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Dumbing down resumes March 15, 2011

Posted by jvmullin in Job Searching, Job Searching.
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If this subject isn’t like opening a can of worms!

Do I or don’t I?

I need a job and I keep hearing that I am over qualified so should I dumb down my resume?

There are pros and cons to doing it and it could get you fired right after you have started a job.

If you dumb down your resume to get hired then once you are in you will want to prove yourself right? Well not so fast there, remember you dumb down your resume so you are not suppose to be good at what you do much less that advanced in it. So that will throw red flags up and then they will start asking how you know so much.

You have just been nailed! Some companies feel that omissions on a resume is the same as lying on your resume and it is grounds for immediate dismissal. So goes your short lived job.

Now the other problem for you. You have to remember what you didn’t put on there so you don’t mess up and look smarter than your dumb resume. So this puts stress on you to remember what your dumb you is versus the smart you who wants to excel. So it is how long can you play the dumb game before the stress makes you go crazy.

ANOTHER VIEW

If you need to dumb down your resume to get a job, how happy will you be in a job where you know that your smarter than your boss and maybe even their boss. How happy will you be knowing that you had to degrade yourself to land a job.  You are going to be miserable and not very productive and this could effect your 90 day review.

The other part of that is you are proud of the work you have done and the skills you have acquired and you hate the fact that you have to dumb down to get a job.  So again you are miserable and the question is can you leave that misery at  work or are you going to wear it as your albatross??? Now your friends and/or family are miserable.

So what do you do?

Well that is up to you.  I know things are getting desperate and that money is tight and about to run out. So you think it is desperation time just dumb it down and get a job any job at this point.

Well if you are going that route don’t apply for a company your really want to work at because it could destroy your chances of working there the right way.  If you are going for survival work while you still look for your dream job I would say do what you think is best for you.

In closing let me just say keep track of who you sent the dumb resume to as you don’t want to show up at an interview and spring the smart resume on them. That would make the interview real short.

Choices March 10, 2011

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Where do I start with choices that job seekers have? There are not many and they are all tough choices.

We are up against the worst  job market since probably the depression. It isn’t getting any better. The government is absolutely no help as they are controlled by finance and big business. Just look at AIG and Goldman Sachs, they bail them out only to have these companies go right back to business as usual and the government sits silent and does nothing.  Oh they put on an air pushing for reform but that was to appease the tax payers and then let it die in the media and congress.

Since things are so frustrating  job seekers are in a front line battle with HR and recruiters. This is one of those feuds that have been going on far too long like the Hatfield’s and the McCoys. At least in some groups the better recruiters are trying diligently to train job seekers and bad recruiters as to how it done properly.

It could be companies have agents to keep this feud going as it detracts from them who are the real problem here. Them! Yes they are the ones that can’t make a decision, they have no clue what they really need, and their attitude about unemployed need no apply.

Then there are there  job postings. What moron is writing these things up? They themselves couldn’t fill the position they are advertising  as they would be highly underqualified.

There are many merger and acquisitions going on which equates to more layoffs and then companies are still laying off anyway. AOL just laid off 200 in the US only. Thanks AOL for boosting the economy. I am glad I got away from them many years ago.

So what choices do we have with all this going against us.

The choices are these;

1.) Refuse to be intimidated by the situation and all the players in it.

2.) Resolve to stay positve and help others like yourself stay positive.

3.) Do not give up ever! Yes it is tough but you are a professional and do professionals throw in the towel? No! They find solutions. So find yours!

4.) Get out of the house, network, walk, get a cup of coffee or tea, visit a friend who is unemployed.

5.) Stick to your values and ethics.

6.) They cannot take away your knowledge, skills  and experience. But just because you are not working doen’t mean yu can’t use them to help you land that next job.

7.) Stop generating excuses and being a naysayer. Get positive and confident.

8.) Get into LinkedIn Job hunt groups and also recruiter groups so that you can have discussion and not assumptions. The good ones will help you.

9.) Help out around the house but wait until after dinner, your 9-5 is your job search job nothing else.

So it boils down to your choice is to let this defeat you or you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps and move forward.

