A-Plus Career Services, Resumes and Career Coaching

What is a resume, and why should it be professionally written?

A resume is the summary of your working life, presented in a format that addresses the needs of an employer.

The purpose of a resume is to showcase YOU, and present your qualifications in a most favorable and relevant light.

This sounds like a simple task, but with today’s highly competitive job market, it is often difficult to get that all-important first interview for the kind of high-paying, satisfying and challenging job that you want.

The managers who hire for these positions are typically very busy people and they will reject any resume that does not clearly and quickly convey your value in meeting the requirements of the job or that has any obvious errors.

What makes the resume that we write for you stand out from the rest?

You may have heard the saying “There is no second chance to make a first impression”. It is particularly true in this situation, as most HR personnel form a favorable or unfavorable impression in the first 10-15 seconds of reading your resume.

The resume we write for you will rapidly impress a hiring manager with-

WHO YOU ARE, your unique branding, those personal qualities that make you stand out from the crowd. It will create a positive and attractive image of you in the employer’s mind in just a few seconds.

WHAT YOU ARE, your professional status, accomplishments and qualifications, presented in a quantified and carefully focused format.

And most important of all-

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE, a convincing demonstration that shows how you are the best candidate for the job and which compels the employer to contact you for an interview.

Why are our resumes so successful?

Primarily, because we recognize and incorporate several essential characteristics that a successful resume must have-

Our resumes quickly and clearly show an employer that YOU have exactly what they are looking for.

Our resumes are easy to read, allowing a potential employer to read and understand your whole resume rather than a small portion in the typical 15-20 second time allotment.

Our resumes present your relevant job responsibilities and achievements in a detailed, substantive way, presenting you as a dynamic, goal-oriented, and successful employee.

Our resumes sell your strengths. There is nothing wrong with honest self-promotion, and you must stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Our resumes prioritize the information that a prospective employer is looking for, presenting the most relevant first, and de-emphasizing or omitting information that is of minimal interest to the employer.

Our resumes are carefully analyzed before issuance. They have NO spelling mistakes, NO grammatical errors, and NO formatting inconsistencies.

We fully understand that if a resume has these errors, a potential employer is likely to think “A person who presents himself this poorly on paper may equally unprofessional on the job”.

Can I Write My Own Resume?

The short answer is yes, you can.

But before taking on such an important task you might ask yourself this question-

“Do I have the writing skills, the graphic presentation skills, the understanding of an HR manager’s motivations, and above all, a sufficiently un-biased understanding of my job skills, professional qualifications and experience to put my resume ahead of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of competitors?”

To write a successful resume you must first know what skills and qualifications the employer is looking for. You must assemble your own skill-set, and organize and prioritize these skills in an informative, concise, and relevant manner.

You must then present this information in a format that is easy to read, easy to understand, and 100% accurate.

You might consider the competitive advantage that comes with having a top quality resume. It will put you ahead of all the other applicants who have an inferior resume.

It can help you achieve the kind of life that you want for yourself and for your family.

Purchasing a professionally written resume is a relatively small investment that could be the most important career decision you ever make, and we are ready to work with you in achieving your job-oriented goals.

Our Resume Writing Process

The first step is a no-cost assessment of your current resume, which can accomplished by telephone or by e mail.

We will briefly evaluate your current resume, discuss where you would like to go with your career, and assess your specific job objectives in light of your experience and accomplishments.

We also try to learn about you as a person, which becomes the basis for our highly personalized approach. We write a resume that is specific to your background, and that matches your special situation, your career aspirations, and your goals and ambitions. After you have retained our services, we then arrange an in-depth counseling session as your schedule permits.

During this session, we will perform a more detailed analysis of your current resume, discuss your specific career goals, get an understanding of your work experience, and address any special considerations that you may have, such as returning to the working world after a long absence or changing careers (a very common occurrence these days).

We will ask for a short description of any jobs that you are presently applying for, as well as their experience and educational requirements, and, if known, the name of any hiring manager with whom you expect to interview.

If you do not presently have a resume, we will work with you in filling out a profile that is designed to draw out and highlight your marketable skills, strengths and experiences, leading to the creation of an effective resume.

A first draft of your resume will be e mailed to you two days after the counseling session.

We ask that you contact us within the next five business days to make up to two rounds of revisions.

Any changes that you request will be incorporated, and your resume/cover letter will be sent to you as both Word and hard copy documents within two working days of our receiving your final revisions.

Upon completion, your resume, and any related materials such as a cover letter, will be sent to you for your approval.

If you have any questions about the way we have written your resume, or the strategy we have used, we will be happy to explain why we think our approach is the best one for your situation.

If you disagree with our assessment, we will honor your feelings and make the changes that you want.

We fully appreciate that we are dealing with your career and your resume, and we want you to be completely comfortable with the results.

We can provide expedited service if special circumstances require it.

We will also include any additional services you may have requested such as a thank you letter, ASCII text format, on-line job applications, resume posting, resume distribution and so forth.

Our Approach to Cover Letters and Thank You Letters

Cover and Thank You letters are an essential and often neglected part of the job application process. Many applicants do not use them, and you should use them, if you wish to stand out from the crowd.

Cover Letters

Cover letters are an introduction, and more.

They attract the attention of an employer, personalize your resume, and provide a few additional job-related details that make you stand out from the other applicants, such as how you heard about the job, or how you were referred by an associate of the employer. A cover letter is also a matter of courtesy, as you are requesting that the employer grant you an interview.

It is our opinion that a cover letter should be sent with every resume that is mailed by post, faxed, or e- mailed. The exceptions would be on-line job applications (applying to the company directly) or when first meeting with an employer to submit a resume, as you would be introducing yourself in person.

We use several characteristics to make our cover letters truly successful.

They are brief, 3-4 paragraphs at most, never more than one page.

They amplify, focus, and complement what is on the resume.

They supply new, relevant information, not repeat information already on the resume.

They always reference the position applied for, and they discuss how you knew of the position was, why you are perfect for the position, and what you will do next, i.e., contact the employer to schedule an interview.

They are always professional, friendly, and respectful.

Thank You Letters

Thank you letters have been referred to as the last employment interview question.

The question was-

“Did you appreciate the opportunity to discuss a job opportunity enough to write back and say thank you?”

So many job applicants miss this question!

Our thank you letter can easily make the difference between receiving or not receiving a job offer.

When you are in close competition with other candidates, who may also have interviewed well, the thank you letter can be the extra effort that puts you over the bar and into a desirable career.

What are the characteristics of a successful thank you letter?

Brevity- our thank you letters are brief, 2-3 paragraphs at most.

Courtesy- they say “ Thank you for your time, and thank you for the information you gave me”.

Relevance- they reference some aspect of the interview that was particularly positive or pleasing, and they leave a lasting and favorable impression in the mind of the employer.

It is our opinion that thank you letters represent a small investment that can have very substantial benefits.

E-Mail- aplusres@yahoo.com

Phone Toll-Free (866) 530-1919

9-5 weekdays, US Pacific time.

Please leave a message if calling after hours, and a counselor will return your call as soon as possible.