Way OT. Need recommendations for professional resume writers

[Monty]

I am currently unemployed and having a hard time finding work. The resume I've been using is one I wrote myself using tips from various sites and books that claimed to have the dynamic verbs and essential buzzwords guaranteed to get a Human Resources director's attention.

So far, it has received very little response.

Some background: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree but it doesn't apply to anything I've done in the last 20 years, and I won't be going back into any line of work related to the degree.

The last five jobs I've held were all in the same field, but would be considered blue collar, so no need for the Platinum Level writing services, etc.

TIA for all helpful replies and leads.

[sjordan2]

I feel your pain. A lot of job sites will be happy to take your money to rewrite your résumé, for somewhere around $250 a pop. But few of them have an understanding of what employers in various specialized industries are looking for. What industry are you in?

If you send me your résumé, I'll be happy to look at it and see if I have any suggestions. I'm a professional advertising copywriter.

sjordan47@comcast.net

PS: If you don't have your résumé on Facebook, you should put it there.

Edited February 20, 2012 by sjordan2

[trogdor]

Go to USAjobs.com. There are a lot of fields with government agencies that are hiring. Any degree from any field is a plus. Veteran status is also a plus. One of the nice things is once you jump through all the steps of creating your online profile with them, job applications can be done in less than 10 minutes. Once you submit an application, they update you on your status which is always better than not knowing if you are being considered or not.

Good luck in your search

Edited February 20, 2012 by trogdor

[Jantrix]

Indeed.com is another good job site. Odds are that your resume and experience aren't the issue. At least in my area, people just aren't hiring. They are making their currect staff do more with less so in case the economy turns (further) south, they don't have to lay off. At least thats how it is with my employer.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Jantrix

[Erik Smith]

Go to USAjobs.com. There are a lot of fields with government agencies that are hiring. Any degree from any field is a plus. Veteran status is also a plus. One of the nice things is once you jump through all the steps of creating your online profile with them, job applications can be done in less than 10 minutes. Once you submit an application, they update you on your status which is always better than not knowing if you are being considered or not.

Good luck in your search

Usajobs.gov

[sjordan2]

You may already know this, but our well-meaning friends are giving you links to national job search websites, most of which are pretty useless, and will charge you for rewriting your résumé. Further, you will be standing in line with at least 200 people for every job. WHERE do you want to work, WHERE DON'T YOU want to work? Are you willing to move? Lots of thngs to think about.

[Monty]

You may already know this, but our well-meaning friends are giving you links to national job search websites, most of which are pretty useless, and will charge you for rewriting your résumé. Further, you will be standing in line with at least 200 people for every job. WHERE do you want to work, WHERE DON'T YOU want to work? Are you willing to move? Lots of thngs to think about.

Yeah, there are a ton of worthless job sites out there. I've already run into a couple that were just a front for people pushing loans for further education. Another site appears to have been a scam to get working emails to sell to spammers. I used to get 4 spam items a day; since the day I applied for a job on their site, I've been getting around 45. The professional resume writing sites can be unintentionally funny, too. They all say something like "Our competitors use outdated patterns and styles, while we blah, blah, ..modern blah, blah, results, blah, blah etc.

My favorite ridiculous thing: Go to an employment agency's site, find a job you're interested in and start the online application process. This will include either copy/pasting your resume or uplinking it to their page. Agency calls you in to "fill out some paperwork", which includes...taking a pen and writing out all the information that already exists on the resume you sent them.

I can't see myself leaving Dallas. It's a big enough city that I should be able to find work somewhere. Plus, I have an excellent work history and good references. In fact, all but one of the jobs I've had since I moved here in '91 have been working with or for people I'd worked with previously at another place.

Jantrix is correct, though. I'm only unemployed because my last employer went through three RIFs (reductions in force), cutting a lot of people down to a skeleton staff to survive.

[Guest Johnny]

I know a lot of guys here were getting their resume rewritten at the local Community College!

From what I saw and some of the reults I'd say it might be worthwhile to look into!

They were doing them for the cost of paper and a donation to the department.

[Dave Ambrose]

As a contract engineer, I more or less live by my resume. I found a few things that seem to work well:

• Dynamic verbs and flowery prose is a little like hot sauce. Some is good, too much is inedible.
  
• Remove the objective section. You don't need it. Anyone other than your spouse, claiming to be concerned for your career development is lying.
  
• Stick with chronological format. Functional is very useful, but so many people have used it to hide things, that it almost automatically sets off a red flag.
  
• If you have valuable skills and experience from volunteering outside of work, list them. I've seen people list them as if they were jobs (they usually are), and get a good reception. Just make sure that they say volunteer position when appropriate.
  
• Most resume's are found via computer search. If you can get a hint of the keywords they're searching for, and they fit your experience, make sure they show up on your resume.
  
• Don't worry about keeping it to a single page.
  
• Keep your network going. This is one good reason to get out to lunch with former coworkers.
  
• If you put your resume on a site like monster.com. Be sure you "update" it every couple of months. For some reason, companies don't search older resumes.
  

OK, that's more than a few. Sorry, I can get long-winded sometimes. It's also important to keep active during your unemployment; volunteer, learn something new, Just stay active and be prepared to talk about it.

[charlie8575]

Dave pretty much hit it. Although, with your differences between degree and work experience, you might want to talk up your experiences more, as you would in a functional resume. I've found that for myself, a functional resume works pretty well, because I've done a lot of different things and it's better to highlight skills and abilities.

I used to teach career ed. in high school, and I'd be happy to help. Send it to chlarkin8575 (at) yahoo. com, if you'd like, Monty, and I'll be happy to look it over.

Other things to consider.

1. Rob may be right in that people just aren't hiring in your area. It's tough, and we've had a lot of that in New England, too.

2. If you're not on www.linkedin.com, I would STRONGLY urge you to consider joining. It's for professional networking, and you might be able to scare up some work that way.

3. The community colleges will absolutely help you with your resume. It might also be worthwhile to consider taking a class or two, just for something to do and update yourself a little. That might also help you stretch your unemplyoment out a few weeks.

Charlie Larkin

[mikemodeler]

Dave touched on a very important area that has worked for many that I know of- Networking. If you are in an industry and have skills and contacts, use them to your advantage. The last three jobs over the past 12 years I have had came about as a result of networking and not my resume.

Charlie also mentioned Linkedin, and I would suggest you join today. I have had 3 recruiters contact me in the last 12 months for jobs they were trying to fill and they saw my experience and past employers. None of the jobs interested me as they were not in a area that I would consider but people are using different techniques these days to hire so you must adapt.

Check with your local college or county offices as some of them have job training classes that will help you with resume writing, job interviewing, and other skills that can help you get hired.

Best of luck, it is a tough situation out there but people are getting hired and those that are have had to work for it, as I am sure you are!

[Nate]

In what industry is your primary experience?

[Darin Bastedo]

This reminds me of a time long ago I was working at Office Depot. I was stocking the resume' pasper when a customer started asking me for advice on writing his resume'. I said, "If I knew anything about writing a resume', do you think I'd be working here? You should talk to my idiot boss. He must have had a killer resume' to fool them into hiring him."

[Rob Hawkins]

Forget about a paper resume. That's so 2008. These days you need to upload your resume onto a site like monster.com and use keywords. The software looks over the data entered and if enough keywords match then a human being will give you a look. Too many resumes for the number of HR people that still have a job to look through the many thousands of them. Good luck.

[sjordan2]

Monty, once again, what industry are you in, performing what kind of job function, and what are you looking for? You will get more experienced help if you fill in those blanks.