Friday, June 4, 2010

Resume Writing Tips – Four that are Important and Often Overlooked

Writing your own resume is something to take to heart as your resume will be the single most important weapon in your job-getting arsenal and knowing some easy resume writing tips can help turn your resume into a lethal weapon that is all but guaranteed to get you wonderful results. Many people simply overlook the little things when it comes to their resumes, but it is the little things that often mean the difference between many resume views and your resume ending up in a dumpster.

While proper structure and good keywords are always a must when you are constructing your resume you also need to remember these little and often overlooked tips:

1. Proofread: When your resume is done and you feel as though it is where you want it to be you need to be sure to proof read it. Then you should proof read it again. Then give it to your friend and have them proof read it. The point is that you need to be sure that your resume is not littered with many little misspellings or grammatical errors as there is nothing that says, “Hey, I am careless and don’t check my work,” more than bad grammar.

2. Don’t Over-Style: Using bullet points to emphasize a point in your resume and using bold to indicate a title are great ways to jazz up you resume. However, using all sorts of fancy fonts, different font colors, using bold too much, and using italics too much is a sure way to annoy a reader and have your resume thrown away quickly. Some style is good, but if you spend too much time on style you will end up with a confusing and agitating resume.

3. Supply Contact Info: This sure seems like a no-brainier doesn’t it? The fact is that many people only put one form of contact on their resumes. If your resume really speaks to a potential employer then you want that potential employer to be able to reach you with the greatest of ease. You should include your address, your phone numbers with times that you can be reached at each number, and you should also include your e-mail address. The more ways and employer has to get a hold of you the better. If you are too hard to reach, then they may go on to the next applicant.

4. Sound Professional: Avoid using slang like the plague. Just because you know what the cool phrase of the month is, doesn’t mean that a potential employer will. You should also be sure that your e-mail is professional sounding. If you have an e-mail that is partyguy@xyz.com then how professional do you think you are going to come off? E-mail addresses are free with many different services so if you have an e-mail address that is unprofessional sounding then get one that sounds professional such as workhardguy@xyz.com.

Writing the perfect resume doesn’t have to be a challenge, you just have to be sure to look at everything; including the little things. By taking your time and following these easy resume writing tips you too can have a knock out resume that you will truly be proud of.

Are Job Blogs Useful?

It seems that everywhere you look online these days there are blogs about almost every topic you can think of and the with the job market so hotly contested now there are many job blogs are well. Because it is so easy to be a blogger and there are many free sites that allow anyone to blog about anything that means the number of job blogs online is simply astounding.

With so many to choose from there are obviously going to be some that are better than others, but overall are job blogs useful? The answer all depends on which job blogs you are looking at and also what type of information you are trying to find.

The main differences that you will find with most job blogs are that they are either maintained by an individual person or by a corporation. Some individual maintained job blogs can be very useful as many are maintained by people who used to be in the business of job recruiting or some other form of employment finding. These kind of job blogs can be handy is you are looking for advice on what to say in an interview and how to dress and so on.

While the blogs that are maintained by the individuals are somewhat useful from time to time, it is more often than not the corporate job blogs that really offer you a great source of free information. The nice thing about job blogs that are maintained by corporations is that they often give valuable insights to their companies and if you are attempting to get a job at one of these places then the corporate run job blogs are a must see. Many times they will offer you an insight to the company itself and flat out tell you what to expect if you want to work for them.

However, the best run and most valuable job blogs that you will find in relation to the job market as a whole will be attached to job websites. Websites such as Monster.com and HotJobs.com have their own dedicated blogs and these job blogs will be filled with all sorts of tips, tricks, and general information in regards to finding a job. Additionally you can get advice on post interview tips, follow up tips, and the like all for free. Their job blogs are generally free to view and if you are a member of their site you can even make a comment on a posting if you so desire.

So the answer to the question is yes, job blog can be very useful only at different degrees. However, when you are in the hunt for the perfect job then every bit of free information that you can gather up will only be to your benefit. While you may have to spend some time searching through the different job blogs that are online today, it may be well worth it if you land your dream job as a result of the free information that you uncover.

How Well Does Free Resume Distribution Work?

When it comes to life nothing beats getting something for free, but does that apply to free resume distribution? There are many places on the web where you can sign up for free resume distribution, but how effective is it really?

Free resume distribution is more times than not just a hook to get you to go to a specific website where they will really want to sell you on a whole host of other pay options. While they may in fact allow you to submit your resume and then have it distributed to a few hundred potential employers for free, their true motive is to have you sign up for a pay service where your resume will be distributed to thousands of potential employers instead of only a handful.

The problem with only using these companies free resume distribution services is that they may not take the time to see where your resume should be sent. So if you are in business management and your resume is distributed to several hundred fast food restaurants for free are you really going to get any value out of that? Besides, do you actually think that they will be sending your resume to the same places for free that they are charging other people money for?

Another way that you can get free resume distribution is by having a resume writing service create your resume for you. Free resume distribution is a perk that many resume writing services offer to their clients as a motivational tool to use their service. This is a great way to get something for nothing, but while you are not paying for the distribution of your resume you are in fact paying for your resume to be created. Bottom line; either way you pay.

