This article is technically a review for, "howtowritearesume.net", but also an article to stress the importance of having a well thought-out resume to hand to potential employers. First off, it is important to understand that employers nowadays are looking for the best candidate; they don’t want someone that has never worked in the position for which they applied. And, I cannot over-stress to you how pointless it is to apply for a job that you have absolutely zero experience in.
If your experience is in carpentry work, welding or other labor-oriented skills, then you obviously wouldn’t apply for an office job. And ladies, just because you are a woman doesn’t mean you are cut out to waitress–I know I’m not! So, please, for the sake of the employer, apply for a job which can use your the skills you already have.
Having said that, let’s get started on why you should hand your resume to an employer. A resume is much more than just an application. All an application does is give basic information about yourself in a non-professional manner that employers can keep on file. A resume is all of the professional things you have done–what you’ve accomplished, and even where you plan to be within the next 5 years. A resume can also tell an employer what type of person you are: if it’s sloppy, what does that say about you? It may very likely go right to the trash. But if it’s professionally written, then you stand a chance at sitting in the lucky chair. Let’s talk briefly about sending your resume to employers, as there are a number of methods of giving out your resume.
1. Hand the resume to them, in person
2. Fax them your resume
3. Put your resume on Careerbuilder, Monster, Yahoo Jobs or other websites
4. E-mail them your resume
I have personally tried all of these methods, and found the most effective way is to hand it to them personally or e-mail it to them. So, honestly, there is NO excuse as to why you can’t get your resume to the employer!
Now I want to talk about writing your resume. Obvsiously, this is the hardest part about getting an interview. Some people jump right into a "resume builder" program that they don’t bother to research, or to find out exactly what you should have on your resume. A resume isn’t a collection of personal topics to list what you’ve done throughout your life; a serious resume lists everything professional that you have done, whether it be certification, college, volunteer and your work. They want to see a summary of your hardwork, skills and what you can bring to their company.
One great reason I am writing this article is because I found one of the best "resume builder" websites out there, and I will review this product here.First, it’s completely FREE, or there is a yearly fee of $10.99 only if you wish to upgrade, which is well worth the benefits it provides you. The website I am reviewing is called, howtowritearesume.net. They provide you with a very easy-to-navigate resume builder system; they also provide you with tips and information that you should include in your resume. Another great thing they provide is the ability to login with your Google, Yahoo, AOL or MSN credentials, but you can also opt to create your own account with them.
The website takes you one step at a time and one page at a time to get your resume built successfully. They do this by offering up their own mix of words, which you can replace to create your own. Here’s an example headline:
Notice the words with the orange highlight; you can change that to whatever you want. And, the words with the drop-down menu can also be changed. Here’s an example of what it could say:
You may be thinking to yourself that this seems really easy–but rest assured, it’s not! This type of process forces you to come up with the right words for what you can offer. You can choose a template or just type your own free text. With this sytem, you can also build several different resumes for each skill you offer. (For instance, I offer photographic skills and retail skills; so therefore, I have 2 resumes.)
So, let’s move on! Besides providing you with a great headline (of your choice), they also walk you through education, work history, basic information, Achievements, Qualifications; they provide the format as well as distributing your resume to over 100 different websites that place your resume on their server for employers to find. I will say this, though, regarding on the "distribute" service: it is 3rd party–which means you do have to sign up to have your resume sent to all those other websites. I don’t necessarily use that service. Let me show you a screenshot of their navigation real quick, just in case you’re wondering!
Ok, lastly, I’d like to talk about the format of the resume. The format is simply how you want your resume to appear. They have a variety of templates to choose from, so you aren’t stuck with just one boring look! With "free" you only get a couple, with "paid" you get up to 7 templates! The next thing i’d like to mention is that the free version of this website only allows for "html" or "text" versions of the resume to be downloaded. If you purchase the yearly upgrade, you can download your resume in any of these formats:
So overall, even if you do not get the paid version of the resume builder, it’s still a great opportunity to learn how to properly format your resume. It’s easy to navigate, easy to follow and might just help you land an interview at the job of your dreams.
One last thing before I end this article. The site "howtowritearesume.net" also offers job searches directly within the website. They use "indeed.com"’ as their search database and from there "Indeed" links the job to the actual website where the job is located. It’s a simple process and saves you the hassle of using several different job search engines.
Overall, "howtowritearesume.net" has become my one-stop resume builder and job search engine. My conclusion is that the "paid" version of the website is completely worth it. I’ve already had one interview with a photography company because of my well thought-out, well laid-out resume and I hope that many more will follow. I hope the same for you!
