Manipulating the GRE Exam

Gang, there is no way to beat ETS.
But you can work the system!  

  

While the GRE Exam is total Bull Shit, and indicates nothing about your ability to survive graduate school.  It is yet another hoop you must jump through to be a member of the club.  Find here a way to manipulate the ETS system, giving yourself the best possible chance at the highest reportable scores...

First... Do all the studying and preparation that every other blogger, prep guider and hocker of services tells you to do.

ScoreSelect Selection Box

Second... And this is key.  

TAKE ONLY ONE SECTION OF THE EXAM AT A TIME!  

This is why... 

With ScoreSelect you can choose the Latest Exam, Every Exam, or Any Exam to send. 

So here is how it works...  If your great at Verbal Reasoning take that section only.  DO NOT answer any questions on the Quantitative Reasoning section.  This will be reported as a NS, or No Score for the Quantitative reasoning section.  Not a '0' like everyone else is saying, but a NS.  An NS cannot be quantified or averaged.  If you score well, your done. (find the ETS policy here)  

"Anything in the 50th percentile is considered good, but the 75th percentile is obviously better."

"Check your school's admissions policies to see what you need..."  

Then take the test again and do the same thing for the Quantitative Reasoning.  DO NOT answer any of the Verbal Reasoning questions.  Again, the result for this exam will be NS, or No Score on the Verbal Section.  If you do well, your done. 

If not...

TAKE THE EXAM AGAIN

DUMB-ASS...

Do the same thing for the Analytical Writing, or combine this section with the Verbal Reasoning if your the next Shakespeare...  I suggest if you have come this far you might as well have three separate exam scores, or more if you need to raise one score.

Now, here is the beauty of the manipulation... With ScoreSelect (using the Any Exam option), you can choose to send the highest scores from three different exams and the recipients cannot see any of your low scores.  They can't average... They can't discriminate...  They can't do anything but take three scores from three different exams, and you get to choose the scores, not ETS and not the recipients.

There is a down side...  Let's say you did great on the Verbal Reasoning section and scored a 172 on the first try.  But, you needed to take the Quantitative Reasoning section three time to get a score of 163  (dumb-ass).  And, you took the Analytical Writing section twice, to get a 4.5.

1 + 3 + 2 = 6

Oh, if the Quant was just this easy!

This means you pay $160.00, six times.  

For a total of $960.00, Ouch!
Plus $25.00 for each school to which you send a report.  

But hey, if you could buy a Masters or a PhD, you would.  

And isn't that what your doing in the end anyway?

Will your Resume "Stink up the Joint"

Six Easy Tips To Keep Your Resume On Top

Town to town, up and down the dial.  It's a fact of life for everyone in the business of Radio and Television.  But will your resume get you the better job and fatter check?  Or does it just plain stink?

Well it may not stink, but does it stand out?  Does it make it from the stack of 100, into the stack of 10 that actually get reviewed in detail?  Remember, the HR manager is going through the applicants fast!  "No, no, no, no, yes, no, no, no, yes..." and then passing the qualified candidates on to the hiring manager.  You need to be the one that gets the "yes" in less than :10 seconds.  And trust me, I've faced a stack of resumes 8 inches thick as a hiring manager in TV.  The faster I could say no, the better!  And we're only talking about the resume, let alone your demo reel.

Here are six Do's and Don'ts for the beginner as well as the seasoned professional.  They'll help get you past the initial review and in the short stack for actual consideration:

1) Do write a short cover letter.  Highlighting your best points of course, but more importantly give them back their job criteria from the want ad.

2) Don't be creative with your resume.  Managers are expecting information in a format easily read.

3) Do provide a career objective.  I suggest it should be whatever the job title is they are looking for.

4) Don't forget to give a summary of qualifications.  This is that :10 second thing.  Here is another opportunity to highlight you, but also give them back their job criteria from the ad.  Be sure to use "-ing" words, like Managing, Fostering or Developing.

5) Don't list your education first.  This screams no experience, hitting the circular file lickety split!

6) Finally, do seek out the help of a professional, experienced in career coaching and resume development.  The money you spend now will come back 100 fold later.


In my next installment, 10 tips for a kick ass demo reel!
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Bob F. Dowd is a 20 year veteren of television, marketing and advertising.  

He offers career advice and career coaching nationwide.

Entry Level Radio DJ Reel

Makelita was a 21 year old graduate from MTSU. In 2009, after an unsuccessful 8 month search, she realized her work done in class was just not good enough to land her first real job in Radio. She scheduled a 12 hour Sunday session with me and BINGO! Cover Letter, Resume, Demo Reel, YouTube Channel and the confidence to hit the ground running. Two months later she landed a great job in up-state New York with a R&B Station. 

This is the kind of success you can achieve with a little direction and advice. The cost for Makeita, just $225.00. Her first pay check, $973.00.

Don't wait 8 months to find out everyone is after the same jobs your are after. Don't wait until after graduation. Do it now. Saturday and Sunday sessions start after Spring Break. 615-294-9870

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Bob F. Dowd is a 20 year veteren of television, marketing and advertising.  

He offers career advice and career coaching nationwide.