It Takes More Than Price and Skills to Get Noticed

I recently received the following comment to one of my blog posts that I'd like to share with you:

"...If you want a position all you need to do is price yourself correctly and have the core skill sets. The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people. They can see beyond a spacing error. I believe the less you tell them the better. Make it short."

Other than the writer's misunderstanding of a correct expression of a common plural, this post is full of errors. I wonder how well her strategy is working for her.

If only it was so simple as to "price yourself correctly and just have the core skill sets"! Unfortunately for us all, you can be the cheapest candidate around, with every skill set known to Man, but if your resume doesn't reflect those qualities correctly, you might as well be shouting from a bell buoy in the middle of the ocean, for all the good it will do you. That's what this blog post the reader protested is all about. You need to know the right way to get that across to a reader who has at least 400 other resumes demanding his or her attention. You also need to get your resume through the resume-reading software most companies are using today. Those items on that list, the industry-specific language, the keywords, the design and writing that engage the reader at the outset and keep the reader engaged throughout; all those items are crucial to the success of a resume.

And that's where a professional resume writer comes in. Anonymous Reader, do you know how to write a C-A-R statement? Do you know why such a statement is important? A professional does, and will utilize those statements and more to demonstrate your VALUE to the potential employer.

"The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people... I believe the less you tell them the better." Where did you get these ideas? And how is that strategy working for you? How many interviews have you won with your "less is better" notion? How are employers supposed to know about the day you saved a $100,000 account by correcting the billing error that nearly made the account-holder choose a competitor if you don't tell them about it?

"Make it short," indeed. And spend a long, long time clinging to your buoy out on that cold, dark ocean.

Jack Mulcahy has written hundreds of resumes for people from all walks of life. Each resume he writes shows the unique selling proposition so necessary to market the job seeker. To learn more about Jack and how he can work to help your resume gain interviews, visit his website at http://www.resumesbyjack.com/.

Read more ...

It Takes More Than Price and Skills to Get Noticed

I recently received the following comment to one of my blog posts that I'd like to share with you:

"...If you want a position all you need to do is price yourself correctly and have the core skill sets. The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people. They can see beyond a spacing error. I believe the less you tell them the better. Make it short."

Other than the writer's misunderstanding of a correct expression of a common plural, this post is full of errors. I wonder how well her strategy is working for her.

If only it was so simple as to "price yourself correctly and just have the core skill sets"! Unfortunately for us all, you can be the cheapest candidate around, with every skill set known to Man, but if your resume doesn't reflect those qualities correctly, you might as well be shouting from a bell buoy in the middle of the ocean, for all the good it will do you. That's what this blog post the reader protested is all about. You need to know the right way to get that across to a reader who has at least 400 other resumes demanding his or her attention. You also need to get your resume through the resume-reading software most companies are using today. Those items on that list, the industry-specific language, the keywords, the design and writing that engage the reader at the outset and keep the reader engaged throughout; all those items are crucial to the success of a resume.

And that's where a professional resume writer comes in. Anonymous Reader, do you know how to write a C-A-R statement? Do you know why such a statement is important? A professional does, and will utilize those statements and more to demonstrate your VALUE to the potential employer.

"The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people... I believe the less you tell them the better." Where did you get these ideas? And how is that strategy working for you? How many interviews have you won with your "less is better" notion? How are employers supposed to know about the day you saved a $100,000 account by correcting the billing error that nearly made the account-holder choose a competitor if you don't tell them about it?

"Make it short," indeed. And spend a long, long time clinging to your buoy out on that cold, dark ocean.

Jack Mulcahy has written hundreds of resumes for people from all walks of life. Each resume he writes shows the unique selling proposition so necessary to market the job seeker. To learn more about Jack and how he can work to help your resume gain interviews, visit his website at http://www.resumesbyjack.com/.

Read more ...

It Takes More Than Price and Skills to Get Noticed

I recently received the following comment to one of my blog posts that I'd like to share with you:

"...If you want a position all you need to do is price yourself correctly and have the core skill sets. The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people. They can see beyond a spacing error. I believe the less you tell them the better. Make it short."

Other than the writer's misunderstanding of a correct expression of a common plural, this post is full of errors. I wonder how well her strategy is working for her.