Is it time to fight back? February 23, 2011

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I hear horror stories form job seekers on a daily basis. I find it at times hard to phathom how recruiters HR and companies can be so insensitive and unethical and especially unprofessional. How these people are totally clueless to the impact that their actions have on them, their industry, their field, and their business. The fact that the leadership nay the , because they lack leadership, allows this to happen and in some cases condones it. i.e. unemployeed need not apply!

We hear from all types of sources that we can not use abbreviations nor acronyms in our resumes, which by the way are industry specific and widely used in that industry. However when we view job postings they are laden with exactly what we are not allowed to use. This double standard has a negative reflection on HR and recruiters but then they don’t care. They are of the school of do as I say not as I do. Well I for one and I am sure there are many am fed up with the double standard. I probably will not get the job nor do I want to work for such companies anyway so I might as well enjoy the process my way.

We see it on job boards, God why is anyone still using them?, we see it on LinkedIn and other sites.

I have started a campaign to right this injustice.

When I see things like “I’m Hiring” I will not inquire if they are talking humans or animals. Which MLM or insurance company do they represent.

No I don’t want to buy or sell viagra and no I don’t want to hear your how to get rich scheme where the only one making millions is you off of desperate people.

I will point out that the ad is confusing between abbreviations and acronyms and if I am told that it is okay for the ad because it is industry standards I will put them in my resume with a bold note at the top informing them that all abbreviations and acronyms are industry standards.

I will also make it a habit to point out to them poor grammar and spelling errors. Then inform them that I could not work for a company with such poor work ethics.

Our time is valuable as we work much longer hours than they do trying to find work so that we may survive.  So I feel it is in our right to dish back to them the junk they throw at us all the time.

Maybe just maybe it may strike a chord in their small minds and bring to light how unprofessional and callous they have been.

I pointed out the one HR person yesterday as to how it wasted my time responding to his “Excellent oppotunity” ad just to find out it was for sales. Yes that is the exact spelling from the ad and I pointed that out as well.

I received an apology and a thanks for the feedback and a promise that he would be more respectful in the future.

So it is a start of my mission for us all.

 

Do you feel like Thomas Edison? I know I do! January 31, 2011

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Thomas Edison took 1,000 tries to invent the lightbulb.

When asked about his many failures Edison replied that he had not failed at all. But that he had learned 1,000 ways not to make a lightbulb.

There is a lesson in this.  We apply for jobs and then expect results. When none come we do the same thing over again. This is the definition of insanity.  We need to learn from our trials and tribulations during the process. Like Edison it may take you 1,000 tries to land that job.

Do you think Edison kept using the same materials over and over again expecting different results. NO!

He studied what he did and learned from it. If I use this wire it just heats up and breaks. Why did it do that? Oh I see the wire has to have these properties. Next wire.

As job seekers we have to do the same thing. We have to catalog everything we try and to learn from the lesson. We need to analyze it and take the parts that worked and figure out how to use them in a better lightbulb and then discard the ones that didn’t.  We need to know what didn’t work so we don’t repeat it and waste time.

Ah but we have the advantage that Edison did not we have others doing the same thing that we can meet with and find out what they have discovered.  Kind of like what  the Wright Brothers had experienced during the process of making their plane. There were others working on the same idea at the same time and they somewhat shared their ideas, I think more out of ego than collaboration.

So lets all be Like Thomas Edison and have the right attitude that we haven’t failed we just have discovered a number of ways that don’t work.

 

 

Dear Corporate America I am not resting on my laurels Sincerely Jobseeker January 21, 2011

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There has been much discussion these past year about how companies and others are looking at job seekers.

They call them lazy, unqualified, deadbeats, entitled and others.

I guess they easily forget tit was they who put a high number of highly qualified people on the streets in the name of profits ans shareholder equity. Now instead of being part of the solution to help the economy they have become a larger part of the problem.  They are also assisted by the recruiting industry.

Can you blame the qualified people who have been out of work for so long to give up hope on landing a position with the treatment they have received and unduly at that. Shame on you  people! Your attitude and actions should be considered unethical and immoral to say the least. But this seems to be the attitude that prevails in America today.

