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For world-class resume and cover letter writing, editing, and critique services. Serving
Fairport, NY, Rochester, NY, and clients from throughout the United States.Resume Writing Tips
In the following article written by The Resume Specialist, you'll find some great ideas on how to create a truly outstanding resume. This article was originally published in the Rochester (NY) Times-Union newspaper.
Will you be making a career move soon? If so, you'll want to make sure your resume is combat-ready for today's job market…
These days, it's clear that a resume is an essential part of your personal survival kit and crucial to the success of your job search. What may be less obvious is how to ensure your resume catches the attention of prospective employers amidst the hundreds of other resumes generated by each job opening. You already know that average isn't good enough, but just exactly how do you create a resume that stands out from all the rest?
Here are just a few ideas to consider.
Tell your story, not someone else's. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's not a good idea to copy someone else's resume or clone some nifty one you find on the Internet. If you want a prospective employer to see you as special and ahead of the competition, then it's your job to present yourself in a way that is different from your competition. One way to do that is to create and submit a fresh and totally original resume.
Make a plan, make an impression. An effective resume highlights the strengths you offer relative to a specific job objective. Before you write even one word, identify your job objective and decide on what overall message you want to convey to a prospective employer. Decide exactly how you want an employer to see you and then write your resume to produce this impression.
For example, are you a seasoned, successful outside sales rep experienced in cultivating partnership relationships with key corporate accounts? If so, prove it. Load your resume with related skills, accomplishments, and responsibilities. When you're writing, think of yourself as a lawyer with a case to prove and be sure you make a strong case.
Your resume should include specifics on how you can contribute to an organization's bottom line performance. Depending on your career field, these performance measurements could include product quality, customer satisfaction, profitability, the quality of patient or client care, employee empowerment, student development, community progress, etc.
It's essential that you have a clear vision of the message you want your resume to send. With this vision as your guiding principle, you'll be surprised at how much easier it is to organize your presentation, decide what to include and what to leave out, how to prioritize content—even how to choose just the right words.
Inspire yourself. Does your resume inspire you about you? After reading it, do you see yourself and your strengths in a new light and with an expanded appreciation? Will your resume send the message, loud and clear, to an employer, "I'm the one you're looking for?"
Be honest. If someone advises you to be less than truthful on your resume, don't walk, run! When you're less than truthful, you're not only deceiving others, you're betraying your best and highest self. (You're also saying to yourself, "I'm not really qualified," "I'm not good enough.") Is the questionable, short-term gain you might achieve really worth the damage to your self-respect and reputation?
Instead of fibbing, put your energy into writing an absolutely spectacular resume, focusing on the strengths you do have. Target jobs for which you're qualified now. Or, go out and get the experience, training, education, or other qualifications you're missing, and then go after that dream job.
In the end, honesty is the best policy. You'll feel good about yourself and your resume. And when you arrive for the interview, you won't have to worry that they'll be expecting someone else!
Be aware that your resume can be revealing in more ways than one. Fair or not, prospective employers will make many assumptions about you based on what they find—and on what they do not find—in your resume. Be mindful of the messages you're sending.
For example, if your resume is well written in clear and succinct language, focused on a specific job objective, brimming with skills and achievements, and beautifully formatted, your reader will get the message that you're aware that both substance and style are important.
Because you've presented yourself in a polished, professional manner on your resume, your reader is likely to assume that you'll present yourself the same way on the job.
Take another example. Let's say that when you're describing your work experience, you provide only a list of job duties instead of presenting your special skills and achievements. What might your reader conclude? One possibility: You're someone who "performs duties," not someone who achieves, contributes, or innovates...
Are you getting the idea here that the possibilities for sending the wrong messages are endless? But the converse is also true. You have a multitude of opportunities to send the right message, so take advantage of this!
Take your time. There are few things worse than discovering that the resume you've already sent to a prospective employer contains errors or doesn't present you at your very best. To prevent this, don't put yourself under unnecessary time pressures when you're developing or updating your resume. If your resume isn't ready to go, don't promise that you'll get it to someone "in a day or two." And, never send a prospective employer a first draft.
Give yourself plenty of time to plan, write, reflect, and rewrite. Develop your first draft and then put it away. Let some time pass and then look at it again. You'll be amazed at the number of improvements you'll be able to identify. (Time is a wise counselor.) And be sure to allow time for others to review it and give you their suggestions.
If you work at an unrushed pace, you're giving yourself a better chance to produce an effective resume. An added bonus: When you do your resume right the first time, updating it is much easier because you're building on a solid foundation.
Create your own inside track. Does it seem that others are getting all the good job interviews? Then maybe it's time for you to take another look at your resume. It has been said that luck is the residue of design. Who knows, you might be able to write your way into some luck!
Don't underestimate the importance of your resume. It speaks for you when you're not there. Fill it with proof that you're the best candidate for the job. Your resume is your own personal billboard. Make it look polished and professional. And remember: Until the moment you arrive for the job interview, your resume is you to a prospective employer. So make sure it's the very best it can be.
Creating an effective resume is certainly worth the time and effort. It can boost your confidence, help you see yourself in a new way, and open the door to a whole new future!
The Resume Specialist in Fairport, New York, has the resume writing answers you need. Call us at 585.223.1648 or 585.377.3234 or e-mail us at mgiwrite@frontiernet.net for more information.