Right now, there are approximately nine job seekers per job opening, making the current job market extremely competitive, particularly in certain fields. While an excellent resume has the power to put you on the short-list of potential employees that will actually receive a request for an interview, a poor resume can just as easily write you off as a viable option, even if your actual job skills greatly outpace your resume writing ability.

Although it’s relatively easy to understand how to format and compose a resume, avoiding common pitfalls can be more difficult. Here are five resume mistakes that will instantly leave a poor impression on potential employers:

1. Too Long or Too Short

In the current economic climate, employers can expect to receive dozens if not hundreds or even thousands of resumes seeking a single job opening. As you can imagine, properly evaluating such an enormous pile of resumes is a time-consuming task that easily becomes frustrating when some of the resumes ramble on for pages and pages, boasting about every life accomplishment while failing to tell the employer what they really need to know.

Restrict your resume to a single page if even remotely possible. Depending on your relevant work and education history, it may be necessary to use two or even three pages, so long as those pages are filled exclusively with information relevant to the open position. If you’re applying for a position as a senior IT manager, for example, mentioning that you worked at Burger King when you were 17 will only make your resume longer, not better.

At the same time, a resume that was obviously created in five minutes and barely tells the employer who you are will be dismissed even faster. Spend only as much space as you need to tell the employer exactly why there couldn’t be a better candidate for the job than you.

2. Failing to Adhere to the Employer’s Instructions

If you can’t be bothered to follow the employer’s instructions when you’re submitting your resume, how could they comfortably trust you to follow instructions when you’re on the job? Failing to meet the employer’s exact submission requirements is a great way to instantly send your resume to the “not even a chance” pile.

The key is to read the job posting carefully. If the employer wants a one-page cover sheet included with your resume, don’t send a two-page cover sheet or no cover sheet at all. If the employer doesn’t want any phone calls regarding the job opening, respect her wishes and communicate via email. If the employer wants the materials submitted in the body of an email, don’t add them as an attachment.

You may think you’re being clever by ignoring the employer’s instructions and giving them something that you assume they’ll appreciate more, but in reality you’re just telling them you have a hard time with directions.

3. Only Saying What You Did, not How You Did It

It’s great that you have a steady history of employment at a variety of respected companies, but that doesn’t tell your potential future employer much about how you actually performed your job on a day to day basis. Your resume should explain specifically why you were an asset in your former position, with lines such as “Maintained agreements with shipping providers to reduce overhead costs by 20%.”

Ideally, your past work accomplishments should directly support your argument that you’ll be a perfect fit for the open position. If you’re applying for a sales position, for example, explain how many vehicles you sold at your former auto dealership, not just that you worked there for three years.

4. Citing Generic Skills Instead of Specific Ones

Anyone can say that they have “excellent leadership abilities,” “impeccable organizational skills” or that they’re “comfortable working alone or in a group.” Employers are looking for specific skills that apply directly to the job, and that show real knowledge of the applicable industry when they’re presented on a resume.

Start by reading the list of qualifications the employer is looking for, but pay even closer attention to the list of tasks for which you’ll be responsible if hired. Can you explain how and why you’ll be capable of performing those tasks using industry terminology (but not wordy jargon) that your potential employer will instantly recognize?

5. Lying

The last thing you want to include in your professional resume is a lie, even if it’s a white lie or one so minor that you’d never expect the employer to notice anything is amiss. The reality is that modern employers actually have plenty of ways to detect whether something is amiss, ranging from old-school methods such as calling your references to more modern tools such as social media and search engines. Depending on your history, you may have an extensive online presence without even realizing it (Google your name now if you’re skeptical).

Regardless of the reasoning behind your lie, even if it’s made purely with good intentions, most employers will instantly rule you out for the position, believing that you can’t be trusted. Keep the information accurate, and squeeze in extra value by ensuring perfect formatting, aesthetics and readability rather than exaggerating your credentials.

I never meant to become a bilingual. I took Spanish in high school like everyone else, but I wouldn’t have considered myself a bilingual. I didn’t truly become bilingual until I spent time living in China, first as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher and later as a full-time student. After three years of life in China, I returned to the US and, much to my surprise, five years later on a whim I applied for and landed a job as a public high school Mandarin teacher.

