How To Make A Resume Stand Out -- Smart Strategies To Beat The Competition
When you're applying for a job and competing against hundreds of other candidates, it can sometimes seem impossible to get noticed, however well suited you are for the position. That's when a powerful resume and cover letter come into their own, raising your profile to make your application stand out from the rest. Here are six strategies to help you present your talents with panache:Understand and promote your 'personal brand'. Can you identify what it is that makes you a uniquely valuable asset in your work? Which of your professional attributes are you most proud of -- and, more importantly, how would an employer benefit from them? Develop a

Erb's Palsy
Erb’s Palsy is a brachial plexus disorder. What does that mean? The brachial plexus is a cluster of nerves where the neck meets the shoulder, on each side. They travel from the spinal cord, between the vertebrae, through each armpit and down into each arm and provide almost the entire arm and hand with movement ability and skin sensation.When a baby has Erb’s Palsy, the most frequent indication is lack of movement in one arm. The arm will be straight down at the baby’s side and sometimes it will be a little turned, with the wrist bent and the fingers straight. There may also be a droopy eyelid on the same side if the injury is more severe.Birth injuryGetting people laughing is much easier than it looks. However, there ARE some mistakes people often make – that cause humor to die an untimely death. Here they are and what you can do about them:

1. Not Knowing Your Audience:

Different people laugh at different things depending on their humor style, gender, culture, language skills, age, etc. You need to understand the things your listener will enjoy. For example, I heard a woman at a conference tell a very funny story about dealing with menopause. Her audience was mostly men under forty. There was only mild laughter – because they just didn’t relate. Do some research about your clients, co-workers or friends – notice what kinds of things make them laugh.

2. Not Connecting It To Your Topic:

One advantage you have over a professional comedian is that people are not expecting to laugh. However, if you tell a joke or story unrelated to your topic and it bombs..then people will be annoyed with you for wasting their time. If, on the other hand, the humor illustrates a point and it bombs, then just move on to the next point. No harm done.

3. Using Humor That Doesn’t Suit Your Style:

At the same time, don’t try a style of humor that is too foreign to you. It will show. I was speaking at a college in Brooklyn, New York. My audience was ethnically mixed 18-year-olds. I wore a ball cap backwards and tried to sing and dance a rap song. My “song” was met with puzzled silence. I found out later from three guys wearing oversize pants that they didn’t know it was supposed to be a rap song. They thought I just had a nervous twitch and a speech impediment.

4. Not Crafting Humor Effectively:

Understand the mechanics of humor (see What Makes People Laugh). For example, if you are telling a true story about yourself, make sure you throw in a punchline or two even if it means bending reality slightly. Don’t feel the need to bore people with endless details of how it really happened. Cut to the chase. That may mean exaggerating, embellishing, collapsing several events together, eliminating details, and adding characters or events. Clients say to me, “But that’s not how it really happened.” Your audience doesn’t know and frankly doesn’t care as long as you are making a good point and not slandering anyone. You job is to help your audience understand the value in your message. That is why most movies say based on a true story, otherwise it would be challenging for screenwriters to be effective.

5. Not Waiting For The Laugh:

Sometimes people need time to “get it”. If you have the courage to wait…chances are more people will laugh. The tendency is to move on too quickly to the next thing. John Archibald Wheeler once said, Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.

6. Not “Selling” Your Humor:

Along with waiting for the laugh comes your enthusiasm. Put your humor out like it is the greatest gift you could offer people, and then wait with glee for them to get it. Mirth is infectious. Just the fact that you are so amused will make people laugh.

7. Not Using Saving Lines:

Okay, your humor bombs. You researched your audience. You chose a style of humor that works for you. You waited for the laugh. You “sold” the joke with all your heart. But still no one laughs. That is a great time to pull out a saver line. This is a one-liner that acknowledges that your humor didn’t fly. Johnny Carson was so good at saver lines, his comedy writers purposely wrote bad jokes so Johnny could comment on them. For example, “Some of these I just do for me” or “This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope” or “Have you people been practicing this together, the folding the arms and rolling the eyes thing, because you just did it all in unison!”

8. Not Using Fresh Material:

Be very careful telling old jokes. You audience may have heard

you have over a professional comedian is that people are not expecting to laugh. However, if you tell a joke or story unrelated to your topic and it bombs..then people will be annoyed with you for wasting their time. If, on the other hand, the humor illustrates a point and it bombs, then just move on to the next point. No harm done.

3. Using Humor That Doesn’t Suit Your Style:

At the same time, don’t try a style of humor that is too foreign to you. It will show. I was speaking at a college in Brooklyn, New York. My audience was ethnically mixed 18-year-olds. I wore a ball cap backwards and tried to sing and dance a rap song. My “song” was met with puzzled silence. I found out later from three guys wearing oversize pants that they didn’t know it was supposed to be a rap song. They thought I just had a nervous twitch and a speech impediment.

4. Not Crafting Humor Effectively:

Understand the mechanics of humor (see What Makes People Laugh). For example, if you are telling a true story about yourself, make sure you throw in a punchline or two even if it means bending reality slightly. Don’t feel the need to bore people with endless details of how it really happened. Cut to the chase. That may mean exaggerating, embellishing, collapsing several events together, eliminating details, and adding characters or events. Clients say to me, “But that’s not how it really happened.” Your audience doesn’t know and frankly doesn’t care as long as you are making a good point and not slandering anyone. You job is to help your audience understand the value in your message. That is why most movies say based on a true story, otherwise it would be challenging for screenwriters to be effective.

5. Not Waiting For The Laugh:

Sometimes people need time to “get it”. If you have the courage to wait…chances are more people will laugh. The tendency is to move on too quickly to the next thing. John Archibald Wheeler once said, Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.

