CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! TO OUR FOUNDER, MATTHEW SONN – WHO WAS RECENTLY RECOGNIZED AS A LEADING EXPERT RESUME AUTHOR FOR THE WEB’S TOP MAGAZINE

Our CERTIFIED RESUME WRITERS are the LEADING AUTHORITY on issues involving: Resumes – Resume Samples – Resume Writing Resume Examples – Resume Writing – Resume Services,  and  Resume Tips.

What to Look for in a Professional Resume Writer – Certified Resume Writing Service– Resume Help and Tips

Do you need help with your resume?  If so, your best option will be to hire a nationally certified professional resume writer (CPRW) to assist you.   By retaining a CPRW, you will be putting yourself in a great position to come that much closer to landing your next great job.  Unfortunately, finding a resume company is harder than you may think. Many of these online resume companies are faceless domain names that are here today, and gone tomorrow. Therefore, in order to protect yourself, here are some important tips to help you move forward in selecting your new resume writer.

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1.       Is the Resume Writer CERTIFIED This is crucial. Sure, you may not NEED to hire a certified resume writer in order to write a resume, but by hiringa CPRW your chances will skyrocket. Since the resume writing industry is not regulated, you need to at least find a resume writer that is certified. In order to become certified, the writer must pass a series of grammar, editing, and related  writing tests. This will help to ensure your resume is prepared by a professional.

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Resume Writing Help for Attorneys – 5 Resume Tips to Avoid for Attorneys when Resume Writing

You sit at your computer, taking deep breaths and preying to the heavens above. You ask for forgiveness for all the bad things you’ve done as you scan the state bar pass list, hoping your name is on it….There it is – YOU PASSED!!!!

After you wake up the next morning nursing a well-deserved hangover, you think – Now what? As the market continues its downward spiral (do not let the numbers fool you, most of the “1,000,000 new jobs” you optimistically read about or heard about on NPR are actually just temporary contract positions) you sit at your desk, confused. You made it through law school and passed the bar – how hard can writing a 1-2 page resume really be?   Unfortunately for you, it is MUCH HARDER than you think.

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The problem is twofold: First, as attorneys we are less than humble most of the time. Most of us cannot comprehend the fact that we cannot – or should not – write the resume ourselves. Second, as attorneys we are also intelligent enough to know that maybe we should throw up the reins and pass the baton to someone who does this professionally. Whether you cannot let go of the control, or if financial pressures are a concern, I will provide you a list of 5 things to remember in your quest to draft your own legal resume.

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1.      Outline: Just like any other document you would or will prepare as an attorney, a well-thought out plan of attack is your best bet. Outline each section of the resume. This will help you both organize your thoughts as well as jar your memory of past accomplishments, awards, and achievements.

2.      Prepare a first draft as if you’re Writing it for Someone Else: Even the most narcissistic attorneys have trouble writing about themselves. Once you have your outline, prepare a first draft of the resume. Remember, this is NOT and essay and not a PERSUASIVE document.  It is a CAREER TOOL designed to get you the interview.

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3.      Be Confident, Not Cocky: We all have strengths and weaknesses,  that is a fact of life. But, with  that said, you do not want to turn a potential employer off as someone who can’t  work in a team environment. (Translation: “Authored and submitted a successful motion for summary judgment which was summarily granted” is good, versus “Authored the best brief in the history of the world, as told to me by my peers and everyone in earshot of my oral argument” is not good.) Before you laugh, trust me – you’d be amazed at what has come across my desk.

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4.      A Resume is Not a Substitute for an Interview – For attorneys, this is the KEY problem. Look, even if you hate interviews, cannot sleep the night before, get nauseas moments before the introduction, it is inevitable that you WILL have to interview for the position. In other words, there is no getting around the interview process.  As such, trying to cram potential interview responses into a resume will not work. It will make you look verbose and rambling instead of streamlined and succinct.

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5.      Hire an Attorney Certified Resume Writer: Leave your resume to the experts. By hiring a certified professional resume writer who is also an attorney, they will have the industry knowledge, experience, and ability to draft an effective resume for you. You spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for your legal education, do not blow it!