Oddly, many teachers and students still cannot identify who the school’s Mandarin teacher is.  To be sure, as a Caucasian teacher in a school populated largely with Caucasian students, I am easy to miss. Interestingly, I was chosen for the job in part because of my ethnicity. Because I am a native English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language and who understands its challenges and pitfalls, I had a keen advantage over my native Mandarin-speaking competitors. I am able to explain the language’s nuances to my students more easily and more clearly than a native Mandarin speaker.

While this is only my second year as a Mandarin teacher, I have accumulated about ten years of teaching experience in various capacities — yet another advantage I had over competitors who could only offer language teaching experience. I hold a Bachelor’s in English and Secondary Education, a Master’s in EFL, and an almost-completed Masters in Special Education. Along with these, I have experience as an EFL teacher in China, a high school English teacher in the States, a graduate school teaching assistant to graduate-level foreign students, and a special education teacher. This experience taken with my bilingual ability left me with a marketable bag of tricks.

Not only did my bag of tricks make me a more attractive applicant, but it allowed me to obtain a job with an interesting mix of responsibilities. Technically, I am a special education teacher for part of the school day, and a Mandarin teacher the other part of the day. The job posting for a Mandarin teacher was only a .2 job — or one hour a day. Since Mandarin is a trendy new language to learn with China’s rising position in the world, Mandarin teaching jobs are popping up everywhere. Unfortunately, many of them are not full-time jobs. A teacher may have to hold several part-time jobs to make ends meet. Since my qualifications and experience extend beyond my bilingualism, the school was able to hire me as a full-time teacher with responsibilities in multiple departments. While other people may think this mix of responsibilities is difficult to juggle, to me, teaching is teaching. I just teach what I know in the best way I know how to all day long.

Sometimes my methodology includes an EFL-specific approach, other times it includes a research-based approach I learned in graduate classes on special education. I love my job, and my bilingualism is an asset that allows me flexibility as well as independence. I love having one foot in both worlds — the Mandarin world and the non-Mandarin world. It keeps me interested and allows me to apply lessons I’ve learned from one world to the other.

In fact, this is the first teaching job I’ve held that I could see myself doing for more than five years. I treasure giving my students “mind-blowing moments.” The typical American teenager knows little to nothing about East Asian philosophies such as Daoism and linguistic terms such as “honorifics” and “syntax.” Watching students’ curiosity grow and witnessing the Eureka moments are priceless. Of course, the life of a high school foreign language teacher has its challenges, as well. The students I teach tend to be, well, lazy and apathetic. Mandarin, by its nature, requires drill and repetition along with a healthy dose of memorization to learn it well.

Motivating my students to complete homework daily and put forth the effort required to learn this language is difficult. However, sparking students’ interest, explicitly discussing and evaluating study habits, and setting small goals, at least so far, has worked to build motivation and even excitement for language learning. I can only hope these students carry with them into their lives the lessons they learned along their own journeys to bilingualism.

As much as I love my students, one of the best parts about my job is the 10 week summer vacations. The $60,000 salary is enough to make it comfortably through the year. With summers off, I could use the time to return to China and brush up on my Mandarin.

If I had it to do again, I would have taken the state educators’ test in Mandarin much earlier in my five years since returning from China. Passing the exam with a qualifying score proved challenging for me, as a non-native speaker of Mandarin, as I rarely have opportunities to practice Mandarin in my largely Caucasian community. While native speakers of Mandarin would easily pass the teachers’ exam, I do not have the same level of native-like fluency needed to pass the exam. Nevertheless, studying hard for the exam only made me that much more prepared to teach my students.

It will be interesting to see where the job of a non-traditional high school foreign language takes me. The program could take off or swiftly canceled. For now, I am just trying to maintain multiple qualifications and enjoy the ride.

This is a true career story as told to DiversityJob.com and is one of many interviews with bilingual professionals, which among others include an ESL teacher and a substance abuse counselor.

I am an inside sales representative for a third party logistics company. I have over eight years in sales experience and approximately two years in the logistics industry.

