We all recognize how important it is to make a good first impression when applying for a job. The way your resume looks, the content that it contains, and the way that it is presented to a potential employer could be the difference between getting your resume read, or tossed into the trash. If you are serious about changing careers or finding a new job, then it is vital that you have a resume that represents the best you have to offer.

While it is possible for you to write your own resume, it’s not always as easy as it sounds. It is hard to get a resume that is completely perfect, especially if you don’t have the skills or expertise to know what should be on your resume, or how your it should be formatted to truly market your achievements and career history.

Consider hiring a professional resume writer. Although people may be put off having a resume written for them because of the price, in today’s competitive job market,  a quality, professionally-written resume is may be your best bet in scoring an interview.

Most professional resume writing services offer a complete resume package for the price. Not only will the service craft a great resume for you, they will also take care of things such as the cover letter, the thank you letter. Furthermore, a professional resume writer will also provide all of these documents in different formats so you can use them whether you want to apply for a job online or through other channels.

Presenting a high-quality resume to a potential employer gives you the best chance of achieving success in your job search!

With all the new technology available on the Internet today, there is absolutely no reason anyone should simply stop once a resume has been completed and sent. There is a wide world of other venues just waiting for you to use them to market your personal brand. Blogging is only part of it.

Some may think blogging and job searches are two different things. They are, but they aren’t. There has never been a better time to be able to talk to people, to get the word out about you and your skills than blogging.

Build a blog site that highlights your job skills and your previous jobs. Talk about something every day. Add links to your resume and use the social networks to retweet or repost your site.

There are numerous job boards for you to use to post your resume, whether it’s an executive resume, professional or entry level. And there are people who will retweet your blog post so others can see it. Before long, you have reached thousands of people. Before, you would have sent it to only a few. So, what’s smarter?

Twitter has a very easy way to help individuals with their blog posts and to be able to integrate both together. Facebook does as well, and LinkedIn too.

Now, you can increase your visibility and get more options available to you during your job search. Take a chance and see how much fun it is and how much it will help at the same time.

Before you send your next resume out, give blogging and social media sites a try. You just may have more opportunities than you originally thought.

The days of having a generic, all-purpose resume has been replaced by the need for highly developed, targeted resumes. Now you must tailor make your resume to fit into the job description offered by the employer. Targeted resumes aren’t just a necessity, they are critical to you finding long term employment. Targeted resumes put forth your best face and allow HR Managers to see exactly what you bring to the company.

Targeted resumes enable a job seeker to market their skills by addressing a specific concern for the company.  It allows them to see how your skills and past experiences will fit in closely with what they require. They also use targeted keywords that closely fit and attract attention to the needed qualifications for the position. You should play up your strengths and focus your attention there, but do not dismiss your past failures, embrace them and take responsibilities in them. But you don’t have to make them the focal point.

Chances are your resume is an all-purpose resume. What everyone likes about the all-purpose resume is that its broad and captures the wide appeal of employers. But saving time is not important, if you really want that job you have to have a complete targeted resume for each position you apply for. But don’t toss that original resume just yet, you still can use it as your base for completing your targeted resume.

Steps to creating a targeted resume

Use your all-purpose resume to build off of, this will save you some time in creating a brand new resume every time you apply for a job. It’s actually fairly easy to take your existing resume and tweak it to fit your needs. So here’s how you proceed:

Create your all-purpose resume

Think of everything that you’ve done in past jobs, experiences, education, clubs, sports teams, anything that you could use as a basis for who you are. Your all-purpose resume is the heart of your resume, employers will never see it but it will allow you to paint a lush picture of your overall capabilities.

Review the job requirements

If you find a job you are interested in, look over the job requirements in the ad. Review the requirements and see how your education and experience stack up with what they are looking for. You want the job to be a good fit and this is an important step of the process. Use the job requirements as your basis for altering your all-purpose resume. Highlight what the job requirements highlight. Tailor make your resume to fit what the company is looking for. Be careful not to overindulge.

Develop your targeted resume

When finished with researching requirements, you need to actually alter your resume. Look over your existing resume to see how you can alter it into the final product you will send to HR Managers. Add secondary keywords, accomplishments, training and skills to round out the resume. Your all set, now you just need to ace that interview.

We had a recent blog post that asked the question, “What type of resume gets a better response – a chronological resume (that lists out accomplishments from each position) or a hybrid resume (that places accomplishments in one place and list positions under a separate headline–or a mix of that)?” There were a lot of questions about which one we thought was the best, but with so many responses we began to wonder what type of resume is best.

What do you think? What’s your opinion on the matter and do you have any tips for maximizing your resume?

