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Is a Professional Resume Writer Worth the Cost

When most people are deciding whether a professional resume writer is worth the cost, they usually calculate the length of time they saved in hunting for a job. Get hired a month or two earlier, and they have a lot more income in the bank—far more than a professional resume writer costs.

But payback for using a professional resume begins earlier: A professionally written resume renews your confidence in your abilities, reminding you of how much you have actually accomplished over your career; gives you the right words for dealing with any problems in your work history; and helps you project a stronger, more accurate image during interviews.

When you are considering if a professional resume writer is worth the cost, take note of these important points about resumes:

  1. A resume is a marketing document. Are you confused about the line between marketing, bragging, exaggerating, and outright lying? Are you wondering whether to mention a gap in employment, how to handle a career transition, or write about another employment anomaly? Are you confident that you know what should be on your resume and what does not need to be there? A professional resume writer will give your resume focus, take care of anomalies, and highlight those parts of your employment record that will get you the job you want now.
  2. A resume is more than a history of tasks—it is a record of accomplishments. Do you have a brag book where you have kept track of your accomplishments? Do you remember how much you learned from each job in your past and how much you contributed? A professional resume writer will help you recall your achievements and put them in context.
  3. A poorly written resume is a reflection on you as a potential employee. Are you sure about punctuation, grammar, and spelling? Are you ready to double-check every acronym and company name in your resume or will you just assume that they are correct? Do the dates of employment lining up and have you consistently used the past tense for former jobs? A professional resume writer will make sure that your resume is error-free.
  4. A resume must communicate. Is your resume able to pass through Applicant Tracking Systems so that recruiters and hiring managers actually have a chance to read it? Are you able to present technical or scientific information in a way that recruiters and hiring managers can understand? Does your resume align with your social media presence, or do you need to rethink your online image? A professional resume writer can help you bridge any communications gap.

At Robin’s Resumes®, our professionally written resumes have been worth the cost to thousands of job seekers. We prepare resumes that propel our clients from inquiry to interview. Contact us today.

Cultural Fit: What Does It Mean for Your Resume

The words “cultural fit” have had a checkered past, sometimes being used to bar groups of people (women, minorities, anyone not Ivy League educated, anyone of a certain age). At its best, cultural fit refers to a company’s values and the way a job applicant matches up with those values. In fact, a JobVite survey found that 60% of recruiters look for cultural fit on a resume, right after experience.

How can you figure out the culture of a company? Look for the words a company uses, especially the adjectives, to describe itself. Often, those words will appear on the website in a mission or values statement. Sometimes job descriptions will include words like “transparency” or “customer-centric.” Articles in the company newsletter or profiles on LinkedIn may reveal what the company finds valuable in long-term employees and managers. Sometimes company photos posted on social media will offer the biggest clue to the culture.

What can you do to make yourself a better cultural fit? When you finish reading about the company, you should know if you are a cultural fit in the best sense—you volunteer in the community, and the company believes in volunteering; you like to work independently, and the company values independence; you want  continuing education, and the company has a strong training program. Make sure that any of your own social media posts and photographs put you in a positive light.

How can you write your resume for cultural fit? Try to use the company’s cultural keywords, like volunteer, lifetime learner, creative thinker, and so on, appropriately—and honestly—in your resume. Search in your career for examples that illustrate those qualities: when you volunteered for a community project or met with community leaders, when you explored a new country or got certification in a new subject, or when you innovated or recommended a change—whatever that quality is.

How do you know when you’ve found a cultural fit? You will want to look for companies that come close to having the same values that you do. However, what you discover during your job search and interview may be more revealing than anything the company writes about itself. If you are told you are a candidate and then are ignored for weeks, that says something about the company culture. If you go for the interview and everyone you meet is friendly and outgoing, that says something about the company culture.

Cultural fit is an elusive quality, but it may make the difference between loving and hating a job. It is worth taking a look at your resume to see if it projects cultural values that you hold dear, whether that’s cooperation or independence, a fun atmosphere or a clear organizational structure, a commitment to meeting quotas or a commitment to giving back.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we try to make every word in a resume count. Let us help you figure out your cultural fit.

Resume Q&A: How to Handle Company Name Changes on Your Resume

Q. The companies I worked at keep merging or getting sold and changing their names. I do not want hiring managers or recruiters to think I am lying, and I really want credit for working at some big-name companies that were bought out. How do I address those changes on my resume?