My daily tasks consist of cold calling potential customers and offering our services, trying to uncover a need that we might be able to resolve. I also keep in contact with regular clients, schedule shipments, negotiate quotes, deal with our carriers and ensure that our client’s shipments are delivered the way they should be. There are some common misunderstandings about what I do.  Many people think that I am simply a telemarketer, but that is far from the truth. I do much more than just call businesses on the phone – I establish relationships, uncover needs, establish a bond of trust between my company and clients, resolve common issues that arise, act as middleman between the carriers and our clients and ensure that every single shipment gets picked up and delivered according to the client’s specifications. I am the person in charge of every step of a shipment’s life.

On a scale of 1 to 10, my job satisfaction is a 9. I love problem solving and achieving my goals every day, especially being challenged in an environment that allows no mediocrity. I like being on top of my game every second at work, and not knowing what I am going to have to deal with next. The only thing that I would probably need to be 100% satisfied with my position would be a better pay incentive. Sometimes I feel like our commission structure is not at its full potential. I can only imagine the results we would get as a team if all our reps were motivated to make even more money.

This job definitely moves my heart, I consider myself a natural born sales person, and this position has been the perfect platform to utilize my skills to their full potential and to learn more on a daily basis. I like the challenge of problem solving, closing deals and keeping happy clients. I like the fact that I hold my future and my success in my own hands. I am the one that decides how big my paycheck will be this week, or where I will be in the company three years from now. It doesn’t get any better than that.

When considering how far I have come and how much experience I have learned, it is interesting to know that I never graduated high school. I came from a foreign country when I was a teenager and struggled much in school, since I didn’t know any English. I feel very proud that I was able to overcome my weaknesses and I have reached my goals. I speak to customers on the phone every day, in English! My high school teachers will never have believed that I was going to be able to carry out a conversation longer than three minutes in English. I have worked very hard to get to where I am.

When I left school, I started working for a local electronics parts distributor, doing some warehouse work. After a while I applied for a position that opened up in customer service. I almost didn’t get it since I was so limited with my English, but my manager decided to give me a chance. Although I struggled the first few weeks, I started getting better, and found out that it was easy for me to create good relationships with my clients. After the company closed and I was forced to find another job, I decided that I wanted to stay in the customer service and sales field. I was faced with many challenges throughout the years, but finally ended up in the logistics field. Since I had worked in warehouses before and dealt with shipping and receiving, incorporating my sales knowledge with my knowledge of logistics was simple. If I could go back and do something different I wouldn’t change anything about my journey, it got me where I am today and I love it.

If there is something that I have learned the hard way in this job is that you cannot get discouraged by failure. I had a day when I couldn’t get a single person to talk to me on the phone, and on top of that three of my biggest clients dropped me due to a mistake one of our carriers made, mistake which was blamed on me. I felt like a complete failure that day, it completely took all the desire to keep going out of me. One of my managers noticed my disappointment, and just whispered in my ear: “Remember, it is not how hard you fall, it is all about how high you bounce”. Those words encouraged me to take failure as a stepping stone to achieve even bigger success.

The single most important thing that I have learned about the working world outside of school is that in order to be successful you have to be passionate about what you do. It doesn’t matter what it is that your job entails, whether it is running a Fortune 500 company or being the janitor of the building. If you do it with passion and desire, you will feel accomplished, and much more success will come.

The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in this job was when I talked to a small business owner on the phone for the first time. I usually like to build some rapport before actually talking business, it helps the person become more comfortable and trust me more. Well, this individual started talking to me about his divorce and about how much he hated his life. He went on for approx forty five minute, as if I was some sort of therapist or his best friend. I eventually had to cut him off and start talking business. He didn’t even care what I had to say, he opened an account with me on the spot. He said that if I was willing to listen to his personal problems he was sure I would be willing to listen and to resolve the business issues that would arise. It a very strange conversation, but it yielded good results.

I wake up every day motivated to go to work for several reasons. First, I love what I do and I am passionate about it. Secondly, I am very proud to be able to provide for my family everything they need, and I like working hard to keep it that way. We were struggling a lot to pay our bills before, but now we are doing OK and our lives have improved dramatically, that is something I am really proud of.

