Did you know that a resume that is "basic" -- it gives the facts but lacks "sell" --is actually NEGATIVE? Why? Because a reader will feel that if you really had something of value to offer or "sell", you would have presented it in your resume! (Robert Half in "Practical Accounting")
Let's face it. A resume that doesn't "sell" you, is a waste of everyone's time. It can only result in very few or no job interviews. Even worse is that home-made efforts are often SUICIDAL! I see this daily. So why take a chance with yours? Missed career and growth opportunities or lower salaries are a very high price to pay for writing your own resume. You would be well advised to seek professional help. It will cost money but it really does pay -- provided that you choose a skilled resume writer!
In my view, the only professional to consult is an experienced and skilled resume writer who does it full-time. Such a person can be more OBJECTIVE about your credentials than you can. He or she can see how you will come across to an employer.
Professional resume writers deal with resume-writing problems on a daily basis and find solutions that work for their clients. He or she will help you decide on the best format or layout, the most suitable length and, above all, what to emphasize and what to omit.
"Cleaning up" your resume is an important aspect of preparing it. Throughout the process, your own input and collaboration is essential.
Unfortunately, this is not how many resume services operate. I refer to those who ask you to complete a form and send your money. These are resume factories or paper mills. Avoid them (and their "guarantees") like the plague.
But people you know will also offer to help you with your resume. Be polite but ignore them as well because they won't be qualified to assist you -- even if they happen to be writers, teachers, business executives, personnel officers, secretaries, or typists.
Human Resources folks who read and screen out resumes, are seldom able to write them as well. (Similiarly, theater critics can't create new works, football receivers can't play quarterback and baseball catchers can't pitch!) None of your friends or relatives has the expertise required to prepare a winning resume for you. (Recently, the H.R. Director of a firm in Pennsylvania offered to assist a job seeker to prepare a complicated change-of-career resume even though he had no specialist knowledge of the subject.)
Worst of all, every low cost resume writer promises you a quick turnaround.
The awful truth is that most of these amateurs can prepare a nice-looking resume for you but it will be very "basic" and bland. It won't be the marketing tool that you need to succeed. Why? Because it will fail to present your best selling points in the most effective way.
And as for potential negatives, "red flags" or turnoffs, they won't bother to clean up your resume in order to minimize or eliminate all of your resume blemishes. You'll be screened out in Round 1.
Be warned. Resume writing is a minefield of hacks and quacks. Some writers might be sincere in trying to help you but could harm your career because they lack resume-writing skill and experience. At best, they'll give you an attractive-looking resume that won't sell you to any employer.
Good resume paper and sharp laser printing will not create the marketing tool you need to beat the competition. Always remember, a printer is a printer. He or she is not a marketing expert!
What is a "Skilled" Resume Writer? What qualifies a professional writer to assist you?
First and foremost, very strong analytical skills. He or she will need to analyze and discover many additional facts about you, your skills, strengths, and achievements -- in order to determine your potential worth to an employer. This, in turn, has to be translated into skills that are transferable and marketable.
A background that includes both career counseling and working experience in a variety of jobs will therefor be useful. To know what skills are required of various jobs and at different levels, he or she needs to study job ads more than you do!
In particular, he or she could help you target specific positions by carefully matching up an employer's stated needs with what you are able to offer. If you lack one or more of those requirements, what could be equivalent to it?
Second, a good resume writer knows a lot about the art of presentation. It is the skilled way in which your information is selected, organized, and presented that will enhance your perceived value and impress the reader. This requires a knowledge of resume "cosmetics" and "surgery"---but not anything unethical.
Third, he or she must know how the buyer thinks -- those who screen as well as those who do the actual hiring. A knowledge of which items might be "red flags" is essential along with an ability to draft your best selling points.
Fourth, a professional writer must understand how an effective sales device or marketing tool should be constructed in your particular case. There are no standard resumes. People are not clones. Yours has to be custom-made using your own, unique "ingredients."
And last, but not least, the writer should write good English using the language of the employer. A good job resume should not include flowery, fancy or exaggerated language. It is a job search tool, not a literary masterpiece.
Why do I mention English last and not first? Because hundreds of English majors consult with resume-writing professionals -- even graduates with a GPA of 3.9. The help they need isn't for better English but the specific language of resume writing. And how to organize and present their data in the most effective way.
But a resume writer's best qualification or credential is his or her proven ability to develop resumes that have helped many, many clients. You see, some of our most skilled and successful writers haven't bothered to become "certified" as professional resume writers. They don't need to be. Their results speak louder than any certificate!
Finally, isn't word-of-mouth still the only safe way to select any professional? After all, how did a particular doctor, lawyer or resume writer acquire his or her reputation for excellence?
Please E-mail or call me for a FREE consultation or chat.
mattgreene@aol.com
Tel.: 1-718-436-3504
Copyright, 2006-2011 by Matthew Greene. All rights reserved.
,
