Carpe Diem: Robin William's Career Advice

John Keating, played by Robin Williams in the film Dead Poets Society states, "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."  According to Wikipedia, the American Film Institute ranked this line number 95 in its list of the 100 best quotations in American film history.

The idea of seizing the day is good advice for a good reason- taking advantage of the opportunities life puts before you each day is central to succeeding in life as well as in your career.

One way to put this into practice is not to let your job title limit you. Too often a worker fails to step up to the plate in a vital situation because they do not have the word manager, or supervisor in their title.

If you have the knowledge and skill to improve a situation, put yourself forward and get the job done. Your boss will notice and see you as a competent member of the team. as long as it is done with tack and you are not grand standing or showing up your immediate superior it will help you career rather than hurt.

Latest Resume Styles: Good or Bad?

I'll cut to the chase here: unless requested, do not use the latest tech fad or trend when writing your resume. Now that that is clear let me explain what the 2 latest resume styles are and why they are not a good idea.

PowerPoint
One trend that is getting increasing ink is the PowerPoint resume. PowerPoint is the ubiquitous software that allows you to make slide shows that can be save online at places like SlideShare.net or YouTube. while presentations are great, relying on this for your resume could backfire in any number of ways.

First, it requires the technology to perform flawlessly. Anyone who has worked in corporate America knows that tech can go down without any warning. You don't want the success or failure of your interview to be relying on a server you have no control over.

Second, a PowerPoint presentation can come off as professorial- the exact opposite if what you should be aiming for in an interview. Getting hired is about building relationships. You need to connect with the interview committee, not be stand offish.

Personal Website
Another trend I have noticed is the creation of a personal website that showcases your professional talents. I have to admit this can be a very beneficial approach to use in addition to a resume. Some important caveats: the success or failure of this approach is largely dependent on your skill building websites. It is time to be honest with ourselves, most of us are not brilliant web designers. Unless you are willing to pay someone to set up your site for you this probably is not the best idea for you.


Latest Resume Styles: Traditional Style
Tradition is traditional for a reason: it works. So stick with the basics when writing a resume. Resumes need to be easily readable. An easy-to-scan format will go a long way towards getting a resume through the screening committee. Stick with simple and easy to read. You should have four standard sections: Objective, Summary, Work History and Education. There should be enough information in the resume to sell the applicant, but no more. The general length is one page.

That is it. Traditional still wins the day.

Why Use Resume and Cover Letter Services?

Let a professional update your resume.

First of all, yes, of course I think you should use a resume and cover letter service. I do need to make a living after all. However, I do think there are quite a few valid reasons why. This post will discuss a professional writing service in general. You don't have to chose Quality Resumes, though I certainly hope you do. Take a look. If you disagree, let me know in the comments.

Using a professional resume service is a good idea for many reasons. The service will have guaranteed writing skills, as well as market knowledge and a much larger amount of experience when it comes to crafting head turning resumes compared to the average jop hunter. The solution for many job searchers is to use a professional resume service.

Writing Ability 

The first benefit of using a professional resume service is that you are guaranteed to have someone with bon-a-fide writing ability crafting your all-important document. A professional will know how to create sentences that are short, tight and to the point, without getting overly wordy, which is a general problem for amateur writers.

You can also rest assured that there will be no typos, misspelled words or other grammatical errors. These simple mistakes could be enough to get your resume tossed before it has even had a chance to make an impression.

Market Knowledge

The job market is always changing, always evolving. If you are not on top of the recent developments in the field of resume writing you could be making crucial mistakes without even realizing it. For instance, many larger companies today use an automated resume screener to scan for key words that match the job description.

If you have the right skill, but use the wrong word to describe it, the screener could eliminate your resume before human eyes have seen it. A professional resume service can suggest a "Key Word Competency" section for your resume that will take care of this problem.

Experience

One of the strongest reasons for using a resume and cover letter service is that by definition they have been doing this for a long time and have experience with all of the unique problems that arise when writing a resume. There are a variety of problem situations such as:

· Work history gaps

· Temporary positions

· Layoffs

· Unclear job titles

· Unpaid internships

While these situations may prove daunting for the amateur resume writer, a professional has seen these issues again and again and has developed a set of strategies to either get around them or enhance them as they are.

OK, there is the pitch. Are you convinced? Have some questions I didn't answer? By all means leave a comment here and I'll do my best to answer them all.

Free Resume Help....

...yes, Free! 

I know that normally when you see the word free online it generally means a sales pitch is not far behind. This is after all a resume writing service website, so I must be pushing a new service or a discount package of some kind, right? Well, to be blunt, no. 

Yes, of course this is a business and I need to make money to stay afloat, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be genuinely helpful as well. So I am writing this post to invite anyone out there who simply has a question, or needs some advice, to drop us a message. We're giving out free advice, no questions asked, no strings attached.

In fact, I am not even requiring you to submit your email address to get your free advice. Normally we do not allow comments on our posts here, but for a limited time I'll be turning comments on to allow people to ask anonymously. I know that is not how you are supposed to run a business. I know I am supposed to be building a contact list so I can sell you something later. However, I would rather operate from a position of plenty. Freely give, freely receive. Why make people sign up for a list before answering their questions? Some people would resent that or simply not participate. That is not what we're about here.

While if you do end up needing a service I certainly hope you keep us in mind, that is just not the main point here today. If you never end up needing a resume writing service, then that's great. I honestly wish you the best on your career journey.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steve

Job Advice Ripped From The Headlines: Don't be a Weiner!

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone deals with them as effectively as they could. Anthony Weiner is a prime example, and just the latest in a practical parade of misbehavior from people in the public eye. But a mistake on the job doesn't have to lead to disaster if you follow these five basic rules:

1. Fess up fast: Do not let the problem simmer. Deal with it right away. Weiner, didn't, and it just got worse.
2. Own it and fix it: Do what your mom always said to do. You made the mess, now clean it up.
3. Take responsibility: Once you've dealt with the problem have a sit down with your boss. Explain why and how it happened and more importantly what you have learned to prevent it from happening again.
4. Move on: At this point it is over. There is no sense crying over spilled milk once it has been cleaned up.

What is the Correct Format for a Resume?

Question: What is the correct format for a resume?

Answer: It depends.

This is a question that I get a lot here at Quality Resumes. The correct format for a resume is different for each situation. There are two main styles or formats of a resume: the chronological work history model and the skills-based model. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Much the way it is important to personalize your cover letter, you must personalize your resume.

Chronological Resume Format

The chronological allows a potential employer to see quickly what you have done in the past and works great for those who are well along the career path and have solid job experience in their given field. However, if you have job hoped or have employment gaps, they will stick out like a sore thumb in the chronological model.

Skills-Based Format

The skills-based format allows the writer to hone in on what they are capable of doing. Listing your skills and abilities makes the resume look impressive, especially if you are new to the work force or are in the midst of changing careers. Know what skills to put on the resume goes a long way toward creating an impressive document.

So which should you choose?

For the vast majority of job seekers the better option is the chronological format. This is what employers expect, and they are the ones you want to impress- so give them what they want. While the skills-based format does hide some flaws in your history, it is also something of a red flag. Most recruiters and HR professionals will realize why you are using this format and will zero in on the holes in your resume. If you decide you need to use it, it is best to find a professional to help.

Make up a lists of your strengths and weaknesses and see which model makes the most sense for your personal situation before deciding what is the correct format for a resume for you. One final note: once you have a solid resume make sure the format also matches your cover letter for the best presentation possible.

Still not sure what format will work best for you? Shoot me and email, or message me on Facebook. I am happy to give a little free advice.