Criticism is kind of painful, because nobody likes to be wrong. But without constructive criticism we’d all be in a fantasy world assuming everything is fine and wondering why things aren’t happening the way we imagined they would. Particularly when it comes to your career, criticism is a valuable tool. But that tool has to be in the hands of somebody who knows how to use it for your benefit.
A Professional Critique of Your Resume/Cover Letter Does 3 Things
Professional Perspective — A Professional Resume/Cover Letter Critique should be just that: professional. You want someone who is going to look at your cover letter and resume with the same perspective that potential employers, recruiters, and HR people will be looking at them. After all, these are the people who you are hoping to impress with that cover letter and resume, so it makes sense to write them with that goal in mind.
Experienced Advice — It isn’t that helpful to find out what’s wrong with your cover letter or resume if you don’t know how to fix it. A resume critique from Professional Resume Services includes concrete steps you can take to make improvements and provides insights on why these steps are suggested.
Immediate Return on Investment — As soon as you get your critique back, it includes a plan of action that you can immediately implement to get your career search back on track. The 3-4 page report catalogs every detail that needs to be improved and how to go about that improvement.
It doesn’t cost as much as you’d spend on a big date night, but it is worth every penny. A resume/cover letter critique from Professional Resume Services will give you an understanding of the problems and a way to fix those problems, making this criticism something you’ll appreciate getting.
Okay, criticism does usually have a bad rap, but when you look at the definition of “critic” in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it reads like this —
a : one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique
b : one who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances
Doesn’t that sound like a good thing? I think it does, particularly when you are talking about a resume or cover letter. A good resume and cover letter are truly works of art, the product of skill and technique. They put on a performance displaying your qualifications for a starring role: the job you are applying for. Wouldn’t you want to make sure your resume and cover letter passed the high standards of a professional critic? After all, another professional critic will be reading these documents and deciding whether or not you pass the test to get called in for an interview.
Why You Should Hire A Resume Critic
One of the best investments you can make is the Resume Critique because you are paying for a professional assessment of your resume (and cover letter, if you choose) by a certified resume writer. Certified resume writers earn that qualification by passing necessary tests and standards are high. A critic who is certified in their field counts as a professional in every sense of the term. When a professional critic looks at your resume and cover letter in order to give you an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses along with a plan for improving those weak spots, that’s a good thing.
You know the story; someone you love is graduating and you want to give them a gift. But you don’t want it to be a gift that doesn’t really help get them on their feet with adulthood. You want your graduation gift to make a difference for the future. An Entry Level Resume is a great gift because it is a service that results in a customized, professional resume that displays a graduating student’s coursework, internships, early experiences, and skill sets. It includes an initial consultation and unlimited email support, which really can help that first job search and the entry-level resume, a cover letter, and a thank you letter in both ASCII and PDF versions for electronic submissions. That unlimited email support can come in handy for a newbie in the job market, and the benefit of a professional resume writer working with your graduate to clarify their skill sets and highlight what might be missed is worth more than you think.
Because a professional resume writer is tuned into what employers are looking for and does this all the time, a process that is painfully convoluted and prone to mistakes becomes a challenge skillfully met. They work with things like keywords and SEO and can write for the computer that screens the resumes as well as the human who reads the resumes that got through the initial filter.
If you don’t do that all the time, it’s tricky. Even an English major will have some trouble with writing a resume for today’s job search because it does take more than writing skills.
So consider this graduate gift suggestion: an Entry Level Resume from Professional Resume Services.
Every once in a while someone asks, “Do I always need a resume?”The reason they wonder is because there are many other ways that your information gets to potential employers. Between online profiles, electronic applications, and your personal website, there could be a point when resumes are no longer required, right?
Wrong. Most of the time a resume is going to be the only way you stand out from the crowd to a potential employer. Many times you will be asked to bring a copy of your resume to an interview because that paper resume is going to be passed around in hiring discussions. Your resume is your chance to customize your sales pitch to the specific job description and give an impression that goes beyond the template of electronic data input. It’s true that there will be an occasional exception. When NOT to use a resume is a matter of knowing exactly why that resume is not needed.
A resume will not be needed if the company specifically tells you they don’t want one. Or, maybe you won’t need a resume if you are working for someone who knows you very well. But here’s the reason it’s good to have a resume, even if a potential employer doesn’t want one: Your resume has all your information condensed into one place. This comes in handy when you are filling out the forms they are using instead of a resume. It’s just a lot easier to have your work history and dates written down instead of trying to accurately recall your hiring date for the job you had five years ago. I think you will always need a resume when you come in for an interview, even if you don’t give it to anyone.
This is the time of year when packages are everywhere. From the shipping packages going past in the delivery trucks to the packages wrapped in fancy paper with a bow on top, you are going to see more of them as the month progresses. But what is a package, really? A package is a promise of good things bundled into a single unit.
