Two Powerful Tools for Beginning Your Resume

In the first 30 seconds, your résumé has to (almost literally) grab the reader by the throat, jump on his chest, and scream HIRE ME! (OK, I'm exaggerating for effect, but that's to illustrate the importance of getting the reader's attention.) How to do that is to show the reader right away that you understand the employer's business problem that caused the opening, and that you are THE solution to that problem.

How do you do that? One tactic is by using an objective, such as: "I am seeking a full time position with [name the company you're applying to] as a [name the position you want]. Having succeeded in [your experience #1, as shown in the ad], [your experience #2, as taken from the ad], and [experience #3, as taken from the ad], I am confident that I will provide you immediate value. I will help your company achieve its objectives."

If you use an objective, it must be all about what you will do for the employer, in the same way that your entire résumé has to answer the employer's "What's in it for me?" question. From your first words through your last, that objective must convey the message that "You're looking for A, B and C skills and I do them. And what's more, I do a great job at them."

The truth of it is, your résumé only gets about 15 seconds of that reader's time, if you're lucky. In a perfect world, every résumé would receive the attention it deserves and every deserving jobseeker would... But you get the idea. It's not a perfect world. And in reality, the reader will make a judgment about your résumé by the time s/he's only about a third of the way down.

A better tactic than the objective is to write your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP,in the form of a strongly worded Summary. That Summary, when properly written, should demonstrate why you should be chosen out of the 400 or so applicants who have answered the advertisement. Such a USP might look like this: "Analytical, organized Financial Analyst recognized for achievements in administrating new loan funds, implementation of loan closing, and evaluating borrowers' ability to repay mortgages. Strong problem-solving skills. Analyzed other branches' loans to ensure 95% loan confidence rate."

Now the reader has a clear picture of who this applicant is and what s/he can do for the company. This applicant has made a strong case for him/herself, and what's more, s/he demonstrates how unique s/he is. This summary shows accomplishments, skills, and abilities in a much better way than the objective did, because each statement is a quantifiable. The summary also has an advantage over the objective in that most hiring managers and recruiters prefer a strong summary because objectives tend to be about what the applicant wants, rather than what the applicant has to offer the company.

However, regardless which you use, objective or summary, keep in mind the employer's question: "What's in it for me?"

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 ...

Two Powerful Tools for Beginning Your Resume

In the first 30 seconds, your résumé has to (almost literally) grab the reader by the throat, jump on his chest, and scream HIRE ME! (OK, I'm exaggerating for effect, but that's to illustrate the importance of getting the reader's attention.) How to do that is to show the reader right away that you understand the employer's business problem that caused the opening, and that you are THE solution to that problem.

How do you do that? One tactic is by using an objective, such as: "I am seeking a full time position with [name the company you're applying to] as a [name the position you want]. Having succeeded in [your experience #1, as shown in the ad], [your experience #2, as taken from the ad], and [experience #3, as taken from the ad], I am confident that I will provide you immediate value. I will help your company achieve its objectives."

If you use an objective, it must be all about what you will do for the employer, in the same way that your entire résumé has to answer the employer's "What's in it for me?" question. From your first words through your last, that objective must convey the message that "You're looking for A, B and C skills and I do them. And what's more, I do a great job at them."

The truth of it is, your résumé only gets about 15 seconds of that reader's time, if you're lucky. In a perfect world, every résumé would receive the attention it deserves and every deserving jobseeker would... But you get the idea. It's not a perfect world. And in reality, the reader will make a judgment about your résumé by the time s/he's only about a third of the way down.

A better tactic than the objective is to write your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP,in the form of a strongly worded Summary. That Summary, when properly written, should demonstrate why you should be chosen out of the 400 or so applicants who have answered the advertisement. Such a USP might look like this: "Analytical, organized Financial Analyst recognized for achievements in administrating new loan funds, implementation of loan closing, and evaluating borrowers' ability to repay mortgages. Strong problem-solving skills. Analyzed other branches' loans to ensure 95% loan confidence rate."

Now the reader has a clear picture of who this applicant is and what s/he can do for the company. This applicant has made a strong case for him/herself, and what's more, s/he demonstrates how unique s/he is. This summary shows accomplishments, skills, and abilities in a much better way than the objective did, because each statement is a quantifiable. The summary also has an advantage over the objective in that most hiring managers and recruiters prefer a strong summary because objectives tend to be about what the applicant wants, rather than what the applicant has to offer the company.

