Taking The Resume Reader’s Needs Into Consideration

Before you write your own resume, examine professionally written resume samples to get ideas about writing styles and eye-catching resume formats. Then, write your resume with the reader in mind. If they are seeking someone with your background and skill set, be sure to make that the focus of your resume.

Do not use the resume templates that come with your word processor. They look like everyone else’s resume on the hiring manager’s desk.

Take the extra time needed to add visual appeal to your resume. If you are not able to do this effectively, you should seriously consider retaining the services of a professional resume writer. Be sure to ask them if they specialize in creating eye-catching resume formats in addition to their writing services.

Your goal should be to make a connection between what the hiring manager is seeking and what you have to offer in those select areas.

To get that message across at first glance, make your objective clear and highly visible. You can do this by creating a job title and positioning it prominently below your name and address. It tells the hiring manager what you are all about and sets the tone for the rest of the resume.

RESUME HEADING
Your resume heading should in bold and all caps such as this: REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

PROFILE
Your Profile or Summary section is a coutesy to the reader. It allows them to sum you up in short order. This important section sets the tone for the resume and highlights your key qualifications. This way the hiring manager can quickly get a sense who you professionally without having to read the entire resume.

Specifically, this section should list your number of years of experience, industry, credentials, and key attributes that are essential to the position you are targeting. For example, if the position is sales, your attributes would be strong communicator, strategic negotiator, and ability to establish and build key business relationships.

KEYWORDS
Keywords or industry jargon can be included in your Summary or throughout your entire resume (recommended) so you can communicate your select areas of skills by listing appropriate areas of interest specific to the job.

In the case scenario for a sales professional, these keywords might be as follows: relationship building, territory sales management, client consultation, public speaking, sales presentations, contract negotiations, value-added selling, client training and support. One of the best sources to find relevant keywords is in job ads.

ACHIEVEMENTS
This is no time to be shy and modest. You will want to toot your horn a bit by including your most impressive achievements. Your accomplishments should be presented in a factual or story telling way that gives the reader the sense that you do more than just your basic responsibilities and are not a clock watcher.

ACTION VERBS
Do not make the mistake of starting every sentence off with “responsible for”. That is understood. Try playing with action verbs such as led, directed, supervised, spearheaded, steered, guided, and executed. Instead of writing a sentence like this: Responsible for distribution operations throughout the Metro New York Area, consider revising it to read like this: Managed distribution operations throughout the Metro New York Area. Here is another example: Led the success of distribution operations throughout the Metro New York Area.

CONSISTENCY
Watch for consistency in present and past tense. If you are no longer with a company, be sure to make it past tense. Just as important, triple check for typos. Have someone else read your resume for misspellings, dates, missing periods and obviously poor grammar.

Again, review professionally written resume samples to get ideas about writing styles and eye-catching resume formats. But, make the effort to make it your own.

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Is Your Resume DOA?

In the exciting alternative job change program, “The World’s Fastest Job Search System,” we recommend that your resume should be used more like a business card. You leave it behind after you’ve had an opportunity to meet face-to-face with a decision-maker.

Most people, however, think that their resume will find them a job. NOT! And if you write your resume with that objective in mind, it’s DOA!

You see, employers don’t make hiring decisions based on your resume. In fact, in most organizations, your next boss won’t even see your resume until someone else (e.g. human resources) has screened your document . . . and probably you personally as well.

So, if you don’t use your resume the way we recommend in our highly successful alternative approach, then what can you do?

Well, regardless of how you decide to use your resume, there are five basic guidelines you must observe if you want your resume to have any chance of being read. Follow them and you will dramatically move the odds in your favor.

1. Resumes are initially scanned (not closely read) in less than 50 seconds. Something about you either attracts attention in that timeframe or your resume is trashed.

2. Your resume must have an attention-grabbing headline . . . a quick summation of what you have to offer.

3. Do NOT write some self-serving objective statement. An employer could care less what you want to get out of this for your self. He/she is interested exclusively in what you can do to make the bottom line look better.

