Is It Time to Get Extra Help With Your Resume?

Have you been sending your resume out to countless openings and receiving little to no response? If you’ve been job searching for two months and haven’t been called for an interview, then it’s time to get some help! The U.S. Department of Labor revealed in its September 2012 report that the average job seeker is unemployed for 40.2 weeks (10 months!!). Don’t spend ten months job searching before you look for assistance with your resume. At the very least, have someone else take a second look! Here are some ideas for reaching out for help:

Ask Friends: Ask 3 friends or family members to review your resume and give their feedback. At the very least, they may notice a spelling or grammar error that you missed. I recommend asking friends and family members who have had their own successful job searches – if possible.

Connect With Recruiters: Have a professional recruiter from a staffing agency that you’re in contact with review your resume and provide feedback for adjustments. They review hundreds of resumes a week; they know what to look for in a well-written document.

Free Resume Evaluations: Some professional resume writing services will provide a complimentary analysis of your resume. At the very least, this will shed light on the major areas of weakness throughout your resume and give you an idea of where to start to improve upon it. (Shameless plug here: E-mail us your resume for a complimentary analysis.)

Job Search Blogs: Find a resume writer’s or career expert’s blog and follow it. Several times a week I post articles on our blog with a lot of free advice and resources about resume writing, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, job boards, networking, job searching, and more.

Twitter … Always a Great Place to Start: Find and follow job search, career, and resume experts on Twitter. They’ll provide many short free tips, advice, articles, and resources for the do-it-yourselfer!

Professional Help: Professional resume writers are experts in all things resume-related. From conquering tough job search challenges and difficult circumstances to translating your experience and accomplishments into a marketable document that gets hiring managers’ attention. If you’re struggling to write a compelling resume yourself, or worried that yours isn’t making the cut, then I encourage you to work with a professional resume writer (and not just because that’s what we do) but because you’ll see real results. Consider this recent study conducted by The Ladders (a job search board for professionals and executives):

A recent eye-tracking study conducted with recruiters while reviewing two sets of resumes revealed that recruiters preferred the professionally written versions of the resumes over the original versions by more than 60%! As a side note, 60% is a pretty big competitive advantage.

I highly encourage you to not wait to seek help with your resume. I hate to think about job seekers being on the market for months on end when help is just a click away in the form of free advice, free resources, friends’ reviews, and professional feedback.  40.2 weeks of unemployment translates into an average loss of $24,000 of income to the typical family according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Don’t waste another second; at the very least, e-mail your resume to a friend and ask for feedback. It’s free and could really help.

If you’re right in the middle of a job search, I encourage you to take a look at my recent article: Are All the Jobs Only on Job Boards? It provides some great advice for other places to look for opportunities. In the meantime, let’s connect! Find me on Twitter or Facebook today for additional job search and resume advice.