The resume black hole is real and chances are some of your documents have gone into the ether at one point or another. In reality, your resume got weeded out by resume-filtering bots called applicant tracking systems (ATS).

ATS makes hiring managers' lives much easier. Most job postings receive, on average, 250 applications. Large companies receive about 50,000-75,000 resumes each week. Given that most companies only interview five (give or take) candidates, there is a lot of filtering to be done. According to Top Resume, 75% of resumes are never even seen by human eyes.

Sometimes at the start of a new year, we are a bit overambitious with what we hope to achieve in the year ahead. How are your resolutions going so far? The halfway point can be a nice time to reflect on your goals. It might help to make them more manageable by following these simple tips below:

Be Realistic

Sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in unhelpful, thought patterns that lead us to feel overwhelmed. This can impact our mood and ultimately how we show up at work, in our relationships and in other areas of our lives.  Overthinking is an unhealthy habit in which the negative, critical, internal running commentary analyzes behaviors or words by others and concludes that the intent was negative.

It can be easy to get swept up in the excitement of a job offer and immediately say, “Yes, I’ll accept!” During the interview, you probably already learned a lot about the organization and role; however, it is imperative that you take even more time – once an offer is in hand – to get clarity on job specifics. If you have recently been offered a position, here are some points to consider:

Post written by guest blogger Emily Grugan; Postbac IRTA fellow, OITE Summer Program Staff Assistant

Emotional intelligence is our ability to identify and regulate our emotions, communicate in effective ways, have empathy for others, and work through conflict in constructive ways. You may notice that you have strengths in certain areas of emotional intelligence and room for improvement in others.  We are not born with a fixed emotional intelligence; we are able to improve these skills throughout our lives. With enhanced emotional intelligence our relationships can be healthier, our success greater in school and at work, and we become more equipped to motivate ourselves to attain our personal and professional goals.

With close attention being paid to mental health, particularly in the workplace, we are all becoming more aware of its importance. This shift in awareness is certainly important, but too often the conversations we are having about this topic are happening through a deficit lens – one that is solely focused on the treatment or avoidance of illness. But fostering our mental health is about more than just relieving distress and disorder; it’s also about understanding and building on our strengths that contribute to psychological wellbeing and a longer, healthier life.

People often reach out for support around time management, hoping that with the right system, tracker, trick, or calendar gadget, they will be primed for ultimate productivity and success. Unfortunately, the answer is rarely that simple and it almost never lies in a fancy planner or app. Time management is connected to and impacted by several different factors - our values, our environment, our motivation and energy, and our physical and mental health, to name a few – which is why there is no one-size fits all intervention here. But some helpful concepts that can empower us all to navigate our unique time management hang-ups are:

Each person’s mental health exists on a continuum, often fluctuating due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the state of our physical health, the stressors we’re navigating, or typical life changes like loss or gain of a relationship, a move, or job change. It’s no surprise then that most of us will experience mental health concerns at some point in our lives. As a result, it’s necessary to begin building awareness and language that empowers us to effectively support a colleague or friend who may be struggling or seek support for ourselves when needed.

Performance anxiety is defined as the fear of performing a specific task. Many of us have experienced some physical and/or psychological distress before a major event in our life.  These events can include speaking in front of people, taking an exam, an interview for a new position, or a presentation at work. Performance anxiety is extremely common, affecting roughly 40% of all adults in the U.S.  Many famous performers have been open about their struggles with performance anxiety, for example, the late actor Paul Newman, international singers Adele, Rihanna and Katy Perry, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles have spoken publicly about their fears.