Know How to Write a Powerful Resume Part 2

With so many people out of work or stuck in the wrong job it is vital that you know how to write a powerful resume.

For over ten years I worked facilitating Resume Writing workshops and assisting one on one in the actual writing of resumes. Personally I written or reviewed over 4,000 resumes for job seekers across the USA and Canada. About two years ago I was asked to come back in and instruct How to write powerful resume workshops again.

It was amazing to see how nothing had changed much in the five years between workshops. The vast majority of people who came to the new workshops had resumes that ranged from not bad to non existent.

When it comes to finding a new job or changing careers you don't want to settle for a not bad resume. Of the new students coming into the workshop many were carrying resumes written by so-called professional resume writers. Actually I cringe when someone is called a Professional Resume Writer. All the term means is that they get paid to provide the service. That is not a guarantee that they are any good at it.

It was once said to me, "Anyone can write a resume." That is the same as saying, "Anyone can dance." We all know that some people do a far better job at it than others.

As mentioned in an earlier article of the thousands of students who came through my workshops I can easily say that the majority of them make some very common mistakes. These mistakes seriously prevented their resume having any real power. When I teach a workshop on how to write a powerful resume I like to start with a multiple choice quiz so that I can begin to lay the groundwork for changing how the jobseeker approaches writing a resume. As a facilitator is is important to start where the participant is already so that I can add to what he knows.

The next set of questions on the quiz are: How many different resumes should you have? How long will a typical employer or recruiter spend on each resume he looks at? What do you need to know to write a good resume?

The majority of the workshop give the wrong answers to those questions.