Good Luck!!!!!

Writing a Resume for Attorneys is nothing like writing a resume for many other fields – (Part 1 of 7)

Sure, on a first glance the resumes are similar in appearance – Profile, Education, Achievements, & Activities, but this is where the similarities end. Unlike most other professions (excluding Doctors and CPAs) becoming a lawyer is a feat in and of itself. It requires several years of studying, not to mention 2-3 days of taking the Bar Exam. As a successful attorney and nationally certified resume writer, I can help. While I always recommend that you hire a CPRW that is also an Attorney to prepare the resume for you, I understand that times are tough. Therefore, if you adamant to try to attempt this on your own, here are some important tips!

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1. OBJECTIVE – NO!  When you draft a motion, do you repeat the caption title in the body of the P’s and As’? Not unless you want a verbal lashing from the judge. If you are submitting your resume for a job posting, or even blindly to a company, then your OBJECTIVE is to GET the JOB.

2. PROFILE/INTRODUCTION: This is a very important and too often overlooked portion of the resume.  It is the introduction. It tells the reader – Is your writing clear, concise, and to the point. Example of an introduction Profile: “Proven success in litigating a diverse range of complex business litigation matters f, with several defense verdicts on high-exposure matters.”

Stay tuned for more tips from our TOP Certified Writers!!!…

3. CORE COMPETENCIES: When it comes to resume content/layout, think concise. You will be lucky if the potential employer takes 15 seconds to scan the resume. Why not highlight your strengths? Core Competencies are “keywords” that help your resume pass the first level of review, especially since employers are currently inundated with hundreds of resumes for each open position. If you would like us to remove the Core Competencies section, please confirm.

4. EDUCATION: If you graduated in the first 5 years, put this near the top, otherwise, it should be the final section of the resume. I have seen several attorneys who are afraid to list their education proudly, either because they did not do well in school, or did not go to Harvard. Think of it this way, if you’re going bald, do you wear a comb over — I hope not. Say it proud. What’s the old adage: A-students become teachers, B-Students become judges, C-students make MONEY.  Always, and I mean ALWAYS be confident in yourself – even on paper it will come through.

5. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Show them what you’re made of, BUT remember confident not cocky! If you facilitated a large merger, or defended a multi-million dollar case, let them know.  Caution: Be sure your achievement is an achievement (translation: just because you do your job really well, that is not an accomplishment). You would be amazed at what I see listed as an accomplishments (e.g. well spoken, good with clients, etc.)

6. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Unlike the rest of the resume, this is the portion of the resume that most employers care about. Do NOT spend too much time on semantics – lawyers are intelligent people. Be confident in your writing, but make sure it accurately reflects what you are do. There are several different types of resume style, font and substance, but you can NEVER go wrong if you keep it in chronological order.

Stay tuned for even more tips from our TOP Certified Writers!!!…

Certified Legal Resume Writers – A MUST for Attorneys!

Let’s face it, the market blows! And, as people get desperate, they get, well…desperate. Nevertheless, there are certain guidelines you should abide by before trusting a resume company with your one and only job tool.

1. Don’ be fooled by a name: A name is nothing more than what it is. Anyone can register a domain with the name attorney, lawyers, Esq. etc, but that does NOT mean they have a clue – or any experience – in drafting resumes for attorneys.

2. Please, use a CERTIFIED ATTORNEY resume writer: You are an attorney. You went to law school, you learned legalese, and you have specialized skills. With that said, do you really want a 22 year old college graduate with an AA degree being contracted out at $10 per hour writing your resume? Most of these “independent writers” are part-timers with only a minimal amount of experience drafting resumes if any experience  at all. These inexperienced writers will can kill your resume and ruin your career. Why would you trust your resume to anyone other than a team of Certified Professional Resume Writers who are also licensed attorneys.

3. Make sure you do your Homework: Ask you attorney resume writer a few questions. See if they know IRAC, how to spell judgment, do they understand the nuances between corporate counsel, general counsel, in-house counsel, etc.

