I really like doing my work on a Mac, and if you are lucky enough to be able to choose your computer platform, showcasing your computer skills on your resume is an easy task. Whether you have a professional writer help you build your resume, or you choose to do it yourself,  getting familiar with how your word processing program works, quirks and all, on both platforms will make your life easier.

More employers operate on a PC platform than on a Mac platform. So if you are a Mac fan like me and looking for a job, getting to know both platforms will be a big plus. Unfortunately, Windows Vista was such a buggy system that many PC users like myself bailed out and bought a Mac. Fast forward to now. Windows 7 has been a relatively stable environment, and if you have been away for awhile, learning Windows 7 won’t be all that difficult. It builds on computer skills that you used when you were working in Windows XP. There are also apps that will allow you to run a stable Windows environment on a Mac if you really want to stick with your Mac computer. Don’t let an employer catch you unaware, however, if you are a diehard PC fan. Some employers do work exclusively on Macs, especially in design fields such as graphic design and packaging.

Knowing both platforms will help you in your job search. Be sure to list both on your resume if you are up-to-date on MAC and PC systems. If not, look online for free workshops. Windows has gotten much better at providing online training.  Apple recognizes that not everyone lives close enough to an Apple store to attend their free workshops, so much of that information is also online. Add any computer workshops you attended to your resume, as well as any computer certifications completed.

Make potential employers aware of your computer proficiencies by  listing programs and applications you use on a regular basis on your resume. Most position ads will tell you which programs are required or desired. Check the ad carefully, and make sure you list every program and app required with which you have experience.

We all know the importance of a decent cover letter and why we need to use it to sell yourself when applying for a job. However, if you aren’t careful, you could make some of the most common mistakes made and that is going to harm your chances of being successful when applying for a job.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when writing their own cover letter is giving away too much information and being too truthful. Although no one is suggesting that you should lie on your cover letter there is a possibility that you can give too much away and put them off of hiring you.

For example, writing something like “I know I don’t have much experience, but I am a quick learner” is going to do you no favors. The whole point of your resume and cover letter is to sell yourself, not to give them a reason to move you off of the “to hire/to interview” list. Another example is telling the reader (who you don’t know) the reason why you left every job, OR what has been happening in your personal life. If you have a major job gap, it’s a good idea to touch on it briefly i.e. “After taking time off to raise a family…” or “After taking a year-long personal sabbatical…” You don’t ‘need to tell the reader that you were going through a messy divorce or needed to take time off work to decompress. Some things are better left unsaid. What you say could work against you.

Rather than concentrate on the negatives, turn it into something positive – so, for example, “Based on my unique experiences, I know I would be a valuable asset to your team,” or something similar will work for you. You are telling them that you feel you would fit in and that you are already considering the team that you are likely to work with.

Remain positive and show them why you would are the right choice for the position. Including these assets in the cover letter will help you be as successful as possible when it comes to finding your perfect job.

Take a look at your resume with fresh eyes – can you honestly say that it is written well enough to get an employer’s interest? It is easy to forget just how many people you may be up against when it comes to applying for a job and just how tough the competition to be. The person in charge of deciding who goes through to the interview stage of a job application process is probably going to be reading loads of different resumes over a short period of time. You need to make sure that your resume stands out for all the right reasons and commands attention.

Although what your resume says and the skills that it showcases are important, you need to give careful consideration to the layout of your resume. People will take one glance at your resume and will know immediately whether or not they are interested in reading more about you. It might not seem fair, but at the end of the day first impressions count, so you need to make sure that the first impression your resume gives is a good one.

There are many standard templates you can use as part of a word processing program and if you are after a standard resume, then this will suit you perfectly well. What it won’t help you do is create a resume to get excited about or something that is going to make sure that people pay attention to you. You need to ensure your resume is created in a manner that will make the reader stop and pull your resume out of the pile.

If you are serious about job hunting and making sure that you have the best chance of job success, you may want to consider hiring a professional resume writer to ensure that your resume is creative and flawless. Professional resume writers are trained to highlight your best skills and achievements, as well as can write your resume so that it markets you, and shows employers the value you can offer their company. Remember, the first step to your next career is getting your resume read by employers-will your resume stand out above the rest?

The whole point of having a resume is to showcase your talents and experience with the aim of helping you to achieve the job of your dreams. When you have a decent resume, it should help you to secure job interviews as well as ensure that when you do get an opportunity to interview, you have a strong chance of being offered the job.

Many people think that just having a generic resume is enough. They assume that if their resume looks decent, then their chances of getting a job is high. What many job seekers don’t realize is that their resume could be holding them back and actually be the reason they are not getting called for job interivews.

