What does your resume say about you?

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about resumes being effective marketing tools.  But how can you maximize it’s effectiveness?  How can you be certain that your resume says all the things about you that you think are important to an employer?

One important thing to remember is that your resume is NOT about you.  In fact, you are the least important person on your resume.  Your resume is about the EMPLOYER and how hiring you can benefit his staff, department, or company.  Does your resume do that?  Does your resume say I am the very best employee any employer can hire?

Your resume should sell you since you are not there in person to sell yourself.  If there is anything in your resume that you need to explain or clarify, then your resume is not doing a good enough job.  Your resume should be clear, concise, and full of benefits that an employer would find important.  It should show that you are a professional…that you are responsible…that you are knowledgeable about your subject matter and most important..that you will be a great fit to his team.

Check out your resume.  If it’s not promoting you as a professional, then maybe it’s time to hire a professional resume writer that can get the job done.

As always…

Wishing you well on your job search.

Ayesha Long

Are Cover Letters REALLY Important?

I like to think of resumes as magazine ads – they have to be polished, quick to the point, and make a great sale!

Well, if resumes are like magazine ads, then cover letters are the magazines themselves.  They have to have just the write wording and appearance to make people want to open the magazine in the first place.  If your cover letter lacks pizzazz and doesn’t get an employer excited about you, then that great resume you’ve spent hours on will get you no where.  IT WILL NEVER GET READ.

Cover Letters should be written with the same mentality as your resume.  It should be written with the employer in mind.  Therefore you have to make sure your qualifications shine through and tells an employer, “I am the perfect match for the position YOU posted”.  Do not make the mistake of sending out the same generic cover letter for every position you apply.

Instead, read the job description and if there is anything you feel you can add to your cover letter to show you are more qualified…ADD IT.  You are fit to get the position, you just have to prove it to your future employer.

If you still need help, visit www.AyeshaWrites4u.com to learn more.

New York State of CRISIS?

According to today’s issue of the New York Post, Governor Paterson is expected to give an unprecedented speech about the dismal status of New York’s fiscal state.  According to the Post, by 2012 we will have a “$5.4 billion dollar budget gap” due to increased state spending and Wall Street’s economic decline.  We have not faced an economic crisis this bad since the 1970’s.

The last time this happened, 19,000 civil servants were fired and bonds were defaulted on.  In fact, eight firehouses were closed to offset the budgetary problems the city faced.

How are we to prepare for these hard times?  As a New York City teacher and the resume writer of Ayesha Writes 4 You, I know it is important to have my resume handy and to have a 3-6 month savings cushion just in case the past repeats itself.

Are you prepared?  Do you have an updated resume that you can send out if layoffs do occur?  Have you been networking and keeping up with old friends just in case you need to find a new position?

If not, I think it is time to start now.

Chronological? Functional? Or Combination?

Chronological resumes… Functional resumes… are things of the past.  If you are still using these two formats or trying to decide between them, then you are not giving your resume a chance to succeed.   Now, employees are being advised to use combination resumes. 

What is a combination resume?

A combination resume has become the new format used by resume writers for the past three to five years.  A combination resume takes the positives of both the functional resume and the chronological resume and puts them all into a nice little grouping.  I advise most of of my clients to use a combination resume because it allows them to highlight their qualifications AND their skill sets.

If your resume is ONLY chronological or functional, you might want to ask your resume writer is their a better alternative…

Keeping Your Job AFTER Company Buy Out

On Tuesday, the New York Daily News wrote an on-line article about keeping your job after your company has been taken over.  The author states that when you’re company is being taken over and you speak to your manager about your job security, be doubtful about whatever he is saying.  Most times, your boss is highly stressed and just wants to keep the peace for as long as possible..so he may not be as forthcoming as you like.  Therefore, stay vigilant on showing you are the model employee.  Come to work on time, ask for more work, and be sure to act like the best possible employee ever when seeing the human resource personnel or a representative from the acquiring company.  For more information, I suggest reading the article http://www.nydailynews.com/jobs/2008/07/22/2008-07-22_saving_your_job_when_your_company_is_bou.html.