If only it was so simple as to "price yourself correctly and just have the core skill sets"! Unfortunately for us all, you can be the cheapest candidate around, with every skill set known to Man, but if your resume doesn't reflect those qualities correctly, you might as well be shouting from a bell buoy in the middle of the ocean, for all the good it will do you. That's what this blog post the reader protested is all about. You need to know the right way to get that across to a reader who has at least 400 other resumes demanding his or her attention. You also need to get your resume through the resume-reading software most companies are using today. Those items on that list, the industry-specific language, the keywords, the design and writing that engage the reader at the outset and keep the reader engaged throughout; all those items are crucial to the success of a resume.

And that's where a professional resume writer comes in. Anonymous Reader, do you know how to write a C-A-R statement? Do you know why such a statement is important? A professional does, and will utilize those statements and more to demonstrate your VALUE to the potential employer.

"The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people... I believe the less you tell them the better." Where did you get these ideas? And how is that strategy working for you? How many interviews have you won with your "less is better" notion? How are employers supposed to know about the day you saved a $100,000 account by correcting the billing error that nearly made the account-holder choose a competitor if you don't tell them about it?

"Make it short," indeed. And spend a long, long time clinging to your buoy out on that cold, dark ocean.

Jack Mulcahy has written hundreds of resumes for people from all walks of life. Each resume he writes shows the unique selling proposition so necessary to market the job seeker. To learn more about Jack and how he can work to help your resume gain interviews, visit his website at http://www.resumesbyjack.com/.

Read more ...

It Takes More Than Price and Skills to Get Noticed

I recently received the following comment to one of my blog posts that I'd like to share with you:

"...If you want a position all you need to do is price yourself correctly and have the core skill sets. The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people. They can see beyond a spacing error. I believe the less you tell them the better. Make it short."

Other than the writer's misunderstanding of a correct expression of a common plural, this post is full of errors. I wonder how well her strategy is working for her.

If only it was so simple as to "price yourself correctly and just have the core skill sets"! Unfortunately for us all, you can be the cheapest candidate around, with every skill set known to Man, but if your resume doesn't reflect those qualities correctly, you might as well be shouting from a bell buoy in the middle of the ocean, for all the good it will do you. That's what this blog post the reader protested is all about. You need to know the right way to get that across to a reader who has at least 400 other resumes demanding his or her attention. You also need to get your resume through the resume-reading software most companies are using today. Those items on that list, the industry-specific language, the keywords, the design and writing that engage the reader at the outset and keep the reader engaged throughout; all those items are crucial to the success of a resume.

And that's where a professional resume writer comes in. Anonymous Reader, do you know how to write a C-A-R statement? Do you know why such a statement is important? A professional does, and will utilize those statements and more to demonstrate your VALUE to the potential employer.

"The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people... I believe the less you tell them the better." Where did you get these ideas? And how is that strategy working for you? How many interviews have you won with your "less is better" notion? How are employers supposed to know about the day you saved a $100,000 account by correcting the billing error that nearly made the account-holder choose a competitor if you don't tell them about it?

"Make it short," indeed. And spend a long, long time clinging to your buoy out on that cold, dark ocean.

Jack Mulcahy has written hundreds of resumes for people from all walks of life. Each resume he writes shows the unique selling proposition so necessary to market the job seeker. To learn more about Jack and how he can work to help your resume gain interviews, visit his website at http://www.resumesbyjack.com/.

Read more ...

It Takes More Than Price and Skills to Get Noticed

I recently received the following comment to one of my blog posts that I'd like to share with you:

"... If you want a position all you need to do is price yourself correctly and have the core skill sets. The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people. They can see beyond a spacing error. I believe the less you tell them the better. Make it short."

Other than the writer's misunderstanding of a correct expression of a common plural, this post is full of errors. I wonder how well her strategy is working for her.

If only it was so simple as to "price yourself correctly and just have the core skill sets"! Unfortunately for us all, you can be the cheapest candidate around, with every skill set known to Man, but if your resume doesn't reflect those qualities correctly, you might as well be shouting from a bell buoy in the middle of the ocean, for all the good it will do you. That's what this blog post the reader protested is all about. You need to know the right way to get that across to a reader who has at least 400 other resumes demanding his or her attention. You also need to get your resume through the resume-reading software most companies are using today. Those items on that list, the industry-specific language, the keywords, the design and writing that engage the reader at the outset and keep the reader engaged throughout; all those items are crucial to the success of a resume.

And that's where a professional resume writer comes in. Anonymous Reader, do you know how to write a C-A-R statement? Do you know why such a statement is important? A professional does, and will utilize those statements and more to demonstrate your VALUE to the potential employer.

