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.
Three Little-Known Ways the Internet Can Help You Land a New Job
Depending on how you use the Internet and social media, you could accelerate your job search or cause it to crash and burn. Thousands of jobs are posted online every day and there are many more thousands of people searching for jobs. Statistics show your chances of getting a job solely through an online presence are extremely low. Crafting the perfect resumes that get you hired will only go so far if you don’t have a personal connection with a recruiter or company. The Internet can be a valuable tool when used properly so here are three little-known ways to take advantage of it.
Have an Online Influence
LinkedIn is a great way to increase your online presence and influence. You hear me talk about this time and again. LinkedIn is key. The more connections you have, the better you will look online. Having hundreds of connections means you are a potentially valuable resource for generating new business, with the ability to bring in more talent and market a brand. However, having online connections you don’t really know well are just false senses of influence and could hurt your reputation.
Stalk Social Media
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are great for learning about a company’s office culture. Even if you use top rated resume writing services to craft your resume, you won’t get the job you want if you don’t fit into their culture. Companies use social media to attract their target customers and employees. If a company uses a professional approach on their social media platform, you should use that same approach when contacting them. Alternatively, if you notice their style is more laid back, you can cater toward that writing and communication style to fit in better.
Create Multimedia Resumes
Simply uploading resumes to job boards is ineffective, thanks to the high saturation of resumes already flooding in. Plus, they clog your email with spam. Stay away if you can. No matter how many professional resume writing services you use, it’s difficult to get recognized among hundreds or thousands of resumes. Now you can use the Internet to create multimedia “resumes” to break up the monotony. Instead of uploading a traditional resume, create a website or a blog to highlight your attributes. You could make a short video to introduce yourself, talk about your skills and provide examples and work products for recruiters. This is your chance to be as creative as you want in order to set yourself apart from the rest of the job seekers. With these three tips, you can use the Internet to your advantage to land a new job. Your creativity, combined with the help of professional resume writing services, could put you ahead of the curve.
Cover Letter 101: Targeting Your Executive Cover Letter
Most recruiters look at a cover letter to screen for applicants before they even consider looking at a resume. You can’t understate the importance of targeting your executive cover letter, rather than just making a generic one. You’re not going to stand out if yours looks like everyone else’s and doesn’t really say anything pertaining to the job you want. Writing a great targeted cover letter takes some practice, and you may even consider a cover letter writing service to help you get started. Here are a few different things to keep in mind when writing yours.
Utilize Connections
Hopefully you’ve found the job you’re applying for by way of networking. If so, mention the person you connected with in the first sentence of the cover letter. You have to find a way to relate with the recruiter in cover letters for resumes, and there’s no better way to do it than to talk about something or someone they are familiar with. Talk about how you know the connection, where you met, what you heard about the job and, most importantly, why you and your connection think you are a good fit.
Why Do You Want This Job?
You have to learn about the company you’re applying for before you can write about why you want the job. When you mention statistics or facts about their company, they’ll know you did your research and are legitimately interested in working for them. Let them know what appeals to you about the job and the company specifically. Finally, one of the keys to good cover letters for resumes is specifically mentioning how you will contribute to the company’s growth.
Let Them Know Your Skills
Although having the proper education is critical to getting a job, the ultimate decision will come down to whether you have the right experience or not. Most of your skills will be present on your resume, but it doesn’t hurt to put a couple in your cover letter as well. As long as you tailor the skills to what the company needs, you can make it an effective cover letter. Again, just remember the more information you put about their company and how your skills match their needs, the better off you will be.
Constructing the perfect resumes that get you hired isn’t easy to do, but when you’ve mastered the art, you’ll be in better position to land your executive dream job. Some people have the misconception that the cover letter is designed to summarize your resume in a couple of paragraphs, but that’s actually not true. Your resume is about you, and the cover letter is about the company you’re applying for and how you will contribute.
It takes time and a lot of practice to get good at targeting your cover letter. If you have any questions or need any assistance along the way, just remember we are right here to help you, so get in touch with us at any time!
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.
The Three Most Common Ways People Flub Their Job Interviews
For many, interviews can be some of the hardest parts of the job seeking process. This holds especially true for the naturally nervous and the socially clumsy, as well as those who just don’t cope well with pressuring social situations. If any of those last three descriptions fit you, we understand your worries. The good news is you don’t have to wring your hands over interviews! In this article, we’ll go over the three most common ways people bungle their job interviews and how you can avoid these mistakes and ace your own interview!