A. Company name changes as a result of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are very common, especially in the healthcare, technology, financial services, and retail industries. Company name changes are also common to mark a change in company direction or for better branding. Accounting and consulting firm Price Waterhouse became PricewaterhouseCoopers after a merger. In a recent change to emphasize that it sells more than donuts, Dunkin Donuts became Dunkin.

In a resume, the four main ways of handling a company name change are:

  • Give the current name of the company followed by the old name: XYZ Inc. (formerly, ABC Co.).
  • Give the old name of the company first, possibly with the date of the M&A: ABC Co. (acquired by XYZ Inc. in 2014).
  • Separate your positions under each name, indicating the date when an M&A (or name change) occurred.
  • Just give the current name of the company.

The choice depends on several factors, including the length and type of your position at the company, the importance of the company in your career trajectory, and the familiarity of each company name. You especially want to note an M&A if you survived, participated in, or received a promotion after the merger or acquisition. For example, you should take credit if you contributed to a smooth transition, training in new procedures, or efforts to increase employee engagement.

If you need help deciding how to handle a company name change on your resume or in describing your role in a merger or acquisition, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes®.

Resumes in the Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry embraces a huge variety of careers, including nursing, physician leader, administration, sales, marketing, public relations, IT, and finance. Whatever your role in the organization, your resume in the healthcare industry must show that:

  1. You understand healthcare language, including the correct names of diseases, medications, regulations, and equipment and the correct abbreviations (it’s HIPAA, not HIPPA).
  2. You have very specific training, skills, and experience related to the job you want. More than with many other careers, you must read the job posting carefully to make sure you meet or exceed all the qualifications for the position where you are applying.
  3. You understand the resource pressures that the industry is facing. Make sure your resume describes any project that you served on, led, or initiated that saved money or trained employees or reduced turnover.
  4. You have taken the courses and certifications and met the licensing requirements for the position. In fact, that information should be part of your summary.

For each previous position, you should give specific information that includes the size of the facility and/or the size of your caseload and/or the types of patients you interacted with. Any work that relates to finance—finding funding, controlling a budget—and any work that relates to quality improvement should also be highlighted.

As a healthcare professional, you may work with a diverse population, so skills in a language other than English could be important. You are expected to have a high level of attention to detail; that means you must avoid typos and grammatical mistakes. One way to do that is to wait 24 hours after making any change to your resume; read the entire resume again with a fresh eye, and then send it out.

Robin’s Resumes® has helped many healthcare professionals advance their careers with resumes that are accurate, detailed, thorough, and attentive to the unique challenges of the healthcare industry. Please visit our website for more information.

Resumes for Jobs with Flexible Hours

As we wind down from the Independence Day weekend, let’s celebrate freedom of choice! Recent surveys have found that 80% of U.S. workers would turn down a job that does not offer flexibility with hours and location of work.

Choosing a Job and Career with Flexibility

If you want a job with flexible hours and/or location, the best way to start is by choosing a career and industry where flexibility is the norm. Jobs in that category include freelance and consulting jobs, jobs in the trades (plumber, electrician), many medical jobs (psychologist, private speech pathologist), and personal services (personal trainer, massage therapist, interior decorator, and photographer).

The second best way of obtaining flexibility is by staying in your current position long enough to gain credibility. If your company has a flexible hours/location policy—or would be open to creating one—you can ask your manager for permission to try that arrangement.

In any case, avoid applying for jobs where the job posting clearly state that you are expected to work the hours listed at the location listed. Trust the job posting; it means what it says.

Writing a Resume That Emphasizes Flexibility

If you are already working in flexible jobs, either through a temporary staffing agency, independent contracts, or simply a penchant for moving on, here are ways to strengthen your resume for the next job:

  • On your resume, use a heading like “On-Call Secretary” or “Software Consultant,” then list your premier projects and clients under that title, to avoid confusion over multiple engagements that might overlap.
  • Provide details about your accomplishments so that hiring managers and recruiters can trust that you will bring value (not just a breathing body) to their business.
  • Make sure your accomplishments show your reliability and commitment to deadlines, quotas, and other metrics that the company expects you to meet regardless of your schedule or location.
  • Are you prone to working for a while, then taking time off? That can be a benefit if you use your time off to acquire skills, knowledge of the world, or connections. But never lie.
  • State in your resume or cover letter—wherever it makes the most sense—that you are willing to travel if flexibility of location is a big plus for you.
  • Make sure you define what “flexible” means to you and to the company during your job interview. For example, some companies define it as “no overtime” and others as “set your own hours as long as you meet deadlines/quotas.”

If you are struggling to put together a resume that lands you a position with flexible hours and location, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We can help.

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