"The reader's [sic] of the resume are intelligent people... I believe the less you tell them the better." Where did you get these ideas? And how is that strategy working for you? How many interviews have you won with your "less is better" notion? How are employers supposed to know about the day you saved a $100,000 account by correcting the billing error that nearly made the account-holder choose a competitor if you don't tell them about it?

"Make it short," indeed. And spend a long, long time clinging to your buoy out on that cold, dark ocean.

Jack Mulcahy has written hundreds of resumes for people from all walks of life. Each resume he writes shows the unique selling proposition so necessary to market the job seeker. To learn more about Jack and how he can work to help your resume gain interviews, visit his website at http://www.resumesbyjack.com/.

Read more ...

Top Ways To Get Your Cover Letter Noticed

With the daily rise in job losses, there has been a huge increase in the number of people who are unemployed, leading into more people looking for a job. While this can be detrimental looking at it from the outside, it is a great opportunity for you to stand out and get noticed. One of the best ways to get you noticed more is to become proficient in writing a cover letter.

Like many other Americans, you are probably not too fond of writing a CL and if you are, you are probably doing bare minimum, which is writing a generic cover letter for all of your positions. This is definitely not the way to get yourself noticed and it is not the way into a new position, so making sure that your cover letter is tailored for that position is going to be very important. The cover letter must be able to give the person enough information on you where they will want to find out more.

Finding good letters these days is a challenge because people do not know how to do it. This is why I have listed 3 tips that will help you get more eyes on your resume.

1. Company Research- Finding out more about the company is the perfect way to let them know that you are really interested in becoming a part of their team. Instead of creating a cover letter that is exactly the same for every position, take the time to learn more about that company so that you can show them why you want to work with them.

2. Using Recommendations- Of course it is more credible when other people say great things about you, so when you are writing a CL you should make sure you add a small recommendation from someone who knows you on a business level.

3. Just Get to the Point- The person in charge of reading cover letters and going through applications does not want to spend long hours reading cover letters to see whether or not you are qualified for the position. When writing your cover letter makes sure that you out all of the "necessary" information that will help "sell" your qualities the best. Remember that you do not have to have a long cover letter because the more precise and to the point, the better.

When you learn how to write a cover letter, the first thing that you will want to keep in mind is that short and simple wins the race. You definitely want to restrain from writing too much information because you do not want to overwhelm the reader. Get to the point and explain why you are the best candidate for that position.

Steps to Writing a Cover Letter

Now that you know what is needed for your CL, we will show you exactly how to put together your next cover letter.

•Introduction - Of course the introduction is the first paragraph where you introduce yourself. Here you will want to share why you like the company and why you have applied for the position. Since you have done your research on the company you will be able to share why you applied for their company.

•Body - The body is used to explain all of your skills and assets and it tells the reader why you would be the perfect match for their company. You don't want to give them all of your information, but just enough to create interest.

•Closing - Just like any other business letter does, you want to make sure that you thank the reader for taking the time to read your cover letter. This is the perfect time to tell them that you value their time. Moreover, you will want to let them know that you will contact them and when you will contact them in regards to the position. You will also want to give them your contact information and "tell" them what the best way to be reached is.

Writing a CL is a way that you can really sell yourself without having to be in from of the possible employer. If you are scared to write a CV letter and have no clue where to get started, you will find that online there are a number of resources that will show you what you will need to do. Remember, short and precise wins the race.

For more details on writing a cover letter be sure to look online.

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Use These 5 Points When Writing Your Resume To Make It Stand Out From The Crowd And Get You Noticed

With the current job market being so tough, it is important for your resume to stand out from the competition. There is one easy way to help you in this process and that is to avoid the types of common errors that get most of these pages tossed in the round file.

There are at least five different areas that you can use to gain a competitive advantage over the competition and make your paper stand out from the crowd.

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your most recent accomplishments are listed. Most employers don't care about what happened a dozen years ago. Not only is this ancient history, but as technology is moving so quickly, many of these skills are unfortunately outdated. Focus on the most recent employment and use bullet points to highlight these areas.

Next, make sure to focus on the advertisement that listed the job posting. Your resume is likely to be skimmed anyway, so it is important to get the most important items at the top of the page. Since you should already be a good match in some ways, be sure to include what the employer is looking for as the first or second item on this document. That is more likely to stick in the reader's mind and get you the chance for that all important interview.

It is also important to stress your positive attributes and qualities. Almost every other resume will have such things as "hard working" or "self starter". It no longer means anything to include such phrases. In order to be unique, you must demonstrate these qualities to a prospective employer. Be sure to include some good examples of how you have used these skills to benefit a previous company.

