Getting A Professional Resume Writer To Write Your Resumes

In the midst of hundreds of resumes that any recruiter or employer receive for any given position, your resume needs to stand out from that crowd.

In other words, you must make the Recruitment Manager want to read your resume more thoroughly than just the rudimentary 10-20 seconds the vast majority of your competition will warrant.

The only way to achieve this is by designing an "accomplishment driven resume".

Now what makes a resume that focuses on achievements, so effective?

It can be said that most job seekers tend to list their responsibilities of their past and current positions without highlighting on their achievements. Although responsibilities are an important factor, the crux should be on achievements. If you are seeking a high-level position, it becomes even more necessary

In other words, you have to show proof of those results that you were able to achieve and that you would be able to repeat it should the future employer hire you.

Presentations and fancy dressed up resumes are just not enough. Of course, there are instances there when the odd one that has been selected just because of the fanciness, but these are only rare cases.

You must be in a position to describe how you have increased the company’s bottom line or managed any projects that lead to increase revenue and company savings. Of course then there is the case when you are able to show how you have restructured the organization, leading to increased employee morale and company profitability. Now the interviewer or resume reviewer must get the picture that you are capable to repeat these performances.

This is the kind of information that managers seek out amongst the clutter of resumes that they receive.

Another important aspect for an "accomplishment driven resume" is the resume format itself. Try not to mix your achievements and responsibilities together. In other words, you can write an overview of your responsibilities in a paragraph and then highlight your accomplishments with bullet points.

Basically, if everything looks the same, nothing will stand out.

By applying the above points, your potential employers would not only be able to see what you have achieved in the past, but what you could offer to them in the future as well.

Now that the achievement issue has been discussed, let’s get to the next step.

If you have been sending out your resume and not getting interviews, you can certainly blame your resume.

Without a good resume, companies virtually have no idea that you even exist - unless you are invited to an interview by the hiring authority, you may as well be invisible.

We live in a market economy and you must learn to market yourself effectively and aggressively or suffer in a 'go nowhere' job while your friends move on to new opportunities and brighter futures.

As a matter of fact, the primary job of your resume is to only open doors !

Now the question arises, whether you should write the resume yourself or hire a "professional resume writer".

There are chances that if you do the writing, that key elements could be missing and a jobseeker generally doesn't discover this until a good portion of time has been poured into the job search.

For example a job-search campaign can stretch out for weeks or months.

Let's look at some numbers that will determine whether a resume writing service is worth the investment.

First, the salary you are seeking, say $36,000.

Now, let's divide that number by 2,080 (based upon 8 hours per day, multiplied by 5 days and further multiplied by 52 weeks) and you will come up with $17.31 per hour (gross).

Every day, you will lose just over $138.45, and for every week, $692.30.

Let us say your job search takes 6 months, you will lose an estimated $18,000.

Compare these with the costs that you might have to shell out for hiring a “professional resume writer” and you will see that their charges come to only about (2) days of your expected salary.

Of course, there are the ones (like poor me!!) that you could get cheap, but then that requires a lot of research. Whenever, you do a research, you must remember to pay yourself as well.

Another grey area is the cover letter.

Since the cover letter is what most hiring managers read first, you have less than 10 seconds in which to make your reader want to put down your cover letter, pick up the phone and call you for a job interview. This 10 seconds makes or breaks you. It provides the information that hiring mangers use to make decisions on who gets called, interviewed, and hired.

It's your cover letter which decides that!

A cover letter with a concise format is easy to scan and shows respect for the reader's limited time.

Recruitment Managers don't have the time nor the inclination to sift through the hundreds of resumes they receive. If your resume is not available on the manager's desk at the correct time, with the correct format, the job assignment is going to go to the person whose resume and cover letter managed to get there first, even if you're the better person for the job.

Is this not better than waiting for an interview with your fingers crossed!

So, while resume preparation on your own is possible, there really is no substitute for letting a resume writer do it. Besides, if you are not getting any feedback on the resumes you have written, it is time you tried out a "professional resume writer".

Mainly because, it really doesn't pay to cut corners when it comes to your career.

