What Does Not Work

A few years ago, up until around the last part of 2007, we were in a market in which a standard format resume could get you an interview and probably a job offer. That was when there were more good jobs available than good candidates to fill them.

Things have changed,obviously. What worked then does not work anymore. It's a completely different market today in which there are a lot more good candidates searching for great jobs than the number of great jobs available. Part of the problem is that many of the workers who have suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves unemployed do not have the necessary skills or experience for the jobs that define our economy today. For those candidates, some retraining may be required if they want to be considered for the type jobs that employers want to fill.

For many others however, the problem is that they are part of a large number of people seeking a small number of jobs, and that is because employers have the luxury of being very picky about who they hire today. There was an article in USA Today on 10/11/2010 that addressed this state of affairs. Copy and past this link into your browser to read the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2010-10-11-jobrate11_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip&POE=click-refer

The main point of the article is that employers are being picky, and culture fit is critically important. It's not enough anymore to be good at what you do, to have a degree, and to have some experience. Employers want to know about YOU, the individual, what kind of person you are and whether you will "fit in" with the people and the culture already in place in the organization.

If you are using the old resume format that does not address what employers want to see today, you are at a decided disadvantage. You are blending into the crowd rather than separating yourself from it, and that is not the way to get noticed.

I specialize in creating resumes that will get candidates noticed by employers. Time after time I get feedback from candidates who have used the resumes I created for them, and they tell me that their resume got them the interview that led them to the job they wanted. You have surely heard the definition of foolishness, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If that describes your experience with your current resume, where you send it out and get no replies, consider trying a new tactic: a resume that actually works.