Another good tip is to make sure that your very best accomplishments are included. The reader will want to know how these can benefit their company. You should be able to provide proof in a concrete fashion of how a previous firm achieved something tangible from these kinds of efforts. This may be in the way of numbers - such as sales figures or possibly repeat customers.

Writing from the viewpoint of the human resources person who will read your resume will greatly enhance the chance of making the cut into the favored pile. These are the only people who will get called for that all important face to face meeting.

Proofreading is the one item that most people seem to neglect. Although this doesn't cost anything but time, it is the single most overlooked aspect when submitting a resume. Research done in this area indicates that as much as 20% of papers are sent off with errors in their content.

Get somebody else to proofread and check this all important document before putting a stamp on it. One simple mistake can mean the difference between getting noticed and getting laughed at. A human reader is the best bet her as automated programs will only say if a word is spelled incorrectly but not used incorrectly.

These are just a few of the tips that you can use to improve your resume and land that new job! Please visit Amazing Resume and see more great ideas to help you write the perfect page.

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Writing a Resumix Resume That Gets Noticed

There are a growing number of federal jobs that require a Resumix resume to be written. The ultimate goal of using this resume format is so that the government can save time, money, and resources in identifying the best possible candidates for each position. This means that in order to get the job you want, writing a Resumix resume that gets noticed is critical. Here are a few tips that will make it much more likely that your resume get sent to the top of the pile.

1. Matching the Position Requirements

The most important aspect of writing a Resumix resume that gets noticed is simply getting past the screening stage. In order to weed out unqualified candidates, every government branch which utilizes this resume format also utilizes a method of electronic scanning. If the keywords that you use in your resume do not match up with the keywords selected for the position requirements, then your resume will never get past the electronic scanning stage. Inherently, if this happens your resume will never get noticed because no real person will actually see it.

2. Lay It All Out

If this is your first Resumix resume writing experience, then you may not realize that you need to lay it all out within the body of the resume. Private sector resumes allow you to imply previous experiences and qualifications without explicitly stating them. Since the federal resume relies heavily on particular keywords and previous experiences, you need to make sure that everything pertinent is included in your resume. In short, you need to add as many details as possible.

3. Taylor Each Resumix Resume

Another important thing to do when writing a Resumix resume the gets noticed is to customize it to your target job opportunity. In general, the federal government uses the Resumix resume format to achieve three goals. It wants to match your skills to the position requirements, identify your KSA's (knowledge, skills, and abilities), and match your skills against the position skills. If you do not customize each resume for each job opening you apply for, then it will be nearly impossible for your resume to get past the electronic scanning phase.

4. Keep an Eye on the Details

The final way to make sure that you are writing a Resumix resume that gets noticed is to simply keep an eye out for the details. The first D tell that you should double check is the overall structure of your resume. In most cases, there will be a specific character count that you will need to adhere to. Depending on what area of the government you are focusing on, you may need to add additional KSA essays whereas others want you to add this information within the text of your initial resume. As with all resumes, the value of proofreading can never be undersold.

Crafting a resume for a federal government job can seem like a complicated and daunting task. The truth is that writing a Resumix resume that gets noticed is simply a matter of understanding how to integrate keywords effectively, adding enough detail, and following the proper format. Simply following the "rules" of a Resumix resume can be enough to get you noticed.

Jason Kay is a professional resume writer and provides guidance with federal job applications. He contributes to career magazines and websites such as KSADoctor.com, which provides resumix resume writing service.

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Career Change Resume: How to Get Noticed!

Career change after you've worked in a career for a number of years requires you to draft a resume that will help you make the career change. In normal circumstances writing a strong resume is a difficult task but to write an effective resume to help accomplish a career switch is a task that requires some creativity to assure the new employer you can do the job.

Don't make the mistake that other mid-career changers make by trying to put some lipstick on their old resume and think it will work. Never expect the employer to connect the dots, after reading your mind, and determine how you fit the needs of the open position.

To generate ideas to focus your resume you need to do in-depth research on the new career field. If possible talk to others working in the new career. They can provide you with a wealth of information. What are the basic qualifications required to get hired in this job? What skills are required? How well does your skills and qualification match what is required?

Look at postings for a dozen or more jobs in the career you plan on entering. Write out each skill and qualification required and score how many items appear in one or more job opening. If a certification is required what do you need to do? If a specific skill appears frequently, and you are lacking, how can you acquire the skill?