If you still need more information, CONTACT ME, and perhaps we could discuss whether the fault lies with your resume !

Lighter Side Of Resume Writing

Talk about polishing your resumes!!

Resume Polishing

Talk about polishing your resumes... Apt for a sales job.

The Need For A Professional Resume Writer

In the midst of hundreds of resumes that any recruiter or employer receive for any given position, your resume needs to stand out from that crowd.

In other words, you must make the Recruitment Manager want to read your resume more thoroughly than just the rudimentary 10-20 seconds the vast majority of your competition will warrant.

The only way to achieve this is by designing an "accomplishment driven resume".

 Now what makes a resume that focuses on achievements, so effective?

It can be said that most job seekers tend to list their responsibilities of their past and current positions without highlighting on their achievements. Although responsibilities are an important factor, the crux should be on achievements. If you are seeking a high-level position, it becomes even more necessary

In other words, you have to show proof of those results that you were able to achieve and that you would be able to repeat it should the future employer hire you.

Getting A Professional Resume Writer To Write Your Resumes

In the midst of hundreds of resumes that any recruiter or employer receive for any given position, your resume needs to stand out from that crowd.

In other words, you must make the Recruitment Manager want to read your resume more thoroughly than just the rudimentary 10-20 seconds the vast majority of your competition will warrant.

The only way to achieve this is by designing an "accomplishment driven resume".

Now what makes a resume that focuses on achievements, so effective?

It can be said that most job seekers tend to list their responsibilities of their past and current positions without highlighting on their achievements. Although responsibilities are an important factor, the crux should be on achievements. If you are seeking a high-level position, it becomes even more necessary

In other words, you have to show proof of those results that you were able to achieve and that you would be able to repeat it should the future employer hire you.

Presentations and fancy dressed up resumes are just not enough. Of course, there are instances there when the odd one that has been selected just because of the fanciness, but these are only rare cases.

You must be in a position to describe how you have increased the company’s bottom line or managed any projects that lead to increase revenue and company savings. Of course then there is the case when you are able to show how you have restructured the organization, leading to increased employee morale and company profitability. Now the interviewer or resume reviewer must get the picture that you are capable to repeat these performances.

This is the kind of information that managers seek out amongst the clutter of resumes that they receive.

Another important aspect for an "accomplishment driven resume" is the resume format itself. Try not to mix your achievements and responsibilities together. In other words, you can write an overview of your responsibilities in a paragraph and then highlight your accomplishments with bullet points.

Basically, if everything looks the same, nothing will stand out.

By applying the above points, your potential employers would not only be able to see what you have achieved in the past, but what you could offer to them in the future as well.

Now that the achievement issue has been discussed, let’s get to the next step.

If you have been sending out your resume and not getting interviews, you can certainly blame your resume.

Without a good resume, companies virtually have no idea that you even exist - unless you are invited to an interview by the hiring authority, you may as well be invisible.

We live in a market economy and you must learn to market yourself effectively and aggressively or suffer in a 'go nowhere' job while your friends move on to new opportunities and brighter futures.

As a matter of fact, the primary job of your resume is to only open doors !

Now the question arises, whether you should write the resume yourself or hire a "professional resume writer".

There are chances that if you do the writing, that key elements could be missing and a jobseeker generally doesn't discover this until a good portion of time has been poured into the job search.

For example a job-search campaign can stretch out for weeks or months.

Let's look at some numbers that will determine whether a resume writing service is worth the investment.

First, the salary you are seeking, say $36,000.

Now, let's divide that number by 2,080 (based upon 8 hours per day, multiplied by 5 days and further multiplied by 52 weeks) and you will come up with $17.31 per hour (gross).

Every day, you will lose just over $138.45, and for every week, $692.30.

Let us say your job search takes 6 months, you will lose an estimated $18,000.

Compare these with the costs that you might have to shell out for hiring a “professional resume writer” and you will see that their charges come to only about (2) days of your expected salary.

Of course, there are the ones (like poor me!!) that you could get cheap, but then that requires a lot of research. Whenever, you do a research, you must remember to pay yourself as well.

Another grey area is the cover letter.