One of the challenges that I handle on an everyday basis that really stress me out is dealing with our carriers. Even though we are the ones that schedule shipments for a clients and provide all the needed details and specifications, sometimes the carriers will not do what they are supposed to, and the clients will call me very upset, me not even aware of the situation. I then have to contact the carrier and transmit the information that the client gave me to try to resolve the issue. Being a middle man can be extremely challenging and frustrating on some occasions.

There are definitely a lot of moments of stress at my work. But I like being challenged and I am provided with the needed tools that will allow me to solve any situation at any time. My lifestyle is very healthy. I am able to have good balance between work and family time. Not having to work weekends is a great plus.

A rough salary range for this position would be between 25,000 to 30,000 dollars a year, plus commission. There is definitely room to make much more if you exceed your sales goals. I am happy with how much I make now, and I like the fact that there is room to make more.

Vacation time is usually two weeks every year. Is it enough? I don’t think there is ever enough vacation time, but since I like what I do is not bad at all.

The skills required to be able to do this job are mostly being able to communicate well over the phone, handle pressure well and knowing how to close. As far as education is concerned, a high school diploma would be ideal and a college degree would be preferred. But if you bring a strong work ethic to the table you will definitely be considered.

If a friend was considering this line of work, I would tell them to make sure they can handle being on the phone all day, being challenged on a regular basis and not being intimidated by issues.

If I could write my own ticket, I would be managing the sales floor of my company and creating new goals in order to grow and expand.

This is a true career story as told to LatPro.com.

I am a client manager at a day training and rehabilitation center for disabled adults. It is a nonprofit agency that serves many areas of disabilities, including mental health, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and elderly disabled individuals. I have been employed as a client manager for this agency for two years, which is when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in human services.

After I graduated with my bachelor’s in human services, I began my job search on the internet, but I also skimmed the help wanted section of my local newspaper. I found that the internet was a more valuable resource for job searching. On a daily basis, I checked websites such as CareerBuilder.com and MinnesotaWorks.net. These websites had the added benefit of being updated many times a day, instead of the traditional newspaper that only came out once a day. Some job searching websites also have the ability to save jobs in a file, so a job searcher can remember which ones they have applied to, or which ones they want to apply. Eventually I found the job posting for my current position on the website CareerBuilder.com.

In addition to the basic job searching websites, I made note of employers listed on the websites, and made it a point to visit their company’s websites periodically. I found that some jobs may not be listed on the job search websites, but were posted on the company website. Most companies require that a job searcher apply online through their application process on the company website, or submit a resume through email. It is quicker and more secure than mailing a job application or visiting a company in person to fill out an application.

If I decided to leave my current position and apply for the same position with a different company, I would do a few things to make myself stand out from other applicants. I would tailor my resume to highlight my skills with technology, such as the computer programs I have worked with and the projects that I have worked on in my current job. Having concrete examples of computer programs and projects with results listed on a resume will draw a future employer’s eyes to this section of the resume, and my resume will stand out among the other applicants for the job position.

When I applied for my current position as a client manager, I had a group interview with three members of the management team. During this interview, I tried to make myself stand out from the competition so the management team would offer me the position. I started trying to stand out from the competition before the interview. I made sure I submitted a resume and attention-grabbing cover letter on time, and I researched the company on the internet so I was informed during the interview. When I arrived at the interview, I had made a list of my accomplishments and experience so I could refer to this during the interview. Having this information in front of me during the interview made me feel more prepared when I was being asked questions by the interviewers. After the interview, it is important to follow up properly. I emailed each person that interviewed me for the position the same afternoon, thanking them for taking the time to meet with me. Email is effective for this type of communication because it is quick and most people check their email frequently at work. These techniques that I used in my interview could be used in an interview for any type of industry.

The university that I attended for my bachelor’s degree in human services has a Career Services program. I used this program, but ultimately found my job on other websites. However, I did learn quite a bit of information by using the Career Services program. This was a good resource to view job listings that were not in my immediate city, and showed me various careers that I could use with my college degree. In addition, my college listed many career workshops that were available during a job search, such as resume critiquing, mock interview labs, and networking opportunities.