We can look at statistics to see that the average HR manager looks over a resume in about 10-15 seconds. So, a hybrid resume where your accomplishments are listed in one area and job listings in another may work to draw attention since the reader can skim your highlights and skills right upfront. If they like what they see, then your chances of them reading further increase. But, if they have to browse to find your qualifications, they will move on to the next resume. Your choice of resume could change depending on what you type of position you’re applying for. Does your field deal heavily in accomplishments or with experience? Look and see what type of requirements are involved before sending your resume.

Of course there are pros and cons to both. One person responded that they found chronological resumes to be the most requested type by companies hiring, and basing their decision off of that, they believe that it’s the most effective form (this is what I hear often as well). If it’s what the company wants, then that’s what you should give them. Also, they believe that a capabilities resume does not do enough to showcase, specifically, what type of work (or the experience level) you had with your past jobs. Some point to chronological resumes being a little to heavy on text, making it hard to get a clear picture of your past. You want to showcase what you’re qualified to do, so find a way that works with your skills. It’s not a bad thing to combine resume types as well.

The important thing is finding a job. That’s the bottom line. Whatever resume type you choose to use, recruiters will see that you are the most complete choice for the position. A great resume can make it easier to find a job.

Resume Best Practices (at a glance)

Hybrid Resume
• Make sure to mention which company you achieve great results – “Reduced overhead by $X for McDonalds Worldwide, LLC.” It frustrates readers if they don’t know where you did what.
• When you make mention of past companies, include information so that they can get a sense of the company’s size and scale, including how your position affected the company, assuring that your involvement was really meaningful.

Chronological Resume
• If you’ve had a lot of jobs, you may want to summarize your earlier info. You don’t need to put work history from the 1980′s and early 90′s on it. Too many jobs looks like you can’t sit still, plus summarizing some of your earlier stuff adds interest and breaks the monotony of job after job after job.
• Add key accomplishments to grab HR manager’s interest.

Social Media has dramatically changed the job landscape. Today’s job seekers must remake themselves as a brand. Think of McDonald’s golden arches or Ford’s iconic script logo. People remember these brands because they set themselves apart from the rest. People don’t settle for any old hamburger when they know what they will get at McDonald’s. Brands build trust with people and that trust translates to increased business and a reliable customer base, which is exactly what you want your online brand to do for you.

Your personal brand builds trust in prospective employers and opens the doors for you to find new positions. Unfortunately, most people don’t think that they need a personal brand, and they are so wrong in assuming this.

Below are 5 reasons why you should establish a personal brand on your resume and online:

1. A personal brand differentiates yourself…

When an HR Manager scans the pile of resumes on their desk, they look for someone who stands out. But, they don’t just focus on the resume, they also look for your online presence because the internet contains much more information about you as a worker. Do you have an industry specific blog or website that you regularly update?  Is your personal brand listed on your LinkedIn profile, along with your best career achievements? Listing a successful work history and any extracurricular activities that you’re involved in helps to build your online brand.

2. Make your name a well-known brand…

Who do you think HR Managers are going to go for? The new guy fresh out of college or the big name attached to great companies and amazing projects? Of course they are going to go with the big name. So to capitalize on your opportunities, you must make yourself into a brand name. Instead of seeing “John Smith – New Graduate”, they see “John Smith – Marketing Guru”.

3. Set you apart from your peers…

Your goal is to set yourself apart from your peers. You’re in direct competition for open positions. It’s just the way it is and having an online brand sets you apart from the rest of the pack. Start an industry blog, start a side business or develop a new marketing strategy that you can pitch to prospective employers. There are so many things you can do to highlight how you are a notch above your peers and get your brand out there.

4. Make you more attractive to employers…

Establishing your brand makes you more attractive to prospective employers because they know what they are getting. You’re not a faceless employee; you’re the one who wrote a new programming language, the one who developed supply chains that drastically reduced company overhead, etc. Match your brand to your achievements and employers will stand up and take note.

5. Open yourself up to new opportunities…

You want to find open positions and sometimes they may not be in your chosen profession. But, does that really matter? What if the perfect position is in another industry that you have minimal experience? Well, having an online brand opens the doors to those new arenas. HR Managers are looking for people with experience, and thankfully, your online brand is built around your experience. By viewing your online brand, HR Managers and potential employers can see what you offer the company. They are excited to find somebody with your expertise and skills, and you should be too. You have clout that you never knew you had and your personal brand should reflect the best you have to offer.

No job is perfect, not the one you have and not the one you want, but you still want to put yourself in a better position career-wise, you are just petrified at the thought of being interviewed for a new position. Many people have trouble with the interview process, whether becoming frustrated with the line of questions, or not being able to answer questions the way they want to.  However, there are things you can do to ensure that your next interview experience begins and ends on a positive note.