A vast number of qualified people to keep their skills up to date have taken on volunteer work, consulting, contract and short term employment. They do this to survive and even at that it is a struggle.

But now you are even using that as an excuse not to hire someone. The practice started at the end of 2010 that is you are not employed you need not apply was the most absurd shoot yourself in the foot move that I have ever seen. Then you have the audacity to state that you cannot find qualified candidates to fill your open positions while you treat your employees like slave labor.  You are your own worst enemy.

The economy is starting to turn and you will need to replace a number of positions that you vacated. It would serve you right to not be able to attract or retain top talent.  It would serve you right for the people working for you now to not increase their productivity one iota. This is what you are facing for your sins.

I know a number of highly qualified seekers who speak with me frequently on their frustrations and how they have been demoralized by you people. IS compassion dead in the business world? It sure appears that way.

I have to encourage these people to persevere and to stay focused in their endeavors. I have to try to make sense of what is going on in order to give them some gleam of hope. I myself am finding it harder to fathom these actions that I speak of and can only chalk it up to poor leadership, which also seem prevalent today. I understand in business when things start to turn down that is is a good time to get rid of deadwood in the first RIF. What I have a hard time fathoming is the actions being taken against people who are qualified that were parts of the preceding  RIF’s. I just can’t understand the reasoning behind this abomination.  Were you thinking that your company was the only one that suffered the recession in your industry? I wish someone would explain to me the valid reasoning behind these insane practices so that I might be better equipped to explain it to my clients.

SO what I would like Corporate America to understand that the qualified people are not sitting at home on their ass watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. They are out there volunteering, consulting, contracting and working temp in order to keep there skills fresh. They are patiently waiting for the opportunity to help your company recover and move forward.  You are over looking one of the hardest working forces waiting  for this energy to be unleashed by you.  And you have the audacity to look down on such a valuable asset. I question where you learned how to run a business and further questions your leadership skills.

This blog will invoke anger as it is intended to. But I wish you to carefully consider is that anger really at me as a scapegoat or yourself for the actions you have brought about on others. Do these unconscionable actions excuses to help you sleep better at night? To be able to get up in the morning and face yourself in the mirror knowing there are seekers and their families suffering, being torn to the brink of destruction, due your decisions and actions?

I am running out of excuses for your actions. I used up all the business reasons and they no longer fly. So what is your solution or are you going to continue being the problem?

 

More something to share January 19, 2011

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My friend that I mentioned in my last post tells me nothing has changed and if anything has gotten worse.

This has me thinking about coyotes! Coyotes you say what are you thinking and how did you get to that?

Coyotes are canine and like to be in packs (aka family) and the packs are run by an alpha male(dad) and a dominant female(mom). Now since coyotes are animals this is just the way nature intended it for the survival of the pack.

Now humans have some of the same traits we see in coyotes the alphas and dominants. You can find these traits not only in parents but in your friends and colleagues. You know the ones that I mean those with an insatiable drive to not only control their lives but to tell everyone else what they should be doing as well.

Now while these people have the best of intentions they are so consumed with this drive that they cannot see beyond themselves and their control dominance. In other words the world according to me and how I want it run types.

These people are so controlled by their alpha/dominant gene that they become blinded to their effects on others. I believe that they have no clue not a single idea as to the destructive nature their dominance has on others. It is the same effects as a bully boss when you were working.  The stress, low self esteem, low self value, you begin to doubt yourself, and your afraid to make any move outside of the norm for fear it will not be right.

Now take these effects and magnify them 10 X because you are unemployed. These combined effects can tear any human down to a pile of worthlessness.  This is one of the reason that we teach unemployed to avoid negative people as much as possible. We should also teach them to try real hard to avoid the alphas and dominants also.

It amazes me that just because we have a brain that supposedly evolved to something better than an ape that we are so intelligent. But yet we do stupid things to others, we hurt others with no thought as to the consequences of our actions. These people are so self involved or focused that they can’t see beyond the me to realize the damage they are causing.

So if you are in this situation what can you do?