However, regardless which you use, objective or summary, keep in mind the employer's question: "What's in it for me?"

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 ...

Resume Templates and Resume Building Tools - Are You With Me?

A successful resume (along with a compelling cover letter) is what will get you in the doors with prospective employers. Resumes can be presented in many different ways. One useful way is to start with a template or use a program with professionally drafted resume. With these, all that you need to do is insert details specific to you and you're sorted in no time. These arrange the information about you in the most user-friendly manner to your prospective employers. Resume building tools will often include other tools you may find helpful when building a resume or include statistical tools for you to research a job market you are after (for example statistics on what the employer is most likely looking for in certain fields).

Using resume templates or resume building tools are a great help to get you that dream job especially if you've never written one in the past or you just don't know where to start or what to put in it! In times such as these, many people are being made redundant and suddenly found themselves jobless after years of service with a long-term employer. If you are one of these people, you may find it so tasking because it has been decades since you last prepared a resume or indeed a cover letter for that matter.

You want your resume to be catchy and within no time, convince the employer that you will fulfil all their needs. Resume templates and programs guide you to fill in personal information. So things like your dates and significant events that is relevant to the job you are interested in. Having said that, I should like to remind you that a good place to start when preparing your resume is pooling all your dates and significant events or jobs together. Once you have that information at hand, it is easy to input it into the template or the tool.

Do you want to stand out in the crowd? Your professionally prepared resume is one that will land you the interview you are after and then successfully get you the dream job. Following prepared templates or tools can really make a difference when you are job hunting and you will not look back. If you already have a resume, these templates and tools are also useful to have when you are updating your resume. How many times have you heard your family or friends say oh I need to update my resume again or what a hassle it is! It is not meant to be complicated process. Take a short cut and look into using resume templates or resume building tools.

There are many more things you need to look out for when composing a quality resume or preparing an accompanying cover letter. One place you can find more information would be http://www.givemeanswers.org/resumecoverletter/index.html

Alternatively, if you just want to read a short piece on writing a professionally presented resume, click on this link http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_I_Best

Read more ...

Resume Templates and Resume Building Tools - Are You With Me?

A successful resume (along with a compelling cover letter) is what will get you in the doors with prospective employers. Resumes can be presented in many different ways. One useful way is to start with a template or use a program with professionally drafted resume. With these, all that you need to do is insert details specific to you and you're sorted in no time. These arrange the information about you in the most user-friendly manner to your prospective employers. Resume building tools will often include other tools you may find helpful when building a resume or include statistical tools for you to research a job market you are after (for example statistics on what the employer is most likely looking for in certain fields).

Using resume templates or resume building tools are a great help to get you that dream job especially if you've never written one in the past or you just don't know where to start or what to put in it! In times such as these, many people are being made redundant and suddenly found themselves jobless after years of service with a long-term employer. If you are one of these people, you may find it so tasking because it has been decades since you last prepared a resume or indeed a cover letter for that matter.

You want your resume to be catchy and within no time, convince the employer that you will fulfil all their needs. Resume templates and programs guide you to fill in personal information. So things like your dates and significant events that is relevant to the job you are interested in. Having said that, I should like to remind you that a good place to start when preparing your resume is pooling all your dates and significant events or jobs together. Once you have that information at hand, it is easy to input it into the template or the tool.

Do you want to stand out in the crowd? Your professionally prepared resume is one that will land you the interview you are after and then successfully get you the dream job. Following prepared templates or tools can really make a difference when you are job hunting and you will not look back. If you already have a resume, these templates and tools are also useful to have when you are updating your resume. How many times have you heard your family or friends say oh I need to update my resume again or what a hassle it is! It is not meant to be complicated process. Take a short cut and look into using resume templates or resume building tools.

There are many more things you need to look out for when composing a quality resume or preparing an accompanying cover letter. One place you can find more information would be http://www.givemeanswers.org/resumecoverletter/index.html

Alternatively, if you just want to read a short piece on writing a professionally presented resume, click on this link http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_I_Best

Read more ...