Often these gaps can be filled by completing a short course of study and receiving your certification. Other times an accelerated course of self-study will get the job done. If a more formal course of study is required, there is distance learning and classes after work and on weekends.

In writing your career change resume your focus should be on the needs and requirements of the prospective employer. If you look back over your career, including volunteer and community activities, you will be surprised at the breadth of your experience.

Write out the qualifications and skills required for the job. Now go down the list and match up your experience with the job requirements. Pay particular attention to transferable skills like team work, communication skills, budgeting, cost cutting, people management, customer service skills, program management, organizational skills and technology.

If you worked at something, for example, only 10% or less of you time, and it happens to be the number one job requirement, any accomplishments in this area will be highlighted by listing them first on your resume. It's not lying to structure your resume this way and there is no need to say you spent 10% or less on this activity. If specifically asked about it in a job interview you will have prepared a well thought out answer.

It can't be emphasized enough that your career change resume should focus on the needs of the employer. Anything that does not support this goal you should consider keeping it off the resume. All of your accomplishments listed in the career change resume should strongly support why you are a viable candidate for the job.

The reasons for your career change should only be articulated in your resume cover letter. Keep it brief but logical. You can show in the job interview how passionate you are about the new career and the steps you have taken to build your skills to match the job requirements.

Effective career change requires a well crafted career change resume. Anything less and you are at an extreme disadvantage in today's competitive job market.

John Groth has changed careers seven times during his working life. Learn more about changing careers, writing effective career change resumes and cover letters and career planning at http://careersafter50.com/. Discover how others over age 50, built winning career plans and found the right careers by applying a variety of job hunting methods and used winning career planning after 50.

Read more ...

Career Change Resume: How to Get Noticed!

Career change after you've worked in a career for a number of years requires you to draft a resume that will help you make the career change. In normal circumstances writing a strong resume is a difficult task but to write an effective resume to help accomplish a career switch is a task that requires some creativity to assure the new employer you can do the job.

Don't make the mistake that other mid-career changers make by trying to put some lipstick on their old resume and think it will work. Never expect the employer to connect the dots, after reading your mind, and determine how you fit the needs of the open position.

To generate ideas to focus your resume you need to do in-depth research on the new career field. If possible talk to others working in the new career. They can provide you with a wealth of information. What are the basic qualifications required to get hired in this job? What skills are required? How well does your skills and qualification match what is required?

Look at postings for a dozen or more jobs in the career you plan on entering. Write out each skill and qualification required and score how many items appear in one or more job opening. If a certification is required what do you need to do? If a specific skill appears frequently, and you are lacking, how can you acquire the skill?

Often these gaps can be filled by completing a short course of study and receiving your certification. Other times an accelerated course of self-study will get the job done. If a more formal course of study is required, there is distance learning and classes after work and on weekends.

In writing your career change resume your focus should be on the needs and requirements of the prospective employer. If you look back over your career, including volunteer and community activities, you will be surprised at the breadth of your experience.

Write out the qualifications and skills required for the job. Now go down the list and match up your experience with the job requirements. Pay particular attention to transferable skills like team work, communication skills, budgeting, cost cutting, people management, customer service skills, program management, organizational skills and technology.

If you worked at something, for example, only 10% or less of you time, and it happens to be the number one job requirement, any accomplishments in this area will be highlighted by listing them first on your resume. It's not lying to structure your resume this way and there is no need to say you spent 10% or less on this activity. If specifically asked about it in a job interview you will have prepared a well thought out answer.

It can't be emphasized enough that your career change resume should focus on the needs of the employer. Anything that does not support this goal you should consider keeping it off the resume. All of your accomplishments listed in the career change resume should strongly support why you are a viable candidate for the job.

The reasons for your career change should only be articulated in your resume cover letter. Keep it brief but logical. You can show in the job interview how passionate you are about the new career and the steps you have taken to build your skills to match the job requirements.

Effective career change requires a well crafted career change resume. Anything less and you are at an extreme disadvantage in today's competitive job market.

Read more ...

Career Change Resume: How to Get Noticed!

Career change after you've worked in a career for a number of years requires you to draft a resume that will help you make the career change. In normal circumstances writing a strong resume is a difficult task but to write an effective resume to help accomplish a career switch is a task that requires some creativity to assure the new employer you can do the job.

Don't make the mistake that other mid-career changers make by trying to put some lipstick on their old resume and think it will work. Never expect the employer to connect the dots, after reading your mind, and determine how you fit the needs of the open position.

