Professional Resume Services & Career Coaching

Due to popular demand from my clients, I am pleased to offer a full line of Career Coaching services!

While I don’t guarantee employment for anyone utilizing my services, I assist you with finding legitimate job opportunities, resume tweaking, social networking, cover letters, thank you letters, interview preparation/follow up and salary negotiations. Everything from the first step to the last. I provide my services until you are employed, or for a period of 6 months, whichever comes first.

I also offer all services a la carte, if you are just interested in pieces of the process:

Job Search/Career Consulting Services: One-time fee of $1500
(which includes all a la carte services, unlimited for 6 months)

Resume Re-Write: $150
($100 for each additional resume, should you want multiple versions)

Cover letters/Thank you letters: $25/each

Job Search/Career Consulting: $50/30 mins or $75/hour

Social Media/Networking Tutoring: $75/hour

When just any Career Service won’t do, put me to work for you! I can provide many references and samples from happy job seekers.  For more information, Email me at: robin [at] jobshouts.com

Why do I need Career Coaching?

The last time you interviewed for a job, did you have someone with industry knowledge counseling you on how to prepare, what questions to ask, what red flags to watch out for? How about help writing your cover letter or thank you letter? A professional Career Coach is your advocate; your “upper hand” in the job search. I’ve spent more than 15 years in the staffing industry working with hiring managers within Fortune 500 companies.  My experience affords me firsthand knowledge of what hiring managers are looking for but don’t always put in the job description. Most importantly I have 15 years experience in counseling job seekers, giving them everything they need to get that job!

Why do I need a professional Resume writer?

In my 15 years in the professional staffing industry, I have seen a lot of bad resumes. A lot of so-called resume writing services will happily take your hard earned money and deliver sub-standard resume content. Does your resume read like a job advertisement, stuffed full of the important “keywords” but lacking the right content to get you that call or interview? Does it contain grammatical errors, poor writing or just desperately need updating? Is your resume properly formatted? If it contains bullets, tables and a lot of bolding and italics, then it isn’t.

I can help. I will transform your dull resume into a proper sales pitch of your personality, capabilities and accomplishments.  I know how put the correct keywords, content and formatting into place. Your new resume will clearly demonstrate to the reader that you are great at what you do.

Recently, I was hired by a client with a “professionally” written resume that had cost him in excess of $200. The opening statement on his “professional resume” read as follows:

Strategic, dedicated and analytical operations, production, and distribution manager with over 20 years experience exceeding revenue, cost, productivity, quality, service, and delivery goals. Track record of devising cost effective programs and policies to streamline processes, reduce operational costs, and boost profit margins. Communicator and mentor able to lead highly skilled cross-functional teams in the design, development and implementation of cutting-edge solutions to complex business challenges

What does this candidate actually do? Overuse of keywords in a resume can be detrimental to your job search.  If this resume came across the desk of many hiring managers, it would likely have been tossed after reading the first two sentences. Let’s take a look at how I rewrote that same statement, explaining his experience and position in much better form:

Senior Manufacturing and Plant Operations Executive with more than 20 years experience working in high output environments. Consistently exceeds goals within revenue, cost, productivity, quality, services and delivery. Strategic, dedicated and analytical Manager experienced in operations, production, and distribution. Proven track record devising cost effective programs and policies in order to streamline processes, reduce operational costs, and boost profit margins. Possess strong communication skills and the ability to interact and mentor at all levels within highly skilled cross-functional teams.

This resume now more clearly tells the reader what the candidate does, then proceeds to explain in a concise manner how those tasks were performed effectively. It also highlights what skills were used to accomplish those tasks. The first sentence alone conveys a more experienced candidate; one who is not trying to impress the reader with his choice of “keywords”.  The use of keywords is important, but they must communicate a clear message to the reader. Many “professional” resume writers have a difficult time with this task. The average writer doesn’t specialize in resumes. I’m not just a writer; I am an experienced staffing professional that knows how to build a great resume.

Why do I need Social Media/Networking help?

Unless social networking is a way of life for you, you likely feel very overwhelmed by the number of options available and how to use them. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook – which networks are right for you? Most of all, how do they work in your favor? Most job seekers fail to realize how effective these networks can be in developing their “online” reputation (both positively and negatively). If you’re not careful with your online conduct, you could lose a job opportunity. I have more than 15 years of experience in online networking; I help you determine what social networks are right for you, coach you through building your profile and creating real connections to build your network. More importantly, I can show you how to keep certain networks private.  Social networks are vital to your job search success. Let me show you how! You’ll be amazed at the doors it can open up for you.

How To Write a Cover Letter that zings!

One of the most prevalent questions among job seekers is “How do I write a cover letter?“  Most wonder what content to include, what format to follow and how long a cover letter should be. Here I will address these often asked questions to help job seekers perfect their cover letters.

Read more

The Video Resume: Some Points to Consider

There is an emerging trend among Web 2.0 specialists for presentation of their qualifications; the video resume. There are some evident pros and cons for this type of resume, as well as some resistance from HR professionals. For those candidates considering a video resume, especially for those in the social media field, my suggestion is to research, prepare and most of all have the ability to recognize if this isn’t for you.

Before deciding if a video resume is the way to go, consider these points:

Research:
Make sure you know the proper etiquette. Don’t just wing it. View other video resumes and decide what you like and don’t like about them.

