Writing an effective resume means targeting your audience.
It might be easier to write one resume and then send it to every job you are applying for. However, this isn’t the best way to reach your target audience. When writing an effective resume, you need to focus on the company you are applying to and the particulars of the job. An executive resume service can help with the task of writing a professional resume.
Create a Core Resume
The starting point for your professional resume will be the same for every resume you send in to a job because your core skills and past work experience won’t change. When you start building this resume, you can start with the same facts and save it to your computer so you can easily make changes for the next job you may apply for. This core resume will make up the bare bones, which can then be tailored to your exact needs as you continue through your job search.
Research the Job Particulars
Once your core resume is complete, the next step in writing an effective resume is to do some research on the job you’re applying for. Not only do you need to determine which of your skills and past work experiences relate to the job, but you also need to look at the company and its culture. This information is invaluable in helping you build a resume that will impress the right people and show them why you are a good fit for their position and their company.
Customize the Core Resume
Once you have this information, you can work on making the necessary changes to your core resume. The more specific you are in adding details, the more they will realize you took the time to learn about the company and the position they are offering. An executive resume service has the experience necessary to help you pull it all together and create a resume that will capture the attention of the individual responsible for hiring, increasing the chances you will land the job. Writing a professional resume is about more than just creating one resume and copying it repeatedly for every job you are thinking about applying for. Unfortunately, these general resumes won’t produce the impact you’re looking for. Instead, you should work with an executive resume service to create a custom-tailored resume so you can make the best first impression on any potential employer.
The best executive resume format isn’t a template.
Putting together resumes that get you hired can be a time-consuming process so why wouldn’t you use any help you could get? A template may seem like the best executive resume format, but is it really? While a template may make the process of creating a resume faster and easier, hiring an executive resume service to help you stand out is the best option.
You Must Stand Out
When you consider how many people apply for every job listing, you’ll quickly realize the importance of making your resume stand out in the crowd. When your only way to make a great first impression is through your resume, you need to make sure it tells who you are and what you can offer a company. If your resume looks just like everyone else’s, your chances of landing the job you want are drastically reduced.
Sub-Standard Format
If you truly want the best executive resume format, a template isn’t going to get the results you want. When you search for resume templates online, you will uncover thousands of results. However, do you know how put those templates together? Many of them were created by individuals who don’t have experience writing resumes that get you hired. They may have experienced success getting a job with the format and feel they could help others out. Perhaps they haven’t even submitted a resume in that format but think they have all the answers. You shouldn’t trust your future career to just anyone.
Use Them as a Starting Point
While resume templates aren’t the best way to create your resume, you can still use them as a launching pad for creating a resume that will get results. Look at several options and determine what you like best in each of them. You can compile components from multiple resume templates and arrange them into your own personal resume that showcases what you have to offer. Using templates to create a custom layout will produce the best results.
Using a resume template doesn’t mean you won’t have any chance of landing the job, but it will make the process more difficult. If you aren’t using the best executive resume format, you can expect fewer call backs because you won’t stand out from the hundreds or thousands of other resumes received. This is why many people hire an executive resume service to help them create an outstanding resume that highlights their assets and makes them more appealing to prospective employers. When you move away from template resumes and venture into custom resumes that get you hired, you will see better results in your job search.
C-level personal branding can play a major role in your ability to start your career.
When you hear the term, branding, what comes to mind? Most people think of businesses and the logos and slogans they use to capture the attention of their target audience. In the world of resumes and cover letters, your C-level personal branding isn’t all that different. When writing an effective resume, you need to focus on how you present yourself and what information you share with prospective employers.
Audit Your Online Profiles
Today’s employers are more likely to look at your online presence before they make a final hiring decision. For this reason, you need to make sure your online profiles reflect the personality and assets you have to offer. Make sure you only share information that reflects positively on you. In addition, you can set your Google account to alert you whenever your name is mentioned, allowing you to monitor content outside of your control.
Gain Exposure
The Internet has made it easier to network with people who can help you reach great heights. However, these individuals aren’t likely to find you. You need to take the right steps to reach out to them. Websites like LinkedIn can help you connect with people who can help you attract the attention of recruiters and companies looking for individuals in your field. Creating content that will appeal to these individuals will also help you to capture their attention.
Put Your Expertise Out There
You have a lot of experience and skills that can benefit the right company. Resumes and cover letters are a great way to share this information, but you can further showcase your expertise by securing a website and posting regular content relating to your industry. When employers see you maintain a website that shares valuable information about your field, they are more likely to see you as a valuable asset to their company. This method of C-level personal branding can serve a number of purposes, including helping you find the perfect job.
Be Yourself
There’s no one else in the world just like you, and it’s up to you to show prospective employers why you are the one they need. When writing an effective resume, many individuals concentrate on showing prospective employers what skills and education they have to make them an asset to the company. However, hiring isn’t just about finding someone with the right skill set; companies are looking for someone who fits into the company culture. For this reason, it’s important to be yourself.