Since the cover letter is what most hiring managers read first, you have less than 10 seconds in which to make your reader want to put down your cover letter, pick up the phone and call you for a job interview. This 10 seconds makes or breaks you. It provides the information that hiring mangers use to make decisions on who gets called, interviewed, and hired.

It's your cover letter which decides that!

A cover letter with a concise format is easy to scan and shows respect for the reader's limited time.

Recruitment Managers don't have the time nor the inclination to sift through the hundreds of resumes they receive. If your resume is not available on the manager's desk at the correct time, with the correct format, the job assignment is going to go to the person whose resume and cover letter managed to get there first, even if you're the better person for the job.

Is this not better than waiting for an interview with your fingers crossed!

So, while resume preparation on your own is possible, there really is no substitute for letting a resume writer do it. Besides, if you are not getting any feedback on the resumes you have written, it is time you tried out a "professional resume writer".

Mainly because, it really doesn't pay to cut corners when it comes to your career.

If you still need more information, contact me, and perhaps we could discuss whether the fault lies with your resume !


Article Courtesy : http://hubpages.com/hub/getting-a-resume-writer-to-write-your-resumes

The Best Way To Follow Up

Steve Kobs, a human resources manager at Hanley-Wood Custom Publishing, a Minneapolis-based marketing communications firm, offers this advice: "If you'd like to follow up with a company after submitting your resume, one week later is a reasonable time to do it," he says.

And the best way to follow up?

"I prefer e-mail," says Kobs. "If you call me on the phone and ask if we've made a hiring decision, you put me in an awkward position if I have to tell you bad news … or if I've forgotten who you are. Candidates who follow up by e-mail show respect for my time, which I appreciate," he says.

Andrea Hoover, CEO of JobLynx Online, offers additional ways to set yourself apart when applying for jobs online.

First, when submitting resumes online, be sure to use a professional-looking e-mail address, not the one at work or a cutesy one like ilikebowling@gutterballs.com

Her follow-up methods, which are more aggressive than what an HR professional might suggest, include the following:

• The day after you submit your resume to a company, e-mail them a quick note asking if they received and were able to read your resume, or if they require a different format for their database


• The day after that, print and send a stationery version of your resume by U.S. Mail to the hiring authority, along with a copy to any other company contacts, for review and filing for future opportunities


• One week after your initial contact, send an e-mail to the hiring authority inquiring if you can supply any further information not included in your original resume


• Finally, around 10 days after your online application, send another e-mail asking for the phone number of the hiring authority, since you are considering several other offers. Attach your resume to this e-mail so they won't need to hunt for it. And ask for a convenient time to contact them for a brief phone interview

Whatever method you use, your goal in following up aggressively is to sell your abilities and experience. Push for the face-to-face interview as soon as possible. And get that job!

How To Increase Your Article Subscription

We know that freelancing has become a competitive business, with hundreds of writers competing for the same, limited number of assignments, and any writer who can best showcase their abilities is the one who lands the job.

Editors don't have the time nor the inclination to sift through the hundreds of resumes they receive. If your credits and clips are not right there on an editor's desk, or available with a single click of the mouse, the assignment is going to go to the writer who managed to got there first, even if you're the better writer for the job.

More importantly, if you have a resume, your resume better be a good one, because it is competing with other resumes. If you already have an online resume and not getting any feedbacks, you can certainly blame the resume. Without a good resume, people have no idea that you even exist, you may as well be invisible. We live in a market economy and you must learn to market yourself effectively and aggressively - or suffer in a 'go nowhere' situation.

Now the question is "What makes a good resume"? Anyone can type up words on a piece of paper, but a professional resume writer knows how to market your skills by choosing powerful, competitive, words and uses them strategically in order to trigger positive responses. A professional resume writer knows how to highlight your experiences, skills, achievements, education, and accomplishments - and knows how to market you effectively with an individually designed resume.

