A Professional Resume Creates A Professional Image For The New College Graduate

After graduating from college years ago I remember preparing my own resume. In my eyes it appeared to be the perfect resume. When I would send my resume out to companies, for recent job advertisements, I always received a mediocre number of responses. However none of the top caliber companies ever extended an offer for an interview. My natural response was well someone else with better credentials probably got the interview and the job. Even though I had tons of experience and education.

One day out of frustration I went to see an outplacement firm. After talking with the representative for about an hour he finally focused on my resume, which was positioned right in front of him on his desk. Then he asked me the million dollar question. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best what would you rate your resume? I was thinking maybe a 9 or 10, but I did not want to appear arrogant so I said , Oh some where around a 7 or 8.

The representative continued talking, for another 10 minutes, as though I had not answered his question. My curiosity was getting the best of me now. When he paused I quickly interjected, Well what do you think about my resume? How would you rate it? He paused for a moment and said I would give it a 1 or maybe a 2 at best. I looked in disbelief for a moment or two as the representative continued. The resume you prepared was from a template where one style fits all. A cookie cutter mode.

Therefore your information, experience, and education is fudged into the same mode as everyone else. There is no uniqueness to your resume. What a revelation? It now became apparent that previous to the professional preparation, my resume was probably being disqualified by company recruiters because it was not top notch and did not contain the key words they were looking for. Shortly thereafter I had my resume professionally prepared and what a difference. It was so professional I could not believe it. For the time my resume had life to it. I marveled at the work of the resume preparer. The resume had so much information it was though the resume preparer knew more about my skills and abilities than I did. The wording brought the resume to life.

As a result I got a lot more responses and interviews that I did prior to that. So if you ever get the notion to prepare your own resume, think again. You may do a decent job but it will not compare with the job of a resume preparer, someone that actually makes a living do it.

You may have to make an initial investment but it will be money well spent. The return will be well worth it. The benefits you derive are invaluable. It will make you come across as more professional, more dedicated, a person who is accustomed to taking care of business, and put you out in front of the competition by giving you that competitive edge. I wish I had had this done much sooner than I did. So get that resume professionally prepared because it is an extension of you and who you are. It is a sales tool and may just provide that little extra that gets you t