Resumes and cover letters are designed to showcase your skills, but they can also enhance your C-level personal branding. When you’re searching for a job, you need to let businesses know who you are and why you would be an asset to their company. Writing an effective resume and following these tips will increase your chances of obtaining the job you’re looking for.
A professional resume writing service can help you get attention.
How you represent yourself with your personal branding can play a significant role in whether you are hired. However, it’s not all about hiring a professional resume writing service to write resumes that get you hired. In some cases, you need a executive recruiter who will be by your side to help you make the right career move. There are several reasons you should consider working with a recruiter as part of your job search.
There’s No Charge to Job Seekers
Recruiters are typically hired by employers to help them find the ideal candidate for any open positions. These recruiters have the experience and skills necessary to determine which applicants are the best fit for the job requirements. This means most recruiters are available free of charge to the job seeker. The person you hire will be paid by the employer for their services.
Access the Hidden Job Pool
Not all companies advertise their open positions where anyone can see and apply for them. In these situations, having a resume that gets you hired won’t produce results because you can’t see the available position. C-level recruiters often have a list of unpublished job openings they can provide so you can apply to ones in a much smaller pool of applicants.
An Inside Job
Not only do recruiters have access to job openings that aren’t published elsewhere, but they often have close working relationships with companies in their field. A professional resume writing service may be able to make your resume look great, but if you can’t get it in front of the right people, you won’t get hired. A recruiter can help you go over your resume and make changes that will make you more appealing to the job for which you are applying.
Avoid Overexposure
It may not seem like a bad idea to spread your resume as many places as you can, but distributing your resume in too many locations can have a negative effect on your ability to get the job you want. Employers look for individuals who may be in high demand but aren’t catering to a dozen other similar companies at the same time. When you use a recruiter in your job search, employers won’t stumble on your resume on a job board and pass you by because you may already be entertaining other offers. Instead, they will feel like you are an exclusive opportunity, boosting your chances of landing an interview and the job. C-level personal branding is an important aspect of writing resumes that get you hired, but it’s not the only factor. Working with a executive recruiter can provide a number of benefits that can give you the advantage in the often-competitive business world. A recruiter can take some of the anxiety out of your job search and increase the chances you will find the right career path more quickly than working on your own.
An executive resume service can boost your chances of getting hired.
A new job search can be a major commitment, both in time and money; after all, you start dry cleaning your best interview clothes, driving to interviews and taking time from your current job to meet with prospective employers. An executive resume service can save you some time by helping you dust off your resume while staying well within your budget. Thinking about hiring the best resume writing service for your job hunt? Here’s why you should.
Writing Isn’t Your Thing
Not all of us are Mark Twain. Most executives make their livings focusing on numbers, people or even computer languages. These skills make you highly sought after in the job market but may not make you the best when it comes to writing an effective resume. A great executive resume service is staffed by skilled writers who know how to hone and polish the grammar and language in your resume to help get you hired.
It’s Been a While
Just like music, fashion and lingo, job search trends come and go. If you’ve been in the same position for several years or even decades, you are probably not aware of these current trends. For example, did you know adding keywords to your resume is a new trend? How could this help or hinder your job search? Others applying for the same job, on the other hand, may be aware of these trends, and it could put them at an advantage when it comes to landing the job. Your executive resume service will be able to help you keep up with these trends and stay well ahead of the curve.
The Calls Aren’t Coming
Maybe you’ve already dusted off your resume and started sending it out to prospective employers but aren’t getting any calls. It’s more than likely you just need a second set of eyes to help you identify the weaknesses in your current resume. Finding the best resume writing service could help you increase your call backs and land more first interviews than you’re getting on your own.
Insider Knowledge
Unless you’ve been working as a recruiter or hiring manager, you may not know what hiring departments are looking for in an executive. Resume writers, on the other hand, know first hand how these hiring managers think and what they are looking for. They know what buzzwords to use for your industry, how long your resume should be and they may even personally know the human resources staff at the companies you’re looking to work for. When it comes to searching for a job, who you know is important. An executive resume service can help open plenty of doors for you!
If you’re about to put yourself out there again and search for your next job opportunity, don’t go it alone. An executive writing service can help you by writing an effective resume, helping you keep up with the latest job search trends and opening doors with their insider knowledge. Increase your chances of job search success with the help of a resume writer!
Your executive resume should reflect why you’re making a career change.
Switching your career path can be a challenging time. There are a lot of difficult choices to be made, and after you’ve decided to leave your current field, you may be nervous about finding a new career with an executive resume that may not match the jobs you’re looking for. Reflecting your career change on your resume will help your new employers understand your switch and get a better sense of why you’re a good fit for your new career.
Updating Your Resume
When it comes to executive resume writing, it is important to show employers what skills you possess and how those skills would benefit their company. Even though your former career path may be different, it is likely you have many transferable skills that will still be relevant to your new job.
