Expert Resume Writing Secrets Revealed

"....WOULD I BE BETTER SERVED AT HAVING MY RESUME PREPARED BY A PROFESSIONAL..."

The answer to that question is yes. Why you ask? Please read on.

Resumes Serve As Keys To The Working World
Every working American adult is required to have certain basic things in life, above and beyond just shelter, food, and water to survive. And when it comes to living and working, a bank account, a credit or debit card, and driver's license, are all but some of the basic things we all need and take for granted in life. More importantly, when it comes to sustaining our livelihoods, a resume in turn acts as the key that allows us to enter into the work force. So why is it that so many people take resumes for granted, instead of treating them as important investments in their lives and futures?

Resumes Are More Than Just Slapping Words Together
Although there are certain people out there who feel they can write a good resume, preparing a masterpiece resume that will actually get you the job involves much more than slapping some impressive words together in an organized and clean template format. Think of it this way. Would you ever think about changing the transmission on your car by yourself, or how about building your own house by yourself? Of course not, you would consult with and pay professionals for such services. So then why would you risk your chances of getting a job by leaving it solely to yourself to try to sell yourself to an employer?

And One Size Never Fits All With Resumes
One of the most common reasons why people don't hire a resume service to prepare their resumes is because when they do it themselves, it's FREE. Then again, many of the better things in life don't come for free, let alone at a cheap price. A standard resume today can begin around one hundred dollars. But prices may differ depending upon whether the resume is an entry level, mid level, technical level, or executive level career resume. In other words, one size doesn't fit all when it comes to selling yourself. So prices may increase up to several hundred dollars. But, keep in mind, professional resume writers generally custom target your resume to specifically apply to the career field that you would like to enter. Oh, but wait a minute, you say you can do that as well, or even better?

Okay, just to prove to you how challenging it is to write an effective resume, check out the top 5 reasons why you should hire a pro, instead of simply relying upon yourself when trying to sell yourself to an employer :

1. The professional resume writer will make a study of you and your profile and background. Once their analysis of you is complete, a targeted resume will be prepared reflecting your overall qualifications in a manner that is not just descriptive in nature, but in a manner that will effectively market you to an employer.



2. When you prepare your resume, you are doing it from a biased perspective, whether you realize it or not. It's important to have an objective person preparing it for you so as to avoid any unnecessary
   achievements and qualifications. Remember, recruiters scan a resume in a matter of seconds, so you cannot afford to waste their time with
   "fluff and stuff" thrown into your resume.



3. As much as people tend to overload their resumes, the objective of a resume is to sell you. That is why when a professional writes it, they will incorporate key marketing and industry words that are designed to jump off the page (so to speak), instead of your resume simply reading like a boring autobiography.



4. One size never fits all when it comes to writing a resume. That is why using a standard template on every resume can be dangerous.
   However, a professional resume writer will select the most appropriate format for your resume, and arrange all of your information in the correct order of importance.



5. Having a resume done professionally will inevitably boost your ego and morale. If you even utilize the services of a professional once,
   you will more than likely see the difference in presentation as well as the results.

You cannot afford to cheap your way towards a career and successful livelihood by relying on your hunt and pecking skills in creating a resume. More than that, people who create their own resumes, although they know their jobs and qualifications, quite often find it challenging to articulate their backgrounds in writing. As a result, do it yourselfer resume writers include either too much or too little information in their resumes, and they usually never know it.

So what is the difference between your abilities and the abilities of a professional resume writer? It's the ability to sell you versus describing you. Are you willing to pay for that now?

This is a 2 part article which was written by Carol Sorgen. It provides some excellet tips.

"A great resume is not just a complete list of employment and education. . .it's got to be a selling document," says Kathryn Troutman, president of The Resume Place in Catonsville and author of the Federal Resume Guidebook.

"Your resume needs to make very clear that you are highly skilled and an excellent candidate for their position, with energy and enthusiasm for your career," Ms. Troutman adds. "A resume is like a snapshot," agrees Nancy Leaderman, one of two resume specialists(along with Debra Varron) at The Associated's Jewish Vocational Service, which offers a full range of employment counseling and programs, including resume preparation and job-seeking workshops. "You wouldn't have a picture of yourself taken without combing your hair, putting on lipstick, or whatever it takes to make yourself look as attractive as possible. It's the same thing with a resume. . .this is your first impression."

In terms of the visual appeal of a resume, says Ms. Leaderman, a resume produced on a laser printer makes a big difference. "A good dot matrix printer
used to be all right," she observes, "but with the availability of computers so widespread now, a laser printer is really the way to go."

Ms. Leaderman admits that the way a resume looks can be tied to the field the job seeker is exploring. "I think of resumes as akin to professional dressing," she observes. "A resume for the banking industry might certainly look different from a resume for the advertising industry. "In more conservative areas," Ms. Leaderman notes,"you won't waver from 12-point black ink on white or off-white plain bond paper. For more creative fields, however, we might suggest some graphic changes--using bullets, changing type size. . .things like that." Don't get carried away though, Ms. Leaderman advises. Colored ink, for example, can be too distracting. "You want to catch the employer's eye but still be professional. If you want to impress someone with your creativity, send a sample of your work. . .don't use your resume to show how artistic you are."

In terms of what actually goes in your resume, Kathryn Troutman of The Resume Place advises job-seekers that the resume has to say not just where you've worked, but how well you've performed. "Think accomplishments," she recommends.

"If you have been a production supervisor in manufacturing for 10 years," she says, "tell the reader what you have accomplished, in addition to your responsibilities. For instance, 'As a Production Supervisor, successfully used a team management style of supervision to increase productivity; decreased injuries through new safety programs; promoted staff to management through an emphasis on training and development; implemented TQM throughout the plant; and directed installation of digital controls in the manufacturing equipment.'

