Easily, Breezily, Beautifully Being Prepared

There is nothing worse then waking up the day of your interview to have everything go wrong. I woke up one morning, on the day of an interview, and bumped my shin on the side of my bed causing an instant bruise that a) did not match with the outfit I intended to wear and b) displayed its brilliant colours just under the hem of my new pencil skirt, ugh. “If this is any indication of how my day is going to go” I thought, “I am not going to get this job.” Well, my morning did not get much better: The cowlick in my hair made it impossible to have a good hair day; I poured cereal and sliced a banana to learn I did not have my typical almond milk…so I settled for a protein shake; and after choosing a new outfit (due to my early morning melee with my bed causing the bruise), I spilled protein shake on my blouse!

My saving grace was that I afforded myself enough time, in the event of a disaster (or two or three), and I performed a dry-run of my route to the interview; so, I knew how much time to allow myself to eliminate at least one morning stressor. A few days prior, I set my GPS, timed myself, and then tacked on an extra half an hour just in case a train should attempt to derail my morning or heavy traffic should arise. Further, when I arrived at my POI, I walked around familiarizing myself with the area and the building so I knew exactly where I was going on that day; and thank Gucci I did because I arrived early with enough time to relax in the waiting area and review my documentation. Lesson of the day: Afford yourself enough time in the morning, both in getting ready and in the commute, so that you eliminate added stress. The morning of an interview is never easy and why burden yourself with additional anxiety? Remember anxiety shows and you want to be an easy, breezy, beautiful cover girl for your big day.


Happy job shopping!

To Flare or not to Flare

I am often asked what type of font to use for a cover letter and resume. Here’s my take on it: Picking a font is much like picking an outfit for an event—it must be acceptable. You are likely not going to wear your best purse, heels, and jewels from New York’s runway to your friends BBQ, right? So, pick a font that suits the intention. There are two fonts frequently used by writers: serif and sans serif. I like the word serif as it represents letters with flare; meaning, letters that have semi-structural details at the corners of the letters like Times New Roman font (My opinion? Times New Roman is also more feminine). Sans serif font, sans meaning “without” in French, is very simple, stick-like, and uninteresting like Arial font. When determining which font to use, ask yourself the following questions Will I be faxing my documentation? Will I be emailing my documentation? or Will I be handing out my documentation in person?


Typically, if you are handing out your resumes and cover letters in person, a serif font like Times New Roman is a great choice; the serifs propel the reader to move forward and studies state that a serif font is easier to read in print. On the contrary, if you will be primarily faxing or emailing your resume and cover letter, you may want to choose a sans serif font which may look clean and crisp once received by the employer (most notably when faxing as fax machines tend to smear or blur the content with a serif font).

My choice is clearly a font with flare. Characteristic of my personality? Definitely!

Happy job shopping!