Well leave this out where they can read it. The hardest thing to do is to muster up the courage to confront these people and get them to understand that their destructive nature is keeping you unemployed. You need to point out the increased stress level, the reduction of self worth, and taking your focus off the search and putting it on how to keep these people off your back.

Your job search is hard work enough dealing with unprofessional recruiters and HR types who never return calls or get annoyed when you try to get a status update from them, researching companies, writing cover letters, and networking.

You truly want a job just so you can coast a little. Having a job isn’t anywhere as difficult as searching for a job. Yet the abuse yes I said abuse by parents, family and friends marches on.

I say to these people that if they want to really help, then they need to sit down with you and find out exactly what you are looking for. They need to know what information you need on a company and to help you research. They need to talk to their friends and family to get the word out that you need a job or more contacts. They need to keep your life as normal as it was when you had a job, not treat you like you have a deadly plague they might catch. People have the misconception that unemployment is contagious. This is a myth!!

So a word of advice to you alphas and dominants out there, if you are not part of the solution, then you have become part of the problem so BACK OFF!. Job seekers need encouragement and normalcy in their life not more stress and abuse.

 

Job Hunt desires and humor! January 13, 2011

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Do you ever get the urge to step outside and scream at the top of your lungs, I am somebody dammit and I am qualified for the jobs I submit too.

I know that I do.

The other idea that just popped into my head was to have in large 16 or 18 point bold Ariel font at the top of my resume the following.

For human consumption only!  Not responsible for making scanning software ignorant!

or the other idea,

To be read by an intelligent caring human being preferably a hiring manager.

But that would be an oxymoron then wouldn’t it.

I would like to get a large gathering of HR professionals, I use that term very loosely, and give them all a behavioral and psychological test/interview. Provide them with with all the assessment test to take. When all was completed I would match their results up to a industry standard job posting and fire everyone of them that didn’t  match exactly.

Then I would post their postions and if they applied would send them a form letter saying that although we were impressed with your quailifcation we found much better qualified candidates.

Just what are the qualifications for an HR position?

Heartless?

Unable to see potential from reading a resume?  Is reading still a requirement?

Reading Comprehension? Replaced by scanning software!

Pigeon Holing?

Rationalization?

I think that one day soon I will search for HR positions to see what the requirements are.

Will it require them to have every combination of alphabet after their name?

Will it require being a recent college grad willing to work for dirt but have 15 years of experience?

Will it say that most of you who apply while qualified will be told your over or that there are better qualified than you?

Career Coaches are another target pet peeve of mine!

How to find a job by committee consensus! A group of self appointed career coaches gathered for a week of drunken debauchery and decided these are the things that you need to do to find a job.  Of course we have jobs so we don’t nor care if they work.

Research was done recently on LinkedIn profiles to find the most used and abused word and phrases and the total was 50. I read all 50 and found that every single one of them are what you are told to use to stand out by career coaches and so called HR experts.

By doing this they have rendered these words and phrases a meaningless to hiring managers.

It did not surprise me that when I checked I my resume and profile not one single word or phrase did I find.

To differentiate is to not fall inline like a lemming with everyone else.  However scanning software is not AI (artificial intelligence) and can’t tell that you are qualified and differentiating.   Apparently neither can HR nor career coaches.

Let us not forget the battle over resume length!  The trenches are dug and the battle wages on. It appears to be evenly matched and no winner any time soon.

I think the one page reasoning is that there comprehension time isn’t long enough to get to page 2. How did they ever get through college?

Maybe the reason is because the 2-3,000 resume they claim to receive  for 1 post is lighter than if you has some 2,3 or 4 page resumes in the pile. There job doesn’t require heavy lifting.

I once sent a professional profile instead of a resume. I received a call from an HR type who couldn’t comprehend what the profile was saying and asked for a 1 page resume. Chronological of course!  I said for a mid level manager position a 1 page resume would be insufficient. His reply was that is what I was told to ask for. I said then I rescind my application because I cannot work for a company like yours. Then I had to explain rescind.

I apologize if I sound like I am complaining it is just that I tired of having to deal with a system that is terribly broken and the people in the system will do nothing to fix it.  There latest committee fix to the problem was to change their name from Human Resource to Human Capital to make themselves feel less hated. Well it didn’t work you still look like incompetent Bozoos from the outside looking in.