4. DO write a short summary statement saying very directly what assets, capabilities and strengths you bring to the table that can make a difference to the organization you’re interested in.

5. Keep your resume brief and impactual. One page is best. But never more than two pages. No long-winded recitation of your past accomplishments. Employers want to know how your achievements can make a difference to their needs. So tell them . . . and use quantifiable results to do it.

Targeting your resume to specific employers rather than shot-gunning it through mailings or internet postings helps to make your effort more effective. But, the best news is that the most effective system of all–using proven alternative and non-traditional strategies–can help you lock up a high-paying job offer in as little as 14 days!

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Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Lock Up A High-Paying Job In 14 Days (Or Less)!” Click on RSS. www.fastest-job-search.com

Free Resume Examples — Are You Getting The Most Out Of Them?

Are free resume examples the answer to the jobseeker’s dreams? You’d think so, by the number of books on the subject to be found online or at your local library or bookstore. Just imagine: resume samples for almost any industry or profession, ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions with critiques by professional resume writers … manna from heaven!

Well, up to a point. Many resume examples are excellent models of design, presentation and technique — and there’s a lot to be learned by seeing what has worked well for other job applicants. But like most good tools, it’s important to know how to use them well.

Most well-designed resumes are the result of many hours of development to create a profile which uniquely represents its subject. This usually involves:

* analysis of the industry or job-specific requirements

* appraisal of the applicant’s attributes and work history

* promotion of accomplishments and skills to match an employers’ needs.

But when a job applicant is faced with the challenge of producing a quality resume in a short space of time, their first recourse may be to look through some resume examples to find a style that appeals. The trouble is, creating your own resume by simply rehashing someone else’s is unlikely to result in a document that sells you to an employer on the basis of your individual qualities and achievements.

So how do you get the best out of resume examples?

One of the biggest advantages of sample resumes is that they help to imagine what it must be like to be a recruiter. Faced with dozens — if not hundreds — of resumes, you’re likely to scan each one to pick out the few that match what you’re looking for. So when you stand for a few moments in your ‘employer’s shoes’, you get to assess the impact of different presentation formats: what’s aesthetically pleasing, what layouts are best for reading quickly, how to pack a punch with powerful language.

But the savvy reader can get a lot more out of a sample resume than just an appreciation of its style. The real value comes when you take the time to peel back the layers of the resume ‘onion’ — for example:

* Does the resume show how the employer will benefit from hiring the applicant?

* Does it sell this benefit by highlighting the value the applicant added in previous positions?

It’s an example of the ‘hidden gold’ in sample resumes — and the secret to one of your most powerful techniques: the ability to create and influence your reader’s perception of who you are.

So be proactive and take the time to dig up the buried treasure in those resume examples. You’ll be learning to select appropriate aspects of your unique skill set and present them persuasively to your prospective employer — marketing yourself, in fact!

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Benefits of Hiring Resume Writing Services

Resume writing services assist in making a resume stand out from the crowd and help get interviews quickly. Resume writing services have contacts with the clients throughout the process and have a personalized approach to develop the resume. The charges for resume writing differ from company to company and depend upon the type of resume.

Resume writing services are of two types viz proof reading and copyediting resume and professional resume preparation. In the first type there should be an own resume and sent it as an e-mail attachment. Services would then check for the grammar, punctuation and spelling and add comments where there is a need for rectification and return them.

Services merely check and correct the existing errors but do not rewrite any resume
Professional resume writing services prepare resumes based on the information provided like date of employment, specific positions of the employment and responsibilities. Accurate and specific details given help in drafting a complete and credible resume.

Professional resume writing services are inevitable because if there are spelling and grammatical errors they may automatically disqualify a resume form consideration. Since employers receive scores of resumes everyday it is imperative that one resume stands out to be noticed and resume-writing services do just that.

The job of a resume writing service can be made easier if the resume is short, identifying the skills clearly, being honest, not being modest, giving importance to content and always along with a covering letter.

