INFORMATION PLEASE

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person - her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time.

My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason for crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. "The telephone," I thought.

Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger. . ." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me." I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?"
"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
"Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before would eat fruits and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was un-consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.
Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please."
"Information," said the now familiar voice.
"How do you spell fix?" I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was 9 years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home, and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.

As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now.

Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information."
I hadn't planned this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed. "So it's really still you,' I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."

"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do, she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later, I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" She said.

"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

She paused. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, she said. Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
I was stunned. Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?"

"Yes."

"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you." The note says, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up..I knew what Sally meant.

Go wipe the tear in your eye; and reply back to me.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Is there a Difference Between a CV and a Resume?

What is the Difference Between a CV and a Resume?
By Sam Roberts

Is there a difference?
I imagine that many people, on reading the title of this article, laughed smugly to themselves, then wandered off thinking vague thoughts about the English and Americans having different names for the same thing. If you were one of these people, then don't worry - you're right! Or at least you're partially right. In general, CVs are used throughout most of the world, while resumes are the common format in America. However, there are significant differences between the two documents, and if you plan to succeed in the employment market it is important that you are familiar with the features and uses of both. Let's go through them one at a time.

The differences in brief
At first glance, the differences between the two seem slight. Both consist of a structured list of facts that allows you to impart relevant information about your skills and achievements to an employer as quickly and simply as possible.

Although in essence they both serve the same purpose, the main difference between a CV and a resume is that a CV acts as a complete record of your professional history, while a resume is a short, targeted list of transferable skillsand accomplishments, intended to show how you can be of specific benefit to the particular company to which you are applying..

As I mentioned earlier, throughout most of the world, the CV is the standard format for job applications. However, in the US, resumes are more common, and CVs are reserved almost completely for jobs in academia or when applying for grants. As a result, many international workers possess both a CV and a resume and choose between them as necessary.In the following sections, I shall discuss the features of each type of document in more detail, and close with a brief look at how to decide which one is best for you.

Features of a CV
A CV, or Curriculum Vitae, to give it its Latin name, is an account of your entire education and employment history. The term translates as 'course of life', and it really is that - a record of your working life so far. It is far more detailed than a resume, from which elements are often excluded if they are considered irrelevant. A CV should include everything you've ever done, listed in reverse chronological order, to make it easier to prioritise more recent information. As a result, a CV is longer than a resume, although two pages is the recommended length.

Information in a CV is arranged according to subheadings, to make it easier for the reader to quickly skim through and find the information he or she needs. Remember, your CV is intended to let prospective employers find out about you in the hope that they will offer you a job, so it's in your interest to make it easy to understand!

The sections of a CV may include the following, although many sections can be moved up or down depending on what information is relevant for the specific job.

Profile/Objectives - a short statement, tailored to fit the requirements of the prospective employer;

Education/Qualifications - a list of institutions and courses, with grades awarded and dates attended;

Skills/Competencies - any skills or achievements that are relevant to the job. You can include most things, but be sensible - there is no need to mention the 10m swimming badge you got when you were six!

Career Summary - this should be the most detailed part, it can be moved higher up the document if necessary. Each job should have a short description of the skills you used and your achievements within the role. A few bullet points are sufficient, with more detailed accounts of more recent/relevant positions.

Features of a resume
A resume should be a shorter, more focused account of your relevant skills and achievements. Although the exact length of a resume is open to debate, in general it should not exceed one page in length, and it's safer to be conventional; after all, you want to get the job. It's fine to miss things out of a resume to keep the length down; you should only include the things that are most relevant to the position you are targeting. Resumes also often miss out some of the more personal details that CVs include, such as hobbies and interests.

As with CVs, resumes are usually organised into a few essential sections. However, one key difference between a CV and a resume is that resumes are focused on your skills and accomplishments, rather than providing an objective account of your history. As a result, resumes often feature aggrandising language, and tend to be more obviously self-promoting than CVs.

You can afford to be a bit less formal with the structure of a resume than with a CV, and there is a wider scope for creative presentation. That said, there are three main formats that are generally used:

Chronological - this is the most common format, and is very similar in organisation to a CV;

Functional - your skills/qualificatio ns act as a backbone, around which the rest of the resume is structured;

Focused - as above, but with the content organised in relation to the targeted position.

It is often better to stick to one of these tried and tested formats than to attempt to wow an employer with your own unique design. These have a chance of backfiring if your reader doesn't like them, so why take the risk? The only time I could see the point of designing your own format is if you are entering a creative field, such as design.

What to use, and when to use it
The general rule to go by here is that if you are in America, use a resume, and if you are anywhere else in the world, use a CV. However, if you are applying for an academic position, or for a grant, it is better to send a CV, regardless of where you are. Things are further complicated by the rising popularity in the UK of short CVs, which, at less than two pages, are confusingly similar to a resume.

One of the main reasons to have a short CV was to stand out from the crowd, but almost everybody follows this model and it no longer has the same impact as it used to. As a result, the old style of CV is making a comeback, for the same reasons that it disappeared in the first place.. Whether you choose to follow the trend, or stick with convention is up to you. Personally, I have both kinds, and I decide which version to send out on a per-company basis.

In fact, it is safer to make two versions anyway. Set aside some time and write yourself both a CV and a resume; it doesn't take much effort, and it means that you'll always have the correct document to hand, whatever you are asked for. You can even hire a copywriting agency to do it for you. Copywriters write both CVs and resumes on a regular basis, and will be familiar with the conventions of each. If you don't want to pay for a copywriter, have a look at some CV and resume samples and use them to help you write your own.

You'd be surprised how many people don't know the difference between a CV and a resume. Whichever one you decide to go for, follow the conventions and write to the strengths of your chosen format, and the interviews should come flooding in. You'll soon be on your way to that dream job.

Courtsey Kavita Sangtani