Working as a writer can be a very demanding career. If you work freelance or mostly freelance, it can also be a stressful career. This is because you don’t always know where the next dollar is coming from or how a project will pan out. This uncertainty adds a great deal of pressure that can

The Research Study: How Does Your Résumé Compare? Competitive Career Intelligence for 6-Figure Canadians * found that the introductory piece — the top third — within most résumés assessed could be enhanced further. WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT : Readers initially scan a résumé to determine if the candidate may be appropriate for their requirements. Therefore, the first section of a six-figure candidate’s résumé is the most important and it must position the individual in a concise manner. WHAT TO AVOID : Of the 1,000 résumés assessed, almost all had concerns with the positioning statement. The research uncovered the following issues with the résumés: Non-existent introductory statement — simply listing the candidate’s history. Objective statements “asking for work” rather than “selling value.” Common “cut-and-paste” profile — typical of widely distributed …

Asked what method job-seekers should deploy to explain gaps in their employment history, respondents to the the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey* offered no strong preferences. About 40.4 percent advise including a statement in the resume’s Work Experience section describing reasons for the gap(s), while 8.3 percent felt this statement should appear at the bottom of the resume. Almost 26.2 percent suggested including a statement in the cover letter describing reasons. A surprising 25 percent advised job-seekers not to include a description of reasons on either the resume or cover letter. Given …

Almost half (49.4 percent) of surveyed employers said they prefer chronological resumes, according to results from the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey.* Almost 39 percent preferred a combination of a chronological and functional resume format, while just under 6 percent preferred a purely functional format, 3.5 percent had no preference, 2.4 percent preferred a portfolio. Given strong sentiment against any type of functional format reported by employers in recent years, the finding that more than a third in this …

Article Contributed By: Jessica Holbrook Hernandez, an expert resume writer (http://www.greatresumesfast.com), career and personal branding strategist, author, and presenter. Last week I had lunch with a colleague who had recently hired someone for a part-time position for her office. My colleague was interested to observe the wide variety of people who applied for a

A cover letter is supposed to be brief, readable, and professional. A fax cover sheet or a handwritten note should preferably never be used, especially when you want an employer to view you as a serious potential employee. The ideal cover letter is four to five paragraphs long, with each paragraph consisting of maybe three or four sentences. Keep in mind, too, that “less is more.” Your letter should preferably be no more than one page in length. Write clearly and concisely, and stay …

Checking my email one day this week, I found one that started in a way destined to make my heart sink: “I know we finalized this resume a while ago, but I showed it to a friend and he had some comments …” My heart doesn’t sink because of the extra work – I don’t mind that if the comments are helpful – but because I know that they probably won’t be. So I now have two choices. 1) Make changes that will be detrimental to the document I worked so hard on creating or 2) get into lengthy explanations about why my client’s friend is mistaken. (I always go for the second option because I can’t bear to do …

Are you moving forward in your career? Or, are you spinning your wheels wondering when the spinning will stop? Do you feel at times that you are working hard, but not seeing the results you want? That you are trying to push your way past a brick wall that won’t budge?  Rather than pushing forward

Close to two-thirds (62.7 percent) of employer respondents in the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey* said that when receiving resumes electronically (the most common delivery mode these days), they prefer them as a Word .doc. More than a third (36.1 percent) surveyed prefer PDF files, while 1.2 percent favor Rich Text (.rtf). Text-only (.txt) and online resumes in .html format received no support in the survey. Although a Wod .doc is usually a safe bet, it’s wise to check the employer’s Web site or contact the employer to determine the preferred file format for your resume. *The 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by The Center for Career and Life Development, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, Eric Hilden, Career Placement Officer, was distributed by email to 2,000+ employer contacts in Orange County and shared online employer contacts …

You can find many books, websites, and other guides with hundreds of sample cover letters. Use them as a starting point to help you get ideas for format and content, but don’t copy them. Write your cover letter in your own words so it has your voice and style. Take the time to research the company and convey your own enthusiasm for the job. A bland, generic cover letter says that you didn’t care enough about the position or the employer to expend