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Every week I see hundreds of resumes sent to me for a free evaluation. Most of them start with an Objective indicating what that individual is seeking. Then they list the various roles and responsibilities they have held in the past. Where this style of resume was successful 5 years ago, it isn’t going to work in today’s market.

You used to be competing with about 200 other resumes for the interview. Now you are competing with about 600. Companies can’t bring in 100 people for interviews and they can be choosy, so your resume better make you stand out.

Think about it – an OBJECTIVE says “this is what I want”. Better to start a resume with “this is what I offer”. So instead of an Objective, have a Profile of the skills and experience you offer. Try to put meaningful information in the Profile, not just fluff. Imagine yourself on a game show and the host is about to introduce you – “Our next guest….”. What would they say? This should be your Profile.

Next, under your Professional Experience, don’t just list your roles and responsibilities. Everyone knows that an Administrative Assistant answers phones and files correspondence. Tell how successful you were on the job. Indicate the scope and scale of your responsibilities. For example, state that you “Provided administrative support for 5 managers and 15 staff in an extremely fast-paced, deadline-intensive environment”. Tell them that you were “Consistently praised for professionalism, pleasant demeanor and the ability to meet the most aggressive deadlines.” See the difference?

Simply put, unless your skills are so unique and your accomplishments so great that you truly stand out, you should consider investing in your career by hiring a professional resume writer. The state of the art of resume writing has changed so much in the last few years, as has the economy, that knowing what keywords to include and what skills and accomplishments to highlight is a tough task. And it’s difficult to write about yourself – I’ve written thousands of resumes and I think I would hire a professional to serve as a sounding board and draw out of me the things that should be on my resume.

If you are unsure, take advantage of my Free Evaluation and I will personally review your resume and let you know what it needs.

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Writing a resume is more than just articulating your skills and accomplishments. Perhaps the most important part of the resume writing process is to start by defining your brand or positioning statement often called the “elevator pitch”. (An “elevator pitch” is what you would say to Bill Gates if he got on an elevator with you and you had 20 seconds to tell him why he should hire you before the elevator doors open at the lobby). And in the process of defining your positioning statement, you need to give some thought to your overall search strategy.

For example, let’s say you’ve gained most of your experience in small firms where you had to do a lot of everything. Perhaps you had your own company and successfully grew it to a reasonable size. You have demonstrable skills in sales, business development and P&L management. So how do you position yourself? The answer depends on what kinds of companies you are targeting.

If you are sending your resume to Fortune 500 firms, you’ll need to pick your strongest and dearest area and tailor a resume towards that. Conversely, if you target small and medium sized firms, then your “jack of all trades” skills are in demand. One resume will not work for both kinds of firms.

Remember that there are 3 steps to getting a job: having a great resume, getting it read by the right people, and acing the interview. The first 2 must be considered together to develop a winning resume.

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There’s no guarantee that all interviews will go smoothly. It would be fair to say that from time to time there will be an occasion or two where you do not perform your best. It may because of one or several factors, such as an unexpected late arrival to the interview, your inability to communicate with focus because questions were not clear, you stumbled on responses because you did not have enough information or did not come prepared enough, your nerves got to you, or there was a lack of rapport with the interviewer.

Even if there are times when you do not perform your best in an interview, it is important to not give up. Continue with a professional follow-up and stay motivated. You should:

• Send a follow-up thank you note.
  Express appreciation to the employer for taking the time to speak with you. You should never burn any bridges regardless of whether you are no longer interested in the position or believe you no longer have a chance at the opportunity. While you may have not performed your best, there was clearly something the employer saw in your resume that captured their attention initially. Your interview may have also had some positive moments. Your follow-up thank you note will provide the potential for another chance or consideration to future openings that may be more suitable with this particular employer.
• Admit obvious errors and redeem yourself.
  “Obvious errors” refers to your actions, such as arriving late to the interview. Apologize for your lateness. While there is no way to change the facts of what has happened, a sincere apology will leave a much better impression than acting or responding nonchalantly about any wrongdoings. The after-interview follow-up should also be used as a chance to help you redeem yourself. Add clarity and reinforce information that you felt could have been conveyed more strongly during the interview.
• Reiterate your qualifications.
  If you have done your homework, you should walk out of an interview with a clear understanding of what the biggest challenge a person in this job will face. Take this knowledge and use it to your advantage. Address those areas further or take the opportunity to present additional information that may have been lacking in your resume and during the interview. This will highlight your capabilities in those areas and strengthen your standing.

Job seekers need to stay motivated when going through the job search and interviews. Whether you performed well or poorly in an interview, these experiences offer much needed practice to help you perform even better in future interviews. You can learn from each experience and know what areas you should be more prepared for the next time.

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While the Internet is a great resource to find templates of resumes and to view other individual examples, it does not necessary help you create an effective resume for yourself. Reviewing these examples help you determine what structure and order is best to use with your own resume, but it will not help you effectively develop the most critical core elements necessary to showcase your professional experiences and passions – the content and brand that differentiates you from other candidates.

There is a reason why professionally written resumes produce greater results than one written on your own. Professional resume writers know the ins and outs to what works well in today’s challenging environment. They have written and seen hundreds of resumes and know the best practices to make you stand out. They also know the various tools and technologies that employers are using to screen candidates. In short, they know how to create a resume that will help differentiate you from others.

Here we discuss some of the top reasons why it is beneficial to work with a professional resume writer.

1. You need to create a personal brand.
   For your resume to stand out, you need to know how to create a value proposition or personal brand. This opening of the resume is particularly challenging because you only have a few lines to answer the big question: “Why should I hire you?”

   Good professional resume writers have the experience and strategies to help narrow down what needs to be highlighted on your resume to create your brand. These experts know what employers and hiring managers are looking for and how to make you stand out.

2. It is hard to write about yourself.
   A resume is not meant to tell your entire life history. It simply calls out key highlights of your experiences that are relevant to an employer. It also tells them how you have achieved success in specific areas of importance to the employer. This can be a difficult task to complete on your own. Even when you think you have established a master resume, a third party may interpret the references differently. Don’t be misled by the fact that you have had first-hand involvement in it.

   On the other hand, a professional resume writer gives you an accurate assessment of how the employer would view your background. A professional resume writer knows what questions to ask to secure the necessary answers from you in order to produce an effective resume. If you can find a professional resume writer with experience in your particular field, it is similar to having direct access to feedback from the hiring manager of the employer you apply to. He knows if your resume can stand up against other top applicants vying for the same position and he can help you strengthen your competitive position.

3. You need to get through the ATS resume machine.
   The majority of employers are now using ATS or Applicant Tracking Systems which scan your resume for keywords and rank you accordingly. If you do not get a high ranking here, chances are a human will not see your resume. A professional resume writer is skilled in making sure your resume has the right mix and density of the appropriate keywords to achieve a high ranking.
4. You need to impress the hiring manager.
   Once you have gotten past the ATS, you need to impress the hiring manager so your resume must be visually attractive and content-rich. Where the ATS software looks for roles and responsibilities, the hiring manager looks for skills and accomplishments that support your brand.

We have written over 20,000 resumes for people and the best most people can generally expect when they write their resume is to score 5 or 6 on a 10-scale. In this market, that is just not good enough. Your resume is the most important document in your career so it makes senses to spend the money and use a good professional resume writer. That being said, there are a lot of scams and bad services on the web so see our Free 10-Point Checklist on How to Choose a Professional Resume Writing Service at http://tinyurl.com/2dbay27.

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Once your information is available in electronic form, it is easy to share that information with others and for others who receive your information to share it with people they desire. So while you need to send your resume in order to be considered for most jobs, you should also ensure your information, especially your contact information, remains safe and secure.

There are many types of scams out there today that can put your information at risk. For instance, many people may refer to websites such as Craigslist to find job opportunities. While there are many legitimate opportunities available on the site, there are also scammers who may post a job opportunity that appears to be legitimate in order to collect information on people for other uses.

If you are sending your resume electronically to a source you are not familiar with, take caution in the type of information you include.

Here are some ways to safeguard your information.

1. Do not include your mailing address.
   There is no need for a potential employer to know your actual physical address when you are only at the initial stage of applying for a job. Rather than list your physical mailing address, only indicate the city and state. As long as you include a phone number and email address, the employer will know how to contact you. The information can be supplied at a later point when you know it is a legitimate job opportunity.
2. Use a Google Voice number.
   Sign up for a free Google Voice number and you won’t have to share your home number or mobile number. There’s no cost involved to sign up for a number and you also have the convenience of having voice mails sent to you via email as a transcript and access to the audio recording electronically.
3. Audit your email address.
   Don’t be surprised by how much information one can find out about you by simply knowing your email address. If you have a primary email address you have used to sign up for social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Flickr, and your settings for these accounts are not set to private, people can easily access all the information you have included to these sites. For more security, use another email address on your resume that does not have a history on the Internet for others to search information on you.
4. Customize the settings on your resume on job boards.
   Most job board websites that offer resume posting allow you to customize your settings. You do not necessarily need to make your entire resume publicly available for everyone (or all employers) to view. For instance, on Monster, you may select to have your resume public, but hide your contact information. Employers may continue to view your qualifications and experience without having access to your contact information. If they have a desire to contact you, it is sent to a confidential Monster email address for you to determine if you want to respond to it.
5. Refrain from sharing information that is not needed during the application process.
   Information such as your social security number and date of birth may be needed for employment. You may also need to supply your bank account information for direct pay, but there is no reason to share this information beforehand, during the application process. If such requests are made, it’s a clear sign it may be a scam. Never share such information until employment is offered and you have determined it is a legitimate opportunity.

When preparing and sending your resume for a job opportunity to a contact or source you are unfamiliar with, there is always a risk. Once a resume is sent electronically, it can live on the Internet indefinitely. You can be at risk for identity theft if the source you are sending your resume to is illegitimate. You also do not have any control over who that person decides to forward it to or where they post it to.

Always err on the side of caution because once an electronic resume is released it is not always possible to pull back.

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Writing a resume from scratch is no easy task. Even if you are working off of a resume template, you still need to formulate how to place your experiences and accomplishments into words effectively. You also need to narrow down which type of information from your experiences are relevant and worthy of mentioning on a resume.

It may only take an employer a couple of seconds to review your resume and determine if you are a qualified candidate worthy of follow-up, which makes it even more important to fine tune your resume information so that it gives an immediate punch to get you noticed.

To help ease the process of gathering the appropriate information for your resume and formulating the content to help you stand out, here are some steps and questions to take:

1. Create an outline of your career history from past to present.

Pull together the details of your employment history for the last five to 10 years. You’ll need the name of the employer, position you held, dates of employment and a general overview of your role at the company.

2. Determine what types of experiences and strengths the job you are seeking requires.

When you know what types of experiences and skills are desired for the job you are applying for, you can customize your resume information so that it is more relevant and targeted to what potential employers may be looking for. Not all of your past experiences need to go on a resume, only what is relevant and information that will help demonstrate you qualify. Knowing this information will also help you craft the starting point for your resume where you include a “Summary of Qualifications” or similar title to that effect to inform an employer what you have to offer.

3. Develop a brand statement or value proposition.

An effective resume informs an employer what you have to offer and demonstrates your potential based on previous accomplishments and achievements. Quantify results to help demonstrate what areas you are strong at and the level of skills you have. Do not rely on simply indicating responsibilities you’ve held. That will not tell an employer how good you are at the job.

4. Evaluate what keywords you need to include.

A majority of employers today use scanning technology to help filter the most relevant resumes that come in. In order for your resume to make it to the hands of the contact who will decide who to invite for follow-up, you need to first get past its scanning technology that is tracking a set of keywords. The more relevant keywords you have that are part of its top-tier search criteria, the higher your chances your resume will be reviewed by a person. Keep the keywords in mind as you write your resume to incorporate it where possible, but in the appropriate context. The job advertisement is where you will find the most relevant keywords to include to your resume. Other sources you may rely on to find keywords include job descriptions that may appear on job boards.

Don’t be surprised by how much time it takes to write a resume. If it were an easy task, there wouldn’t be the need for professional resume writers. Take the time to create a quality backgrounder for yourself because it is your main tool to getting your foot in the door with most employers.

If you want to get a call back, you will need to make your resume relevant, targeted and punchy to capture the attention of an employer within seconds. Also be sure to give it another review and have another person review it before sending it off. One minor mistake in spelling or grammar can cost you. Today’s employers are quick to dismiss a resume. They are overloaded with applications and resumes so in reviewing resumes for qualifications, they are also looking for reasons to dismiss it.

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Have you ever noticed that the person who gets promoted is not always the most competent for the job?

Or how about the person who did all the work not being recognized as much as the person who talks about it?

Or what about the person who is career-stunted because they once said the wrong thing to the wrong person.

These are all symptoms of not managing your career.

Many hard-working people suffer in their career growth solely because they have not spent the time to identify the factors and people who most influence their career. Here are 3 simple tips to help you get going:

1. Clarify Your Job Goals

In fast-paced organizations (and who isn’t in one nowadays), it is easy to lose focus on what is really important. Make sure you have sat down with your manager and clearly identified and PRIORITIZED your goals. Make a point to regularly communicate progress.

KEY TIP: Managers hate it when you come to them with problems and no solutions, so if an obstacle comes up, make it easy on your boss by presenting a number of viable solutions and action plans.

2. Identify Your Boss’ Goals

Become a career ally to your manager by understanding how they are measured and then see how you might be able to contribute. Don’t be a brown nose, but if you know more about what their personal priorities are and can find a way to assist, you will be viewed in a new light.

3. Map Out the Key Decision-Makers and Influencers

When is the last time you clearly identified those who can affect your career? Clearly your boss, but what other people influence him and his managers?

What about the HR people who will always be involved when there are promotions under consideration?  Make it a point to build strong alliances with them so they can understand your management style.

Make sure you identify the political game-players who are focusing on building a fiefdom, because while you are working to produce results, they are strategizing as to how they can surround themselves with loyal followers and advance their career.

Then take the time to see who influences your boss, their boss, HR and your peers. Then grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 regarding your relationship with each key member. Now build a plan to get more visibility and ally yourself with those in command.

Take 1 hour of your time to map out your career strategy and you will enjoy faster career growth and security.

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Whether you are starting to write a resume on a fresh sheet of paper or building off of one that you already have, make sure the information you present is targeted and concise to attract employers’ interest.

It’s not just about how a resume looks, but the information you present that can make a resume come off as cluttered and simply too difficult to motivate someone to carefully review. You have to ask when writing a resume if the information is relevant and presented in the most concise way.

It is especially easy to clutter a resume if you are a career changer. When you are searching for a new job and decide to add your latest experiences to an existing resume, you can end up with a hodgepodge of information that doesn’t relay an effective message to potential employers. The information on your resume may have worked well for your previous career, but you really need to repurpose the information to appeal to the employers in the new career field you are looking in to.

Here are some ways to ensure your resume content is polished and clear of clutter:

1. Define the industry and career you are seeking a job in.
   People often think that if information about experience is broadened that it can come off as more relevant and increase your chances, but all that does for a resume is dilute the core and critically important information. You are better off consolidating relevant information on a resume, and if necessary, creating another version of a resume that speaks directly to the other industries and/or career desired.
2. Consolidate the information in your opening summary.
   Regardless of whether you choose to have a “Profile Summary” or “Highlights” section at the top of your resume, make sure it gives sufficient information to present your professional background, knowledge and experience without throwing out too much on the table. Also, do not waste time presenting what you desire. Instead, focus on what you have to offer. The opening summary is meant to present enough information to entice an employer to want to continue. It is not meant for you to finalize the sale in that one section, so don’t feel as though you need to present all fine details. Get this section punchy enough to give a solid representation in a few seconds of the skills and experience you have to offer.
3. Evaluate your work history.
   It is especially critical for the career changer to evaluate what information to present as work history on a resume.  Typically, work history is presented in chronological order, from the most recent to the past, but it may not be appropriate to include every single experience you have hand since high school. For career changers, keep in mind that the employer only cares about relevant experience and strengths for the job applied for. Present information that shows transferable experience and skills. It may not matter that you won 99 percent of legal cases in your career as a trial lawyer if you are now applying for a job as an emergency room nurse. Also, if you have more than 10 years of experience, focus on highlighting the most recent relevant experience. Employers care about what you have done most recently. What you did 20 years ago will bear less weight in an employer’s decision.
4. Keep only quantifiable statements.
   Present selling points that demonstrate quantifiable results. If there are statements in your resume that don’t sell or demonstrate results, they are simply wasting space. Remove it. It’s not going to bring value to an employer that reviews your resume.
5. Present essential educational and technical information/skills.
   Educational information and technical skills are important selling points on a resume for the recent graduate who does not have much else to show in terms of work experience. However, it becomes much less important to an employer for candidates with several years of professional experience.  Focus these sections of the resume only on the critical information, such as college/university attended and degree obtained. Technical information should only be included if you have functional knowledge that is unique for the job. Don’t bother wasting space noting you are proficient with Excel, PowerPoint or other basic software programs that today’s employers expect all candidates to know.
6. Eliminate old school resume rules.
   Forget about starting your resume with an “Objective” statement. Employers do not want to know about what you are interested in. They want to know what you have to offer. The old school resume may also include a fax number and a note at the end on “References available upon request.” If you still have such information on your resume, it will only make it appear cluttered and outdated.

Keep in mind that resumes typical run one to two-pages long, at most. Utilize white space to help make your resume easier on the eyes and carefully evaluate the content. Limit it to only information that will present to an employer your experiences, strengths and accomplishments that can directly apply to the job and position you desire.

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Even when you have the education and professional background to qualify for the job, don’t count on it as a sure win that you will be asked to come in for an interview. In fact, your qualifications may hinder your chances.

It’s very common in today’s market for employers to dismiss a job applicant’s application and resume because they are “overqualified.” Yes, you read correctly. It’s not a matter of being under qualified, but overqualified. The fact is today’s market has an abundant supply of highly qualified candidates but not enough jobs to go around for everyone.

More candidates are resorting to applying for positions where the level of expertise required on the job is below their previous position’s requirements. Many candidates today are also choosing to change careers, starting at an entry level, where there may be more job opportunities.

The challenge for today’s job applicants is not simply competing with so many other applicants but finding a fine balance of information to place on their resume without coming off overqualified. Employers are mostly concerned that, if you take a lesser position, you will leave once your find a position that is more commensurate with your skills.

Here are a few tips to help guide you in preparing your resume for the next job opportunity and avoid coming off overqualified and ruining your chances at the opportunity.

1. Only include relevant work experience.
   Focus on what the employer is looking for and show them you can do it. If some of your management experience is not a part of their job description, then don’t mention it. This tip is especially critical for applicants moving from one career to another.

   For instance, if you had your own mortgage or construction firm and are now just looking for a sales job, just speak to your experience driving sales.  You can also change your title from Owner (no one searches for Owners) to Sales Manager. Consider having a Career Highlights section before your professional experience that showcases your very impressive sales results before they read about your career chronology.

2. Highlight only degrees you obtained that are necessary to qualify for the job.
   Many of today’s positions require candidates to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. If you continued to pursue education to obtain other degrees, earning you the title of Ph.D., M.D. or others, don’t be so quick to include that information on your resume. You have to ask if it is at all relevant to the job you are applying for. It’s great if you moved on to obtain your Ph.D. in neuroscience, but if the employer’s business and the job is focused on finance and accounting for toy manufacturing/distribution, your additional education will be of little relevance and may sway an employer to reconsider whether you are relevant for the position.
3. Work your cover letter to give a sufficient explanation as to why you want the job and how your experience, skills and talent make you the right fit.
   The last thing an employer wants is a new hire who took the job because he couldn’t get anything better and is just settling. Give the employer confidence that you are challenged by the opportunity and will be there a year from now. If there is the chance your resume comes off as overqualified, in addition to working the tips above, make sure to provide sufficient explanation in your cover letter. Many people are focusing more on quality of life and are willing to give up the stress and long hours of management positions, so don’t be afraid to state that. The employer needs to know that you are not simply taking the job because you can’t find anything better. They also need to be assured that you aren’t going to be quick to run off to another job as soon as the market improves or another opportunity opens up that is more in line with your level of experience from your previous position.

Your resume is a marketing tool to help get your foot in the door for an interview. Placing too much information or irrelevant information will only give the employer more reason to dismiss you. Carefully review the job posting and do your research to really understand what skills and talents are desired for the position so that you present your resume and qualifications in the best light. Not everything you’ve accomplished, regardless of how significant it is, is appropriate to include in your resume. Think to yourself about whether what you’ve presented is too much information and not enough relevance. Employers review resumes to find a reason to reject a candidate.

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Doing well in a job interview is the result of many things, ranging from the first impressions you make with your physical appearance (body language) to how well you communicate and respond to questions. There are the predictable questions, such as “What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?” and then there are the offbeat questions that may make your nerves rattle and leave you dazed as to how to respond diplomatically and professionally.

The fact is there isn’t going to be a correct answer to offbeat questions, only correct responses. Such questions are usually asked to help the employer understand how well you handle tough situations and how you think through solutions. Are you one to get rattled and breakdown in communication when stumped with an odd question or do you stay calm, cool and collected, maintaining confidence and a positive attitude?

There’s no real way to prepare for the oddball questions because they are “offbeat,” but what you can do is ensure your communication and responses to such questions leave a positive message that helps the employer develop the best possible impression of you.

Here are a few tips to help you maintain positive communication and composure during job interviews regardless of what questions are asked:

• Think positive and keep your tone and responses positive. Your mission is to make yourself desirable to the employer based on your experience, talent and skills. If you focus on what you have to offer and express confidence and a positive tone, the employer will develop a much better impression in your favor than if you touch on negative points that may make you less favorable of a candidate. Even when questions are asked about your weaknesses, your mission is to address the question directly and immediately turn it to a more positive note such as how you would work through the problem and address it.
• Don’t restate the negative. Just because an employer positions a question a specific way that may connote the negative, do not follow that lead in your response. For instance, avoid stating “My greatest weakness is….” Instead, respond by jumping right into what you have done to address the issue and how it has helped you succeed. This approach helps you avoid jumping around the question but puts the focus of the key message on an area that is an advantage for you.
• Turn to your creative side and humor. Not all questions in an interview require a serious response. Offbeat questions are often times asked by employers to test your creativity and humor.  Demonstrate your ability to think on your feet. Also find ways in which you can relate it back to the job. The important thing is to not let these types of questions stump you, and the best way to do that is to take in the question with a bit of humor and respond in the same manner.
• Never say, “I don’t know.” Such a response implies to an employer that you are unprepared and give up easily to challenges, which isn’t the ideal impression you want to make. Take a moment to process the question and analyze how you can respond back in a way to further express your character while possibly tying it back to your capabilities for the job. In such situations, it may also help to think out loud. Such an approach helps you walk the employer through your thinking process rather than have dead silence in the air for too long.

The key to doing well in a job interview as it relates to communication and your response to questions is to remain poised and self-assured. While the question may appear to be an approach by the employer to knock you off your feet, remain positive and calm in your response. Also, always give a response that ties back to how you are the most fit for the job.