get a good brushing.
Oh and a weird thing happened on the Saturday, I heard voices coming from outside and thought it was the usual suspects coming down for a visit... but when I looked out the door, 2 men I had never met were asking to see the horses. They didn't speak much English, and I am still very confused about how they ended up there. I assumed at first, they were wanting to see the horses that were for sale, but nobody had mentioned them to me. I asked if they knew the owner and they said "We are from bayview, looking for new courses" I figured I must have heard them wrong and they said "horses" But they didn't seem to be very horsey at all and took a quick peek in the stalls before leaving. My best guess was they saw the beautifully manicured property including show rings, and thought it was a golf course/ country club that also had horses... not a private farm. And once they got in, decided it would be a nice petting zoo type experience? Either that or they saw a farm and wanted to meet a real live horse. Most confusing is how they found their way to me, as you have to drive very far, make several turns, and pass many buildings in order to get to the barn area. I did a quick scan of the property and nothing seemed amiss, i guess it was just a bunch of yahoos out for a Saturday drive!
I rode in the sand ring both days after work. Saturday was Bentley's first ride since Tuesday, so of course he was full of beans. We galloped probably a good 15 laps around the outdoor sand ring before he was calm or tired enough to listen to my half halts and collect himself nicely. Long ago we determined the outdoor ring was 1/10 of a mile around. Did a lot of trotting serpentines and circles and then asked him to jump the little tiny orange crossrail. He jumped it with huge enthusiasm, and cantered away from it wildly, taking 3.5 laps of the ring to regain composure. We did several other smaller jumps, then jumped a few verticals that were between 2' and 2'6". He did them very well for his 3rd time ever jumping. Some of the girls had come back from their trail ride and were watching us. We came in and they told us how good he was, and when I said it was his third time, they thought I meant of the year... not ever. Boy did he ever impress them!
Sunday we had the same plan, only he was much quieter. He was immediately responding to my half halts at the trot and pretty much doing whatever I asked so we trotted over a few crossrails and only had 2-3 strides of canter before trotting again to the next fence. Heather was riding Rurik with us, and after jumping once, he refused to trot, kicking out and even did a little half rear. His one leg looked a bit sore. So I offered heather to trade horses and try Bentley. Well he didn't continue his angel act, and shortly after she asked him to trot, he took off at his wild canter again. She got nervous which didn't help because he is so sensitive to that. It took quite a long time to get him back under control, and Heather's hands were sore from the pulling, so we switched so I could school him. As soon as I was on, he was back to his regular self. I went through lots of trotting exercises again with lots of half halts so he didn't think it was ok to take off. He was puffing a lot so I let him cool off a bit, but once he had rested, I schooled him at the canter too, and he was actually very good for me! Heather said that she couldn't tell how energetic and difficult a ride he was when I was on him, a good compliment, but I don't want him to be a one rider horse!
Over at Halton Place, the sweet old mare Grace had sustained an injury to her hock during the week, which meant extra horses in the barn to muck. More importantly however, she was not acting like herself at all. I spent a good part of my morning doing everything I could to get her to ear and to come out of the back of her stall, but no such luck. I was so worried for her. Fortunately, when Sunday came around, she was happy to dive into the special mash I made her. She didn't eat too much of her grain after that though, I think she may have realized that we just want her to eat something, and if she keeps refusing to eat anything but tasty mash, she will always get that tasty mash. Shes one smart lady, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was true! Best of all, she was coming to greet me at her stall door and much more social. I even gave her a good grooming and got enough fur out of her to stuff a queen sized duvet.
My sister Heather came with me to do my afternoon chores and meet the horses. They were happy to have her fawning over them and get a good brushing.
Oh and a weird thing happened on the Saturday, I heard voices coming from outside and thought it was the usual suspects coming down for a visit... but when I looked out the door, 2 men I had never met were asking to see the horses. They didn't speak much English, and I am still very confused about how they ended up there. I assumed at first, they were wanting to see the horses that were for sale, but nobody had mentioned them to me. I asked if they knew the owner and they said "We are from bayview, looking for new courses" I figured I must have heard them wrong and they said "horses" But they didn't seem to be very horsey at all and took a quick peek in the stalls before leaving. My best guess was they saw the beautifully manicured property including show rings, and thought it was a golf course/ country club that also had horses... not a private farm. And once they got in, decided it would be a nice petting zoo type experience? Either that or they saw a farm and wanted to meet a real live horse. Most confusing is how they found their way to me, as you have to drive very far, make several turns, and pass many buildings in order to get to the barn area. I did a quick scan of the property and nothing seemed amiss, i guess it was just a bunch of yahoos out for a Saturday drive!
I rode in the sand ring both days after work. Saturday was Bentley's first ride since Tuesday, so of course he was full of beans. We galloped probably a good 15 laps around the outdoor sand ring before he was calm or tired enough to listen to my half halts and collect himself nicely. Long ago we determined the outdoor ring was 1/10 of a mile around. Did a lot of trotting serpentines and circles and then asked him to jump the little tiny orange crossrail. He jumped it with huge enthusiasm, and cantered away from it wildly, taking 3.5 laps of the ring to regain composure. We did several other smaller jumps, then jumped a few verticals that were between 2' and 2'6". He did them very well for his 3rd time ever jumping. Some of the girls had come back from their trail ride and were watching us. We came in and they told us how good he was, and when I said it was his third time, they thought I meant of the year... not ever. Boy did he ever impress them!
Sunday we had the same plan, only he was much quieter. He was immediately responding to my half halts at the trot and pretty much doing whatever I asked so we trotted over a few crossrails and only had 2-3 strides of canter before trotting again to the next fence. Heather was riding Rurik with us, and after jumping once, he refused to trot, kicking out and even did a little half rear. His one leg looked a bit sore. So I offered heather to trade horses and try Bentley. Well he didn't continue his angel act, and shortly after she asked him to trot, he took off at his wild canter again. She got nervous which didn't help because he is so sensitive to that. It took quite a long time to get him back under control, and Heather's hands were sore from the pulling, so we switched so I could school him. As soon as I was on, he was back to his regular self. I went through lots of trotting exercises again with lots of half halts so he didn't think it was ok to take off. He was puffing a lot so I let him cool off a bit, but once he had rested, I schooled him at the canter too, and he was actually very good for me! Heather said that she couldn't tell how energetic and difficult a ride he was when I was on him, a good compliment, but I don't want him to be a one rider horse!
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