Resume Writing Blog

5 STEPS TO GETTING A JOB IN 2009

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:19:38 -0500

Despite all the bad news, people are getting hired. We are seeing this personally as 5 people who completed resumes with us had multiple offers in the last 30 days. Yet the days of putting your resume up on Monster.com and waiting for the phone to ring are over. People who are getting hired are putting together an aggressive plan. So here are the core ingredients that make up a successful job search.

Working from Home Jobs

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:38:58 -0500

Here is a good article from CNN on companies that look for people working from their homes.

Check out:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/12/01/cb.home.based.workers/index.html

Over 50 Job Boards

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:22:26 -0500

From Business Week, here are some online resources for retirees looking for part-time or full-time work, many of which target anyone 50 or over:

5 Things You Have to Do in a Bad Job Market

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:24:51 -0500

Unemployment recently hit a new 5-year high of 6.1% with 605,000 jobs leaving the market. This will only get worse as the turmoil from the financial markets causes more layoffs. Here are 5 critical things you should do TODAY to protect yourself.

Useful Online Research Tools

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:46:29 -0500

The internet has a wealth of tools that can help you in your search. Below are a choice few:

When to Send a Follow-Up Letter - NEVER

Thu, 29 May 2008 08:32:15 -0500

People have often asked me whether they should send a Follow-Up letter. This is different from a Thank You letter used right after the interview in that they want to use this after days/weeks have gone by and they are waiting for a decision. In their mind, they would ask how the process is going and when they could expect a decision. The answer is simple – NEVER SEND A FOLLOW-UP LETTER! Here’s why.

Rules for Sending Thank You Letters

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:41:10 -0500

In today’s electronic age, there is often some confusion as to whether you should send a thank you note after an interview. Some people believe it is not necessary and others think it is a nice touch. I will go beyond that and say it is a must!

Inside Secrets on How To Write a Great Cover Letter

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:45:11 -0500

Imagine that an employer has over 800 resumes to weed through, each with a cover letter. They pick up the next letter and it says “I am writing in response to your advertisement #50541 regarding your Project Manager position”. Pretty boring… and you just missed your chance to grab their attention. Here are some tips on how to make your cover letter really stand out.

SWOT Analysis for your Career

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:19:56 -0500

A basic tool used in strategic planning is SWOT analysis. This is where you take a hard look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and plan accordingly. I am a firm believer that you should perform this analysis on your career at least once a year.

Handling Salary Requirements

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:53:13 -0500

I am often asked by my clients how to handle requests for salary requirements. Many employment ads request salary requirements and some ads even insist on them.

Power Career Moves

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:19:53 -0500

The new year is here – budgets are fresh, positions are open and every statistic points to aggressive hiring. Here are 5 sure-fire steps that will get you a competitive edge and land you that job.

Following Up – What To Say

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:13:29 -0500

So you’ve sent your resume to a job you’re very excited about and a week has gone by without a word. Or perhaps you’ve had an interview and are waiting to hear how it went. What should you do?

How Sales Executives are Measured

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 10:14:39 -0500

Most people know that one of the measurements of a sales person’s effectiveness is whether they beat quota. I thought it would be useful to share the other key metrics employers look at when they are evaluating sales professionals.

Save Your Numbers

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 09:55:50 -0500

I often come upon a situation that is a real wake-up call for people. When I am preparing a resume, especially for managers and executives, we need to impress potential employers by highlighting the achievements that were produced. That boils down to showing percentage increases in sales, profits, productivity, market share and so on. Yet many people haven’t bothered to save their numbers, particularly when they are trying to remember past year’s accomplishments.

Parents – Add $200 to Your College Bill

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:47:39 -0500

Every week I get a number of calls from recent college graduates who are interested in our resume writing service. But when I tell them the cost is about $200 for a complete package, they say they can’t afford it. Does this make sense?