To generate ideas to focus your resume you need to do in-depth research on the new career field. If possible talk to others working in the new career. They can provide you with a wealth of information. What are the basic qualifications required to get hired in this job? What skills are required? How well does your skills and qualification match what is required?

Look at postings for a dozen or more jobs in the career you plan on entering. Write out each skill and qualification required and score how many items appear in one or more job opening. If a certification is required what do you need to do? If a specific skill appears frequently, and you are lacking, how can you acquire the skill?

Often these gaps can be filled by completing a short course of study and receiving your certification. Other times an accelerated course of self-study will get the job done. If a more formal course of study is required, there is distance learning and classes after work and on weekends.

In writing your career change resume your focus should be on the needs and requirements of the prospective employer. If you look back over your career, including volunteer and community activities, you will be surprised at the breadth of your experience.

Write out the qualifications and skills required for the job. Now go down the list and match up your experience with the job requirements. Pay particular attention to transferable skills like team work, communication skills, budgeting, cost cutting, people management, customer service skills, program management, organizational skills and technology.

If you worked at something, for example, only 10% or less of you time, and it happens to be the number one job requirement, any accomplishments in this area will be highlighted by listing them first on your resume. It's not lying to structure your resume this way and there is no need to say you spent 10% or less on this activity. If specifically asked about it in a job interview you will have prepared a well thought out answer.

It can't be emphasized enough that your career change resume should focus on the needs of the employer. Anything that does not support this goal you should consider keeping it off the resume. All of your accomplishments listed in the career change resume should strongly support why you are a viable candidate for the job.

The reasons for your career change should only be articulated in your resume cover letter. Keep it brief but logical. You can show in the job interview how passionate you are about the new career and the steps you have taken to build your skills to match the job requirements.

Effective career change requires a well crafted career change resume. Anything less and you are at an extreme disadvantage in today's competitive job market.

John Groth has changed careers seven times during his working life. Learn more about changing careers, writing effective career change resumes and cover letters and career planning at http://careersafter50.com/. Discover how others over age 50, built winning career plans and found the right careers by applying a variety of job hunting methods and used winning career planning after 50.

Read more ...

Career Change Resume: How to Get Noticed!

Career change after you've worked in a career for a number of years requires you to draft a resume that will help you make the career change. In normal circumstances writing a strong resume is a difficult task but to write an effective resume to help accomplish a career switch is a task that requires some creativity to assure the new employer you can do the job.

Don't make the mistake that other mid-career changers make by trying to put some lipstick on their old resume and think it will work. Never expect the employer to connect the dots, after reading your mind, and determine how you fit the needs of the open position.

To generate ideas to focus your resume you need to do in-depth research on the new career field. If possible talk to others working in the new career. They can provide you with a wealth of information. What are the basic qualifications required to get hired in this job? What skills are required? How well does your skills and qualification match what is required?

Look at postings for a dozen or more jobs in the career you plan on entering. Write out each skill and qualification required and score how many items appear in one or more job opening. If a certification is required what do you need to do? If a specific skill appears frequently, and you are lacking, how can you acquire the skill?

Often these gaps can be filled by completing a short course of study and receiving your certification. Other times an accelerated course of self-study will get the job done. If a more formal course of study is required, there is distance learning and classes after work and on weekends.

In writing your career change resume your focus should be on the needs and requirements of the prospective employer. If you look back over your career, including volunteer and community activities, you will be surprised at the breadth of your experience.

Write out the qualifications and skills required for the job. Now go down the list and match up your experience with the job requirements. Pay particular attention to transferable skills like team work, communication skills, budgeting, cost cutting, people management, customer service skills, program management, organizational skills and technology.

If you worked at something, for example, only 10% or less of you time, and it happens to be the number one job requirement, any accomplishments in this area will be highlighted by listing them first on your resume. It's not lying to structure your resume this way and there is no need to say you spent 10% or less on this activity. If specifically asked about it in a job interview you will have prepared a well thought out answer.

It can't be emphasized enough that your career change resume should focus on the needs of the employer. Anything that does not support this goal you should consider keeping it off the resume. All of your accomplishments listed in the career change resume should strongly support why you are a viable candidate for the job.

The reasons for your career change should only be articulated in your resume cover letter. Keep it brief but logical. You can show in the job interview how passionate you are about the new career and the steps you have taken to build your skills to match the job requirements.

Effective career change requires a well crafted career change resume. Anything less and you are at an extreme disadvantage in today's competitive job market.