1. Revealing Too Much Unavailability
Let’s face it: employers will rarely hire someone who lives several hours away from the company office. It is unrealistic to expect or believe someone who lives too far away will be able to consistently make it in to work on time. Furthermore, if other circumstances limit your ability to work on a consistent basis, this will also count against you.
While we’d recommend simply not applying for any jobs you know you’ll have trouble commuting to for any reason, sometimes you have valid reasons for picking that employer. For instance, you could be in the middle of a move, so your being too far away is simply a minor and temporary technicality. In the meantime, you may want to borrow the address of a friend or relative who lives in the area until you’re able to relocate properly.
2. Aggression
Of course, you always want to have and maintain a go-getter attitude when it comes to applying for jobs. If you don’t, you’ll never get a job at all! However, there’s a difference between being motivated and being pushy, and you never want to come off as the latter. This is the easiest way to ruin your chances of being called back.
Once you’ve interviewed, do not try to call the employer with no warning whatsoever. In the meantime, spend that energy elsewhere if you can’t get rid of it, such as by working with a team of professional executive resume writers to tweak your resume and related documents. The most you should do is send out an email to the employer, re-introducing yourself. This will help you stick in their head as a potential candidate.
3. Neglecting Your Pitch
No matter what company you’re seeking to work for, all of them will want to get to know you during the interview process. Ideally, you can use this chance to reveal strengths that your resume will not necessarily show (even if you’re a pro at writing resumes that get you hired)! Having a great pitch will catch your interviewer’s attention and let them know you’re worth giving a chance. If you bungle this, you could risk your entire chance at getting the job. Think about who you are and what your professional strengths are before going to the interview to help hash out how to market yourself to your employer.
Additionally, you may want to rely on an executive resume writing service to help ensure you have a better chance of landing interviews—and jobs! The best thing to do is get in touch with a team of professional executive resume writers to help turn your prospects around.
Why Summer May Be the Greatest Season for Your Job Hunt
Start your search with an executive resume service.
Once you’ve entered the adult world, the idea of embarking upon a job hunt over the summer is probably the farthest from your mind. Like many, you probably haven’t done any job hunting prior to or throughout the summer since your teenage years, when you just needed something to occupy your time and weren’t quite as interested in building a career. However, now that you are unemployed or just seeking a position different from your old one, a summer job hunt looks to be in the cards again, and you’ll have to go about it far differently than you did as a teenager—but how? And is it worth it? As it turns out, starting or continuing your job hunt in summer can be quite profitable in more ways than one.
More Free Time
This benefit applies more to those looking to transfer careers than those who currently lack a job. Just as when you were in school, you and many of your coworkers will likely receive some time off from the office over the summer. This newfound free time presents the perfect chance to get really productive with your job hunt so use it wisely! Spend this time reworking your resume or working with an executive resume service to make some great, lasting tweaks. Go out on a few interviews and network with others in your industry at those frequent summer barbecues. It will surely pay off!
More Networking
As stated above, summer barbecues and other forms of summertime get-togethers are a great way to meet other people in your field who may be able to help you land your next job. Summer is a highly popular time of year for people to get out and about. Take advantage of it by going out yourself, especially to any and every function held by coworkers or other industry professionals you can introduce yourself to and speak with. Half of landing a great job is connecting with others and knowing the right people. You never know where your next job opportunity could come from!
More Time
Daylight savings time always unfolds before the start of summer, meaning you’ll have far more time to work on your job search than you would at any other time of the year. Work with a team of professional executive resume writers to perfect your resume, start sending out applications and communicate with those you’re looking to get hired by! Summer won’t last forever, which is why you have to make the most of every second while you can.
Managers Will Notice You
Even if most of the office has been relinquished for the summer, the managers in charge of the companies you’re looking to work for will still be working as hard as ever! Many managers still are in the process of looking for new employees during the summer months. This is the perfect time to catch their eye with the help of a well-written resume. You won’t want to miss any chance to communicate with higher ups!
We hope these tips will give you some insight on how to make the most of your summer by hitting the pavement and working your hardest on your job search. With dedication and some assistance, you’ll be able to use resumes that get you hired and careful networking to land the best new position for you!
The best resume writing service will help you stand out.
