One common mistake many executives have is allowing their network to go stagnant. It’s easy to do when you have a stable job, have no intentions of leaving your job and are constantly too busy to reach out to your connections. However, it’s important to keep a solid active network even when you’re not on a job search, just so your name and brand are still at the top of people’s minds. The reality is people have to rebuild their executive network all the time. You could begin with enhancing your LinkedIn profile development, but most of the time it’s best to just jump right into rekindling relationships you’ve had in the past with other executives.
Start By Rebuilding Relationships
Any time you try to rebuild a relationship because you fell out of touch, those other people likely know the reason. Even if you are getting back in touch because you’re looking for a job, it doesn’t mean you have to explicitly state your intentions. Ask them about how their life has been since you last spoke. Talk about family, activities and their career, but try not to make the conversation about you.
Acknowledge and Apologize for Losing Touch
Before you really get started rebuilding a relationship, acknowledge to them that you lost touch and apologize for it. Starting off with this approach will make the other person feel the same way and will likely apologize as well. Everyone is busy, so it’s tough to keep in touch at all times.
Don’t State Your Employment Position Unless Asked
If you reach out to a contact over LinkedIn, they will have likely looked at your executive profile to know your employment position. Even though you may be actively looking for a job, you don’t have to explicitly state it to your contact. The worst thing you can do when rebuilding your executive network is make the other person feel bad or guilty during a conversation.
Ask for Expert Advice Rather Than Job Recommendations
Your executive profile should state your job status, but you shouldn’t restate it to your contacts when rebuilding your executive network. If you feel like you need to tell them about your situation, then ask for their advice on finding a job, rather than explicitly asking for recommendations. People are much more willing to offer their own advice to you rather than going out of their way to help you find a job. Professional Resume Services understands the importance of building and maintaining a solid executive network. With our professional resume writing service, you’ll be able to put together a solid resume to use for networking, applying for jobs or handing directly to a recruiter. If you need assistance or advice when rebuilding your executive network, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
How to Ensure Your References Are as Helpful as Possible
It’s standard practice nowadays for employers to check with references before deciding to hire a particular candidate. Now more than ever, it’s important to have credible references on your resume and to ensure they’ll give you a good review. Even going as far as staying in touch with your connections on LinkedIn will go a long way in making sure all your bases are covered when it comes to your references. Sometimes the best resumes that get you hired are the ones with the best references. Here are some quick ways to ensure your references are as helpful as possible.
Ask Your References Ahead of Time
Your reference may feel disrespected if they get a call from a potential employer on your behalf without you asking them first. This is especially true if you haven’t kept in touch with your reference for a while. If they are surprised to get a call about you, they probably won’t be as helpful since they weren’t prepared for the call. Just giving them a simple call ahead of time will go a long way in ensuring they help you out as much as possible.
Provide as Much Information About the Job as Possible
The best resume writing services will suggest giving your references details about the job you’re applying for. This will help them match the skills from your previous job to the one you want. Let them know the types of questions they’ll be asked so they’ll feel as prepared as possible. The last thing you want from your references is for them to be unprepared and not highlight your attributes as much as you’d like.
Choose Professional References Instead of Personal
The first thing a professional resume writing service will tell you is to use professional references instead of personal ones. If you lack work experience, you may have no choice but to use personal references, however. A potential employer assumes personal references will say as many good things about a candidate as they can since they are a family member or friend. Professional references will give more of an honest opinion and will be more likely to give them the information they want to hear about your skills and work ethic.
Thank Your Reference for Helping You
Once your professional reference agrees to help you out, be sure to thank them by sending a simple thank you note or taking them out to lunch to show your gratitude. After they answer questions from your potential employer, follow up with them to thank them again. You never know when you may need to use them as a reference again so show your appreciation as much as possible. Saying “thank you” is always a good thing.
