Searching for jobs online is a common occurrence and just as common are the number of organizations that require you to submit your resume online. Mailing a paper resume or hand delivering it are two options that may never be an option again. Although the jobs posted online represent a very small percentage of those available and many may be posted to boost traffic to a website or the job was filled months ago, it is still a fact of life. For that reason, you must have a properly named and formatted, professional resume that is ready to upload on any site at any time with the press of a button.

Here are a few tips to consider before sending your resume into cyberspace:

• Review the formatting of your resume to ensure it will look the same to the recipient as it does to you. Avoid symbols or unique fonts.
• Check the validity of the site advertising the job. There are many but most should be familiar or provide contact information.
• Ensure your resume is up to date. Keep a list of the sites you have your resume posted on and take the time to update at the same time to ensure your information stays consistent.
• If you have a professional resume that has provided positive results, use it to post content when creating online profiles on social media sites such as Linkedin and Visual CV.
• Remember most resumes are scanned for keywords as a process for elimination so google the most current and popular keywords in your industry.
• Job boards such as Monster should be visited daily to initiate a minor detail change to ensure your resume stays near the top of the list for visibility.

Visit Elite Resumes for a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer.

How much feedback did you acquire before sending out your resume? Never send out a resume that has not been reviewed by at least a dozen people! Your resume is your key marketing tool. It will either get you in the door or it won’t. Don’t miss out on an opportunity!

Every HR Professional and Recruiter is different so it is not possible to have a perfect resume however, a resume that will positively influence the majority of decision makers is. You may believe you have a terrific resume but the decision to call you in for a job interview will be made by someone who may not agree. It is difficult for anyone to have an objective opinion about a document that is all about themselves. The accomplishment that meant the most to you may not be the one that will have the most influence on a decision maker. The appearance of your resume may inspire you with bold fonts and graphics but could be aesthetically offensive to others or perceived as lacking professionalism.

Your due diligence in obtaining feedback on your resume from a variety of sources will help you to write a resume that will open doors. If there is any reason your resume would eliminate you as a potential candidate, you need to know before you send it out. Obviously your mother may not be quite as objective as a past colleague but don’t dismiss feedback from family and friends. After all, who cares more about what is in your best interest? Exchange your resume with other professionals at networking events and share impressions and advice. Have you maintained good relations with those from your previous position? Do you know what your boss and the company admired most about you? If not, ask! 

Finally, a reputable, professional resume writer will ususally provide free resume critiques. Take advantage of it!

Contact Elite Resumes for a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer.      

Professional Resume Writing 101 is a series of blog posts covering a variety of topics related to resume writing.

The following topics are covered in the last seven blog posts in this series:

Professional Resume Writing 101-26 Detailed Accomplishments

Professional Resume Writing 101-27 Career Path

Professional Resume Writing 101-28 Basic Rules

Professional Resume Writing 101-29 Resume Pet Peeves 

Professional Resume Writing 101-30 Hiring a Professional

Professional Resume Writing 101-31 What not to do

Professional Resume Writing 101-32 Contact Information

We hope you have gained some valuable information from this series of posts, Resume Writing The Basics. Please contact Elite Resumes for a free resume critique or to acquire answers to any other questions you may have on professional resume writing.  

Are you able to answer the following, frequently asked questions about resume writing?

How many pages should my resume be?

Do I need to list references on my resume?

Should I list all 20 of my previous jobs?

Is there a particular font that is more acceptable than others?

I’ve heard that you shouldn’t underline anything on a resume.  Is this true and why?

Is it acceptable to use abbreviations?

Do you include high school info in a resume?

Should I include the political and religious organizations I am involved with?

Should a resume for an undergraduate be kept to one page?

Is it necessary to include an objective?

Should the education section always appear at the end of the resume?

What type of results should I be expecting from my resume?

Is it acceptable to have more than one type of resume?

How should I list the degrees I have acquired from other countries?

Should I list my hobbies and interests to let a potential employer get to know me a little better?

What is the difference between a Functional and a Chronological resume?

How do I let a potential employer really know who I am in my resume?

Why shouldn’t I use resume.doc when naming my resume?

If you are writing your resume and are not sure how to answer any one of these frequently asked questions STOP now!  You do not want to give a hiring professional any reason to discard your resume. Contact Elite Resumes for the answers to these questions or submit your resume for a free resume critique by a Certified Professional Resume Writer.