You can use your core qualifications to sell yourself in different ways, depending on the industry you’re trying to enter. The trick is to slant your current skills to be relevant for the job you’re seeking. Using the following steps, you can make your executive resume and cover letter for your resume work for a different industry.
Start Over
It is tempting to use your past resume and make some changes here and there. However, you’ll be much better off if you avoid the urge to take this easy route and start from scratch instead. After all, a new career means a new executive resume! With a new cover letter, as well as a new resume, you will be able to start slanting your skills toward your new field from the start, making it even more effective.
Express Interest
In all likelihood, your interest in your new field didn’t just happen overnight. You’ve probably been interested in the industry for years but were simply working in another. Use your new executive resume to tell your interviewers why you’re interested and what you know. This knowledge will help you seem interested, dedicated and ready for your change.
Highlight Skills
A traditional experience-based resume may not be enough for your career change. Instead of listing all the skills you have and have used in your previous job, you need to put all the focus into your transferable skills.
Stay Confident
Use your cover letter for your resume to really sell yourself. A lot of people become less confident when they change careers because there are plenty of people with more experience looking for the same jobs. Really hone in on your transferable skills, your accomplishments and your love for your new field in both your cover letter and resume.
Changing careers can be challenging, but with enough confidence, you can show potential employers why you deserve the opportunity to use your experience and knowledge to make a difference in your new field.
Bad resumes and cover letters are the quickest way to turn off an employer.
First impressions are lasting impressions. Unless potential employers are considering internal candidates, their first impressions of job candidates come from resumes and cover letters. Make a good first impression and improve your odds of moving to the next level in the hiring process. Fail to impress (or worse, succeed in making a bad impression) and you can say goodbye to a lucrative job opportunity that really would have been perfect for you.
The top mistake job seekers make is failing to even include cover letters for resumes. No recruiter wants to waste time on an applicant who can’t be bothered to complete this simple step. Read on to learn about the other common mistakes job seekers make on their resumes and cover letters.
Keyword Stuffing and Cramming in Too Much
Yes, you definitely want to use keywords that parrot the “must haves” HR is looking for in candidates for a specific position, but there’s an art to keyword use. If you overuse key buzzwords or use them in unnatural ways, it will be obvious you’re trying to pad your resume with certain keywords. Sure, your resume may pass the automated screening system, but it will likely turn off live recruiters.
Another common mistake recruiters hate? Use of tiny fonts and trying to load in as much information as possible. Any skilled executive resume writing professional will tell you it is far better to use fewer words but more effectively highlight your most important skill sets.
Making Careless Errors
It seems like a no-brainer, but a shocking percentage of cover letters and resumes include not only grammatical errors, but spelling errors that could easily be avoided by simply performing a quick spell check. Especially when you have your eye on an executive-level position, spelling errors are completely unacceptable. They tell potential employers you are careless and do not pay attention to details. Those are definitely not traits that will land you a job or even an interview.
Being Vague and General
Keep in mind recruiters may receive thousands of resumes. Winning resumes provide a quick punch list of your specific skills. Instead of stating on your resume you “worked with the marketing staff,” state you “led a team of six lower-level employees and boosted productivity 45 percent while reducing expenditures by $2.7 million.”
Not Selling Yourself
When you’re seeking a c-level or any other executive-level position, don’t risk missing out on the perfect, lucrative opportunity because your resume does not impress sufficiently to land an interview. Once you make it to the interview phase, you can sell yourself in great detail and show the hiring authorities why you are the right candidate. However, you can’t sell yourself in person if you don’t first sell yourself on paper with a resume and cover letter that stands out.
There are some areas of life where perfection is not what you want. Friendships don’t need perfection to be good, right? In fact, the people who pretend to be perfect rarely have a lot of friends because perfectionists keep others at arm’s length so the world doesn’t find out they aren’t perfect, after all.
Relationships are stable because we give each other room to fail and correct our mistakes. We don’t need to be perfect in order to be loved or liked. We do need to be able to admit when we are wrong and be willing to fix it.
Some Things Must Be Perfect
As endearing as a mistake can be in a friend, there are times you don’t get a do-over.
Resumes are a perfect example of this, because there isn’t a relationship established yet. Spelling errors aren’t going to get you much more than a ribbing from your grammar-Nazi friend, but that same error will get your resume cast aside by the HR person assigned to fill the position. The HR person is going on a quick first impression based on your resume, but your friend is looking at your mistakes in context of your friendship.
Make Sure Your Resume Meets Professional Standards
If your resume isn’t resulting in job interviews, ask that grammar-Nazi friend to help by giving you a resume critique. People who have professional standards for writing got there by making lots of mistakes and correcting them, over and over again. The problem isn’t that your resume is imperfect. It’s that you haven’t dealt with the imperfections yet.
Resumes need to meet professional standards that cover more than spelling. Polishing your resume so it shines with perfection is a perfect way to prove you are worth considering for a position. Once you are at your new job, you can share some imperfections with your new friends.
