Securemploy: The Objective Of Your Resume

Is to start a process that ends up with your receiving a job offer for a better position than you have now at a salary at least several thousand dollars above your current salary.

Isn't that objective worth spending the time and effort to make sure you present your qualifications better than your peers do? The good news is that you can do it yourself, effectively and for very little cost. You don't need resume writing books or resume writing services.

Why is everything you read about writing resumes so confusing?

Most resume writing books and resume writing services tell you to keep the resume short and sweet. Some suggest chronological resumes, others suggest functional resumes. Some tell you to include dates of employment, others tell you dates are not important. Some tell you to list all computer skills, others tell you to concentrate on your managerial, supervisory, and administrative skills. Some tell you resumes themselves are not important because the company will want you to fill out their application anyway. What is right?

Let's look at the process to figure out what is going on. First, resume writing books. Most of these books are funded by Publishers because the people writing the books don't have the money or distribution contacts to get several hundred thousands copies of the book to the marketplace. If Publishers are going to spend their money, in advance, to print, distribute, and market a book, they are going to do their best to make sure the book is going to sell. That means a book has to appeal to a big mass market. So they tell the people that write resume writing books to write a book that will work for a college graduate just entering the market, or someone changing careers or coming back into the market place after several years off, or a highly technical Ph D, or a specialized computer expert, etc. It can't be done.

No resume format works for everyone. Think about that. Henry Ford quit making basic black Model T's the early part of this century because people wanted more choices. There is no product on the market that fits everyone, yet that is what Publishers want people to do when they write resume writing books. I know. Our publisher has asked us to do the same thing. We won't do it because we know it is ineffective for most people.

Because Publishers insist on resume writing books that appeal to the mass markets the people who write those books try to find a "gimmick" that will distinguish their resume writing book from the hundreds of other resume writing books on the market. Their "gimmick" usually evolves around new "buzz words", like "re-engineering" in the early '90s, or their "gimmick" evolves around a "new look" to your resume, either with colored paper stock, borders around the resume, or a new way of arranging the information on your resume.

How about Resume Writing Services? Their job is as close to impossible as anything I can think of. Most people that go to them really don't understand the job hunting process to start with. Therefore they don't really know what they need. Next, they tell the resume writing service that they don't want to spend much money on their resume. Most people will only pay a Resume Writing Service to do a 1-2 page resume. Many people won't even pay the service to write them a good cover letter.

That's just the beginning. Have you every thought about the hundreds of thousands of different jobs there are in business and government? How in the world can any Resume Writing Service be expected to understand hundreds of industries, much less hundreds of thousands of different types of jobs? Then, of course, they would have to try and figure out which people were going to come to them for which types of jobs this month. Resume Writing Services are trying to do the best job they can. When a job applicant brings them really good information and knows just how they want their resume constructed, the Resume Writing Service can do a good job. Otherwise they just have to do the best they can with "buzz words" and the best "formats" their customers have been telling them about.

It sounds like we are against the authors of resume writing books and resume writing services. We aren't, they have an extremely difficult job to do and most people are dis-satisfied with their results. They do have their place. Both appeal to the 80% of the people who are looking for a quick fix with the least amount of effort possible on their part.

Are you in the top 20% or the bottom 80%?

Ferree & Associates, Inc. and Securemploy have been serving the hotel industry for many, many years. When clients come to us for help they are looking for people who are in the top 20% in their position. They run newspaper ads and job fairs when they want the other 80%. (Sure, they always hope they will get lucky and stumble onto a Top 20% performer, but they know the odds are stacked against them.)

People in the top 20% take charge of their careers. They are the people who get frequent promotions and salary increases, even during recessions. These are the people who are at the top, or at least on their way to the top. They are the people who will be industry leaders. They are the people who currently have, or will eventually have incomes that put them in the top 5% of the work force. They are the ones who will be able to afford big homes, vacation cabins, nice cars and boats, etc.

These people may currently be Front Office Managers, Sous Chefs, Assistant IS Managers, Restaurant Managers, etc. They understand what they have to do to get to the top and they are committed to getting there.

You have the choice. Because you are actively using the Internet and reviewing this information you probably are in the Top 20%. But does your resume package reflect that?