John Groth has changed careers seven times during his working life. Learn more about changing careers, writing effective career change resumes and cover letters and career planning at http://careersafter50.com/. Discover how others over age 50, built winning career plans and found the right careers by applying a variety of job hunting methods and used winning career planning after 50.

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Career Change Resume: How to Get Noticed!

Career change after you've worked in a career for a number of years requires you to draft a resume that will help you make the career change. In normal circumstances writing a strong resume is a difficult task but to write an effective resume to help accomplish a career switch is a task that requires some creativity to assure the new employer you can do the job.

Don't make the mistake that other mid-career changers make by trying to put some lipstick on their old resume and think it will work. Never expect the employer to connect the dots, after reading your mind, and determine how you fit the needs of the open position.

To generate ideas to focus your resume you need to do in-depth research on the new career field. If possible talk to others working in the new career. They can provide you with a wealth of information. What are the basic qualifications required to get hired in this job? What skills are required? How well does your skills and qualification match what is required?

Look at postings for a dozen or more jobs in the career you plan on entering. Write out each skill and qualification required and score how many items appear in one or more job opening. If a certification is required what do you need to do? If a specific skill appears frequently, and you are lacking, how can you acquire the skill?

Often these gaps can be filled by completing a short course of study and receiving your certification. Other times an accelerated course of self-study will get the job done. If a more formal course of study is required, there is distance learning and classes after work and on weekends.

In writing your career change resume your focus should be on the needs and requirements of the prospective employer. If you look back over your career, including volunteer and community activities, you will be surprised at the breadth of your experience.

Write out the qualifications and skills required for the job. Now go down the list and match up your experience with the job requirements. Pay particular attention to transferable skills like team work, communication skills, budgeting, cost cutting, people management, customer service skills, program management, organizational skills and technology.

If you worked at something, for example, only 10% or less of you time, and it happens to be the number one job requirement, any accomplishments in this area will be highlighted by listing them first on your resume. It's not lying to structure your resume this way and there is no need to say you spent 10% or less on this activity. If specifically asked about it in a job interview you will have prepared a well thought out answer.

It can't be emphasized enough that your career change resume should focus on the needs of the employer. Anything that does not support this goal you should consider keeping it off the resume. All of your accomplishments listed in the career change resume should strongly support why you are a viable candidate for the job.

The reasons for your career change should only be articulated in your resume cover letter. Keep it brief but logical. You can show in the job interview how passionate you are about the new career and the steps you have taken to build your skills to match the job requirements.

Effective career change requires a well crafted career change resume. Anything less and you are at an extreme disadvantage in today's competitive job market.

John Groth has changed careers seven times during his working life. Learn more about changing careers, writing effective career change resumes and cover letters and career planning at http://careersafter50.com/. Discover how others over age 50, built winning career plans and found the right careers by applying a variety of job hunting methods and used winning career planning after 50.

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Resumes and Robots: Using Technology to Get Noticed

You're Invisible

You have years of experience, a wealth of skills, and qualifications like no other. Yet you submit resume after resume, and you never receive a call for an interview. How can this be? Why isn't anyone interested?

The fact is that there ARE companies that are interested in you. And based on your credentials, they'd hire you immediately. The problem is that they can't find you. You are invisible.

"But that doesn't make any sense," you say. You submitted your resume. You listed your skills and your experiences. You highlighted all of your best qualifications. The resume practically speaks for itself! That's good enough! Or is it?

Unfortunately, no. Hiring processes aren't as simple -- or as personal -- as they used to be. Once upon a time, you'd submit your resume, and it would go directly to a hiring manager who would review it and, if interested, would select you for an interview. That is rarely the case in today's technology-driven hiring processes.

Now, in most cases, when you submit your resume, it immediately goes into a corporate resume database. If you apply online, this typically happens automatically. Even if you mail in a paper copy, your resume will be scanned in, converted to text (poorly), and added to the database. From that point on, no human will actually see your resume unless it's retrieved from the database.

That is the very reason why companies never find you. Once your resume enters the murky depths of the database, it never surfaces. This may happen for a couple of reasons. If your font or document format is difficult to interpret and convert to text, the results in the database may be nothing but a scrambled mess of words and letters. Also, if you don't use the right keywords and/or phrases, your resume may never show up in database search results. In either case, your resume is virtually lost, never to be seen again.