So in order to get your writing clips into the hands of the editors looking for writers, the best method is to have your own online resume. It is obvious that a personal site has become a must for today's freelancer, but what's needed is a site that showcases your entire writing resume, that highlights;

C V
Publishing Works
Writing-related job history
Any published credits
Specialty or genre
Easily accessible and visually attractive clips, whether scanned or in document form

An editor is then able to access all of your information at once, instead of being forced to slog through links after links. With everything in one place, an editor is also more able to get a feel for your abilities and range. Whichever method you decide to choose, getting your resume and clips online will definitely give you a better access to editors and "hopefully" even making sales tomorrow!

Once you have your online resume, link it with your article page and start putting articles on it. As you no doubt already know, writing articles is probably the most effective way to promote your web site.

It's a very simple principle - publishers want a vast quantity of good quality content that they do not have to pay for; you provide that content, with the proviso that at the bottom of your article, they include your resource box with a link
to your web site. It's a win-win situation. With your article published on heaps of web sites, and in several ezines, it's enough to set your traffic counter spinning.

Next blast it in the search engines. Search Engines love this. They are constantly checking for fresh content and our job is to give it to them with the right keywords!!

Many authors make the mistake of submitting articles that are actually little more than solo advertisements for their web sites. The chances of such an article getting published are virtually zero.

Getting your article (and online resume link) submitted by a professional submission service is a great idea. This may cost a little, but is worth every penny. All you do is register yourself, pay and submit your article.

These type of companies will submit your article to 1,000's of publishers and article directories in seconds. This is a great way to get name recognition for yourself, increase traffic to your website, sell products, get subscribers for your newsletter etc.,

Resume Bloopers

Resume Bloopers from Robert Half... Mind you, these are real examples from resumes reveived !

REASONS FOR LEAVING THE LAST JOB:

Responsibility makes me nervous.

They insisted that all employees get to work by 8:45 every morning. Couldn't work under those conditions.

REASONS FOR LEAVING MY LAST JOB:

Was met with a string of broken promises and lies, as well as cockroaches. I was working for my mom until she decided to move.

The company made me a scapegoat - just like my three previous employers.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

While I am open to the initial nature of an assignment, I am decidedly disposed that it be so oriented as to at least partially incorporate the experience enjoyed heretofore and that it be configured so as to ultimately lead to the application of more rarefied facets of financial management as the major sphere of responsibility.

I was proud to win the Gregg Typting Award.

SPECIAL REQUESTS & JOB OBJECTIVES:

Please call me after 5:30 because I am self-employed and my employer does not know I am looking for another job.

My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I have no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage.

I procrastinate - especially when the task is unpleasant.

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES:

Minor allergies to House cats and Mongolian sheep.

PERSONAL INTERESTS:

Donating blood. 14 gallons so far.

SMALL TYPOS THAT CAN CHANGE THE MEANING:

Here are my qualifications for you to 'overlook'.

Education: College, August '1880' to May 1984.

Work Experience: Dealing with customers' conflicts that arouse.

Develop and recommend an annual operating expense 'fudget'.

I'm a rabid typist.

Instrumental in 'ruining' entire operation for a Midwest chain operation.

Writing An Accomplishment Driven Resume

In the midst of hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes recruiters and employers receive for any given position, your resume needs to stand out from the crowd. You must make the Hiring Manager want to read your resume more thoroughly than just the rudimentary 10-20 seconds the vast majority of your competition will warrant. The way to do this is by designing an accomplishment driven resume.

What makes a resume that is focused on achievements so effective? Most job seekers tend to list their responsibilities of their past and current positions. While this may be important, it should not necessarily be the focus of your document. The higher level the position you are seeking, the more crucial the accomplishment aspect of your resume. You need to provide proof of the results you were able to achieve with the implication that you can bring the same, if not better, results to your future employer.

Say for instance, you are a CPA. Your current resume states things such as “Control accounting activities”, and “Invest and manage cash activities”. What does that really say about your abilities? How does that differentiate you from all of the other CPAs out there applying for the same job as you? It doesn’t. You need to show the potential employers what you can bring to their organization. Now is the time to brag. How have you improved a company’s bottom line? Have you spearheaded any projects that resulted in increased revenue, company savings, or employee morale? That’s the kind of information that Hiring Managers seek out amongst the resume clutter.