If you are unemployed, or actively searching for a new career, take the time to look at your resume and identify areas where you can make improvements. A common mistake is to assume that your resume will work well as a one-size-fits-all option. However, there is little highlighting your office skills on a resume if you are applying to be a Structural Engineer. You need to ensure that your resume is written for the type of position your’re seeking, and effectively communicates the value and expertise you can offer in the position you’re applying for.

Remember –  your resume is an employer’s first impression of you and what you offer as a potential employee. Everything you communicate your resume will help them evaluate you and your qualifications. Many hiring managers only take a few seconds to glance over a resume – you must ensure your resume grabs their attention during those few seconds.

In today’s competitive job market, a resume must effectively and efficiently sell a job candidate’s value to employers. Don’t let a poorly written resume hold YOU back from opening the door to a new career!

Job hunting isn’t easy, which is reason enough to get it right the first time. Whether you are looking to change jobs or you need a new career because you are unemployed, it makes sense that you try to get a job as quickly as possible. You don’t want to spend months trawling job hunting websites and applying for jobs, instead you want to be as successful in your job hunt as quickly as possible.

When it comes to job hunting, many of us go about it in the same way and this means that we make the same mistakes. If you are searching for jobs but are being unsuccessful, then it is time to rethink your job hunting strategy and look at ways of helping to make your job hunt as successful as possible.

One of the most common mistakes when it comes to job hunting is applying for too many jobs and spreading yourself too thin. You need to decide what career you want to follow and the jobs you want to apply for. It isn’t going to work for you just to apply for as many jobs as possible. You also need to make sure that your resume is suitable for the jobs you are applying for – sell yourself! Don’t just have a resume that is generalized rather than being tailored towards a particular industry. That will do you no favors.

Don’t just assume that the longer your resume is the better. Remember that potential employers are likely to be reading a number of resumes so they are going to scan them quickly rather than paying major attention to them. This means that if your resume seems too long or full of too much text, then they will be put off at first glance – which is something that you want to avoid at all costs!

Remember as well that job hunting isn’t easy for everyone, so make sure that you don’t give up at the first hurdle. There is a perfect job opportunity out there for everyone so you need to keep up the hunt in order to be successful in your quest for a brand new job or step up the career ladder.

In today’s current era of technology, social media, choppy economies, and 14-year-old executives, it pays to learn the job search process. Anyone, whether employed or not, can benefit from learning how to streamline the job search process.

With over 40,000 websites and companies competing to offer job search services, it is easy to get confused. Career websites are set up so that you can submit resumes electronically to businesses. Applying for jobs takes time, and landing one is really a numbers game. Almost all potential jobs can now be examined, located, and applied for from the comfort of your own home. Follow these simple steps to learn how to manage your time and resources in an effort to get more interviews.

Write Down your Goals. Before even writing a resume or applying, write down your goals. If you don’t write yours down, you will just be helping someone else achieve theirs. Decide what you want, write it down, and create a plan to get what you want.

Get a Resume and Cover Letter. Write your own or use a service. If you think about the cost/benefit analysis of purchasing a resume, it really makes sense to invest in a custom resume written by a professional. This could be the difference between two jobs and big salary differences. There are numerous experts that say a cover letter is imperative. Most resume services will write a cover letter with the resume you purchase. Then all you have to do is change the company and contact name in the letter. Another reason to use a professional resume service is because they know how to write resumes integrating all the right keywords in all the right places.

Research Companies. Research the companies for which you want to work. When interviewing it is always better to keep focused on the company and how you will benefit them. Don’t sell yourself short.

Get Organized. When you find a job of interest, be sure to make a list of their contact people and email them your resume directly if possible. If there is a phone number, pick up the phone and call the headhunter. Log everything. You never know when HR will call. You will look really good if you know something about the representative.

Submit your Resume. This is by far the most important step. Most of the time, jobs will find you, not the other way around on line at various job boards.

These five steps, if followed, will guide you to an interview. Always remember that your thoughts control your destiny. You have to be positive and patient. You can do it. Always remember, if you don’t respect yourself, no one else will.

It’s funny how job titles have changed over the years. You know, titles like “nurse’s aide” are now called “patient care representative” and “janitor” is now called “sanitation engineer.” The newer job titles of the 1990s had all positions sound much more glamorous than they really were.

Other phrases that were popular on resumes in the ’90s were “team leader,” “coordinator,” “communication manager,” blah, blah, blah. Employers of today do not want to see those types of phrases on executive resumes. While you may very well have developed skills in these areas, it is important to word your resume a little differently so it won’t sound as boring as the other resumes.