Just because you may interview poorly doesn’t mean that you cannot change your actions and improve how you present yourself during an interview. If you are not chosen for the job, it doesn’t mean you’re not qualified, it may just mean that you need to improve you interviewing skills. If you are weak in certain areas, then try to improve those areas. If you put your mind to it, you can improve those areas and become a better interviewee.

There is a job out there for you. All you have to do is keep trying and keep believing in yourself. How do you go about nailing that job interview though? What are some tips to improve your interviewing abilities?

1. Remember that you’re trying to determine if the company is right for you as well. They are not the only ones with power here. Research aspects of the company prior to the interview and be prepared to ask questions in order to see if the position and company are a good fit.

2. Greet the interviewer with a warm smile and maintain eye contact. This is where some people run into problems. They come into the interview nervous and without a clear plan of action. After that initial handshake, make sure to keep eye contact (if all else fails look at the person’s forehead).  If you are being interviewed by more than one person, make sure you are making eye contact with each interviewer as you are answering questions. You need to remain confident and calm as you navigate your way through the interview.

3. Listen carefully and make mental notes of questions to ask. A lot of the time the interviewer will ask you if you have any questions about the position, company, etc., this is your time to ask the questions you’ve been thinking of. No questions are out of bounds as long as they are related to the job or the type of work needed. You’re trying to see if the company and position are right for you, so remember that and do not get frustrated.

4. Have brief and positive answers for questions. Interviewers will ask you why you left your last company, why you have gaps in your employment history, why you appear to have too many jobs and why you want to work for this company. Prepare a list of answers to these questions so that you will not be blindsided when they pop up, because they will pop up.

5. Be positive and upbeat throughout the interview. Keep your energy up. Interviewers can tell when your interest starts to wane, so keep up the positive energy flowing. Don’t fake it, but make it genuine. Tell them why you’re interested in the company, why you think you’re a good fit for their needs and how you believe that you can achieve great things there.

One of the biggest mistakes that an executive could make while looking for a position is treating their job search as if they were still a manager. When you reach the level of an executive, you’ve entered into another world, so you have to treat your job search just like that. This means focusing on different inroads to success and applying cutting-edge search techniques.

If you’re coming into the world of an executive and want to know how to make your job search easier, don’t just sit back without reviewing every avenue possible. Try using every path to your advantage, it’s no doubt that you’ve made friends along the way, that’s just one area for you to search. These tips will help you find the right job for you.

Begin with Networking

It has been shown that over 80 percent of executives got their current job through one form of networking. Executive jobs are not like lower-level jobs which can be easily filled through online applications. Executives meet through social clubs, business meetings and professional routes. You could easily run into someone who knows the vice president of ABC Corporation and be the person they were looking to hire. Don’t ever forget the value of networking, the more you get your face out there, the better off you will be. If you don’t focus on networking, you could be missing out on a lot of great job opportunities.

Make the Most out of Social Media

LinkedIn is the number one job networking and search site on the web, so set up an account (if you haven’t already), because it’s incredible important that you make the most out of social media. Just setting up an account is not enough- you have to make yourself be known. By just focusing your LinkedIn profile on your resume, you’re missing out on many of the site’s benefits.

Your profile allows you to not only highlight your past professional and education history, it also allows you the opportunity to network and make connections with other executives in your field. Networking with other professionals gives you an opportunity to find new positions or to develop professional recommendations. Through recommendations from the right executives, you can transform your LinkedIn profile into an online resume that sells. Never take for granted the power of the web, many partnerships and employment opportunities have been built on the backs of social media sites.

Your Name and Reputation are Important

When you become an executive, you take on a burden of work that is different than the average worker – so you have to outperform the average worker. You have to care more about the company’s overall success because it will directly reflect your business acumen. If you don’t maintain a stellar reputation, it could affect your job search and your ability to find the right position. This means avoiding the silly Facebook page. You’re being judged on your actions, as well as the people you associate yourself with. Make sure your name and your reputation are held in high regard.

Having many interviews with nothing to show for it can be one of the most frustrating things to have to go through. You’re so close to getting a job offer but it just never materializes. If you can get interviews then there’s probably nothing wrong with your job-hunting strategy, your resume or cover letter. The problem could be related to your interviewing prowess or maybe even your references.

You might need to take some time and evaluate your job interviewing process – from everything to your preparation to following up. How much effort do you put into preparing for your job interviews? Do you do your research before the interview and review questions that you might be asked? Your interviewing skills are important, you have to make a good impression when you first meet the interviewer. You have to have a solid connection – with a strong handshake, solid eye contact, and an inviting smile.

One thing to do is bring in samples of your previous work. A portfolio, with supporting documentation, is an excellent way to sell yourself to an interviewer. Make sure to ask questions about the company and the position, you have to be interested in the position or it will show through to the interviewer. There is a lot of gray area when interviewing. You don’t want to overstep your bounds but you also want to show that you have a personality to match your resume. What about after the interview? Do you thank the interviewer or send out a thank you letter afterwards? Following up was once the key to landing a job – now there are many different factors at play.