 

 

Something to share with friends and family January 8, 2011

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I was in a lengthy conversation yesterday with a friend who is unemployed. It started with a comment her mother made. It made me think in a way how true that statement was.

So you should share this post with your friends and family.

Friends and family have all the best intentions when trying to help you. The problem is they really don’t know how. Family especially, they either fall silent or they nag about you not working yet.

What they do not understand is that you are already under self induced stress and that their nagging doesn’t help. It just makes matters that much worse.

What are the effects?

You are already feeling bad enough about not working when they place more stress on you it kicks up your negativity meter up 20 points or more. The longer you are out the worse things gets, self doubt starts creeping in to undermine your efforts to find that great position you want . The effects it has on your job search become detrimental to you. You look for negative aspects in every job post . This will keep you from applying to jobs that you are qualified for but because you are missing one or two points your negativity will tell you don’t bother. This could be a missed opportunity. When you get a phone screen it is in your voice no matter how much you try to sound upbeat you do not come across as genuine. You are on edge from being stressed and frustrated and ready to explode at the person on the other end of the phone when they ask you stupid questions. This negativity will carry through in a face to face interview.

They need to realize the news isn’t helping either with their conflicting articles and reports. Some of it is based on business trying to get consumers to spend money they do not have. I see a lot of it as pure hype to get consumers to hold up the economy from further collapse. Business will not make sacrifices they want the consumer to make them.

The fear factor that is going on in business today especially in the hiring process. Managers and HR are afraid to make a decision for fear of hiring the wrong person. If they do hire they are not hiring the best they are hiring the safest. Friends and Family need to realize this that it really isn’t you it is the system that is broken right now.

US based companies that are laying off here and hiring in foreign markets are not helping the US economy because it is presenting false hope for home. How does this happen. Because their business in foreign markets is improving while here they are diminishing their profits are rising. They appear to economist to be on the rebound so the economist wrongly apply that to the home market. They are giving false hope that the home markets are on the rebound and that jobs will soon follow. If you look at the stories form people with enough guts to tell the truth, they are saying that the rate of new jobs is not enough to get us back to prerecession rates by 2016.  So it doesn’t look hopeful for job seekers.

So what can friends and family do for you? They can get a really good understanding of what it is you are looking for. That position that you would love to go to everyday. Then they need to go to their networks and say hey I have a friend who is a great ______________ and they are looking for an opportunity to contribute to a company. Then they need to give you encouragement. To boost your ego not tear it down. They need to offer to help you research companies. They need to talk to their networks to find good recruiters that may know of unadvertised jobs.

Yes they need to give encouragement. Tell you what a great job you are doing staying focused and going for that dream job. Keeping you positive is their job, not adding stress to an already stressful situation.  The more they can help stay focused and upbeat the faster you will find that position and land it.

If you are wondering what my friends mother said, she said, You are not successful because we are in your life. For all the reasons I mentioned above she is right.

It is stressful for everyone involved but positive is the attitude that must be adopted to succeed and to avoid the negatives at all costs.

 

News we could loose!(Humor title) January 6, 2011

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I am being a little sarcastic with the headline. Why? Because it is news we do not really want to hear but must face.

The news we have been hearing through 2010 is continuing into 2011. I guess it boils down to who you want to listen to and who do you want to believe.  I mean it is confusing when the media you are reading has 2 articles on the same page that conflict each other.

US companies showing a rebound in stocks. Sounds great for the ole  U S of A gives you hope. Then 2 articles down they tell you that while US based companies are hiring like crazy off shore they continue to layoff here at home.

The industry that is hiring is the medical field so you should apply there. They do not tell you that you need school and more than that exact experience. A few articles down there is talk of drug companies having major layoffs as well as hospitals.

So you can see my point for the title and the sarcasm.

So with all the conflicting data and articles out there what is a seeker to do.

Stay focused, do your research, pick your target companies and stay on top of what they are doing. Set up google alerts on them to notify you when they get mentioned. Use this information when you are networking your way into the company.