If I could redo one event from my professional past, it would be increasing networking with professionals in my field. There are many professional associations for different organizations, and many of them are found in most communities. Most counties have advisory committees for human services, and being a part of these committees will increase visibility within the community, which can help in networking for future career opportunities, and is a valuable item to put on a resume.

Although I learned a great deal of information when searching for a job as a client manager, I would have to say that the most important thing I learned was the need to be organized during a job search. Keeping an accurate record of jobs that I applied at, as well as the dates I applied and when I should follow up on the application, helped me keep track of my progress. Having an accurate resume and a stand-out cover letter on file on my personal computer helped streamline the process of applying for job positions. During the interview, bringing a printed list of my accomplishments that were related to the job position was the one interview tactic that helped me the most in landing my current job as a client manager of a nonprofit agency.

Find and apply for your next successful job interview at ComputerJobs.net where you’ll find all the jobs in one place.

It was only after I began looking on websites like Monster that I was able to find out which writing companies offered legitimate online positions for men and women who want to work at home. My search for a writing position took about two months before I was able to secure my current writing job.

The use of technology was an integral part of my job search. Without a computer and Internet, I would not have found a writing job that allowed me to work primarily from home. My job search was completed almost solely online with a laptop computer. I was able to find out which companies were hiring and which allowed working from home as an option. Websites like Monster offered numerous positions that are hiring in my area and a description of the position. The description of the position was especially helpful in narrowing the choices because I could determine which companies were offering a writing position that did not require working in an office and which were solely office work.

The main benefit of using the Internet and a computer to find the writing job I wanted was the ease of searching. Once I learned the process of applying online via numerous websites, I found that I was able to apply to several companies in a short period of time. Websites that specialize in job search were especially helpful because I could apply directly to the position through the website and continue looking.

Looking back, if I needed to apply for my position again and I was applying to a different company, I would make myself stand out from other applicants by spending more time on my writing sample. Writing samples are an integral part of any media position as a writer or editor and since I was still inexperienced when I was looking for a job, the only way to stand out was the writing sample. While I was confident in my writing skills at the time I applied for jobs, looking back on the samples I’ve found that I often wrote more than necessary to make a point.

In my field, technology is a necessity. It helps me connect to other writers via social networking and the company forums. While my field does not require networking for the job position, having a network of other writers who can help me improve my skills and abilities makes technology and connectivity particularly useful.

As with any other job, a writing position requires taking an interview and impressing potential employers. In my personal experience, interviews are often nerve racking and I’ve often made mistakes during the interview process. The mistakes of the interview that stands out most in my mind started with stuttering and went downhill from there. I became so nervous that I was unable to effectively answer the questions.

From that experience, I learned to master my nervousness by taking a slow breath before answering any questions during an interview. It not only helped me get my emotions in order, but it also prevented me from answering questions rashly or stuttering.

In my experience, the professional job search and interview process taught me patience. Before starting my search, I expected instant results and a job within a short period of time. The reality of the search made me realize that even a fast-paced society requires patience before the results of your hard work become evident.

The saying that patience is a virtue might seem old fashioned and clichéd, but I discovered during my search that as I became more impatient, I also became stressed and irritated. This was evident on my writing samples, the work I was presenting and the interviews. When I mastered my emotions and allowed myself to calm down while waiting for results, I found that I was less stressed and consequently less irritated. The lack of irritation resulted in a job much faster than the impatience I had at the beginning of my job search.

In my personal search for a writing job, I did not make use of the Career Services program at my college. Since I was looking for a position that allowed me to use my education while working primarily from home, I did not feel that my college was able to help in my personal situation.

As a young professional, I do not yet have much career experience to guide me. Since I do not need to look back far to see the beginning of my profession, it is challenging to determine at this time whether or not I would make many changes to my past. While that is true, if I had to pick on event that I would redo I would probably focus more of my education on journalism rather than general English studies.