Since the resume represents the person in his absence, it is the first contact with the prospective employer and therefore it should stand ahead above the rest. A resume written by professionals will highly increase the response rate and shorten the job search time .In fact the candidate who presents very well gets the job rather than who is better qualified. Professional writing services quickly screen out scores of resumes and see to it that the resume survives the initial ten-second scrutiny.

The resume writing services have an in-depth knowledge of what the employers exactly need and therefore skillfully convey the nuances and information that are needed to reach the objective of gaining an interview. Resume writing services determine what should be eliminated or included, identify the key words important to the resume being selected and minimize the factors that make the resume an average one and thus write a powerful resume that is appealing to the employer.

Landing the job is 70 percent skills and 30 percent presentation. To achieve this goal, it is important to choose the best resume writing service.

A service, which has a strong history record, that publish information regarding ownership, location and history without concealing them can be taken to be a reliable good resume writing service. Also companies that have partnerships or good affiliations with large organizations are good resume writing services.

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Does Your Resume Writing Make The Grade?

When a job vacancy attracts a popular response, the recruiter simply may not have time to read each and every application in its entirety. That’s why it’s so important to have a resume that catches the reader’s immediate interest and gets your application the attention it deserves.

If you fail at this stage, you run the risk of having your resume consigned to the pile marked ‘regrets’. But because time is at a premium, it’s also difficult to get feedback about why your application didn’t make the shortlist.

So if your resume isn’t getting you through the interviewer’s door for the jobs you want, it’s time to re-think your strategy. Here are three questions to help you give your resume a quick assessment test:

1. Do you know enough about your prospective employer?

These days, it’s easy to find out details about almost any company by doing research online. Enter the name in the search engine of your choice and look for the company website. If they have a section devoted to press releases or other media information, you may find freshly updated news about recent developments.

You may also be able to obtain company brochures and reports. Check to see if these are available as PDF documents which you can download to your computer. This will be quicker than ordering them to be sent by mail.

You can also visit the websites of local or national newspapers to look for articles which refer to the company.

The information you find will help you to fine tune your resume and highlight your appropriate strengths and assets. It’s also very helpful to show your familiarity with the company in your cover letter, follow-up correspondence and interview discussion.

2. Have you written a summary statement or profile that is geared to the employer’s immediate requirements?

The beginning of your resume (under your contact information) is a great spot in which to put your most persuasive selling points. This is where you can mention your current job level and the field in which you’ve gained the bulk of your experience. Make sure to mention the results of your activities, not just a list of the duties your work comprises.

Analyze the job advertisement or description to find basic competencies that the employer wants and map your own skills against these requirements. Make sure to include appropriate keywords in this section that will help to score a match in resume scanning software.

3. Do you back up your claims with convincing evidence?

Avoid casting doubt on your attributes by being vague on key details. Measure your accomplishments wherever possible to validate your skills. You can use figures, percentages or other data to quantify aspects such as:

* numbers of personnel managed
* successes in financial or budgetary management
* achievements such as improved performance against targets or a time-scale

Avoid weakening your credibility by including anything in your resume that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny in an interview. Make sure you can justify every detail with solid evidence.

If your resume isn’t getting you results, maybe it’s time to redraft. A powerful summary backed up by persuasive evidence can help your resume to pass the ten second ’scan test’.

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You Absolutely Must Have a “Strategic” Resume Format!

What’s a “strategic” resume format?

Well, let’s look at it this way. A traditional (non-strategic) job search resume format is passive at the very time when employers are looking for someone who can demonstrate they are proactive. It’s one of the many job search changes that have occurred in the 21st Century that must be reflected in your resume.

For example, employers today want to find a candidate who

* Understands the organization.

* Can show how to make a difference.

* Can demonstrate quantifiable contributions.

* Isn’t afraid to ask for a job.

* Knows how to cut a deal.

From this you can see that the focal point of a resume format must be to respond to the needs and expectations of the employer. The job seeker’s personal information and their work history are of secondary importance.

This is what we mean by a “strategic” resume format.

So to meet the expectations of an employer, here’s how your strategic resume format should look:

1. Resumes are initially scanned (not closely read) in less than 50 seconds. Something about you either attracts attention in that timeframe or your resume is trashed.

