No Kidding, You Need Professional Help

You know your capabilities better than anyone. You’ve climbed the ladder, conquered challenges, exceeded expectations, and feel ready for the next step in your career. Perhaps it is time to call on a professional resume writer, an expert to help you present your value. It is generally awkward for talented people to objectively describe their attributes and achievements. Quite often they leave out or downplay noteworthy accomplishments. Most of all, people who create their own resumes often fail to write for the perspective of a recruiter or the hiring authority reading it.

The landscape of career advancement, job searching, and resume writing has changed drastically due to technology, social media, and hiring methods.

Long gone are the days when you put your full contact information at the top of the page followed by your job objective, job titles, and then a bullet list of your duties and responsibilities.  Mind you, this may have been presented in a neat resume template in which you primarily filled in the blanks. Heaven forbid you bought a resume book and copied their formats. You need a customized resume that presents your unique value.

Today, most employers use a computerized Applicant Tracking System (ATS) – scanning software.  Resume writers know the proper format, language, and how the computer likely sorts and selects applicants. Your resume will end up in an ATS at some point, even if you have networked your way through personal contacts within the company.

Let’s back up to getting the attention of the recruiter or employer.  If your resume does not grab their attention in the first six seconds with “above the fold” relevant information, it will stay in a pile, passed over, never to see the light of day.  A resume writer is trained to write “tight.”  We compact powerful concepts and information into concise presentations capable of summarizing years of experience into a value-rich quick read. Remember, a resume is written to get an interview so that you can tell stories of achievements detailing related value for a prospective employer.

Unbeknownst to most, resume writers are really good detectives. Seldom will we start writing based solely on client submitted information.  We ask a lot of questions to get to the core of a client’s goals and motivations.  Once armed with answers, we put on our detective hats to scan the particular industry to discern what is trending, appropriate, and the job requirements. Our purpose is to match skills, language, work experience, desired position, and personal preferences.  Then we write for the targeted position.

The fundamental reason we ask so many questions is to capture your personal brand – what makes you – YOU. What sets you apart and makes you valuable to a prospective employer?  One can “create” or fictionalize a resume, but you would be ill served in an interview when asked to substantiate those “created” attributes and accomplishments.

We ferret out your personal competencies and shape a resume that speaks of only you. Along the way, we try to show your personality and strengths. The current term to describe the process is personal branding, which succinctly presents who you are, what you do, what makes you desirable and unique. All of these efforts are designed to help you stand out from the competition, entice the hiring authority to want to know more about you and your capabilities.

My last point is a bit of advice: Do not try to write your resume yourself unless you are a superb writer. Get help from a professional resume writer; we have access to many resources to best position you and sharpen your job search.  Resume writers can help you tell a compelling and concise story of your competencies and value.