Though English studies have helped in my career, I’ve found that often I need to follow the grammar rules of a journalist rather than the rules of English literature. The result is that I’ve wasted several hours working on learning new grammar rules that I could have avoided if I’d taken more journalism classes in college.

In my personal experience, searching for a professional job has been a learning process. I’ve learned more about technology than I previously knew and I’ve discovered more about myself. While it was stressful, I’ve found that I enjoyed the search.

Education has always been an important stairway to a bright career. Various types of vocational training programs are available for the students to help them build a brighter future. But though there are so many programs available, how many parents or students are able to avail them with the meager amount of money in their wallets? Not many! However, to solve this monetary problem there are different kinds of career building loans that are available for the students so that they can build their future career. You may take out such loans and utilize the proceeds to grab your degree but make sure that you do not pile up too many loans as this may force you to consolidate debt in the near future. As a student, you must always try to avoid debt so as to stop hurting your credit score. Have a look at the various loan options that you may take out to build a brighter future.

What are the Federal student loan options?

As the government or the US Department of Education issues the Federal loans, the terms and conditions on these loans are much favorable than the private loans. The government sets a low interest rate and nearly all students are able to take out such a loan and they also have a grace period after school during which no payments need to be made.

• Federal Stafford Loans: Anyone who has submitted a FAFSA is able to get this type of loan. There are two kinds of Stafford loans, subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized loans are all need-based loans and the interest rates do not pile up when the student is still studying. 6 months grace period is also given to the student so that he gets enough time to repay the loan after grabbing a job. The unsubsidized loans aren’t need based and you have to pay interest rates on these loans.
• Federal Parent plus Loans: The parents of the undergraduate and the students who are dependent can get such loans. The funds can be used for the entire cost of a student. The interest rates of such loans are set at 8.5% and therefore, if possible you can prefer some other types of loans.
• Federal Perkin’s loans: If you’re a needy student who is desperately looking for some financing options, this particular kind of loan is the best kind for you. The interest rates on such loans are fixed at 5% and they also share some particular characteristics of subsidized Stafford loans. You can also reap the advantages of no fees and a grace period.

Though the above mentioned loans can help your child complete his education and grab a good job, you must always remember that taking out too many loans may have a bad impact on your financial life. If you don’t get a good job and are unable to repay the loans, you’ll pile up debt and you may need to opt to consolidate debt. Therefore apply for the loans only when you know that you’ll be able to repay it with ease.

Online Content Writing

One of the most lucrative and secure jobs on the Internet is web content writing. Many web developers and SEO experts use content writing as a backup plan when there isn’t enough work, and many people are turning to online content writing as a possible career choice. If you choose to become a content writer, you should have a variety of skills, including:

• A strong grasp of the English language, including proper grammar
• Attention to detail
• Ability to stay focused and meet tight deadlines
• Some experience in building websites
• Basic understanding of HTML and CSS

You also have a variety of choices for how you obtain work. For example, you can create your own website advertising your content writing services, and promote that website to gain customers. You can also visit freelance writing forums to seek clients – but these sites often offer very low rates and are plagued with scams. Finally, you can apply at several sites that accept freelance writers and pay competitive up-front rates for your work. Some sites include:

• Demand Studios
• Textbroker
• Suite 101
• Associated Content

Demand Studios is likely the most lucrative, with the typical payout being $15.00 for a 400 word instructional article. A good writer should be able to complete two articles per hour – but even completing one an hour offers a competitive rate. Demand Studios also pays writers twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Online Gambling

Believe it or not, online gambling sites offer a safe career opportunity if you are good with numbers and familiar with casino games or poker. Even if you don’t play the games to make money, online gambling offers a variety of career opportunities for tech-savvy people. Some of these opportunities include:

Customer Service: Although there are customer service jobs available, you won’t find any in the United States as online gambling sites are not permitted to operate within the country’s borders. If you have recently been laid off from a customer service position at a brick and mortar casino, you can find employment working at casinos online as long as you are willing to work overseas.

Website Affiliate: Even after the recent closure of many online poker sites to U.S. players, affiliate marketers continue to profit by promoting online poker sites and casinos. Web affiliates create websites about online gambling, then promote links to those sites. Online gambling sites offer a percentage payout based on how much referred players spend at the sites, or a flat rate per player.