Are you using the top words in your resume? Are they the best available words in 2010 that will represent who you are and highlight your expertise in your resume? Without pictures, graphics, videos and a family portrait, your professional resume is just that, words. In an effort to make the best possible impression you must give careful consideration to each and every word you choose. These words must be strong, current, descriptive and action packed.

Today’s resume does not contain an objective but rather a pro-jective. The goal is not to relay to the employer what your objective is but to impress upon the employer that you have the skills and the ability to fulfill their needs and position yourself as a potential candidate. Use words that the employer is looking for. Here are a few words that will highlight your soft skills to the reader:

Visionary, Results-driven, Articulate, Proactive, Technically minded, “Outstanding analytical, problem-solving, leadership, technology and communication skills”

Hard skills must be specific and most importantly up to date. Noting “computer literate” is a waste of space as it would be difficult to assume any postition today without computer literacy. Here are a few words representing hard skills:

Enterprise Application Integration, Project Management, RFP /RFI / RFQ, Business Analysis, Application/Systems Architecture

Use words of action when listing your experience and clearly describe your accomplishments, quantifying, (use numbers) whenever possible. Concentrate on your accomplishments not your responsiblities. Never begin with, “Responsible for”. Don’t use the same word over and over again. There are too many available to justify repetition. The last thing you want to do is bore the reader. Here are a few action words:

Accentuated, Adjudicated, Broadened, Bolstered, Conceptualized, Championed, Demonstrated, Differentiated, Established, Exceeded, Formulated, Facilitated, Generated, Garnered, Hightened, Honed, Illustrated, Implemented, Joined, Justified, Leveraged, Marketed, mentored, Negotiated, Navigated, Operated, Officiated, Procured, Positioned, Qualified, Queried, Restructured, Regulated, Streamlined, Scrutinized, Transformed, Tabulated, Utilized, Updated,Verified, Visualized, Weighed, Widened, Yielded

What words are you using in your resume? Will they influence the reader to call you for an interview? Submit your resume for a free resume critique by a Certified Professional Resume Writer and find out. 

Are you considering a professional resume writing service? If you are obtaining multiple job interviews with your current resume there’s no need to consider this question. If this is not the case you may want to review the following reasons to retain the services of a Certified Professional Resume Writer:

If…
…you are not receiving any response sending out your current resume for positions that you are qualified to fill
…your online resume is not decipherable due to formatting issues
…your current resume is boring and you are unable to sell yourself
…you are unsure of your career direction

You are in need of the services of a professional resume writer!

Darn Good Reasons Why You Should Or Should Not Hire A Professional Resume Service, by Bill in Employment News, Resumes provides excellent advice to consider before hiring a professional resume writer and which ones NOT TO HIRE!

Contact us for a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer to ensure you are not missing out on any opportunities!

In our complex and ever changing society we sometimes need to be reminded to keep it simple!  When writing a professional resume, the ultimate goal is to entice an employer to read it and inspire them to call you for a job interview. To achieve this you must create a positive impression with an easy to read document consisting of clear and concise information.

HR professionals and recruiters will not allocate extra time to decipher a complex five page document. Your professional resume should be one to two pages and no more than three if experience warrants it. Less is better. It is designed to generate interest to get you the interview, not the job. Concentrate on real skills and accomplishments and avoid irrelevant information, “fluff” or “canned” resume language. If in doubt, leave it out. Keep it factual and quantify your achievements. Where words have the potential to add confusion, numbers offer clarification.

Simple, bold and clear!  The most impressive resume is one that resonates with clarity and confidence. Avoid fancy fonts, artwork borders and underlining. Keep bullets and fonts consistent in size and type. Plain and simple is professional!

In addition to keeping it simple, keep in mind that your resume, although all about you, needs to impress upon the reader that it is all about them, as your resume will be the proof they need to believe that you have the ability to resolve all of their problems.

Take advantage of a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer.

If there is one piece of advice you need to follow in your job interview it is to avoid the thought of what is in it for you and concentrate on informing the Interviewer what is in it for them.   