Use LinkedIn to help you get noticed and stay up on the latest trends in your field. How? By groups and professional organization groups, read and engage in the discussions.  Check the company for jobs and for people who you may want to network with.

Loose the news and stay focused on what is important you landing!

2011 Better year or more frustration?? December 30, 2010

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I don’t know about you but I am fed up with the conflicting articles about the economy and unemployment figures.

My take on the economy is that the people hyping the economy are paid by big business so as not to bite the hand that feeds them they will say things are looking great so that you will spend money to boost the economy that isn’t great. The economy as I see it is in shambles still and will remain that way for 5- 6 years at the minimum. The economy is in an oscillation and will remain that way due to all the false hope presented by the economist.

The other thing driving this false notion id the fact that US based companies are doing well offshore, they are hiring in other countries while continually laying off here at home. Their stocks are going up because they are being profitable on the books. This is great for the company but has no effect on our economy. It certainly isn’t producing jobs here.

What lesson can you learn from this? You can start broadening your job search to offshore or stay here and perish.

If you are still thinking about using job boards in 2011 then I pity you and hope that you can somehow manage to keep food on the table and a roof over your head in the coming year. I see job boards as becoming passe in 2011 as they are for companies and recruiters and really do not serve our interest as seekers.  The information they provide seekers is the same tripe I feel that is keeping you from landing that position.

That brings me to all the career expert, coaches and trainers that have been like the job boards been putting out the same BS and tripe all through 2010. I think they are desperate as they are loosing business because we seekers can no longer afford them or have found out it has been monies wasted.  I feel that we know our industry and markets far better than they do. We understand the hurdles and barriers to entry better than they do. We have also learned that job boards are ineffective for the most part when finding a new career.  I want to see or hear something new or innovative from these people in 2011 something that is truly useful to us seekers. It is time for the broken record of 2010 to end. Get on the fad wagon of industry and get innovative!

So that leads me to companies and the hiring practices of 2010.  Hey hiring managers get a clue will ya! Do you have any idea really of what you need for the present or the future? Do you remember or have you heard of manpower studies? This would help you tremendously in figuring it out.  I know from experience that it really works. But to let some of the burden off of you guys I know that your job is made more difficult by those above you who haven’t a clue or are afraid to make a decision for fear of looking like an idiot. Well I have news for them they look like an idiot either way so make a decision and stick to it.

And since I am on a roll here with my frustrations lets not forget the seekers for 2011.

I have been working with fellow professionals fro the last 2 years trying to help them make sense of all this and to get them to get their heads together and start thinking like a professional again. For some it has taken for others it is hopeless. I am trying hard to help one friend as she is fully aware and gets the whole picture and like me we just can’t seek to get our foot in the right door to present ourselves. A company that hires us will never regret it as the ROI is much higher than what are loaded labor costs would be. But for other seekers I am tired of providing information and suggestions to these people just to be ignored or they do not utilize the tools given to them. I am also tired of hearing that their industry has disappeared but they are still sitting here looking instead of looking where the industry might be hiring. The usual excuse is that “well I have family here”. Yes and it is called transportation for a reason. Last I knew, correct me if I am wrong here, phone and roads work both ways. What a revelation!!! You can travel by car, bus, train, or plane to visit. You have telephone. cell phone, Skype, Facebook and other means for staying in touch.  So the I have family here excuse is just that an excuse to take a risk and move on. It is out of fear of the unknown. Change your attitude and look at it as an adventure not a disaster waiting to happen. Look at it as a way to meet and make new friends to explore a new area to get back to enjoying work instead of being miserable at home. Do what I did. I say down with my children awhile ago and told them , look I love yo all dearly but I have to go where the work is and we can visit each other. Guess what they understood and accepted the fact that this is the new reality in this country. So for 2011 get rid of the excuses about family and schools and such and support your family by landing a good job where ever and start fresh. The alternative is to stay put and loose everything. The choice is yours think about it.

So if I have everyone mad at  me at this point I have accomplished my goal for the end of 2010 it was a bad year anyway. I am looking forward to a better and brighter new year. If you understood the points that I tried to make come join me if not I am leaving you on my dust try not to choke to death!