Programming: Finally, online casino sites continue to seek programmers to update and manage the complicated software used to operate their websites. While the actual game software is typically provided by a third party software company, online gambling sites still operate large websites to promote their services and entice new players to sign up.

Software Development and Design

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, software design and development will be one of the fastest growing careers through 2016, with the average worker making $85,000 to $95,000 per year. Even if you’re not interested in the technical aspects of software development, there are multiple ways that you can find work within the field. Some tasks that require professionals include:

• Performing market research
• Software testing
• Sketching software appearance
• Identifying business solutions
• Coding
• Maintenance

Most companies will require software developers and designers to earn a college degree, often culminating in a graduate software engineering program. Fortunately, in 2010, there were 654 college software engineering programs available in the United States, including 70 online education programs. So, you can potentially earn your degree and begin your career – all while studying and working from home.

The Internet offers one of the greatest opportunities for skilled workers to find employment. Jobs like online content writing and online gambling offer careers that require minimal experience, instead emphasizing basic skills. If you are interested in going back to school and want a truly lucrative career, earning a degree in software development or computer science will allow you to enter one of the highest paid and fastest growing fields in the United States through 2016.

Considered pursuing a career in customer service? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to Latpro and is one of many interviews with customer service workers which among others include a customer service representative, a customer service manager, and everything in between.

I am a customer service representative in the retail industry. I have been in this position for nearly ten years. I would describe myself as an overall people person, detail oriented, and organized.

I am a white male. I have never experienced any form of discrimination because of that. However, it can be a bit difficult working in a field where the majority of your co-workers are female. You really have to be careful to not let that get to you.

I am a customer service representative that handles returns and refunds. My daily tasks include dealing with customers who are bringing in defective merchandise or mistaken purchases and reimbursing customers who have been overcharged for their items. People commonly make the mistake of believing that I am solely in charge of the decision as to whether or not they get their refund when in reality, I am just the middleman.

On a scale from one to ten I would rate my job satisfaction at about a seven. While I do enjoy my job and dealing with people, I would rather be in a management position. The thought really peaks my enthusiasm.

This job really does not move my heart and i do not feel as if I have found my calling in life. However, this job has helped me to recognize the fact that I am very good with working with the general public and i do enjoy meeting and conversing with all types of people from all places.

I would like for people to know that I never intended to be a customer service representative. I was hired into a typical retail clerk position in order to pay for college and I never finished school. I was halfway through getting my master’s degree in psychology when my wife became ill and I had to drop out.

If I could have done it differently, when it comes to my current position, I would have went to school and got my business degree and then applied for a management position. I really think that I am better suited for that type of work.

Considered working as an Architect? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to ‘DiversityJobs.com street smart’ – a collection of true work-life stories told by members of minority groups, from a quality control monitor to an associate teacher, and everything in between.

What is your job title? How many years of experience do you have in that field?

I am an Architect; I have worked for almost two years in this field.

Would you describe what you do on a typical day?

I update architectural design and structural changes on architectural plans, and work in architectural models of the projects in the office I work in.

What is your ethnicity? What kinds of discrimination have you experienced?

I am mixed race, I haven’t experienced any discrimination because of that.

Where you work, how well does your company do ‘equal opportunity’? Is management white and male? How are minorities perceived and treated?

The manager is female and white, she doesn’t have any problems about minorities but racial features are similar in most of the employees. The same racial features seem to prevail.

What don’t they teach in school that would’ve been helpful to you?

To have a more international vision. I feel like schools are still sometimes underestimating the fact that many of us have to work not only with people from other cultural backgrounds, but also with people who live in other countries. A lot of us are not prepared for that!.

How did you get started in this line of work? If you could go back and do it differently, what would you change?

Architecture is what I wanted to do since I was just a child. I can’t picture myself doing anything else.

If I could go back and do something differently, I would have negotiated my salary more carefully. Sometimes, people are just too eager to find a job that they like that they simply underestimate other factors. I am not saying that money matters more than liking your job; just be sure that you don’t underestimate factors like your salary, the hours you have to dedicate, et cetera.

