I wrote my own resume and had it reviewed and updated by a professional and found critical changes in resume approach and format that I would never have known on my own.
- having skills placed at the top of your resume instead of the bottom
- giving specific examples rather than listing generic duties
- including LinkedIn and online profiles in addition to contact information

Ultimately, the assistance was helpful. On the other hand, I was listening to a recent radio broadcast interviewing an expert on job search success rates.

The expert said that although recruiters focus on having a good resume, resumes actually have the lowest response rate. Most positive responses came from personal and professional networking and recommendations–particularly LinkedIn, and to my surprise, cold calling and going to companies of interest directly.

Either way a professional resume is always going to reflect on and support your personal presentation.

Here is why.

A professional in any particular field can only do so much to help someone.

The rest of course will depend of the beneficiary.

Let suppose the best resume writer in the world has written the best resume in the world for you.

So far so good. Now you go out for the interview and you are not prepared enough for that interview and due to any number of reasons like nervousness and lack of knowledge in your particular field you come out looking dumb, do you suppose that resume could have helped you?

No it would not.

Thats just my humble opinion and anyone here is free to disagree.

Regards

Sardar

Yes, if miracle is defined by …the vision, wonder or sensation of establishing a personal brand that gives job seekers an edge in today’s job market.

Progressively seasoned resume writers create customized formatted text (not templates) to capture recruiter’s attention within 15-30 seconds.

Competing with 800 candidates and getting an interview is a miracle!

Moving from unemployment to a $100,000 salary is a miracle!

As an electronics engineer myself (applied for 22years in the telecoms world), who now runs a recruitment company that provides candidate services including CV writing, I find that what lacks in most engineering job applications is communication: at all, or of skills in useful application.

The points you pick out seem to suggest that if the job applicant has the skills, then they could do the job: correct! But what that misses is that to get an interview let alone a job they need to be able to show those skills in application.

Many of the best engineers I have met unfortunately have virtual lists of skills and projects, regularly killed by endless bullets: that won’t get you past the sift. Also, many of the least qualified candidates have shown their lower level but still good enough to do the job skills in better cases of application, to create a business result. It is why those who have the skills and can communicate them in application will get employed, over the more technically skilled.

You can apply all of the rules above, they are good. But if you can not communicate your skills in application, and ideally resulting in business gain, then rejection will still be the result.

Good Luck!

Ian R McAllister

Most networking groups have extensive web-sites showing you how to:

1. self evaluate youself

2. list your skills/attributes

3. write your PAR statements (Problem, Action, Result)

4. write a 30 second intro, a 1:30 sec self commercial

5. how to write a marketing plan (which included your value proposition and target companies)

and of course networking which is the key cpmponent.

Through networking I have met experienced writers, communication experts, etc. which were more then eager to help me write and then review my resume’ which I have heard during the interview process was “awesome”.

Of course you should be customizing your resume’ (at least the “Professional Summary” and “Areas of Expertise” portions to reflect the requirements listed in the Job Posting that you are submitting to.

I have been rewriting my résumé for many years – and spent a stint at Kinkos creating résumés for customers.

My résumé was recently selected out of about 700 for a Berman Larson Kane webinar about résumé writing – and I reformatted a colleague’s résumé based on mine and he was hired!

My résumé may be of particular interest to a programmer.

My résumé: https://www.box.net/shared/7ome45b8p9

My résumé chosen “best” out of 700: http://netsperience.org/content/blog/best-r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9-berman-larson-kane-webinar

Thanks for sharing your story Laya, the information you provided will prove quite helpful to others who are looking for a job with a weak resume.

Well, I wouldn’t deny the role of an additional course or updating one’s skills if one is transitioning.

In my case though, my earlier resume presented all my information in a flat manner, after it was redesigned, it began with listing my professional exposure and went on to highlight my role in that particular job plus the key skills required from me for the job as well as the skills that I had acquired while on the job.

It never tried to hide the gap I had in my career graph.

To put it simply, a makeover was done to my resume, such that though the real elements remained the same they were just presented attractively.

regards,

Laya

“the types of changes that you made to your resume, that ended up being effective or working for you;”

for the benefit of our readers,

Thank you

Well.

I agree that a resume that shows skills that the candidate does not possess is definitely misleading.

In my case though, the resume just presented my work experience in a better manner and due to the impressively presented information I got the opportunity to impress the HR with my skills.

I personally feel that when one is transitioning or is raw in terms of work experience a well designed resume helps as it makes the HR take a second look at you.

Regards,

Laya

In your case, your were probably qualified for the jobs you applied for and your resume was hiding or concealing the merits of your application. By having your resume rewritten, you brought to light the substance or merits of your case.

Contrast that to a job applicant who reads a job description listing 3 skills as being required. The job applicant without any of the relevant or required skills hires a resume writer hoping that that the resume writing service will somehow perform some sort of miracle!

I believe that a well designed resume helps immensely.

I was at a phase in my life when I had quit my job and I had a checkered career as far as my work experience was concerned.

The response I used to get from all the HR professionals I met was, I’ll keep you in mind and leave your resume finally a friend designed my resume and after that, I not just landed with a job but was complimented on the well designed resume.

I think it does help!

Regards,

Laya

Often times, their resumes would highlight older skill sets that just aren’t marketable.

These IT professionals didn’t stay up-to-date with their skill set and now find themselves like the dinosaur.

However, the wonderful thing about IT is that you can easily and quickly update your skill set.