Going to an interview without a plan of action is like going out on a football field without a game plan. Total disaster! Suppose I were to ask you right now.

“What are your skills or attributes?” Could you give a good answer?

Suppose I were to ask you the question that’s in every interviewer’s mind.

“Why should I hire you?” What would you say?

How would you know if your resume did or didn’t reach the appropriate decision maker? You can truly never know for certain. However, there are steps you can take to ensure that your resume does not get "auto-disqualified", or provide obvious reasons not to be hired.

There are several “mistakes” commonly made in resumes that give immediate reasons why you will not be offered the opportunity to go to the next step in the hiring process.

Having mistakes and gaffes in your job resume spell disaster for your job search. The last thing an employer needs is to look at a poorly written resume. The employer is looking at possibly dozens of resumes a day, and if yours is not up to par, don’t expect to hear from him/her.

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Most people think the job search process begins when they need a job. No!

Your job search starts now, regardless of where you are in your career, regardless of how happy you think you are at your current job.

But that doesn't mean you have to cheat your employer out of your time, or short-change your clients and customers (I certainly don't recommend either one).

Why would someone pay a professional resume writer to write their resume when they have a computer, can use resume templates, and can find resume samples online and in books to get ideas on setting up and composing their own resume?

Most people would agree that the concept of a job today is vastly different from that of 20 years ago. Organisations are changing at speed, technology has changed the face and pace of work, and globalisation is pushing every business to examine it's operations in a totally different context.

How do we, the people that work within this changing environment, manage our own needs and wants?

Change Your Career,

Change your Life!

Lots of times I see and talk to people who are tired, bored and burnt out of their current jobs. I'm not sure what causes this dis- satisfaction. One reason, though, that I've thought about is that the work they are doing is not their life passion. Or, if it was, something in the person has changed or the passion needs to be re-kindled.

Faith should show up in your resume, not on it. There's a huge difference.

Most Christians I've worked with have asked me to help them write or revise their resumes. Some have asked me if their faith should be on their resume somewhere.

If you still picture a steady progression up the ladder when you think of your career goals, it is time to shift your thinking. For most people, climbing the career ladder is no longer an option. The working world has changed so dramatically that linear career paths rarely exist, except as historical symbols.

Using a general résumé.

DON'T DO IT! You cannot successfully use the same résumé to apply to several different jobs.

Your résumé should be custom written for each job you are targeting. When you send out something generic, it shows apathy and lack of motivation. This is NOT the impression you want to send to your potential employers.

Irrelevant content.

Are you a career changer? Or, are you satisfied with your stable career but interested in updating your resume? Are you a professional who has tried different things but are still searching for the kind of work that best suits you? Whatever your career situation, what your resume most needs is a stellar career summary.

What difference can a career summary make for you? Here are 4 reasons why you need one in your resume:

Make no mistake. Your resume cover letter is what will get somebody to read your resume.

If that initial commercial for you isn't shockingly, preferably uniquely good, your resume probably doesn't count for much.

If your cover IS great, though, you've got to have a resume behind it.

Your resume needs to present the product (that's you) in such a way that the person reading it stumbles over himself trying to pick up the phone to call you.

Preparing your resume can often seem like a daunting task. You’ve done your research, but there is so much information, and how do you pick from the countless formats?!

Writing your resume doesn’t have to be so scary, in fact, if you keep a few simple tips in mind, you’ll keep yourself ahead of the competition.

1. Objective

As a head-hunter and Career Coach I see so many CVs and resumes that look as though they are designed to get in the way of what I (or any other recruiter) might need to know about you the candidate. They vary from pure meaningless waffle without any identifiable facts to lengthy tomes with so much detail they send me to sleep. And I persevere where many others wouldn't bother.

Depression and Procrastination

Twins--in the Job Search

My definition of procrastination is that a person delays and delays actions that are required by a job or actions necessary to accomplish something in everyday life.

Depression is a mental state that "almost freezes" a person into no action at all.

Depending on the type of at-home job you want to find, you might still need to have a resume, especially if you are going to be providing a business-profession-type service. For at-home businesses that involve providing other non-professional services, you probably need only a business brochure or other printed information materials.

Professional At-Home Business

I looked up the definition of "to dither" before writing this article. It is to be agitated and in a nervous state.

My definition, however, as it relates to a job seeker is that some people will spend many minutes and hours, seeking a way out of looking for a job. It is a neighbor of procrastination.

I begin this article with a bit of slang description. What do I mean by a "hotsy totsy" resume? I mean one that does the following for you, the job seeker and a possible employer.

1. It has a concise job objective, based on what the employer wants. Follow the employer's lead.

2. It describes what you, the job seeker, can do for that employer. No long-winded explanation of how wonderful you are. The employer is WONDERFUL!

Your cover letter is critical to your success. It sets the tone. It is read before your resume and includes vital information about you that every potential employer needs. If you don’t have a cover letter, or if you have one that is poorly written, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Knowing the crucial elements of a cover letter is imperative to getting in doors and moving your candidacy forward.

You’re just getting over the shock of having become unemployed. You know you need to begin a job search, but you may not know the best way to proceed, or where to start.