Why Do You Need A Resume? Part 2

Even if planning to physically pick up an employment application, you can realize a significant advantage over other candidates if you attach a copy of your resume to the completed application form when submitting it to the employer. Most employers are likely to be impressed to see that you have invested the time and effort to present them with both. It speaks volumes about the level of your interest in their job and your willingness to go the extra mile to get what you want. It also suggests some very positive things about your commitment and drive—desirable attributes that won't go unnoticed by the employer.

Also, if well designed and carefully written, a good resume will do an effective job of highlighting your key skills and abilities, thereby persuading employers that you are worth bringing in for a job interview. Because of space limitations, this is hard to achieve with just the employment application alone. Thus, in providing the employer with a resume, you are gaining a decided competitive advantage over other candidates who have not taken the time to prepare one.

Additionally to this, taking the time to prepare a resume helps workers better articulate their work experience, skills, and accomplishments during the job interview. It is a kind of "dress rehearsal" for the interview itself, increasing the worker's self-confidence and overall interviewing skills. Taking the time to write a good resume can have the added benefit of helping you to greatly improve your self-confidence and interviewing effectiveness.

Often, when the interviewer or hiring manager has a resume, they will use it as a road map of sorts when conducting the employment interview. When this occurs, they typically walk systematically through the resume, one section at a time, from beginning to end.

If well written, the resume emphasizes strengths and attributes, focusing the interviewer's attention on those factors most beneficial to "making the sale."

Dr. J.E. Burke, President, J.E.B. Resume Service and J.E. Burke Writing Service is writer, researcher, educator and entrepreneur involved in various business enterprises through Burke Publications. He has published many articles on a variety of topics. Please visit http://burkepublications.com and http://writer.burkepublications.com or email jeb@burkepublications.com .

Why do You Need a New Resume? Part 1

If you are going to search for a job, you are going to need a resume, of course. Most job boards and employer Web sites want you to "paste" a copy of your resume in the space provided for this purpose so they have the opportunity to review your background and qualifications. It you don't already have a resume, you're going to need one in any case.

If you are not comfortable with computers, try your children. Today, most children of school age are suite skilled at using a computer and can teach you a thing or two. If you don't have children, perhaps you have a niece or nephew who might be willing to give you a hand. You might also try the regional office of your state employment service. Many are well equipped with computers, and there is usually a counselor available who can lend a hand in getting your resume posted on the more popular Internet job boards.

By the way, posting your resume on most major job boards will cost you absolutely nothing. That's about as good a deal as you can find these days. The only thing it will cost is the time it takes to post it. Once posted on the job board Web site, your resume is than stored in a searchable resume database that employers pay a small fee to search. There are now thousands of employers and perhaps millions of recruiters using these resume databases to find qualified candidates for their job openings. So, you'll want your resume to be there!

Having a resume can be an enormous timesaver. If responding to a newspaper ad, for example, it is much easier and faster to send the employer a resume rather than make a trip to the employer's office to pick up and fill out an employment application. In the time it would take you to go to a single employer's office to pick up an application, you could easily send out a dozen or so resumes to other employers, thus greatly increasing your chances of landing a job interview sooner.

This is doubly true when the employer's ad provides an e-mail address to which your resume can be immediately sent. In such cases, the employer can have your resume in a matter of seconds. You could well be contacted by the employer and scheduled for a job interview before a second candidate, who has not e-mailed his or her resume, has even arrived at the same employer's office to pick up an employment application.

Things can happen fast on the Internet. There was a case where a job seeker was turned down during a job interview in the morning, returned to his office in the late morning to find an e-mail invitation for a job interview with another company early that same afternoon. By the end of the day, he was offered and accepted that job. Thanks to the Internet, it all happened in a half day. Sometimes, it can be just that quick.

Dr. J.E. Burke, President, J.E.B. Resume Service and J.E. Burke Writing Service is writer, researcher, educator and entrepreneur involved in various business enterprises through Burke Publications. He has published many articles on a variety of topics. Please visit http://burkepublications.com and http://writer.burkepublications.com or email jeb@burkepublications.com .