Take Your Resume Off Life Support

Ditching your current resume and starting from scratch is sometimes necessary. Especially when you aren't receiving any responses or the responses you are receiving are for positions you aren't interested in. Most jobseekers fall into the trap of revising the existing information when what they should be doing is opening up a new Word document and writing the resume from the ground up.

The reason for this is simple: when you have a resume that has failed, tweaking a sentence and / or changing your bullets from a circle to a square isn't going to work in your favor. Those are cosmetic revisions that are not touching upon the reason you're not getting interviews. So pull the plug on your resume and start anew with these tips.

• Stop reading resume samples on the web. The more you focus on what others are doing, the less creative and the more watered down your resume becomes. In addition, the resume samples online don't come with the background story. Meaning each resume is written with a specific purpose in mind and it's designed to minimize a specific jobseeker's challenges.

You have your own baggage, your own obstacles to overcome so you need a strategy that is best for you. So start by writing the resume you want to send, with the words you want to use, and give that resume a test run. You have nothing to lose since your existing resume isn't generating the leads you hoped for. A fresh approach is necessary, and job searching on your own terms seems like a good place to start as any.

• Write more than one version. If you're unsure of the resume layout that best suits you, design more than one and give each a test drive. Keep in mind your resume is a marketing tool and marketing executives always test what works and doesn't work before they go full throttle on a campaign. Follow in their footsteps by creating two versions of your resume, and sit back while waiting to see which version gets the best results.

Starting from scratch can be intimidating, especially when staring at a blank page. But as mentioned earlier, sometimes there isn't a way around it. The resume is your lifeline to a new position, and if it's not generating the opportunities you seek, then it's time to put that baby to bed and wow human resource representatives with an entirely new approach.

Linda Matias is the owner of CareerStrides and a Nationally Certified Resume Writer. Visit her website: http://www.careerstrides.com/.

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How to Write Your CV After a Personal Support Worker Course

1. Tweak your CV for each new prospective employer.

For each position you apply for after graduating from a personal support worker course, read the job posting with care, and try to craft your resume accordingly.

In an "Job Objective" section at the top of your CV, remember to specify:

the job titlewhether you are applying for a part-time or full-time position

Does the job posting call for applicants with particular skills, for instance, the ability to speak a second language? If so, be sure to put that information in a prominent position at the top of the page, somewhere near the mention of your personal support worker (PSW) courses.

2. List the most relevant job experience first.

You may have worked for years at McDonald's, but that is less likely to secure a job in your new profession than the co-op placement you did as part of your personal support worker courses.

3. Distinguish between industry experience and job experience.

You can still include that job at McDonald's, but list it in a separate section marked "Job Experience" rather than "Industry Experience."

4. Remember to ask your teachers in PSW courses for referrals.

Impress prospective employers with a recommendation from an industry professional. Ask your favourite teacher in your personal support worker course to write you a glowing referral. Remember to follow up with a letter of your own: a thank you note to let your teacher know that you appreciate their efforts to help you quickly establish a career after PSW courses.

5. But also try to include a referral from a higher up.

When you finish your co-op placement as part of your PSW courses, be sure to ask your supervisor for a letter of recommendation.

6. List your specific experience.

Has your on-the-job training in support worker courses given you first-hand experience of a certain aspect of personal support work? Are you, for example, familiar with:

patients with limited mobilitypatients with memory losspatients with chronic painpatients with cancerpatients in palliative carepatients in specific community groups

In your PSW courses, did you learn how to administer specific medications? This kind of information can make a new graduate of a personal support worker course more attractive to a prospective employer.

7. List your personal support worker course certificates

Include the following:

CPR trainingcrisis management trainingcertificate on handling hazardous materials

8. Include the name of the school where you took your PSW courses.

A typical format might be: PSW courses School, City or Town - Name of degree, Year earned

9. Seek feedback.

Have the job placement service at the school where you took your support worker course help evaluate your CV before you start sending it out to prospective employers.

10. Don't give up!

Graduates of personal support worker courses are in growing demand. With a little persistence, you will break your way into this rewarding career.

Visit the National Academy of Health and Business for more information on Personal Support Worker programs.

Percey Evans is a freelance writer who works for Higher Education Marketing, a leading Web marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Mobile SMS Alerts, Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click Marketing, among other Web marketing services and tools.

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