Prepare:
The best approach is to be prepared with what you will say and present on camera. This type of “resume” will likely take you a few tries to get right. You don’t want to be too animated, however, you don’t want to look like a deer in the headlights either. Practice, if you have to. Have an “interviewer” if that makes you more comfortable. The video should be ideally 3 minutes or less and be well edited. You may have to hire someone to edit and/or record your video if you don’t have the right equipment or skills. This is generally not very expensive and a good investment if you plan to use a video resume. You should be dressed as if you are interviewing and good lighting and sound is a must. Most of all, have the ability to recognize if the video resume doesn’t do you justice. If you don’t think it’s a good representation of your true personality and communication abilities, then don’t do it – and most importantly, don’t send it!

The video resume can be a very useful tool in presenting your qualifications in a unique way. They do not replace a paper resume in my opinion, but are a great follow up and/or addition.

Further, video resumes allow you to showcase communication skills and personality; an essential component of most jobs – especially in Web 2.0 or Social Media environments, Public Relations, etc. For recruiters that work the national market or multiple locations, a video resume can be a great supplement to the phone interview. Having the ability to “see” the candidate before you present them to your hiring manager is important.

Confidential to HR Personnel: Consider that video resumes are not a means for finding a “barbie doll candidate”, but rather a precursor to an in-person interview. If a candidate sends a video resume that isn’t concise, well edited and planned – then I think that’s a good indicator of their overall abilities. Don’t lament about how you don’t have the time to sit through 20 minute videos. You’ll likely know in the first 30 seconds if it’s worth watching – about the same time it takes to review a resume and decide if you want to continue reading. I’ve listened to opposition from some HR folks warning of potential law suits, claiming it encourages discrimination. Let me ask you, how is it any different than interviewing someone in person? The same person that would hire someone based on how they look will do so regardless of the source, be that video or face to face interview.

Bottom line: It’s not for everyone. Doing your research and preparation is important in determining if this is the path for you, regardless if you are HR, the hiring manager or the candidate.

Resume Writing Tips Everyone should read

So the economy is in turmoil and you’ve suddenly found yourself without a job. What now? It’s time to update that resume, or in some cases, build one from scratch. What should you include; what should you leave out?

Before you get started, it’s important to know that a potential employer only spends about 30 seconds scanning your resume, initially. If they like what they see, they may spend up to 2 minutes reviewing it further. That’s a short window of opportunity to make a good impression.

Here are some helpful tips to guide you on your way to building a great resume:

Formatting:

1. Always use a common, easy to read font; such as Times New Roman, Arial, Book Antiqua, or similar. Using an odd font not only makes it more difficult for a human to read your resume, but also more difficult for OCR software. OCR is Optical Character Recognition; it translates what it “sees” into predetermined data fields (name, address, etc).
2. Bold Sparingly. Only titles, employer names/dates, headers and footers should be bolded. Too much bolding creates confusion for the reader.
3. Use bullets sparingly. Bullet if you must; however, it is always best to use full paragraphs when composing your summary and/or work experience.
4. Do not use tables. Ever. Every person that processes your resume, including recruiters who are often required to reformat your resume, will hate you if you use tables.
5. Learn how to set and use tabs. Simply hitting the Tab key over and over until you get to the right spot isn’t proper formatting. Using set tabs will help your resume to have a more “even” appearance. Make sure dates of employment line up accurately, to make it easy to see the “years” at each employer listed.
6. Text or Microsoft Word format are the preferred documents. Very few employers use WordPad, Works, WordPerfect, et al. PDF files are acceptable in some cases, but generally it needs to be a document that can be editable. This is especially the case when working with an agency recruiter; they must have the ability to remove your contact information before sending to their client.
7. Your resume does not have to be 1 page. It doesn’t need to be 10 pages, either.

Content:

1. A good resume includes a header with your full name, address, phone number and email address. Below that should be your summary (not an objective), a skills section, education and/or certifications and employment awards or accolades, and finally, your employment content.
2. Do not include your hobbies, marital status, religious beliefs, number of children, charities or any other irrelevant information. While some experts believe that including this information will help the potential employer to see your “human” side or character traits, it won’t. It only distracts from your experience. Stick to relevant information only.
3. Use an appropriate email address for your resume header. Email addresses like fungirl69@aol.com are seen as unprofessional. Sign up for a free email account on Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or the like using only your name or initials. For example: Jane.Doe@hotmail.com or jane_doe@yahoo.com et al.
4. It is imperative to include skills used within the meat of the job description. Employers want to know when you last used your skills and in what capacity.
5. If your experience spans more than 20 years, it is best to cut short the information regarding your early years of employment. Instead, include any relevant information in a summary. For example, instead of listing every employer for the last 20 years – include only those worked for the last 10. Summarize the rest, using a date range as your header.
6. Keep your resume concise. Review and rewrite paragraphs if necessary. Your goal is to be informative without boring the reader.
7. Last but not least, SPELL CHECK. Make sure you use complete sentences; do a complete read through to make sure what you’ve written makes sense when read out loud. You can also ask a friend or colleague to review and give their feedback.

Additional tips:

1. It is always best to send an electronic copy of your resume. Faxed or mailed copies of resumes clutter desks, fill trash cans and kill trees. Be green.
2. Google other resumes of professionals like you, to use as an example. It’s always a good idea to include current buzz words pertaining to your position and industry. These buzz words change over time so if your resume has dust on it, it’s time to update those!
3. When in doubt, consult with a professional. Resume writing is an art; if you aren’t a good writer it’s wise to invest in a professional to assist. This isn’t just a document, it’s your career!

These tips were written and contributed by Robin M. Eads, Talent Acquisition and Recruiting Expert; President @ A Place 4 People, Inc.

Have additional tips not listed here? Please share!