Instead of using a catch-all phrase like the ones listed above, employers are now looking for pieces of information within your resume. You need to tailor your resume to be more specific about your skills and accomplishments.

For example, team leader. Detail what you were a leader of or what you coordinated. Not just the phrase “team leader.” It is important to be much more creative with resumes because that more than anything else will make your resume stand apart from the rest.

And with the job markets the way they are and more people competing for the same jobs, you have to have something on your resume that will catch the attention of a recruiter so they will stop and really read your resume.

Resources and resume examples are available for you to help you transform your resume into a completely new one – one that will stand apart from the crowd.

Due to the job markets lately, there are a lot of older generation employees wondering how to get hired. The key is recognizing and remembering that your work experience can play a supportive role as well as a leadership role with organizations. The two need not be mutually exclusive.

If you’re over 50, you’ve probably had the experience of being labeled as overqualified. And in response to this unwanted job-search slur, you’ve probably done what any intelligent, ambitious individual would do: Dumb yourself down on your resume.

A good move, but what does this do to your career confidence? If today’s market is telling you repeatedly in rejection emails that they are not concerned with your achievements, it’s no wonder your self esteem is shaky.

As an over 50 job candidate, you have a unique challenge to struggle with during the interview. Even though the interviewers are telling you that you are overqualified, you are suddenly feeling very inexperienced. This is because you’re overqualified because of the simple length of your resume, the style of your suit, color of your hair, and lingo in your business repertoire.

You’re under qualified because you may lack some understanding of today’s rapidly evolving technologies, flattened infrastructure, and business culture. Coming to terms with this before the interview is an essential component to building back your career confidence.

Be confident that you could do many of the job duties of the interviewer just as easily in the pre-computer generation. That doesn’t make you stupid. Many people couldn’t do a lot of jobs if it weren’t for computer programs helping them along.

Figure out your strengths and what you can bring to the table as far as being able take on a leadership role. It will still be a learning experience but we all have to learn something sometime. It’s important to know multiple aspects of your professional self prior to your job search, and it’s important to know how to present them to your next employer on paper and in person.

When you submit a resume to a potential employer, what do you do to distinguish yourself from the other candidates for the position? Most people use a cover letter although I have seen and heard of applicants attaching a post-it note. That’s a gutsy move. It may not always work, but it has worked in at least one case.

Why did the post-it note work? Because it was different. It was out of the ordinary and attention-grabbing. But it wasn’t the post-it note that sealed the deal. It was what the applicant wrote on the post-it note. The message. The content.

And that’s what I’m going to focus on today. Simply submitting a cover letter with your resume isn’t enough to get you an interview. Your cover letter has to be attention-grabbing. It has to be unique.

With that in mind, here are 4 essential characteristics of a good cover letter:

1. Personal, yet professional – Your resume is where you list your professional qualifications for the position to which you are applying. In your cover letter, you can get a little more personal. Not too personal, but let your personality shine through.
2. Fill the holes in your resume – No resume is perfect. A potential employer will have questions. Your cover letter should briefly cover any glaring holes in your resume. Explain them in such a way that it makes sense to the interviewer so that she picks up the phone and calls you in for the interview.
3. Introduces you to your employer – The interviewer will read your cover letter before he reads your resume. That’s your first opportunity to catch his attention. Make a big splash. If your resume does its job, the interviewer will move quickly to the resume.
4. Shows your interest in the position – A resume might be good for several jobs you want to apply for. A cover letter will apply only to one job. It should be customized for the position to which you are applying. Let the interviewer know you are really interested in that position.

A good cover letter gets your foot in the door. The resume keeps that door open. After an interviewer has read them both, he should call you in for an interview. If that happens, you know they’ve done a good job.

Do you know when it’s time to move from a regular resume to an executive resume? There are a few subtle differences but will speak volumes when presented for certain types of positions.

Usually at the top of a regular resume is an objective statement. This is where a person will tell in paragraph form what they are looking for in a job and any expectations they may have. An executive resume will have an opening paragraph that will highlight their strongest points, often in bullet points and what that candidate can do for a company.

Executive resumes will typically be at least 2 pages but no more than 4. This is because they may have detailed educations, publications they have written or any awards they received. It is all relevant on an executive resume.

An executive resume will also have bolded words, highlighted or underlined sections so as to showcase their skills, achievement or awards. Additionally, the wording and structure will be much more sophisticated than regular resumes.

Once you have reached a certain level of experience, education, awards or achievements in your career which will now enable you to seek for more executive type jobs is the time to start using an executive resume.

It won’t do any good to present a regular resume when the position calls for a more professional applicant. So, don’t forget to update your regular resume to an executive resume.