If you’re going to spend a lot of time writing an effective resume, you might as well know the secrets to making it pop. You only have a few seconds to impress a recruiter before they move on to the next resume. Resume writing is an art not many people have mastered, but the ones who understand it will have a higher likelihood of landing the job they desire. Here are four ways you may not have known could help your resume stand out! Targeting Is Key Thebest resume writing service will advise you to target every aspect of your resume. Mention the specific job you’re applying for and your exact accomplishments. Avoid putting in accomplishments not relevant to the job you want, no matter how good it looks. The hiring manager is only interested in what you can do for them so they won’t care about a certain accomplishment if it doesn’t translate to their job. Repeat Keywords Keywords are tricky because you don’t always know which ones recruiters are looking for. Instead of being general about skills and accomplishments, be specific. A professional resume writing service can help you identify keywords based on the job you’re applying for. The more you use keywords throughout your resume, the more likely your resume will be noticed. Just be careful not to saturate your resume to the point where it reads unnaturally. Try checking out the job description you are looking at for more keywords. Tailor Your Resume to the Job You’re Searching For Anyprofessional resume writing service will tell you there’s nothing worse than using the same resume for different jobs. Recruiters can easily identify when someone just blindly sends their resume to them. Put in a few statements about how you will help their company based on your research about them. Showing you’ve researched the company and understand their needs will go a long way in making your resume stand out. Use a Performance Profile Your performance profile should show how your skills match the objectives of the company and the ability to do the job you’re applying for. A good tip is to look at the job and skill requirements on the job posting and incorporate those points in your performance profile. Many companies will use the keywords they’re looking for in their job description so that’s a great way to target your resume to the job and match your performance capabilities with their job opening. In today’s busy world, getting your resume to stand out among the rest can seem like an impossible task. By using these four tips, you should see more success.
What You Should Know About Hiring a Professional Resume Writer
Crafting a perfect resume is a skill most people don’t have, and that’s okay! It’s never a bad thing to try to put together your resume yourself, but where most people go wrong is by not seeking out second opinions on their resume’s quality. Writing an effective resume takes time and precision, so if you don’t have those luxuries, hiring a professional resume writer may be your best option. However, before you do so, make sure you keep these points in mind so you aren’t disappointed when you speak with a professional resume writer.
Determine Whether You Really Need a Professional Resume Writer
You’ll have many factors to consider when it comes to hiring aprofessional resume writing service. If you don’t have a clear sense of what position you want next, even the best writer won’t be able to craft your resume to perfection. Get really clear on exactly what you want to do. A professional resume writer is good at highlighting your current skills and applying them to the type of job you’re seeking. Our writers work at creating your “story”– what you’ve done in your career and how you can do this for them. To do this effectively, you will need to gather as much information from your past that will be relevant to the next role.
How Professional Resume Writers Can Help
Professional resume writers will craftresumes that get you hired in just about any industry you’re skilled in. With that said, if you’re well established in your industry and are looking for a pay raise, increased responsibilities or other promotions, you’ll definitely benefit from a professional writing your resume because they can help you seamlessly transition your experience into the next role. Even the smallest mistake in your resume could be detrimental to your chances of being hired because of the competition you face.
Know What You’re Getting Into
You can’t just go to a professional resume writing service without any information and expect them to work magic for you. The best thing you can do is write your own resume first and submit it for review and feedback. Most services will be honest with you because they don’t want to waste their time if you don’t need their expertise. If they do recommend you hire them, it probably won’t be cheap. Depending on the type of resume you want to create, it could cost several hundred dollars or more. You just have to ask yourself whether it’s worth it to you if it helps you get the job you want. Most of the time, the answer is yes. There are many keys to writing an effective resume, and even one little mistake could send your resume off the tracks with a potential employer.
Four Effective Ways Career Changers Can Spruce up Their Resume
Career changes are becoming increasingly common in today’s ever-shifting world, especially as people with multiple skills and access to different, better options are leaving less fulfilling careers to move toward new opportunities. No matter who you are and how secure you are in this decision, switching to a new field can be incredibly daunting. This holds especially true if you’ve spent several years within your old field and are just now gaining the chance and confidence to move onto the new. How can you market yourself and get your foot in the door? Will any of your old experiences and skill sets help you gain the job you want?