Think Like a Robot

Many corporate processes are driven by automated systems. And the key to getting your resume noticed is to think like those systems. Think like a machine -- like a robot that is tasked to read, sort, and file documents. Consider how your resume will be automatically scanned, interpreted, and searched. Make no assumptions that it will ever touch human hands. Then consider what could go wrong. Is there anything that might confuse the system?

If you are submitting a formatted document file or print-out, think about how a text-only system will interpret it. Don't use stylistic fonts that are difficult to scan. Also, maintain a linear flow to the text. Columns and tables may be visually appealing to human readers, but they will only confuse a text interpreter. Since the interpreter won't understand the concept of tables and columns, it will simply read the text in order -- left to right and top to bottom. This may mangle sentences and mash words together, leaving your resume completely unreadable.

It's also important to think about how a database search engine will see your resume. In most cases, a database will provide a very simple keyword search to its users. If someone enters a specific keyword, the database will literally search for that term -- and only that term. Unfortunately, this approach will ignore many related terms. For example, a search for the term 'telecom' may completely miss the resumes containing the terms 'telecommunications' and 'telephony'. As a consequence, the searcher may unknowingly overlook many qualified applicants.

Step in Front of the Target

Databases and search engines are not going to adapt to your writing style, so you must adapt to them instead. Employers will be aiming at particular keywords and phrases, so it's best to just step right in front of their target. Update your resume with the most popular buzzwords for your particular industry and skill set. Include a few variations if you are unsure which words are most common. If you have specific expertise, include the most common description first, then follow that with details. This will greatly improve the probability that someone searching the database will find you.

But how do you find the best keywords? The most common method is to tailor your resume to a specific job posting. Identify several key skills listed in the posting and include them in your resume. This works well if you are aiming for one particular job, but it greatly limits the broader searchability of your resume.

Another option is to scan through multiple job postings. Look for hiring trends and patterns to identify the most common terms. Unfortunately, this method can be tedious, since it may take hundreds of postings to really find any significant patterns.

The best option is to take a technological approach and use an automated tool to analyze the latest hiring trends. If you are a software developer, you might write a program to do this. But for those without the skills or ambition to take on such a project, you can rely on another source. NoNovice.com provides two unique features to help technical job seekers find just the right buzzwords to maximize their visibility. Both of these features are based on analysis technology that continually tracks the latest technical hiring trends. One feature is the Industry Buzzwords page, which provides an interactive list of top keywords and technical terms for numerous technical disciplines. The second feature makes things even easier.

The Resume Analyzer page will automatically analyze your resume, score its relevancy, and then suggest keywords to improve its quality and visibility.

With these ideas in mind, recognize that technology can either be a hindrance or a help to your job search. Choose the right perspective and you can use its weaknesses to your own advantage.

Adam Peters is founder of NoNovice.com, which provides free job search resources for experienced engineers, technologists, scientists, technical experts, and consultants. NoNovice.com also offers unlimited free job listings for industry employers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_S_Peters

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Get Noticed! Make A More Professional Resume

Employers will simply throw out an unprofessional resume and they will do it without even giving it a second glance. They simply do not have the time to waste by sorting through badly presented information. Regardless of how qualified you are for the position you are applying, if your resume is not in tiptop shape then you will never even get to the interview. Trying to make your resume stand out can be very overwhelming. The biggest mistake made by most people is that they include too much information. By keeping to just the vital information the important parts will not become obscured and passed over.

Simply list your skills, achievements, and experience. Do this in a concise, well organized manner. This will take some time sorting out what is impressive, what is important, and what should be left out. If you put in unimportant or non-impressive information, you will end up down playing your achievements that should astound. Of course, if you build yourself up too much, you will just sound pompous and full of yourself. By having a balance you will make your chances of getting an interview much greater.

If your education is a vital part of why someone should want to hire you, list it first; this is especially true if you do not have much real world experience in the field you have a degree in. If you are trying to get the job based more on your experience and expertise and have education, you will still want to list education first but be as brief as possible. If you have a degree, even if it has little to nothing to do with the job you are applying for, simply having the fortitude to complete a degree can get you the job. Also, employers recognize the difference in hiring a college graduate and being educated makes you appear more intelligent.

One of the most important parts of building a resume will be presenting your contact information. It may seem silly that, if nothing else, people would get this area correct but this is not always the case. If employers do not know how to get a hold of you it is very unlikely they will take the time to try and track you down. Regardless of how well you fit their needs. Be absolutely sure that everything is spelled correctly and double check phone numbers. You do not want to endure the embarrassment of getting an interview and having to explain how you spelled your own name wrong on your resume.

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