Some people might think in a highly digitized world resumes would have become a thing of the past. Even though the resume itself has become more digital in nature, it remains the best way to share your work history, point out your specific skill sets and demonstrate you have what it takes to get hired for a specific job or position. With this understanding comes the responsibility of making sure you create resumes that get you hired. There are many reasons resumes remain significant in the professional arena. Here are the top three reasons.
Reason #1 – Demonstrate Self-Confidence
A resume easily demonstrates your level of confidence in yourself, your training and your skills. It’s the selling point to a company or potential hiring agent. The document must come together in such a way it highlights your abilities and knowledge about the job you are requesting. It shows you have the confidence to apply for the job, as well as perform it. It’s acceptable to write your own resume or to hire a top rated resume writing service to construct it for you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with obtaining help to get it just the way you want it.
Reason #2 – Make a Solid Transition
If you are transitioning from the educational setting into the workforce, you need a good resume to set you apart from other new candidates. You’ve worked hard to get where you are and to obtain the skills needed; now put it on paper to create the kind of resumes that get you hired. This is how you use the experience and knowledge you’ve acquired and showcase your abilities to fill a position. Even if you are transitioning between jobs, a professional resume can help ease the transition. Remember your resume is a continual document, and each job or certification you complete can be used to show your eagerness for professional growth. Your resume will grow with you and help ease these kinds of transitions.
As a related aside, HR departments rely upon having hard copies of your resume within their database so as to help you as thoroughly as possible throughout your job search. This is yet another way a regularly updated resume will help you to ease into a new job.
Reason #3 – Continual Self-Assessment
Keeping your resume up-to-date helps put you in a state of constant self-assessment. You’ll find yourself keeping track of continued education, skills you learn, certifications earned and your overall work history. As you learn new things and grow as a professional, you’re constantly comparing where you are now with where you were the last time you updated your resume. When you hire a top rated resume writing service, they can help you keep these items up-to-date and give you a more objective perspective on how far you’ve come in the workforce.
There are some who are comfortable writing their own resume, but for those who are not, it’s important to hire the best resume writing service to create a professional grade resume. It is an important part of your professional life and will be useful for obtaining employment and recording your road of self-development.
The Best Ways to Tweak Your Resume to Match a Position
Professional executive resume writers can help you tweak your resume.
Hidden inside every job listing is key information about the position. There are some useful points in a job posting you can use when writing a professional resumeand cover letter. In fact, you can use the information the company provides to make resumes that get you hired by matching it up with precisely what they are looking for. Here are some tips for tweaking your resume to match the position you are trying to obtain.
Match Your Skills to What They Are Looking For
You’ll find most professional job listings to be inclusive of all the skills needed to perform the job properly. First of all, remember you most likely don’t need to have mastered all of the skills they are seeking. Don’t disqualify yourself if you don’t have all of the ones listed. Think about your skills versus the ones they are looking for and ask yourself these questions:
Do I have most of the hard and soft skills mentioned?
Do you have the experience or knowledge needed to do the job?
What is your success rate and experience with the skills in the past?
What other complementary skills do you possess?
Many skills can fall under broader categories so you can compare your present skills and level of experience to what the company needs. When you are writing a professional resume, include the skills related to what is listed, as well as your skills sets and experiences that are complementary to what they are looking for.
Match Your Characteristics with Their Job Description
Many times a job posting will contain attributes they would like to see in a candidate. They may use words like self-starter, ambitious, team player or organized. As you are reading the job description, think about the characteristics they listed and which ones may be applicable for you. Can you think of examples in your work history that are demonstrations of these specific attributes? The point is to make a connection with the company between what they want and what you have to offer. Use the attributes from the job listing on your cover letter and resume, if applicable.
Match Specific “Buzz” Words with Their Listing
Watch for words you see over and over in the job listing. These might be skills or other keywords they use. For instance, do they consider themselves a business? An organization? A company? Make sure you or your professional executive resume writersuse these terms when drawing up a resume and cover letter. Resumes that get you hired will have the same tone and terminology the hiring agent uses in their descriptions of the job and qualifications they provide. You can learn a lot about the company by the tone they use in the description and you’ll get a sense of being a good fit for the position. Using the same language they use will demonstrate to them you are the perfect match.
Whether you are writing your own or hiring professional executive resume writers, it’s beneficial to know how to use your resume to show how well you match the position.