4. Don’t be Fooled: More specifically, do not be fooled by resume companies who advertise that they “focus” on, or have “experience” in Attorney and Lawyer Resumes, but do not have any certified professional resume writers/certified resume writers on staff.  Do not be fooled by recruiters or resume writers who claim they have the requisite experience to draft your attorney resume.

5. Do the Writers Really Know what you do: The writers of these other agencies there may have experience composing resumes for all kinds of professionals, including, but your assigned resume writer  may have never even seen or written the resume of an attorney, law student, or legal professional before.

Please Contact Best Attorney Resumes for a Free Consultation!

Can Age Discrimination Affect You?

As a matter of law, individuals over the age of 40 makeup a “protected class.”  Basically the government has created laws to protect older people from being discriminated against based on age. While a person cannot be discriminated against because they are too young, the federal government has instituted safeguards to prevent people over 40 from being discriminated against based on the age.  Nevertheless, it happens all the time.

Due to layoffs and terminations, the applicant pool is rising quicker than usual as the market continues to wane. And, with the competition for the few available positions becoming fierce, employers have their choice of the litter when deciding whether to hire a new employee.  Many people over the age of 40 with 10, 15, and 20+ years of experience are finding that they are being terminated, and that these same companies are recruiting employees half their age at a severely reduced salary.  In short, employees over the age of 40 are losing their jobs at an alarming rate due to companies closing their doors or just downsizing.

It is as if older employees are being relegated to early retirement just because the market is flailing – nothing can be more unfair. As a result, many MBA and senior level managers, sales representatives, doctors, lawyers, etc. are taking positions well-below their skill-level just to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.  These “seniors” are left to look for jobs that are being filled by people in early to mid-20’s Very few companies want to hire a person age 50-65, no matter how much experience they have or how low of a wage they are willing to accept.   As one key recruiter provided: “The most important job tool an older applicant must have is a solid resume.”

Free Resources:

www.eeoc.gov

www.dol.gov

www.ada.gov

Are you interested in joining the Navy?

The United States Navy (USN) is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy has about 330,00- personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft.  The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world and also has the world’s largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service and one under construction. The 21st century United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It is a blue water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it an active player in American foreign and defense policy.

The Navy is actively recruiting entry-level, mid-level and senior-level applicants! To Learn More, please visit http://jobs.navair.navy.mil/resume.aspx

THE ART OF A RESUME

If you want a job, you need a resume. It’s that simple. Even if your best friend’s mom is the CEO of Viacom, you still need one. More specifically, you need a Professional Resume. Sound easy? It’s not. Unfortunately, by the time the majority of people realize they should seek the assistance of a professional resume service, it seems like it’s almost too late. By then, they’ve already combed the Craigslist, Monster and Dice job listings and sent their defective resume to tens, if not hundreds of potential employers. Fast-forward to several weeks later and unsurprisingly – still no interviews. But it’s never too late! At this point, there are two options: Take the time to learn how to properly prepare this superior career tool or just hire a professional resume service to do it for you. Look, this is your career we’re talking about. One spelling or grammatical error will drop your resume into the circular filing cabinet (a.k.a. trashcan). In fact, if you don’t include the key search terms employers continuously use for popular online job search engines, then they won’t even have a chance to SEE your resume! You can’t hit a homerun if you don’t get to step up to the plate! While we strongly recommend contacting a professional resume service, we know some of you are adamant about doing it yourselves and we are here to help. Read on for a few important tips. Also, please review our sample resumes to get a more detailed idea of what your resume should look like.

OBJECTIVE

Keep it to one sentence, spanning no more than two to three lines, basically informing your future employer of your career goals. Be specific about your skills. And this is NOT the time to be humble. If you have strong communication skills, state it; if you’re an accomplished leader, state it. When it comes to the job title, be careful not to be too specific unless you are absolutely sure you know exactly what you want to do. Or you can tailor the job title to each position you are applying for (but be VERY careful not to mix and match the job titles and potential employers!!!)