2. Your resume must have an attention-grabbing headline . . . a quick summation of what you have to offer.

3. Do NOT write some self-serving objective statement. An employer could care less what you want to get out of this for your self. He/she is interested exclusively in what you can do to make the bottom line look better.

4. DO write a short summary statement saying very directly what assets, capabilities and strengths you bring to the table that can make a difference to the organization you’re interested in.

5. Keep your resume brief and impactual. One page is best. But never more than two pages. No long-winded recitation of your past accomplishments. Employers want to know how your achievements can make a difference to their needs. So tell them . . . and use quantifiable results to do it.

If you rely on the old-fashioned methods of finding a job, you’ll be disappointed. While it’s true that you won’t be hired on the basis of a resume, on those occasions where it’s important to have a resume, you want to make sure you use a “strategic” resume format!

Article Source: http://www.articlesauce.com

Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Find A Job In As Little As 14 Days!” Click on RSS for instant info! www.fastest-job-search.com

Can You Really Afford To Write Your Resume?

Why would someone pay a professional resume writer to write their resume when they have a computer, can use resume templates, and can find resume samples online and in books to get ideas on setting up and composing their own resume?

The answer lies in what type of position they are targeting and their level of resume writing skills. Whether basic or complex, a resume must be attractive, focused, and interesting to read. Failing to achieve these objectives means failing to make a good first impression. Many things need to be taken into consideration in order to accomplish these goals. Here are five things to consider:

1. You must understand the technical aspects of resume development. This includes resume design (what fonts to use and spacing), use of industry specific key words, career synopsis and company profiles, appropriate resume style and formats (reverse chronological, functional and combination), and page length.

2. You must have good word processing skills!

3. You must understand what the hiring manager is looking for and what you’ve done so you can make a match between their needs and your qualifications.

4. You must have grammatically correct, creative writing skills to communicate what you have done in the positions you have held using a reasonable amount of detail.

5. You must avoid wasting the reader’s time by listing too much irrelevant information or going back too far if the position does not warrant it.

Some positions such as waitress, car wash attendant, and cashier might not require a resume. If they do, it would be a general resume with a traditional objective statement and chronological listing of jobs held with a sentence or two under each to indicate responsibilities, along with job-specific skills, and education.

In a word: simple. However, sometimes a resume needs to be strategically developed to emphasize the value you offer a company, especially if the position is very competitive and you need to stand out from the rest of the potential candidates.

Often, a job seeker finds himself or herself in a pickle because they have held many different positions over the years and do not know how to keep the resume focused for a particular position. Maybe you are returning to the workplace after raising your children and are concerned the gap will put you at a disadvantage.

Maybe you are just starting out in your career and do not think you have enough to offer a company. Or, maybe you are ready for a career change and do not know how to create a presentation that will position you for a new field.

If you have done your homework (which we believe you have since you are reading this article!), you know that a resume is often referred to as a “marketing tool.” No different than a commercial advertisement, your resume needs to entice the reader to buy the product (you) by grabbing their attention, listing the product’s benefits (your qualifications), and compel the reader to make a move – in this case, to invite you to an interview.

As you know, time is money. The more time that passes after sending your resume out, the more money you lose if it is not generating responses. If you cannot afford to be out of work for several months, you should make the decision to have your resume professionally prepared. Here is a quick quiz to help you put things into perspective:

Client A: wanted to save money, so she prepared her own resume. She faxed and mailed her resume to over 50 companies over a period of six weeks, but nothing happened. While she kept her fingers crossed, she depleted half of her savings. She eventually landed an interview in the seventh week through someone she knew.

Client B: understood that having her resume professionally developed was a good investment. Without one, she knew she could not launch her career in the right direction. She faxed and mailed her professionally prepared resume out to ten companies over a two-week period. By the end of week two, she landed a great interview that resulted in a fabulous job.

Quick Quiz: who came out financially ahead in the long run?

If you answered the job seeker that invested wisely in consulting with a professional resume writer, you are 100 percent correct! So, in summary, the question is not whether or not you can afford to write your own resume. The question is whether or not you can afford not to have it done properly.

