James Lewis

In today’s highly competitive job market, only those with exceptional resumes will be called to interview. It isn’t unusual for even the most qualified candidate to be rejected due to a poorly designed resume. Unemployment is expensive. Writing your own resume using a template designed years ago can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost income each week.

Many job seekers mistakenly believe that because their old resume worked years ago, it will work again in today’s job market. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Due to the shear volume of resumes that employers receive, many have opted to automate their hiring system. Rather than read each resume from start to finish, employers more often require that job seekers upload their resumes into a database with resumes from hundreds/thousands of other candidates. At that point, hiring managers filter for select industry-related keywords very similar to a Google search. The more hits they find, the more likely your resume is to be printed and reach the hands of the hiring manager.

Jumpstart your job search and improve your response rate by developing an effective marketing strategy that demonstrates to the employer why you are the best candidate for the position. Quantify your accomplishments whenever possible using numbers, dollar amounts, and percentages as this information will demonstrate both the level of responsibility that you’ve held, as well as your success in the position. Search current job postings for the most sought after industry-related keywords and use them within sentences to establish context optimizing your resume for the employer’s ATS (Applicant Tracking Software).

I often hear job seekers state that “a resume won’t get you a job” and this is true. Building a strong network and interviewing skills are also key to an effective job search. However, a poor or mediocre resume can prevent you from getting a job. Many polls show that only one or two typos are enough to disqualify a candidate from consideration. In fact, I’ve even worked with a job seeker who had been offered a job with the resume supposedly required as a formality. The employer later rescinded the job offer after reading the job seeker’s self-written resume which lacked organization and demonstrated poor written communication skills.

An example of a resume incorporating many of these marketing principals is available for review. Click here.

If you aren’t sure what is required on your resume in order to capture the hiring manager’s attention–this isn’t a good time to experiment. Professional resume writers are not all alike. In fact, many have no specific training and use the same templates available to anyone with Internet access. Make sure that your resume writer is certified and then verify his/her certifications. Many writers claim to be certified, yet are not. Training and talent varies greatly and quality is often sacrificed when working with local writers or resume mills so ask to see samples of their work. The investment in the highest quality resume is often little more than that for a mediocre resume.

Angela Jones is one of the few professional resume writers to have received the coveted TORI Award (Toast of the Resume Industry); a prestigious international resume competition. Angela has also had samples of her work accepted for inclusion in recently published resume and cover letter books.

As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, I am often approached by highly qualified job seekers frustrated by weeks and often months of costly unemployment. Job seekers who have sent hundreds of resumes yet never hear back from the employer.

I’ve found that the majority of my clients attempt to write their own resume and only seek the help of a professional after weeks of failure. There are many reasons they fail, but most tend to be associated with ineffective resume templates designed in the 1990s which are not compatible with today’s keyword searches done by recruiters and hiring managers. I am dismayed to think of the number of opportunities that highly qualified candidates have lost to those less qualified but have a better understanding of today’s job search process.

The Top 5 Reasons Resumes Fail

Lack of Industry Specific Keywords – Due to the sheer volume of resumes that employers receive, only a handful are ever printed and will reach the hands of the hiring manager. Employers today often use software programs to search for keywords specific to the position. The more hits that they find, the more likely it is that your resume will be read. This is the process that most often eliminates even the most qualified candidates from consideration.
Resume Format – There are a variety of formats available to better market your skills and experience including: chronological, functional, hybrid, Curriculum Vitae (CV), Federal Resume format, etc. Choosing the wrong format for your situation can quickly eliminate you from consideration. A well-written resume will match your skills and experience to the hiring managers’ needs.
Objective or Qualifications Summary? – I personally believe that an old-fashioned objective is a waste of the most valuable real estate on the resume. It would be nice if employers really cared what you wanted in a job, but in actuality they are only concerned with what you can do for them. Why not use this area to market the skills and experience to position you as the best candidate for the position?
Task-Focused vs. Accomplishment Based Resume – Unfortunately, the majority of resumes that I review are more of a chronological history than a true marketing document. Imagine a hiring manager with one position to fill and 100 equally qualified candidates applying for the position and each candidate has a similar educational and professional background. It’s easy to see that the candidate who contributed the most in previous positions is likely to get the job.
A One-Size-Fits-All Resume – In today’s highly competitive job market a one-size-fits-all resume really fits none. An employer searching for an accountant is going to be searching for different keywords than an employer searching for a sales representative. If you don’t know what type of position that you’re looking for, how will the employer know?

In today’s highly competitive job market it is imperative that you quickly and concisely provide the hiring manager with the information that they seek. A well formatted resume will allow the employer to quickly glance at the resume and find the skills and experience that they are looking for in the first 1/3 of the first page. Only after capturing their attention will they bother to read your resume from top to bottom.
When seeking the help of a professional it is important to seek a “certified resume writer”. With today’s economic conditions many claim to be professional resume writers, however, they often do not have the training necessary to help you get through the screening process.

Choose carefully; ask for and compare samples of their work. Your writer should do much more than simply type a resume. They will analyze your career and help you determine your career direction, develop a format that’s most suitable to your specific situation, and then craft a strong and compelling marketing document that targets your career objective and positions you as the best candidate for the position. A can help you get the job that you want and the pay you deserve.

Angela Jones is one of the few professional resume writers to have received the coveted TORI Award (Toast of the Resume Industry); a prestigious international resume competition. Angela has also had samples of her work accepted for inclusion in recently published resume and cover letter books.