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help boost your chances of successfully breaking into a new industry. 1. Don’t Forget Your “Extracurriculars”
Not every experience included on your resumes and cover letters has to be on the job. As long as it applies in some shape or form to the jobs you’re applying for and the industry you’re trying to get a foothold in, it will appeal to potential employers. You can include such things as internships and organizations, among others. 2. Rewrites Are Likely
After spending so much time building up your resume for your current field, it may feel like a waste to scrap it and start anew for a job change. However, it’s worth it for a variety of reasons. Each job you’ll apply to will have different interests and needs, which you will have to analyze in terms of how well you’ll fit. Tailoring your resume to different jobs makes sense because it gives employers a sharp idea of how well you’ll fit in with the company. If this idea seems daunting to you, you can always turn to a professional resume writing service for ways to rewrite your resume effectively! 3. Keep It Brief
You may feel tempted to pad your resume if you don’t have quite enough experience in your new field. Don’t! You have merely a few seconds to catch a potential employer’s attention, and overloading them with information about your experiences, whether true or embellished, is just the right way to turn them off completely. Make the most of your resume by including only the most important experiences and other bits of professional information. 4. Format Your Resume Properly
Not even the most spectacular resume will make the cut if there are noticeable formatting errors. The good news is you have a bit of wiggle room when it comes to acceptable resume formats. There are letter resumes, which amount stylistically to experience-based cover letters; functional resumes, which focus on any skills you have in relation to your chosen field; and chronological resumes, which organize your experiences from newest to oldest. Feel free to pick whichever format is right for you!
No matter what field you’re trying to enter, you can rely on top rated resume writing services to help you craft an appealing resume! Don’t hesitate to get in touch to learn how you can improve your prospects and earn the job you deserve.
Learn how to find the best professional resume writers.
If you do a quick search on Google, you’re likely to come up with plenty of resume writing companies. However, it’s not as simple as it seems. Your resume is your introduction to a hiring agent and it’s important to hire the best professional resume writers. Anyone can say they write resumes, but if they don’t know what they are doing you can end up with a poor resume you cannot use for obtaining employment. How do you know which professional resume writing service is legitimate and which ones are scams trying to trick you out of your money? Here are a few things to look for when seeking an executive resume writing service.
What Does Their Website Exude?
When you first access a website advertising a professional resume writing service, take a few minutes to look around. Is it organized and professional looking? If they cannot organize a website, do you think they can organize data on a resume? Are there any grammatical errors or poorly structured sentences? This is a glaring red flag warning you they are not qualified to write resumes.
Do They Have Credentials?
An executive resume writing service should have some credentials displayed on their site. The most common test demonstrating a writer has a degree of competency is CPRW, or Certified Professional Resume Writer. In addition, the best professional resume writers have some accomplishments to share. You’ll also want to ask about their former experience in resume writing, education level, business background and any other skills they may have acquired.
Do They Have Sample Resumes?
When considering a resume writer, ask about any samples they may have to share. If you do not like their samples, you aren’t going to be pleased with their work on yours. If you aren’t sure what to look for in a sample, look past the aesthetic qualities and see if they included more than a list of job duties. Do they do anything special to make a resume stand out from all the others? Be wary if they don’t have any samples to share.
Do They Have a Solid Writing Process?
The best professional resume writers will have a clearly defined process for writing resumes. They should offer more than just a questionnaire for you to fill out. You should actually get to speak with a person who will ask you key questions so they can highlight the skills you have that are likely to impress a potential employer.
Do They Have a Guarantee?
A professional writer should be able to quote a price and offer a satisfaction guarantee. They should be willing to stand behind their work and make any revisions necessary.
These are a few of the considerations you should make before hiring an executive resume writing service. They are easy to find, but it can be difficult to find those who are reputable. Take your time and make a careful selection since your resume is how you introduce yourself to the professional world and secure employment.