6. Not “Selling” Your Humor:

Along with waiting for the laugh comes your enthusiasm. Put your humor out like it is the greatest gift you could offer people, and then wait with glee for them to get it. Mirth is infectious. Just the fact that you are so amused will make people laugh.

7. Not Using Saving Lines:

Okay, your humor bombs. You researched your audience. You chose a style of humor that works for you. You waited for the laugh. You “sold” the joke with all your heart. But still no one laughs. That is a great time to pull out a saver line. This is a one-liner that acknowledges that your humor didn’t fly. Johnny Carson was so good at saver lines, his comedy writers purposely wrote bad jokes so Johnny could comment on them. For example, “Some of these I just do for me” or “This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope” or “Have you people been practicing this together, the folding the arms and rolling the eyes thing, because you just did it all in unison!”

8. Not Using Fresh Material:

Be very careful telling old jokes. You audience may have heard

rap song. They thought I just had a nervous twitch and a speech impediment.

4. Not Crafting Humor Effectively:

Understand the mechanics of humor (see What Makes People Laugh). For example, if you are telling a true story about yourself, make sure you throw in a punchline or two even if it means bending reality slightly. Don’t feel the need to bore people with endless details of how it really happened. Cut to the chase. That may mean exaggerating, embellishing, collapsing several events together, eliminating details, and adding characters or events. Clients say to me, “But that’s not how it really happened.” Your audience doesn’t know and frankly doesn’t care as long as you are making a good point and not slandering anyone. You job is to help your audience understand the value in your message. That is why most movies say based on a true story, otherwise it would be challenging for screenwriters to be effective.

5. Not Waiting For The Laugh:

Sometimes people need time to “get it”. If you have the courage to wait…chances are more people will laugh. The tendency is to move on too quickly to the next thing. John Archibald Wheeler once said, Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.

6. Not “Selling” Your Humor:

Along with waiting for the laugh comes your enthusiasm. Put your humor out like it is the greatest gift you could offer people, and then wait with glee for them to get it. Mirth is infectious. Just the fact that you are so amused will make people laugh.

7. Not Using Saving Lines:

Okay, your humor bombs. You researched your audience. You chose a style of humor that works for you. You waited for the laugh. You “sold” the joke with all your heart. But still no one laughs. That is a great time to pull out a saver line. This is a one-liner that acknowledges that your humor didn’t fly. Johnny Carson was so good at saver lines, his comedy writers purposely wrote bad jokes so Johnny could comment on them. For example, “Some of these I just do for me” or “This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope” or “Have you people been practicing this together, the folding the arms and rolling the eyes thing, because you just did it all in unison!”

8. Not Using Fresh Material:

Be very careful telling old jokes. You audience may have heard

nd the value in your message. That is why most movies say based on a true story, otherwise it would be challenging for screenwriters to be effective.

5. Not Waiting For The Laugh:

Sometimes people need time to “get it”. If you have the courage to wait…chances are more people will laugh. The tendency is to move on too quickly to the next thing. John Archibald Wheeler once said, Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.

6. Not “Selling” Your Humor:

Along with waiting for the laugh comes your enthusiasm. Put your humor out like it is the greatest gift you could offer people, and then wait with glee for them to get it. Mirth is infectious. Just the fact that you are so amused will make people laugh.

7. Not Using Saving Lines:

Okay, your humor bombs. You researched your audience. You chose a style of humor that works for you. You waited for the laugh. You “sold” the joke with all your heart. But still no one laughs. That is a great time to pull out a saver line. This is a one-liner that acknowledges that your humor didn’t fly. Johnny Carson was so good at saver lines, his comedy writers purposely wrote bad jokes so Johnny could comment on them. For example, “Some of these I just do for me” or “This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope” or “Have you people been practicing this together, the folding the arms and rolling the eyes thing, because you just did it all in unison!”

8. Not Using Fresh Material:

Be very careful telling old jokes. You audience may have heard

your humor bombs. You researched your audience. You chose a style of humor that works for you. You waited for the laugh. You “sold” the joke with all your heart. But still no one laughs. That is a great time to pull out a saver line. This is a one-liner that acknowledges that your humor didn’t fly. Johnny Carson was so good at saver lines, his comedy writers purposely wrote bad jokes so Johnny could comment on them. For example, “Some of these I just do for me” or “This is the kind of crowd that would watch Bambi through a sniper scope” or “Have you people been practicing this together, the folding the arms and rolling the eyes thing, because you just did it all in unison!”

8. Not Using Fresh Material:

Be very careful telling old jokes. You audience may have heard them before. The worst mistake you could make would be to tell someone else’s humorous anecdote as if it were your own. Not only is that unethical, but you may lose credibility. Your own material will always be better because you are more connected to it. Use the assignments in this book to create your own. Get a humor writing group to get feedback.

9. Not Adopting A Funloving Perspective On Life:

The most FUN-damental part of being humorous on the platform is the willingness to see the world from unusual viewpoints. Light-hearted people have a penchant for surprise or the unexpected. They can feel thrilled by chaos. Within a person who is anal retentive, fixed on being perfect, or narrow minded—laughter cannot fully thrive. The more you are in a fun loving in life you will notice that you ease up on the platform, become less judgmental towards yourself, and thus more attractive to audience members. For example, when mishaps occur (which always do) you are more able to go with the flow, and even better... make a joke out of it.

10. Not Recording Your Ideas As They Come Up:

Ideas are like cloud formations. They swirl into an image and a moment later are gone. The chance that you will remember the idea an hour later when you are at home with pen and paper, is unlikely. Keep a pad of paper with you constantly, or a mini-recorder. When you are being funny for a living, you can’t afford to let the great ideas drift away.