There may be one good thing or several good things inside, but you have to open it to find out what that package holds. Sometimes your idea of a “good thing” is different than the giver’s, but the idea of a promise inside the package is one that is universal. Professional Resume Services offers several packages and they all hold a promise inside:
What is the promise in each of these packages? It is the promise of a future made hopeful by effectively showing the best of your past. When a potential employer is able to see the best about a candidate, that employer is more apt to see how they will be a good fit for their enterprise. You or the person you are gifting will not need all these packages, but each holds the same promise and one of them is right for anyone in the workforce.
As the year wraps up and all the packages are opened, the future looks brighter when your packages hold the good things you need.
Your resume is a compilation of your career for the purpose of evaluation. The reader of your resume is looking for indications you will be suitable for a specific opening and that reader uses your resume to determine if an interview should be scheduled. One way to categorize what will be looked for is summed up in two areas: learn and lead. The ability to learn is essential no matter which position you are filling in an organization. From the top executive to the lowest rung of the career ladder, if you aren’t continually seeking to learn how to increase your effectiveness, you are dead weight. This can be shown in a resume through several means:
seminars and classes attended
organizations and volunteer activity
certifications
The ability to lead is really the ability to think and act independently for the good of the group. Some of this ability isn’t going to show in a resume — having the strength of character to avoid gossip, for instance. Still, a resume can show that you have accomplished goals. The positions you have held in any organization, the time spent as a member and the activities you participate in all show leadership by example even when they are not “head” positions. Your references will reveal what kind of person you are, which indicates what kind of worker you probably will be. During an interview, you are assessed in the light of your resume. The impression the resume gave is adjusted to include the face-to-face interaction and the whole package is considered. Will you be able to learn the job? Will you be able to do the job well even when distractions occur? Will you be a positive force in their particular workplace? If your resume hasn’t shown that you might fit, you will probably not be called in for that interview. If your resume hasn’t resulted in being called in for any interviews, maybe it’s time to look at it again. Does it show that you know how to both learn and lead? Is it well written? Professional Resume Services has carefully built a site with many ways to help you develop an excellent resume for distribution. Explore the tips and services and see how your resume can be one that gets you that interview and the opportunity to learn and lead in a new job.
One of the challenges with writing your own resume and cover letter is the nagging suspicion that you missed something. After all, even if you are an excellent writer, you probably don’t write resumes and cover letters professionally. If you have been submitting your well-written resume with no results, that nagging suspicion strengthens into a dreaded probability. You know how friends don’t see their spelling mistakes; it is entirely possible that you don’t see something you could improve.
It is a good idea to ask a professional to look at your resume, even if you are pretty sure you wrote it well. The Resume Critique is a low-cost, high-value way to do that. Your resume will be read by a certified resume writer and you will be given a comprehensive report three or four pages long analyzing these important factors:
Overall Appearance & Consistency
Spelling & Syntax
Resume Objective & Focus
Position & Strategy
Accomplishments & Expertise
Formatting Sections & Organization
Keywords & Branding
Information Relevance
You will be given insights on what a potential employer looks for, suggestions for improvement that are easy to follow, and everything you need to get your resume at its best. The cost? $39.95, less than you spent for a fancy dinner for two at a nice restaurant. Your career will last longer than that meal did!
We also are offering a critique of your cover letter for $15.oo. Or, if you would like us to evaluate both resume and cover letter and give you professional suggestions, The Resume & Cover Letter Critique Combo is available for $49.95. That gives you professional advice for less than a dinner tab for four at that nice restaurant.
You’ve just graduated and now the future looms. You worked at a minimum wage job through school, so you are already past an ‘entry level’ resume, right? Wrong. An Entry-Level resume goes past the job history in the school cafeteria and coffee shop to include everything that makes YOU a good candidate for a career with the company you are hoping to join. It combines your coursework, skill sets, internships, and all your experience to showcase the benefits you bring to the hiring table. One example would be your probable expertise with technology, and the ability to multi-task. You might not realize that being able to use Photoshop and being unintimidated by computer programs can be assets, but they are useful skills. A generation that has grown up with smartphones has the ability to go on to other technologies with ease. A good resume can turn that into a point in your favor during the interview (assuming you have turned off that smartphone to give your full attention to what is happening!) Did you show up on time without fail at that school job? Did you have any good reviews? Your research paper on Medieval French Literature might not apply to the job you are seeking, but the skills you developed and used will. Most employers will appreciate a worker who can research what needs to be done, break it down intelligently, and explain the steps coherently in lucid writing. You could figure out this resume writing all by yourself because you do have the research skills. But it might be a good investment to see what a professional service can do for you. A lot of the time, a graduate doesn’t have the time or the understanding of what employers are looking for. It’s difficult to figure out which skills are assets if you don’t know how to look at the whole picture. In today’s job market, you need expert advice to make your entry level resume showcase your skills and education and get you started on your career path with confidence.