PROFILE

This is one of the most integral yet overlooked sections of the resume. If an Objective is your tag line, the Profile is your introduction. It tells the employer what you feel are your strongest qualities, and what to have to offer to the company. We have found it to be most effective for a resume to contain anywhere from three to six bullet points under Profile.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

If you’ve got it, flaunt it! If you were an integral member behind a large merger, it should be in the resume. If you’ve achieved or exceeded your sales quota, this is where it should be. But let us caution you: Do NOT confuse professional achievements with job duties. You were required to perform your job duties; even though YOU may think those duties were extra important, it may not be considered an achievement.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

This is the most important section of any resume. While there are variations of style, font and substance, generally, it should be in chronological order. It should contain the employer name (unless it’s confidential), the years of employment, job title, and job descriptions. Not only is this section the most important, BUT it is the portion of the resume that most do-it-yourselfers get WRONG. It is NOT a report, it is NOT a summary, and it is NOT a paragraph; it is a DESCRIPTION. The best advice we can give you is to review as many samples as you can. (Feel free to take a look at some of our samples!)

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

If you’ve authored 50 different articles or publications, you should put them on a separate sheet which is NOT attached to your resume. On your resume itself, indicate “Additional articles or publications available upon request.” If you have more achievements then you can count on both hands and feet, the same rule applies. Depending on the extent of your education and professional training, these can usually be grouped together. If you’ve taken a zillion ongoing education and management or sales training courses, you do not have to list all of them. You may include a statement such as “Select List” or similar verbiage.

PAGE LENGTH

Ask any two professional resume writers, and they will tell you two different things. With that said, trust us: one page max. Your interviewer wants to have one page in front of her or him and one sheet only. (Think of it this way – if a potential employer loses the second page of your resume or it becomes detached for some reason, do you think he or she will take the time to call you and ask for another copy? Or if the potential employer has 20 resumes to go through and it’s 5pm on a Friday. When he or she comes to your 2-page resume with 8 pt. font and .25” margins, do you think your potential employer will be happy? Exactly.

Will the Government ob Market Bounce Back and How can You Find a Job!

The federal job market WILL bounce back and you need to be prepare to submit your resume. The federal job market is still one of the best sources for employment in the United States, and worldwide. At the current time, June 2011, the unemployment rate has reached a near all-time high. While the average unemployment rate is around 10%, some states such as Nevada, Arizona, and Florida have reached upwards of 15%. Nevertheless, the government is still a fully functioning group of agencies that require employees to function – that’s where you come in.

Whether you are seeking employment in the federal, state, or local government, there are opportunities if you know how to find it. First, make a strategy. Are you seeking full-time or part-time work? Are you willing to travel, and if so how far? What salary are you willing to accept? These are all very important questions that you must be able to answer before you start applying for jobs. Otherwise, who cares if a government agency is willing to hire you when the job is 30 miles further than you are willing to drive and pays less than half of your minimum base salary.

Another important factor to consider is what have been the hiring trends for the specific agency and geographic location you are targeting. If for example, the agency had laid off more employees than it has hired or is in the middle of a hiring freeze, it may not be the best strategic move to focus your job search in that direction. Conversely, if the organization is currently and actively seeking new employees, than it is crucial to strik while the iron is hot!

It is also important to note what the estimated start date is for the position. There’s no point giving notice to your current employer if the position you are seeking will not commence for another 8 months (The government is a beauracracy, and beuracracies move slow, so 8 months is a pretty accurate estimate).

Finally, be sure that your resume contains all the necessary information listed in the job announcement. Sure, KSAs are no longer required as SEPARATE documents, but most job announcements require information to be include in the resume that is similar, if not identical to KSAs. And, if your resume does not contain sufficient responses to these “KSAS,” you can can guarantee your resume will go to the bottom of the pile, if not the trash. If you are having problems with the resume, it is always best to retain a certified resume writer that focuses on federal/government resumes to assist you with the process and give you the best shot at success.

Good Luck!

OUR TEAM OF EXPERT CERTIFIED RESUME WRITERS

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