Returning to work following a vacation is always challenging. This year brought challenges at several client organizations who are hiring Human Resources staff for their organizations. Perhaps my expectations are too high - and this is a real consideration as I have been hiring staff for more years than I care to mention - but the ability of candidates to project their experience and desirability is poor.

We seek HR Assistants, and I have had to participate in this process four times in client companies in the past six years. The search seems familiar one more time; the most qualified candidates make as much as the current HR Manager. The lesser qualified people come across as paper pushers who have already hollowed out an administrative HR niche - which we need - but cannot totally define the role of the person hired. We want much more. However, reviewing resumes is discouraging and depressing.

Candidates have not figured out how to document and present their actual contributions. Most resumes continue to focus on what the candidate did in their current position. They do not focus on, nor highlight, the contributions and the measurable differences the candidate has made at work.

Additionally, candidates fail to customize their cover letters, except in the most generic ways, such as company name substitution, to address what the company seeks in skills and qualifications from an employee. Typos are rampant, even from candidates who say that their strength is their attention to detail.

All of this is quite the downer for employers and I have not yet even touched upon the fact that most of the candidates present themselves as uncreative and unexciting. We're about to do a second advertisement and lower the entry requirements in hopes of finding smart, creative, thoughtful people, even if they lack experience in HR.

_{Image Copyright Pali Rao}

More About Resumes and Cover Letters

• Why This Sample Resume Rocks.
• Gone in Thirty Seconds: How to Review a Resume.
• My Favorite Resume Cover Letter.
• Why Resume Cover Letters Should Matter to Employers.

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Want to know the 10 most popular articles and resources on the Human Resources site? These are your top 10 favorite Human Resources articles and resources for 2009. I made this assessment based on the number of readers who accessed each article over the year. Thought you might like to know the favorites of other readers whether they access the articles via search, the site blog and navigation, or the newsletter.

This holiday time period also brought me the opportunity to reflect, not just on the past year, but on the decade of the 2000s. What started out as a "best" and "worst" trends project for me, changed. Each trend has its "best" and "worst" components, and what might make me happy doesn't necessarily make you happy.

Government intervention in the workplace is an example. I believe governments should stay out of the employer-employee relationship. Other readers believe that government should intervene more. So, is this trend a "best" or a worst"? It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

Consequently, I identified my top ten trends of the decade with several runners-up. Several of these trends were suggested by readers; the rest are my sorting of the many trends of the decade for Human Resources and the management of people in the workplace. Your thoughts are welcome. So are your nominations for best and worst trends of the decade.

About.com's Best of the Decade

Interested in additional trends from the decade of the 2000s? About.com has developed a comprehensive resource. It includes trends in music, travel, food, current events, websites, landscaping, and reality TV, to name just a few. This Best of the Decade resource is so comprehensive, I'll bet it covers just about any interest you have. It's well worth taking a look.

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_{Image Copyright Indeed / Getty Images}

All of us have holiday traditions that bring us joy; I hope yours have fulfilled your expectations. Please accept my heartfelt wishes for a joyful, healthy, prosperous year full of wonder, delight, and exploration.

My lead article explores New Year's resolutions. I share mine and I've added the new reader response form and hope you will share yours. I resolve in 2010 to...

If you're like me, achieving my New Year's resolutions is quite a challenge. I think that's why they are my resolutions and why they tend to be the same ones every year. So, I wrote a second article about how to achieve your goals and resolutions. I am rereading it as we speak: Achieve Your Dreams: Six Steps to Accomplish Your Goals and Resolutions.

With the workplace, the economy, and the future prospects for many in turmoil, this is definitely a year to stay close to family and friends and nurture positive workplace relationships. Moving into January, as this holiday season passes, check the Spotlight on my home page regularly. I will feature articles that help you traverse the rocky waters that may lie ahead in 2010. They will also help employers make decisions for their business that honor and respect employees while maintaining the viability of the business.

For many of you, Monday marks your return to work where you have the opportunity to make this your best career year ever. With this in mind, I offer you resources to support your journey through your best year ever.

_{Image Copyright Phil Date}

Goals and Resolutions

• Top Ten Resolutions for Your Possible New Year.
• The Awesome Power of Goal Setting.
• Achieve Your Dreams: Six Steps to Accomplish Your Goals and Resolutions.

Career Success

• Create Your Own Path: Career Promotion Tips.
• How to Make Your Current Job Work.
• Ten Days to a Happier, More Successful Career and Life.
• Your Tip of the Week for Success in Work and Life.

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Fellow travelers, I thought about finishing the ten day program with another something for you to do, but decided that the most important to-do for each of us is to constantly assess our journey. You deserve a life that makes you happy and assures your success.

During this ten day program, I have tried to zero in on the ten most important concepts that will help you develop the tools and thinking you need to succeed at work. At the same time, work success is fleeting if you don't also succeed at home. Life is a balancing act, so I trust these concepts have been applicable to your whole person, too. And, since happiness is as important as success, I included happiness in the equation.

Life is a continuous loop. Your search is a continuing journey. As you grow, change, mature, accomplish, and complete goals, your journey will continue. Your interests will change. You may want to consider different options. The key is that you constantly consider ways to renew, restart, and revitalize. Take a look at the tenth day of the success program: Renew, Restart, and Revitalize to Continue the Journey.

Welcome to the New Year and your new journey. Create joy in your life at work in 2010.

_{Image © Barbara Henry}

Continue the Ten Days to a Happier, More Successful Career and Life program via the Web site or subscribe to the emailed newsletter.

Introduction to the Ten Day Program.

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