Resumes & LinkedIn

Seriously, most résumés are chronological obituaries. Boring, unattractive, assembly line, cookie cutter, and dreary documents. In fact, most job seekers are either embarrassed by or indifferent to their résumés. If you aren’t really jazzed and excited about your résumé, it will be highly unlikely that you’ll be successful getting employers jazzed and excited about interviewing and hiring you.

Most People Are Uncomfortable Selling Themselves

Unquestionably, most people struggle when it comes to telling the world how great they are and communicating to employers why they are indispensable. I created the Showcase résumé format back in the 1990’s when I introduced the value-based résumé.

A value-based résumés is a HIRING PROPOSAL… a self-marketing document that communicates to prospective employers what SIGNIFICANT results and contributions you can deliver, and why you are an indispensable asset to them worthy of an interview and job offer.

Let me state this as simply as I can. Your résumé must STAND OUT. Think about it. Can you name any product or service that has been successfully marketed with the intention of blending in with, and looking exactly like its competition? I can’t think of one. So in a highly competitive job market… why would you?

You Have 15 Seconds

We live in a short-attention-span world; an attention-deficit-disorder society. That said, you have about 15 seconds to grab the attention of hiring decision makers who read your résumé. Once you have their undivided attention in that first 15 seconds, you may have up to an additional minute for them to read the whole résumé with interest and enthusiasm.

Our résumé services are world renowned, and have assisted tens of thousands of job seekers around the globe feel confident about themselves and their ability to communicate their value to employers, recruiters, and hiring managers on paper and online.

The 4 Questions Your Résumé Must Answer

A great résumé does more than set you apart from the competition. It builds self-confidence and self-esteem because your brand, and most importantly, your value, becomes crystal clear. Your résumé becomes a powerful and exciting self-marketing tool that highlights the right information to interest employers and creates a blueprint for meaningful conversations with recruiters, employers, and network contacts. In other words, when you have a strong value-based résumé, you will have addressed the 4 key questions your résumé must answer and that will inspire employers to invite you in for interviews:

1. Who are you and why are you sending me your résumé?
2. What results and contributions can you deliver that would benefit our company?
3. What are your qualifications and core areas of expertise that would lead us to believe you can deliver the results you claim you can deliver?
4. Where have you delivered these results in the past that would suggest you can deliver them for our company in the future?

Designing a Résumé Showcase

• Focus on specific direction of your résumé (your job objectives)
• Identify your selling points and value proposition (deliverables)
• Determine skills, qualifications, and expertise that defines your market value
• Identify differentiating factors that set you apart from your competition

An Employment Section that “Pops”

• Ensure appropriate formatting and presentation for your industry and audience
• Review employment history and develop a presentation strategy that is best for you
• Identify key job responsibilities for each job
• Identify key achievements for each job

Including Additional Sections and Completing the Process

• Include all relevant sections (Education, Affiliations, Community Service, etc.)
• Edit and “test market” the résumé
• Complimentary templated “cover letter” to use / modified for each job for which you apply
• Sample reference portfolio (secret weapon to rapid employment) to replicate
• Your final résumé will be presented to you in 3 formats:
  – MS Word
  – Plain Text / Applicant Tracking System
  – PDF

 Résumé Services

* Prices are based on anticipated time required and project complexities to customize each résumé to align with job campaign strategies that result in rapid employment.

RésuméPLUS© is one of our most popular programs. Many clients realize they can benefit from three additional hours of one-on-one coaching with Jay, in addition to the résumé service. For instance, many job seekers may want advice and coaching on LinkedIn, social media for employment, interviewing and salary negotiating, overcoming potential red flags (job gaps, long term unemployment, etc.), and / or identifying the 3-4 best strategies to land a job quickly.

Our normal hourly coaching fee is $150. When you purchase 3 additional hours bundled with the résumé service, you save $50 an hour or $150 for the three hours of coaching.

 LinkedIn Services (Your Online Résumé)

An effective LinkedIn (LI) profile is necessary – no longer optional. While it may not be the sexiest of social media networks, LinkedIn is definitely the most important one for most job seekers, particularly mid-level professionals and executives. With more than 430 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network.

Today, job seekers are joining LinkedIn at an astounding rate of more than three new members per second. And that’s just the beginning of LinkedIn’s potential. Up to 85% of recruiters use LinkedIn to identify and vet or, in some manner, recruit candidates.

Not Just an Online Résumé

Job seekers will want to take full advantage of LinkedIn’s powerful networking capabilities to reach almost anyone anywhere to achieve success, including rapid employment. You can easily research companies, jobs, and strategic connections. Finally, LinkedIn is so much MORE than a jobs site. Entrepreneurs, businesses, and employed workers can significantly enhance and expand their brands with LinkedIn.

Popular LinkedIn Areas Covered

• Professional picture
• Headline
• Settings (based on strategy)
• Custom URL
• Summary
• Completing all sections
• Contact information
• Testimonials and recommendations
• Skills & expertise
• Using LI to research people, companies, and jobs
• Networking for success