Your resume is your own personal sales pitch. Keywords are an integral part of that pitch. While you are describing your accomplishments, be sure to use powerful keywords to signify the importance and magnitude of those feats. It is not the time to be modest. Use strong action verbs that really drive home what you’re trying to say. Use industry terms, where appropriate, if you are seeking a job similar to your current position. The company will understand this terminology and be relieved to know that you are competent enough to comprehend them as well.

Another significant part of an accomplishment driven resume is the format. Do not clump your achievements and responsibilities together. You can write an overview of your responsibilities in a paragraph and then highlight your accomplishments with bullets. You don’t want to have everything in a paragraph, and likewise, not everything in a bullet format. You must draw the reader’s eye to the important parts that you really want to sell. If everything looks the same, nothing will stand out.

Using these techniques, you are on your way to writing an accomplishment driven, extremely effective resume. Your potential employers will not only see what you have achieved in the past, but what you could offer them in the future.

The best way to follow up

Steve Kobs, a human resources manager at Hanley-Wood Custom Publishing, a Minneapolis-based marketing communications firm, offers this advice: "If you'd like to follow up with a company after submitting your resume, one week later is a reasonable time to do it," he says.

And the best way to follow up?

"I prefer e-mail," says Kobs. "If you call me on the phone and ask if we've made a hiring decision, you put me in an awkward position if I have to tell you bad news … or if I've forgotten who you are. Candidates who follow up by e-mail show respect for my time, which I appreciate," he says.

Andrea Hoover, CEO of JobLynx Online, offers additional ways to set yourself apart when applying for jobs online.

First, when submitting resumes online, be sure to use a professional-looking e-mail address, not the one at work or a cutesy one like ilikebowling@gutterballs.com

Her follow-up methods, which are more aggressive than what an HR professional might suggest, include the following:

• The day after you submit your resume to a company, e-mail them a quick note asking if they received and were able to read your resume, or if they require a different format for their database


• The day after that, print and send a stationery version of your resume by U.S. Mail to the hiring authority, along with a copy to any other company contacts, for review and filing for future opportunities


• One week after your initial contact, send an e-mail to the hiring authority inquiring if you can supply any further information not included in your original resume


• Finally, around 10 days after your online application, send another e-mail asking for the phone number of the hiring authority, since you are considering several other offers. Attach your resume to this e-mail so they won't need to hunt for it. And ask for a convenient time to contact them for a brief phone interview

Whatever method you use, your goal in following up aggressively is to sell your abilities and experience. Push for the face-to-face interview as soon as possible. And get that job!

How To Work Out A Model Job Campaign Plan

If you have been sending out your resume and not getting interviews, you can certainly blame the resume.

Without a good resume, companies have no idea that you even exist - unless you are invited to an interview by the hiring authority, you may as well be invisible. We live in a market economy and you must learn to market yourself effectively and aggressively - or suffer in a 'go nowhere' job while your friends move on to new opportunities and brighter futures.

As a matter of fact. your resumes only job is to open doors !

A hiring manager takes 10 seconds to scan a resume This 10 seconds make or break you. It provides the information that hiring mangers use to make decisions on who gets called, interviewed, and hired. It is your resume, which decides that!

Get your profile out with an Online Resume

Recruitment Managers don't have the time nor the inclination to sift through the hundreds of resumes they receive. If your resume is not available on the manager's desk at the correct time, with the correct format, the job assignment is going to go to the person whose resume managed to get there first, even if you're the better person for the job.

So in order to get your resume into the hands of the recruitment managers, the best method is to have your own online resume. A manager is then able to access all of your information at once, instead of being forced to slog through links after links. Therefore getting your resume online will definitely give you a better access to recruitment companies, managers and headhunters.


Resume Posting

Personally, I have my reservations on this so called Resume Blasting, as I feel it is just another marketing stunt. But as a job seeker, you don't normally be very choosy. Then again, some services do give you the option of who receives your resume (Resume Distribution), unlike most others who do a "general blast" - don't be surprised with a job offer from Uganda !