If you’ve made it to the job interview, you have successfully sold yourself in your resume, impressing upon a potential employer that you are a valuable candidate worth interviewing. So don’t stop there! You could just as easily be eliminated in the interview process as in the resume process. Both systems are based on elimination and the goal to find the right candidate is no less important than finding a reason to eliminate you to establish a manageable number of candidates for consideration.

Every aspect of your job interview must be taken into consideration and taken seriously right down to your arrival time! Don’t be too early, as the Interviewer may not welcome the interruption especially if they scheduled a task to complete prior to beginning interviews. Of course if you are late and keep the Interviewer waiting you will probably put yourself at the top of the elimination list. Your appearance and your handshake will create the first impression. If you do not look professional or are unable to put forth a confident handshake, how will you represent their organization? Prepare yourself well. The more knowledge you have about the organization the more confident you will feel. It will also show the Interviewer that you have done your homework and will lend credibility to your assertion that given the opportunity you will exceed their expectations as their new Senior Sales Manager!

What is in it for you does require your consideration but if you want to be considered by the employer, you must convince the interviewer what is in it for them!

Professional Resume Writing - Contact Information

Many critical points are taken into consideration during the creation of a professionally written resume, which are in addition to the compilation of a positive, accomplishment-based history. One of these critical components is a client’s contact information.

It is necessary to include all of your contact data, leaving no secrets. First and foremost is your name, which should be highlighted by using a larger font size than the contact information that follows. Your complete physical home address, including your postal code or zip code should follow. A phone number that will be answered in a professional manner should be noted as either a mobile number or a home number. If you are confident that both your home and cell numbers are equally viable include both numbers. Always remember a missed call could result in a missed opportunity. 

Equally as important as your phone number is your email address. In today’s highly competitive job market, it is critical to provide as many options as possible for an HR Professional to connect with you and make it as easy as possible. No one will take the time to try and find you if you choose to hide pertinent contact information. 

The omission of an email address is sure to result in a lost opportunity but there are other reasons an HR professional or recruiter may discard your resume even if you do include one. These are examples of email addresses that should not be included in your resume: sexyone@aol.com drunk@hotmail.com. A professional resume must have a professional email address so if your current email represents your hobby, dartqueen@sympatico.ca, or hockeyslasher@hotmail.com change it to represent your given name!  

It is not always possible to obtain a new email address if you have a common name without slightly altering it. When doing so keep it simple and clear to those who will be reading it. Consider adding your middle initial or using your first initial with your second name in full. Use your given name, as Jonathon will not be as common as John. Letters are more easily decipherable than dots or dashes, .  -  _  or 11’s and ii’s. Carefully review the email address you are considering by writing it down and keying it in to ensure it will not be easily misinterpreted. If it is incorrectly entered into a data base it is unlikely anyone will initiate the task to pursue a correction.  

Employers are interested in candidates that keep up to date on the latest in technology, media trends and innovation. If you are still using your ten year old email address @hotmail or @AOL, you may want to consider   changing it to @rogers or @gmail. Finally, do you have a Linkedin address? If not, you need one. A Linkedin url is the final and necessary component of your contact information required on a professional resume.

Contact Elite Resumes for further information on establishing your online profile or to acquire a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer!

Professional Resume Writing - What not to do

Your resume is a very subjective document and cannot be perfect in every one’s eyes because not all recruiters and HR professionals share the same opinion. However, there are some points that are shared by the majority of these professionals when it comes to “what not to do” so it is obviously in your best interest to take heed. After all, they are the decision makers. Will you give them a reason to discard your resume or inspire them to call you for an interview?

Michael Stern, an Executive Search Professional, writes,  ”Avoid these deadly job search sins” for JobSeeker Weekly. One of the 8 mistakes listed that are often seen by recruiters is  to submit a 10 page resume and he had this to say, “No one has the time or the interest to read so much about you, so not only is your effort wasted but may count against you. Stick to the salient points. When appealing to busy employers, less is more.” Included in this valuable list of  “deadly job search sins” is submitting documents that others can’t open and babbling on in a job interview.

It is due to the prevalence of critical resume mistakes that there is such a wealth of information available on “what not to do“. By avoiding these mistakes you can create a professional resume and optimize your oportunity to advance in your career.  

To ensure you are not making the mistakes that could cost you a valuable opportunity contact Elite Resumes for a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer!