A resume is not just a piece of paper meant to list the jobs you’ve held or the training you’ve acquired. It is your introduction to a potential employer and represents the essence of your career, abilities and skills. When you are interested in a job, you have an opportunity to get the attention of a potential employer and this is done when you submit your resume. Within minutes (or more likely seconds), someone will visually analyze the resume and determine your potential application for a vacancy.
It is possible that the person who will carry out this assessment of your qualifications does not know the details of the position for which you have applied beyond the job description, and for better or worse, this means that your CV must stand out in a way that ensures you are able to go beyond this initial selection. To achieve this goal, you need to have a well-designed, well-formatted, and well-written resume that showcases your skills, experiences, and training in a way that connects with the vacancy. Unfortunately, most resumes look like DIY projects that are easily overlooked and quickly rejected by recruiters. When you consider the highly competitive nature of most careers, you can’t afford to have a resume that sells you and/or your career short.
Why Consider a Resume Writer
As a professional resume writer with over 12 years of experience, I’ve seen pretty much everything when it comes to the style and type of resume that most people try to develop on their own. And just because someone has hired a resume writer doesn’t mean their work is the same or the same quality. People usually look for a resume writer when they don’t get the results they hoped to receive. Someone who really wants to help their clients won’t take an existing resume and will just retype or reformat it. This can be useful for someone who only wants their cv to be updated, but most people need more help than that – because a really effective CV won’t be needed for long as a good CV is immediately noticed. And even though I have potential clients who need a new resume and they’re willing to consider hiring a resume writer, there are still many misconceptions that need to be fixed before they’re ready to take the next step.
Misconceptions about resumes
One of the first misconceptions is that a resume writer should have samples and templates to share with potential customers. I can describe the method I use but I can’t share the resumes I’ve filled out due to a signed confidentiality agreement. Most importantly, I don’t have samples because every resume I write is custom developed and designed for each new client. Another misconception is that a resume should be limited to a single page. What happens is that people who take this approach will use small font sizes and/or try to fill the page with so many words that it becomes almost impossible to read, and for most resumes, it sells the person’s career short. For candidates who have developed significant professional experience, it is not unlikely that their CV will consist of two or three pages of content. Of course, the caveat is that these shouldn’t be pages filled with verbose words and hard-to-read paragraphs that have been typed into a small font size. A resume should be easy to read and showcase the best of a person’s career, from their skills to their achievements.
Reasons for misconceptions
Another misconception is the cover letter, which is often written in several paragraphs for people who think a lot is needed on that first page of introduction. But this defeats the true purpose of a cover letter and minimizes the time a recruiter is likely to spend reading the resume. A cover letter only needs to express an interest in a position and generate a desire in the recruiter to read the attached CV. The underlying reason for these misconceptions is due to the unlimited number of articles and online posts written on resumes, as well as easily accessible templates and examples. Whenever someone starts sorting through all these resources, the end result is often a patchwork of various themes and styles. What makes the situation worse is that there are few people who can objectively write about their careers and the jobs they have held. As an example, I’ve written resumes for sales professionals and even professional copywriters. In addition, many people lack exemplary writing skills. It is not uncommon to observe resumes with uneven font sizes and errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and other mechanical errors. I also observed verbose formulations, jobs written like a standard job description, and clichés (thinking outside the box, being a team player, etc.).
Make an investment in your career
When you consider all these aspects of a resume and how easily it can become inefficient, you begin to realize that an investment in a professionally written resume is actually an investment in developing your career, whether you need a new job now or yourself. look passively. Consider this perspective: If you don’t show up for an interview with old worn clothes, you shouldn’t submit a resume in the same state – nothing less than looking professional. A resume represents you and your career, and your potential job prospects depend on your ability to convey the best of yourself and what you are able to offer to a potential employer. If you are not comfortable with any aspect of writing a resume, it will appear in the final product. In addition, if you fail to express your thoughts well, this will also be reflected in the overall tone projected in your resume.
Contact a resume writer
If you decide to contact a resume writer, take the time to learn about their background, their approach to resume writing, and their general willingness to help their clients. A certificate from a CV institute or something similar does not automatically guarantee that they are proficient in formatting and editing. And if a resume writer charges excessive fees and makes promises about the results you can expect, also be careful because the resume is only the first necessary step in trying to find a new job – and that’s a very important starting point. If you don’t have the opportunity to talk to someone about your background, your prospects with that employer have been downplayed. This highlights the importance of hiring a professional to develop your resume. You can’t afford to fend for yourself, so to speak, especially if the timing of a new job has become critical or you’ve struggled to get the attention of recruiters and potential employers. An investment in your resume becomes an investment in your career, an investment that can help you find and acquire a new job. If you are hesitant to send your current CV, now is the time to contact a professional.