This service is normally free to job seekers, and used only by those employers and recruiters who have paid a substantial fee to access the resumes. Years ago, when Monster and other similar job search boards were fairly new, it cost about thousands of dollars for Head Hunters, just to take a look at resumes posted on one job board. So you can imagine what it must cost today!

Besides, when you post your resume to an online resume posting service, NOT every employer or recruiter will find you, only those with the huge recruiting budgets. And that leaves out a good part of your target market.


Getting your resume submitted by a professional submission service is a great idea. This may cost a little, but in my mind it is worth every penny.

Focus on a list of companies that best match your existing skill set and career focus, rather than applying to help wanted ads or conducting an exclusive online search. Create a new list weekly and follow-up with each employer within 5-8 business days to ensure receipt and to answer any questions.

Resume Distribution

With a resume distribution, the job seeker has access to a select database of well-qualified employers and/or recruiters to email his/ her resume to. This service does cost the job seeker a fee, usually anywhere from $45 to several hundred. The advantages of a resume distribution over a posting are that you don't have to wait to be found, you have more control over who receives your resume and besides you can control how many employers/ recruiters you contact-several hundred or several thousand-all at once. It is very quick and efficient. You submit your resume once and reach your entire targeted audience of employers and/or recruiters.

Make sure the distribution service allows you to target the employers who receive your resume. At a minimum, you should be able to query the employer/recruiter database by industry, job function and geographic region. If the service offers no targeting capabilities, your resume may be sent out indiscriminately to employers and recruiters who do not match your employment criteria.


Come to think of it, it is really powerful and fun to have the entire company, headhunter database at your fingertips

However, the fun last only for 30 days and if you don't get a job by then, its either back to the drawing board, or purchase this software!

Questions To Ask The Interviewer

Don't keep silent after or during an interview. Keep up the momentum with some questions from your side as well. Such as;

• Ask about your new job, i.e., whether its a newly created position etc.
• Ask for a description of your job duties and to whom would you be reporting to and supervising
• Ask with whom you will be working most closely, and the companies short and long term goals?
• Ask the interviewer on what he/ she likes most about working for this company
• Ask about any company training programs, and about company's promotional policy etc.

Salary Analysis

Getting a 4% raise and a $6000 bonus probably seems fantastic, before you compare it with your colleagues and the market benchmarks for your position. Again Monster has some good information on existing market trends viz., salary scales etc. However, no matter how sophisticated compensation systems get, I don't know any system that is viewed as perfectly fair by everyone. Every rating system-including those with complex formulas-include a component of subjectivity.

Wetfeet Insider Guides, gives you an inside scoop on thousands of hiring companies - what they pay, their mehods of interview, and most of all how to get hired!

Job Search

Choose a career you can enjoy, not one that is only directed at making money. After researching careers you find interesting, narrow down your career selections.

There are links to some of the popular job placement sites, such as Monster, Job Bank USA , Executive Career Search and Career Mag , which is part of the 4Jobs.com career network has links to massive amount of job and career links sites, which is very important during a job search campaign.

There are also some specialized and unknown job sites, such as Craigslist , where jobs, that are unlisted in other sites, can be found.

Focus your job search using networking, online and offline tactics. Networking is still the tried-and-true king relevant to an effective job-search campaign.

Training

Give yourself an online Aptitude test and get your Aptitude, Entrepreneur and Personality reports at Analyze My Career.Com. You can obtain an open self-assessment, polish your skills and if possible even learn a new one and also obtain career guidance

The search is endless. As the average time-span is around 3 months and by which time you don't get a job, then, you've to review your plans, goals and strategies.

I personally recommend starting a home business or going in for other part-time job, say such as blogging,  and try to make some income during this period, which you can use to cover your resume writing, job search and other activities.

Remember to evaluate your priorities for any venture, before jumping in. Remember it is only part-time. So it should be fun. You can always convert it to a full time once you've learned the ropes and can afford to quit your full-time job

The above job campaign plan is just a sample which should suffice for somebody just out of a job and is searching. If you're searching for a great career resource, make The Riley Guide your starting point. Margaret Riley Dikel has done a masterful job editing, organizing and delivering this best-in-class resource. Here you get a step by step advise on how to work out a job campaign plan.