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The 5 Most Important Things to Know When Writing Your Resume

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a resume as a short account of one’s career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position.

The reality is that when you create your resume, you are like an artist/painter. Your pen is the brush and the paper is your canvas. Create a masterpiece and it will sell! Paint a dud and your own resume will abuse you.

The main purpose of a resume along with the accompanying cover letter is to get you the interview, pure and simple.

The way to accomplish this is to show off your strengths and achievements and minimize your weaknesses (we all have them). If you write your resume correctly, strengths will appear stronger and weaknesses will be less visable.

Remember, now is not the time to be modest – if you don’t tell the hiring manager how good you are and what you can do for his or her company, no one else will.

You have about 5-10 seconds at the most, to attract the attention of the person reading your resume for the first time, so you skills and abilities have to be seen fast and be relevant.

Listed below are ways your resume should be used.

What does a resume do?

– Your resume organizes your career by selecting and presenting specific events clearly and concisely.

– It forces you to take inventory of your achievements – the more you understand about yourself, the more capable you become in explaining yourself to others.

– A resume should stimulate employer interest in meeting you.

– Good resumes tell the company that they would benefit from calling you in for a personal interview.

The bottom line however is it’s ONLY purpose is to get you an interview.

When the hiring manager first reads the resume it should:

– make the reader want to learn more – a tease.

– quickly convey how and why you are better than the rest of the candidates in the stack of resumes they have.

– tell them what you did and how well you did it.

– show that you are uniquely qualified to solve the problem the employer has.

At the interview the resume:

– is a basis on which to start a discussion.

– serves as an agenda for a discussion, which means you have predetermined the interview’s structure.

– acts as a leave behind.

After the interview:

– The person(s) who interviews you can use your resume to strengthen his/her case to other team members.

– The resume serves as an overview for others in the organization.

View your resume through the eyes of the hiring manager:

– A resume reflects your image; anything that does not help you get an interview should not be on the resume.

– View a resume as your own personal advertisement.

– The past is relevant only insofar as it shows your potential for the future.

– When in doubt, leave it out!

A good resume:

– zeros in on those skills and abilities that you have that are most relevant and important to the job you are seeking.

– focuses on your achievements and accomplishments not just the responsibilities you had at each job.

– reveals the results of your achievements.

– should project your career as a series of progressive accomplishments.

– needs to be short on words and long on facts.

– is eye appealing and visually inviting.

Just remember, your past accomplishments and achievements are relevant only as it relates to what you can do now for the hiring company. No matter how good you were at a previous company, to the hiring company, it’s all about what can you do for them.

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How To Choose The Best Resume Styles

The job market is extremely competitive, and you want to make the best impression possible. While there hundreds of resume styles being used by job seekers, you want to take the time to choose the right one.

You may be wondering why there even has to be so many styles. Well, for starters, resumes aren’t just presented as physical documents any more. There’s a growing trend for people to view documents like resumes on the computer. A style that works splendidly as a printed document just will not work as well when sent through email or fax. So, this has naturally led to more styles for each medium.

Then there is also the fact that some positions practically demand a very specific format or resume style, so it pays to be adaptable and make tweaks to your resume. After all, the resume is intended to show off your skills, so you want it to show your capabilities in the best light.

By far, the most widespread form of resume writing is the chronological style, which as the name implies lists all of the positions that you have worked in starting with the most current.

The functional style resume is a bit newer, but it’s steadily growing in popularity. Unlike the chronological style, you use this resume to list your very best accomplishments and qualifications first, followed by the just slightly less impressive ones. The advantage of this resume is that it makes it easy for the employer to read it quickly and decide whether or not you sound like someone who is qualified for the job. It also lets you give your strengths the center stage.

These two resume styles aren’t the only styles around, certainly, but most other formats are variations of the chronological and functional resumes. Here’s a good point to remember: Don’t be afraid to try out different resume styles. Change them out to suit your needs and purpose for each situation. Resumes exist to tell potential employers about your abilities, and the right resume will put them in the best light.

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