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Hastings Business Service

Resume Service

Getting Started

YOU AND I WILL HAVE SOME ONE-ON-ONE LIVE DISCUSSION at the beginning; so be assured that you will be dealing directly with me, not just talking to a computer.

If you have a previous resume, e-mail it to me — plus any updates. If you have a previous cover letter, send it also, because this helps me get a fuller picture of how you present yourself. If you prefer to give your material by phone, I can block out some time to type it on the computer as you give it. If there is a specific job you are applying for, send me the link to the posting, or copy and paste the contents of the posting into your e-mail.

If you are starting from scratch, use this page as a guide to make your rough draft. Don't be concerned with formatting at this point — and don't be concerned about how the material sounds. I can take care of both these details. Attach the draft, or copy and paste the text into your e-mail. Provide:

Professional Experience and Accomplishments Education and Professional Development Licenses and Certifications

Computer Skills Professional Affiliations References

The initial consultation and review are at no cost or obligation to you. Once we've had our discussion and I've reviewed your material, I will give you a firm quote on the job. See Rates page.

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Commercial Resumes

Your finished resume shouldn't go over two pages. List the last ten years of experience; employers are less interested in older history. Since an employer may not read the entire resume, I may decide to isolate your accomplishments and place them in a separate section ahead of your work history if I feel that they might otherwise get buried in your job descriptions. One example from my own experience:

Developed and implemented computerized database record-keeping system. This allowed entire department to retire its manual card-file system, greatly reduced daily record-keeping time, and enabled staff of 30+ to access records directly from their personal computers.

My aim with the finished resume is to focus on your accomplishments, not dwell on tactical day-to-day items. These standout points can be formal awards; or they may be steps you took, above and beyond normal job requirements, that produced long-term benefits. If you can give numbers and percentages, this adds even more weight.

The portions of the project where I do most of my original writing, based on your input and our discussions, are Cover Letter, Professional Profile, and Core Competencies or KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities). The Experience section will be a blend of your writing and mine. Depending on the need, I may edit and rewrite this section lightly or more heavily.

The finished letter is one page at most. Sometimes I will take material from your original resume and use it in the letter instead, if I sense that it fits better there. And there are times when I will take statements in your original letter and move them to the resume because they have more impact there.

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References

I make references a separate document — unless they are for a federal resume. When I come across "Available on Request," I take it out — it's passé. Keep your list ready in case an employer brings up the subject of references during an interview or phone visit. Give contact information for each name shown.

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Don't Get Personal

Omit hobbies, unless relevant to your job search. Omit reasons for leaving former positions, date of birth, marital status, health status, and children's names and/or ages. Reasons for leaving and date of birth are ordinarily part of the job application process. But don't bring up any personal items unless asked.

Remember, too, that at the job application and interview stages, some questions are out bounds for prospective employers — such as questions about family history, marital status, religious preference, or whether you have children. Any question an employer asks should relate directly to your qualifications for the job.

If an employer does ask an off-limits question, use tact in dealing with it. What is the reason for the question? Is he or she possibly trying to size up your dependability? If so, cite one or two of your strong points — for instance, work history, attendance and punctuality, fiscal responsibility, or success in fraud detection or loss prevention. By throwing the question back to the interviewer this way, you can turn the situation into something positive.

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Printing

If you print your final documents, use a laser printer, if possible, and plain white 8½ x 11 paper — no special textures or colors. If you send your document by postal mail, use an envelope large enough to keep the pages flat — no folding, clipping, or stapling.

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Executive Resumes

Executive resumes and C-level resumes are actually not much different from typical commercial ones. They frequently require more time — mainly because of the volume of detail and the need to review supporting documents such as questionnaires, awards, and letters of recommendation.

Keep in mind that recruiters and headhunters are in business, not to find jobs for people, but to find people for jobs. It's crucial that you have definite concrete achievements to point to. Numbers and percentages matter a great deal. Employers want to know more than just what you did in the past. They want to know what you can do for them now — and how you can make a lasting, positive difference.

Some years ago, I agreed to take on an unusually heavy load of executive resumes when one of Boston's placement firms outsourced its resume writing.

When the Director of Communications called me, I said I'd be willing to help out, provided that the firm had other outside resume writers to help meet its needs and wasn't asking me to carry the whole load. I am happy to make this kind of arrangement from time to time with outside businesses on a short-term temporary basis or rotational schedule; but it's not something I would want to continue indefinitely with any one company, chiefly because the firm's demands on my time unavoidably compete with the demands of customers who call me directly.

Fortunately, I knew where to draw the line. In this assignment, I got to see, as never before, what goes on during executive-level and C-level job searches — even though my home base was 1,000 miles from this firm's office. It was an invaluable experience. Now, years later, I continue to build on and benefit from it.

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Curriculum Vitae

A curriculum vitae, or CV, generally follows the pattern of a typical commercial resume, with several additional sections — such as Teaching and Research Experience, Workshops Held, and Articles and Books Published. The CV may exceed two pages; I have handled some that were over ten. This kind of document is more common among academic, scientific, medical, and legal professionals.

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Federal Resumes

Federal resumes are longer and more detailed than commercial ones. I'll need the link to the open position you are applying for so that I can review the job duties and qualifications. This helps me focus the writing or rewriting process, based on keywords and key phrases in the posting that point to your knowledge and experience.

You'll ordinarily submit your resume via Resumix, an automated system that searches for keywords in your resume to match what's in the job posting. With Resumix, you won't use a cover letter; but you may find yourself in a one-on-one situation and have to make a direct submission to a person. When this happens, it's good to be prepared with a letter; so I will be sure you have a model letter that you can use as a starting point and adapt to fit the situation.

The online form at USAJOBS sets a limit of 3,000 characters per job description. If your original is too long, I will trim it to fit. CPOL (Civilian Personnel Online) sets a limit of 12,000 characters for the entire work history. NASA limits total resume length to six pages, about 22,000 characters.

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Internet Postings

If you need to post your resume on the Net and don't know how to do so or don't have the time, I can post it for $20 extra. Give me the Web address where you would like the file uploaded.

Some Net postings and some e-mail transmittals require a plain-text (ASCII) version of your resume. If you don't know how to make a plain-text version, I will e-mail you a short list of simple instructions, about a half-page. The file is easy to make; but if you prefer not to do it yourself, I can take care of it for $10 extra.

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256-213-9966

877-929-7799

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