There are companies that will call all of your references and there are some that will not think twice to hire your without references. If you think your references are holding you back from finding a job, then evaluate your references and see how you can beef them up. Make sure that you ask someone before you put them down as a reference, the last thing you want is having a supervisor from 3 years ago get a call about you and have no idea who you were. If you have references that are not related to the job you’re applying for, you need to update them to match your desired position. Many of these companies will not hire someone if they have old references or if their references don’t match the desired position. Having your McDonalds manager from college as a reference will probably not do much for you when you’re trying to get that CPA job.

Be smart about your references and only use the ones that will benefit you the most. Think about who’s on your references; would any of them have a difficult time explaining you or your past duties? Your references may be holding you back, so evaluate them and see if you can come up with references who will make you shine.

Some states have better economies than others, some have not seen the tremendous job loss and mass exodus that states like California have seen–or my home state of Michigan at 10.5% as of June 2011– and other states have a robust economy with opportunity for job growth. With unemployment averaging over 9.0%, finding the right job can be frustrating and time consuming, but one thing you might consider is looking out of state for employment options. You could find a job that suits your skill set, while allowing you or your family to branch out into a new area.

Yes, it can be scary to pick up and move to a completely new place, but you’ll meet new people and have a new experience that changes your life in a positive way. So how do you know if you should move out of state for employment? Well there are a lot of different things to think about before you decide to move. Take your time when considering the move and try to follow some of the following ideas.

Before you decide exactly where you’re going to move send out some resumes to different business in that area. Pick at least 5 different locales that would suit your job needs and start sending out resumes to them. If you have a degree that’s more popular in one area, you might consider moving to that area to take advantage of higher job growth. If you have a degree in engineering and can not find anything but a servers position, then look at what areas around the country have a high need for engineers. There is a lot of opportunity out there, but you may need to look high and low for it.

Consider contacting a headhunter. If you’re serious about finding employment in a new area, then find a headhunter who knows the city and can find you a position that would match your work experience. A temp agency might be one option but you want to find full time employment and most of these only offer contract work. They can be a good stop-gap option for you while you’re getting your feet wet in the new town, but a lot of people are wary of moving without full time employment.

How do you move when you have a family? One option is to pack early and get all that out of the way. You might want to have your spouse or significant other stay with the children before your start your new job. You should go and get settled before moving the family to you. This allows them to step into their new situation with the house in order and avoids any culture shocks. Make sure you do a lot of research on your new location – read the newspaper online, listen to local radio shows online or just Google your new city. There’s so much information to be found online and you should take advantage of that.

It can be difficult to find a job yourself. But, in today’s changing job market, throwing yourself on the fire and doing everything you can in order to find the right job is in your best interest, especially if you want to land the ideal job. Start by finding out what kind of experience and skills you have. Think about the skills that you have which best translate to finding a position that suits you, examine the knowledge you’ve gained and the paths you’ve taken.

Don’t forget about your life outside of work, what are some of the things that you enjoy doing? Perhaps there is an opportunity there that you have overlooked. Even some activities that may seem commonplace can set you apart from your peers in the eyes of a HR manager. For instance, starting your own sports league may show your commitment to organization and communication. So what are some practical job search advice tips?

Leadership

Not just the ability to lead but the ability to bring others together to collaborate on a project and get that project done in a timely manner. Managers want to see leadership qualities in new hires, that’s why they look for people with past experience managing people. If you have that experience, then all the better for you, but if you don’t you should definitely try to acquire some.

Initiative

Now is the time! That’s right, no more resting on your laurels, instead get yourself out there and start looking under every nook and cranny in order to find that job that you want. Don’t be passive in your job search, be proactive and call up HR managers or find out everything you can about your prospective company.

Problem Solving

Be a problem solver. Are you seeing nothing but shady door-to-door sales jobs? Then look somewhere else or just don’t go on those interviews. You know it’s not going to be what they say it is, so why are you wasting your time? Stop immediately and focus on the finding a solution to your problem.

Flexibility

Be flexible and wear as many hats as you can. Some people will tell you that it’s best to focus on one aspect of your career, but if you are multi-talented why not use that to your advantage? If you have multiple skills you should use them to find a job that suits you.

Commitment and Motivation

Be committed to your job search and stay motivated. Of course you will get down, who doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean that you have to let those feelings overwhelm you. Your job search may be on going but if you keep a positive attitude and work through the tough times, you will find something that you want.

Interpersonal Skills

Use that personality. Ask people at social events if they know of anything or ask your friends on Facebook. Don’t be afraid to ask about potential jobs. Sure it’s tough for a lot of people right now but there are still jobs available if you use your personality to find them.