"This approach shows that the person is a highly effective production manager," says Ms. Troutman. Be specific and be focused, adds JVS' Nancy Leaderman. "Use active verbs (for the grammatically-challenged who may not remember their junior high English classes, active verbs are the ones that don't use helping verbs). Use verbs such as maintained, supervised, managed, as opposed to saying, was responsible for."

Many prospective employers "scan" a resume first--either with an optical scanner or with the human eye, looking for key words or phrases. This is done, say resume specialists, not so much as a hiring tool, but as a way to sort through the sometimes hundreds of resumes received for an advertised position. "A great resume for scanning provides these key words in order to 'maximize hits' for the best-qualified applicants," explains Kathryn Troutman. In other words, don't just write, 'Directly supervise 12 employees.' Instead write, 'Directly supervise 12 Customer Service Representatives entailing training on computer system, troubleshooting, scheduling to meet peak demands, and maintaining employee records.'" In order to find the key--or "buzz"--words of your industry, Ms. Troutman suggests, read the "want ads" in the newspaper. Find 5-10 ads for your field; look for phrases used over and over again. Use these words or phrases in your resume. And what if you don't have all the skills the ads are calling for? "Get them," says Ms. Troutman.

A great resume for 1999 always includes details of your abilities with computers,Ms. Troutman adds. Don't just write: "Skilled in use of PCs with WordPerfect." "That's not good enough in this computer-driven job market," Ms. Troutman observes. "Write about your level of skill
in each major program.

A secretary, for example, can write, 'Proficient with WordPerfect 6.0, including graphs, charts for presentations, as well as word processing and file management; act as office LAN administrator for 15 management and secretary staff; install software upgrades and provide user training and support." For those looking for a federal job, Ms. Troutman notes, the former Form 171 has been replaced by the new Federal Resume, a 2-4 page document which includes "security details" such as social security
number, citizenship, addresses of employers, and other details not usually required by private industry employers. Indeed, within private industry,
says Nancy Leaderman, job-seekers are leaving out personal information that was once considered standard on a resume--age, health status, marital status, and the like. "Both employers and employees are more sensitive to the appearance of bias," Ms. Leaderman observes in explaining this current trend.

Just how long should a resume be? "That's a judgement call," says Ms. Leaderman."If you can get all the information on one page, fine, but that's not always the case, especially if you have at least 10-15 years' experience, or a list of publications you've written. . .if you need more room to get all your skills in, then go to two pages." The length of the resume might also depend on the format you use--chronological or functional.

A chronological resume-which works best for most people--emphasizes employment dates and perhaps increases in responsibility over time.
A functional resume, on the other hand, places less importance on dates
and more on the skills gathered through the years. A functional resume can work best, says Ms. Leaderman, for career shifters, those with an inconsistent work history, and those who may be a bit older than the average job-seeker but don't want to call attention to the fact.

Some people may,in fact, have both a functional and a chronological resume, or even several different versions of the same resume, highlighting different objectives and different skills. "The purpose a resume serves varies from industry to industry," Ms. Leaderman remarks. "In sales, for instance, just a brief resume can often get you an interview; in other fields, a more detailed resume is the only way to get your foot in the door."

After completing your resume, don't overlook other job-seeking tools such as cover letters and thank-you notes, says Ms. Leaderman. In your cover letter,
she advises, respond to what an individual ad has listed; be as specific as possible. "Go beyond the qualifications," Ms. Leaderman stresses. "Make yourself stand out from the others." And don't forget thank-you notes-- for referrals, for interviews, even for jobs you wind up not getting. "You never know when something else will open up," says Ms. Leaderman.

One final thought says Kathryn Troutman--"If you're not excited about your resume, no one else will be either."

Written By: Carol Sorgen

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OVERWORKED I have found out the real reason why I'm tired, because I'm overworked! The population of this country is 237 million: 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government. This leaves 19 million to do the work. 4 million are in the armed forces, which leaves 15 million to do the work. Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for the city and state government and that leaves 200,000 to do the work. There are 188,000 people in hospitals so that leaves 12,000 to do the work. Now there are 11,998 people in prison. That leaves 2 people to do the work, You and Me...
AND YOU'RE SITTING THERE SCREWING AROUND ON MY JOKE PAGE!

Enter Text Here

One of the most important things when writing a resume is to use action words. Not only will these words increase the impact of your resume in the eyes of the employers but they might help your resume get selected when recruiters use resume scanning software.

Usually used to describe skills, experience and achievements, action words shouldn't however be "stuffed" in your resume as you need to make sure your document sounds natural.

Here is a list of some action words that will turn your resume into a powerful marketing document:

ability
accelerated
accelerated
accomplished

balanced
bought
briefed

calculated
capacity
careful
cataloged

graded
granted
guided

halved
handled

dealt
decided
defined
delegated

earned
edited
educated
effected

fabricated
facilitated
filed
financed

gathered
generated

headed
helped
hired

identified
implemented
improved
incorporated

joined

kept

launched
learned
leased
lectured


made
maintained
managed
matched
measured

named
navigated
negotiated

observed
opened
operated
ordered
organized
oversaw

participated
perceived
performed
persuaded
planned

qualified
questioned

raised
ranked
rated
realized
received

saved
scheduled
selected
served
serviced

tackled
targeted
taught
terminated
tested

took
toured
traced
tracked
traded

umpired
uncovered
understood
understudied
unified
utilized

verbalized
verified
visited

waged
weighed
widened
won
worked
wrote

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