Employment & Career Essentials

LinkedIn

The world’s largest professional networking platform (billion users) designed for career development, job searching, and business networking.

$7.25 per hour

The federal minimum wage: the lowest hourly rate employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can legally pay employees in the U.S.

What NOT to include on your Resume (according to NGPF)

City and state of the school

Dates of attendance (shows age, ageism chances)

What to include on your Resume (according to NGPF)

GPA (if impressive)

Name of degree and major

Name of the institution

I-9 Form

Verifies identity and establishes elibility to work in the U.S.

W-4 Form

Employee form for tax situation; employer withholds taxes accordingly.

W-2 Form

IRS form your employer provides summarizing wages and taxes withheld.

CV

Curriculum Vitae: summarizes work, history, education & skills; no set page limit.

Cover Letter

Sent with a resume when applying for a job that explains who you are, why you are intersted in the job, and why you would be a good fit.

PDF format

Based on a 2024 survey, 95% of hiring professionals prefer a PDF format for receiving resumes.

Chronological Resume

Lists your work history in reverse order, starting with your most recent position and working backward.

Good font for a resume

10-12 points

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

U.S. government agency responsible for collecting and publishing the nation’s principal statistics on labor, employment, and careers.

Benefits

Extra non-wage perks an employer provides in addition to pay, such as health insurance, paid time off, or retirement plans. They are part of an employee’s total compensation.

Full-time employee (to qualify by affordable care act)

at least 120 hours per month

Part-time employees

often do not receive health insurance of paid time off (PTO)

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees

are not legally required to provide insurance.

Taxable Compensation (are taxable)

Salary, bonuses, tips, and stock options

Impostor Syndrome

Psychological pattern where a person doubts their skills, accomplishments, or abilities in the workplace, and fears being exposed as a “fraud,” even when they are competent and sucessful.

Hawthorne Effect

The controversial psychological term, derived from a study on factory workers, suggests that performance improves simply because people are being observed.

Trade school

Prepares students to enter a specific career directly after training, usually in less than 2 years.

PBSC

The largest trade and technical school in Palm Beach County, offering over 160 programs, including construction, cosmetology, welding, and HVAC. Features a 150,000-square-foot training center and provides apprencticeship opportunities in collaboration with locals.

Hard skills

specific knowledge or abilities that let you tackle job-specific duties. Learned through courses, vocational training, and on-the-job experience.

Soft skills

Personality traits and interpersonal skills that help you communicate and work effectively with others.

Transferable Skills

Skills that can be applied in multiple professional contexts.

Illegal to ask

Do have plans to have children soon?

What is your martial status?

(In some states) Have you ever filed for bankruptcy? (depending on state and timing)

Cannot ask for a photo of you for a resume to assess your suitability for the job.

Employers CAN ask

“Are you authorized to work in the U.S.? and “What are your professional references?”

Life insurance purchased through an employer usually pays money to the

beneficiares, not the employee

Life insurance policies do not always last for

a person’s entire lifetime

Dental and vision coverage are often

offered as separate benefits from standard health plans.

First Resume ever (1482)

Leonardo Da Vinci

First to implement 40-hour, 5-day work week for factory workers in 1926

Ford Motor company

Business owner

A person who is the exclusive owner of a business is a sole proprietor

Wage

set amount paid per hour worked

Overtime pay

Extra pay for working more than standard full-time hours, at a higher rate.

Avoid cliches on your resume

“team player,”
“fast learner”