On a good day, when things are going well, can you give an example of something that really makes you feel good?

When my ideas are considered good by others! In architecture and design, here are lots of things that are subjective so what some people might like might still be considered a terrible idea by others. But when an Architect who is more experienced than I am approves my ideas, this gives me confidence!.

When nothing seems to go right, what kind of snafus do you handle and what do you dislike the most?

When I do the same work over and over, due to uncertainty in the projects. I just don’t like the feeling, because I start thinking that I am somehow just wasting time.  I like to think that my time and effort are useful.

How stressful is your job? Are you able to maintain a comfortable or healthy work-life balance?

I think it is as stressful as I allow it to be, at the moment I don’t feel stressed and have a healthy life. Most of the days, I am out of the office at the time that I am supposed to no excessive workload), so I am able to dedicate the rest of my day to other activities.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your job satisfaction? What would it take to increase that rating?

I think I would rate it as a 7, I would like to have more flexibility in some aspects at work. Of course, doing what you have always wanted to do is an important factor in feeling satisfied, so I can’t really complain about that aspect.

What’s a rough salary range for the position you hold? Are you paid enough considering your responsibilities?

I am paid less than the average Architect with two years of experience makes. Considering both my responsibilities and the importance of the project I am working on, I think that I am severely underpaid.

The average for young architects varies, depending on the importance and size of the projects they develop, their skills and their responsibilities.

What’s the most rewarding moment you’ve experienced in this position? Of all the things you’ve done at work, what are you most proud of?

I like it when I receive compliments for my work and I am very proud of a very complex architectural model that I made on a low budget and a really tight deadline.

What’s the most challenging moment you’ve experienced?  What would you prefer to forget?

Completing an architectural model on time was very challenging! Especially because of the low budget that I had. I would prefer to forget some stuff I had to do that had nothing to do with my job duties, such as cleaning or organizing the office.

What education and skills do you need to get hired and succeed in this field?

You need a degree in Architecture, skills on using computers and drawing programs and some design skills. In addition, you really need to have an eye for detail and learn to tolerate and overcome frustrations. Subjectivity plays an important role in architecture, so you will need to be able to translate your ideas into models that people understand, and get used to the fact that not everyone is going to like or even understand your ideas all the time.

What would you tell a friend considering your line of work?

That he or she should really enjoy it because it is a very demanding line of work. This job belongs to that category in which, if you don’t really enjoy what you are doing, you better start looking somewhere else! Architecture is not exactly a career path that is easy to do if you are not passionate about it.

How much vacation do you take? Is it enough?

I get just a few days a year, which is not enough at all. I think that I would be happier and much more productive if I got some more days.

Are there any common myths you want to correct about what you do?

Most myths about architecture have some truth in them but, at the same time, most of them are exaggerated. For example, a lot of people seem to think that architects are designers and decorators as well. While some architects choose to orient their career paths to those areas,  most of us don’t.

Does this job move your heart? If not, what does?

It does, sometimes, but mostly it makes me feel I’m doing something useful.

If you could write your own ticket, what would you like to be doing in five years?

I want to working in a major architectural firm in another country. I would like to work in a city and country that are known for their innovation. Maybe I would choose from  cities like New York, London or Montreal, where It would be possible to develop more ideas that are completely new and ground-breaking.

Is there anything unique about your situation that readers should know when considering your experiences or accomplishments?

I think that architecture is very influenced by the situations and characteristics of each city and country. For example, architects in London go through different situations than those who live and work in Ohio, just to name an example.  So experiences would probably vary a lot depending on the location.

The good news is that government jobs are available at various skill levels and only a small percentage of federal jobs are located in Washington D.C.

There are also no common personality types for federal government jobs. The federal government is a true EEOC employer. Certainly highlighting your skill set is critical as it would be in any job search no matter public or private sector. Many of your private sector skills will transfer over to a public sector job. Depending on the type of job you are applying for, you may be required to perform additional assessments or clearances to determine your qualifications.

For more information on the federal hiring process, please visit http://www.usajobs.gov/fhprocess.asp