Have you ever noticed a dirty windshield before it reached the opaque stage? If you are like most of us, nope. You keep adjusting to the slowly deteriorating view until suddenly you realize it needs to be cleaned. And wow, what a difference once you wash it! There are a lot of areas in life where the same process happens. We are blind to the small changes until something triggers our realization that an accumulation has occurred.
Resumes Need To Be Cleaned Up Regularly
Here’s what happens to a resume after a while:
changes of address or phone number forgotten
promotions or training updates missed
customizing one part for a particular job application
skimming over stuff you already wrote because you know what you said
references who no longer are available
Each little thing is like another tiny spot on the windshield. Not hard to overlook, until you drive into the sunlight and realize you can’t see very well. Most of the time you can wash your windshield with the washer spray and wipers, but sometimes you need to get out and scrub. How does this apply to a resume?
A resume update certainly is something you can consider doing yourself, if you are confident that your writing skills are up to the task. Don’t rush the job, save your work, and make sure you go over the changes after a break. Even professional resume writers will miss things, and that’s why proofreading is part of the process. Everybody makes mistakes, and the best of us will build in safeguards to catch those mistakes before submitting the final version.
If you are not sure what you are missing in your resume update, we offer a Resume Critique service that gives you a professional opinion and concrete suggestions for the price of a fancy dinner out on the town. That’s a good bargain! You will get the help you want on updating your resume, know that it is an impressive, professional showcase of your abilities, and get a good lesson in what to be aware of the next time you realize your resume needs to be cleaned up.
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.
Have you ever gone past a series of modern windmills? I just did recently-they were amazing. At first, they don’t look real. Then as you get closer, they begin to loom in jaw-dropping proportions because they are huge. These gigantic pinwheels are carefully placed to catch the wind in the best spots available. A lot of study goes into how tall they need to be, where they should be located, and which direction they should face. This is because they are very expensive to manufacture and install so they need to be where they will catch the most wind and generate the most power. Why would anybody put this expensive piece of technology in a random spot because it is easier? No matter how well the windmill is constructed, it will not do what it’s designed to do if it’s not in the right place.
A well-crafted resume is the result of a similar type of investment. Just like the modern windmill, they are carefully designed and can be expensive to create. So why distribute that resume in a random pattern because it is easier? If your resume is not being put in the right place, it will not be able to do what it’s designed to do.
Professional Resume Services has the ability to put your resume in the place where it will be most effective through our Recruiter Resume Distributions. Since we maintain a database that is updated weekly, we know which recruiters are working in the various industries out there and we can specifically target your unique preferences and project parameters. We will only put your resume where it will act like one of those high-tech pinwheels and generate the most energy for your career goals.
Communication is all about getting across barriers to connect. How many times have you suddenly realized that you do not understand what someone means when they use a familiar word? Or have you experienced this: you want a solution to a particular problem and the salesman keeps insisting you need a solution to a problem you don’t have?
Employers encounter a variation of this when an applicant submits a resume. In her excellent article, “How To Speak The Language of Hiring“, Lydia Dishman says that hiring managers want to know the quality of experience and how a candidate will approach the job once hired. Resumes, on the other hand, tend to focus on actions and education. As a result, the resume is addressing the wrong question.
You can speak the right language and address the right question, by understanding the process and perspective of the employer. Your resume has to pass through a couple of filters before you get called in for the interview. Most employers will use an electronic filter first, an applicant tracking system. Then the filtered list of potential candidates will be read by the recruiter, who scans for more detail. Finally, those resumes passing these filters is put on the desk of the person who determines the best fit for the job and schedules interviews.
That’s three different perspectives with their own questions; your resume must pass all of them. Intimidated? You don’t have to be. Just remember to focus on the specific job opening is. Tell how you developed a skill like collaboration by being on a team that worked on the very thing they are looking for. The computer sees the thing, the person sees that you know how to collaborate.
Still confused? We offer resume creation in our A La Carte Services and a Resume Critique for those who just need to know if they are saying what the employers want to hear in language that communicates.
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.
One of the uncomfortable parts of a job search is discussion of salary.Most of us don’t really like negotiations over salary and fear that putting our current wage on paper might doom us to repeat it. For the most part, you really don’t need to put salary history on your resume. At the same time, if a job posting asks you to include salary history or requirements when applying, they will be looking for that information when you apply. Employers have various reasons for requesting salary information. They may want to screen out those who expect more than they are willing to offer or find someone who is qualified and willing to take the least amount of compensation. They certainly want to know you will follow instructions. You could comply with a request for salary history in several ways:
attach a salary history to your resume on a separate page
include it in your cover letter
use a salary range rather than the specific amounts
It should go without saying that your salary history should be accurate. You will be jeopardizing your career when they check with former employers and discover the truth. At the same time, if you think you were underpaid, there’s no reason to avoid saying so if it can be said diplomatically. Salary requirements can be handled with statements that show your flexibility and willingness to negotiate the overall compensation package including benefits. Here, too, a range can be helpful as long as it is within reasonable limits. Tools like a salary calculator help you figure out what the range for your expectations should be. Salary may not be on your resume, but it is definitely on everybody’s mind, and you need to be prepared to discuss it.
Sometimes in the midst of a job search, you feel powerless. After all, you don’t make the decision to hire yourself. But you DO have the power to do things like this:
Volunteer to help somewhere during the holidays — bell ringer, package wrapper, etc.
Let someone with a few items go ahead of you in the checkout line
Smile at people you see
Spend specific time every day on following up a job search resource or improving your resume
Spend specific time every day keeping your home and yourself maintained
Spend specific time every day connecting with family and friends
Give the gift of time instead of stuff
Marketing would have us think that money and the latest products are what is important. And money is important; to pay bills and buy food and other necessities. However, this culture creates a sense of worthlessness if you don’t have money for luxuries and that gets many in debt over their heads during the holidays even when they have good-paying jobs.
When you are diligent about keeping your surroundings and yourself clean and organized, you function better. When you connect with friends and family, it reminds you that you are an important part of a network. When you do one thing every day to keep up your search for employment, you are planting seeds that will truly grow in season.
The inner strength to withstand the pressure and be creative about gifts instead of buying them, to smile when you feel grumpy, to choose listening to someone’s boring story because it matters to them and you love them, to keep steadily doing the things that will make the day better when you don’t feel like combing your hair — these are superhero powers.
Do you tend to remember stories instead of facts?I know I do. Most of us do, because we are people who love stories — movies, tv shows, books, gossip, family lore, and all the rest of the ways one can tell a narrative. Even jokes are stories, if you think about it! I don’t know the fancy reasons why this is so, but it probably has something to do with being able to identify with the story teller or a character in the story. This love of story plays out in your career in several ways:
Your brand is a synopsis of your story; a general overview of who you are
Your references are anecdotes of your story; testimonials from people with memories about you
Your resume is a capsulation of the highlights of your career story; the highlights that affect a potential job opening
It’s a good idea to remember that people usually will think in terms of story. That person interviewing you has sifted through a lot of resumes to choose the best character to introduce in their next chapter. They will try to figure out if your story, who you are, and how you will fit into the ongoing narrative of their enterprise. When you sent that thank you letter after the interview, you remind them of that story.
Not all story is going to be profitable for your career — gossip, backbiting, etc. are not things you want people to remember about you. The way you act and speak today will become the story people remember about you tomorrow. You can change parts of the story they remember by apologies and reforming, but it is really better when you realize that the narrative of your career and life is being written by you every day.
