Okay, so today I went to my regular Tuesday job-support workshop (go to as many of those as possible) and listened to my eighteenth resume writing expert. This does not include the ones I’ve read about; how many resume gurus does it take to land a job?
One – if it’s the right guru for you and your intended field of interest.
I’ve gone through probably 7-10 resume iterations in my career and I can tell you this: No one (and I mean no one) is going to give you your definitive resume on a silver platter no matter how much you pay for the service or what that provider promises. If you get offered that million-dollar job on a brand spanking new CV, consider it good luck in addition to top-notch interviewing skills. But, you do need a presentable document to help sell your wares…to get you to that interview.
As I’ve posted before, I’m reading What Color Is Your Parachute? (highly recommend to all!) and even in the impeccably laid out, researched and comprehensive section detailing this precarious topic, Mr. Bolles himself differs with many “experts” I’ve encountered. His research indicates cover letters are a must; the majority of what I’ve observed tells me it’s a waste of time because there are so many resumes coming into companies, it’s more than difficult just to weed out the resumes. Why bog down the system even further with a letter? Now this could be a simple economic barometer never-before seen or expected. Possibly in better times when hiring managers have healthier occasions to review them it’s preferred, but not today.
No matter what your source is, the one thing that holds tried, true and overwhelming is the resume is not the answer to finding a job but a small portion of the search. Résumés are only viewed 5-10 seconds each and if it doesn’t scream hire me, toodles! Relying on your contacts and networkers can bolster your percentages of getting it seen by the right folks. Also, don’t think the bigger the firm the better – the smaller fish bite the hardest these days…just ask my wife! Fortune 500 Companies are seeing 2000 resumes a day! You read it right – per day! And that’s even if they’re not hiring; can you imagine when they are? Talk about tough times!
Resumes should be an extension of your professional persona; consider it a shadow following you as you approach your target company. If you enter into your favorite search engine “resumes” or “how to write a resume” you will literally get back tens of millions of results. Please don’t go to all of them! The main thing to remember about drafting one is really straightforward; make sure it’s easy on the eyes as far as font size and layout goes, grammar and spelling must be impeccable and decide if you would hire you by reading it. And be honest! Also understand that human eyes are not the first to read it, so brush up on computerized scanners. A graphically presented document might look gorgeous to you but will wreak havoc on the other end; keep it simple and use special characters and settings (bullets, bolding, italicizing and such) to a bare minimum. Don’t use job objectives as they’re too limiting and useless these days as many companies themselves have no clue for what they are hiring…they just might want to see who is looking. I am!
So it’s basically a judgment call when it comes to what yours should look like; most of the resume templates found on search engines are decent (many good ones are free!) and a good starting point. Your contact information needs to be up-to-date with a respectable email address and phones that will answer with your voice and not your pets’. It’s really common sense. When you save any document, it should have your name on it, not the generic computer system preset, so you can be easily located by the recipient. It’s not rocket science or brain surgery, but it takes some time and thought and needs to be complete and not thrown together haphazardly.
Remember this is you you’re talking about so make it look and sound representative of what a close friend would be saying to someone if they were trying to find out something about you. You need to be your BFF right now…good luck!
Again, thanks for surfing my wave!
Why Just Look For A Job? Create One!™
TheUnemployMENTOR – email@theunemploymentor.com