So to answer the question, free resume distribution has its advantages and its disadvantages. Its overall effectiveness really depends on the means by which it came to you for free. Certainly a free resume distribution service that you are receiving because you spent money in some other capacity will be better than a freebie where you don’t drop a single dime.

Perhaps a better way to look at free resume distribution is as a supplement. Instead of relying totally on free resume distribution use it in conjunction with other traditional methods of resume distribution. Along with the freebie sites, use resume posting boards such as the ones that can be found on job websites such as Moster.com and the like. Combine those efforts with some good old fashioned beating of the pavement and before you know it the perfect opportunity will present itself to you.

As for relying totally on free resume distribution to find you a job, forget it. Free is indeed a great price to pay for anything, but when it comes to your career success you have to be proactive and you may need to spend a bit of money as well. Getting your resume out to as many potential employers is indeed paramount, but it is only going to be useful if the potential employers that are receiving your resume can actually use the services that you have to offer.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Importance of Resume Distribution

Having a great looking and professionally written resume is only the first step in obtaining a good job and often people underscore the importance of resume distribution. Resume distribution is a must if you are going to land that dream job that you have had your eyes for so long.

The old saying, “Good things come to those who wait,” does not apply when it comes to finding a job. You have to take the initiative to get your resume in the hands of as many potential employers as possible. This goes well beyond merely looking though the newspaper and seeing what jobs you are interested in and then mailing or faxing those potential employers your resume.

Resume distribution is a numbers game. That means the more you pass out, or distribute your resume the better. It is true that it only take that one person to see your resume and you are hired, but what if that one person never gets to see your resume because you are lacking in your resume distribution efforts? The bottom line is that the more your name is out there via your resume, the better your odds are at finding employment.

In today’s high tech world it is easier than ever to accomplish a huge amount of resume distribution with minimal efforts. This is thanks to resume distribution services. Now you will have to pay the majority of these services, but they get your resume in the hands of thousands of potential employers. If you were to beat the pavement it would take you months on end to get the results they can achieve in just one day.

Buyers beware though as all resume services are not created equally. Don’t go for the resume distribution service that offers the most amount of distribution. You need to be sure that you work with a resume distribution service that will be distributing your resume to those who will be interested in your services.

For example, if you are a chef and your resume is being distributed to all the office buildings in the area, what good will that do you? As important as it is to have your resume get to as many destinations as possible, it is equally important to ensure that your resume is going to quality and relevant destinations as well.

While your actual resume will still be the key to getting your foot in the door as far as an interview goes, remember that potential employers need to see your resume first before they can call you. Think of your resume like a brand new business that you open and it has everything in it state of the art and offers every possible solution for your customers. Now imagine how effective that business would be if nobody ever knew about it. The same holds true for your resume.

In today’s job market it is all about resume distribution. While you still want to do your part and get your resume out to as many potential employers as possible, you should strongly consider the use of a professional resume distribution service that can help you expedite your career goals in a short amount of time.

Top Three Resume Writers

When you set out to hire a resume writer you want to be sure that you are in fact getting the best of the best. Working with a top of the line resume writer will give a great looking resume that will help to set you apart from the thousands of others that are on a similar mission of finding a great job. However, finding a great resume writer can be somewhat time consuming and a bit stressful as it seems there are now more resume writers than ever before that is available for you to choose from. So who do you go with?

The correct resume writer for you will ultimately depend on you and your needs and you can search online and offline all day for several days and sift through the thousands of resume writers that now exist. However, you will not find any resume writers that have more experience, knowledge, and overall great reputations as the following three:

1. Resume Planet: If you are looking for speed then look no further. Resume Planet has not only been in the business of writing resumes for many years now, but they also offer 24 hour resume turnaround time. While this will cost you extra, if you need a quality resume now, there I no better place to go. Their website is full of sample resumes that you can view to see the kind of work they do and they offer an unmatched 24 hours a day, seven days a week customer support service. Top it all off with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and you really can’t go wrong.

2. ResumeEdge: Online for over 11 years and in the resume writing business for even longer, ResumeEdge is one of the most notable resume writers you will find. Their writers have all passed extensive training and testing and they have many distinguished certified resume writers on their staff. They cover almost any type of resume you could possibly need help with from business to Government and everything else in-between. They proudly boast an overall customer satisfaction rating of 98 percent which mean that if you decide to work with them you are more than likely going to love the results.

3. ResumeWriters.com: Once featured in Time Magazine, ResumeWriters.com has a long and proud tradition of writing resumes. They too offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee to back their over decade long service record. On staff they also have many certified resume writers and their dedication to customer satisfaction is a true plus.

Best of all, all three of these top resume writing services offer a wide range of service so you are sure to find what you need at a price you can afford. While there are many other resume writers you can look into, it will be hard for you to find any others that match the quality, the experience, and the overall customer satisfaction of these three. Working with any of them will no doubt give you the edge you need in a job market that can be cut throat at times.

Read reviews of these and other professional resume writers at JobGoRound.com.