Make Your Resume Pop With Some Inspiration from These Stellar Ideas
A professional resume writing service can help you stand out
A lot of resume advice articles you’ve seen have likely told you to keep the fluff to a minimum. In most cases, this is true. Recruiters generally only have a short amount of time to read your resume, meaning you’ll have to make it count by marketing yourself and your experiences in an easily consumable way. However, there’s no reason to dress your resume up, especially if you’re part of an industry where creativity is a highly valued skill. In fact, creating an original design for your resume may be an excellent C-level personal branding tactic, depending upon your execution. We’ve gathered some ideas for your consideration.
Lead Recruiters Your Way With a Map
Whether it’s in the style of classic and long forgotten cartography or in the image of today’s Maps app, you can consider making your resume resemble a map that leads employers straight to you, with all of your experiences and other relevant information to guide them and a handy directional key. You can even tuck your contact info at the bottom to steer them toward how to get in touch with you.
Model Your Resume After Your Social Media Platform of Choice
This takes some clever graphic design skills on your part, but it’s a creative way of introducing yourself to a potential employer. You can do this with any type of platform that gives you a personalized space, whether it’s through a profile page or a blog, or with any site that’s well-recognized and widely used. We recommend not picking LinkedIn for this choice because it’s already formatted for job hunters. You’ll want to create your own unique take on a site not typically used for career networking.
Create Your Resume Out of a Unique Material
This can be an especially clever idea depending on the industry you’re in, such as textiles, fashion or something similar. While it may take some extra work, you can craft your resume from fabric, handmade paper or some other material besides plain, white Xerox paper. Just make sure the end result is readable and, if need be, easy to reproduce. You don’t want to make creating hundreds of copies of a plexiglass resume your new career!
Give Yourself Ratings
You can easily style this sort of resume fairly normally but with some more subtle creative embellishments here and there, up until you get to the final section describing your skills. For this section, utilize a ratings system for an easily readable way of determining your level of skill in any areas you wish. While this won’t necessarily give employers the most detailed idea of your skills, it’s certainly an eye catcher!
While there’s nothing wrong with the tried and true method of bullet points and short sentences in black, 12 point font, it never hurts to think outside of the box! For further tips, you can always consult a professional resume writing service. A top resume writing service will be able to fine tune your resume, regardless of the format.
You’ve probably heard that statistically, employers spend an average of eight seconds scanning a resume. Obviously, that’s not a lot of time to make a lasting impression. If your resume is cluttered, unorganized and the text and font are clunky, it just might get passed over. Here are some tips for writing an effective resume that will ensure your resume gets the attention it needs.
Clear Sections
Your resume should have clearly demarcated sections. Top rated resume writing services might suggest using italics or a bold fold to differentiate between those sections, such as Education and Work Experience. There should be a break in the reader’s mind between different types of information.
Alignment
Align your text to the left. Since the eye naturally returns to the left, this is the most natural and readable format. However, align dates and locations to the right, which helps to separate that information and makes it easy to scan. Speaking of formatting, keep it consistent. Don’t start using “creative” formatting techniques in order to squeeze everything into one page. It’s more important your resume be clean and readable than be limited to one page.
Use Numbers and Symbols
Whenever possible, use numbers and symbols instead of text. They will grab the eye and be easy for the employer to quickly refer back to. Keep bold text and all caps to a minimum. You want to use these sparingly in order to truly highlight important information.
Fonts
Choose one, or two at the most, and make them clean and simple. Keep in mind your resume will likely be going through an applicant tracking system, which will not pick up special fonts or graphics. So not only are these cluttered and hard on the eyes, but it might prevent your resume from getting into anyone’s hands to read. Top rated resume writing services suggest sticking with plain, classic fonts.
Bullets
Do use bullets. It breaks complex pieces of information into readable chunks and makes it simple to reference back to these points. It also draws attention to your accomplishments, information you really want to highlight.
Use White Space
Using plenty of white space is much easier on the eyes than large, dense chunks of text. It creates a clean, well-designed look that’s appealing to the reader.
Writing a clear, effective resume can be a daunting task. If you want to be sure you get the attention of your desired employer, you might consider using a professional resume writing service. Allowing an expert to help you craft a successful resume will dramatically increase your chances of landing your dream job.
Start By Rebuilding Relationships
