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There are services with a proven track record and dedication to helping you find a job – and they have written so many resumes.

How many have you written?

Think about hiring help with writing your resume to shorten the time it will take for you to find your next job.

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You’re ready to send, right?

Not so fast.

Before you send your resume into virtual job-hunting land, consider having it proofread.

Invest the cost of a Thai dinner and a movie to have a professional act as your final quality control step. Don’t ask a friend or family member. Seek out someone who can truly be objective.

Who to ask? Someone with good-to-great writing or editing skills. Someone who is knowledgeable about style, sentence structure, consistency in tone.

I’ve found that marketing and communications professionals are excellent at proofreading. So are administrative assistants and technical writers. They are used to reviewing documents focused on making an impact. 

Ask them to be rigorous. You want candid feedback that will make your resume robust. And of course, they’ll need to catch any typos or grammar errors.

One applicant whose career was a mix of contract and staff jobs was asked by her proofer  about the years-long gaps in assignments. She solved it by adding a sentence at the top of the resume: Please note that experience includes both contract and in-house positions.
And the cover letter? Have that proofread, as well.

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You may be using the wrong type of resume!

Resumes have changed and there is no longer just one style to use . I just read about the different types that are in use (and I was not aware that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to resumes). The following article gives a brief overview of three types of resumes – one of them may be the better choice for you.

Chronological Resumes

Most people are familiar with the chronological resume in which the jobs are listed reverse order (with the most recent listed first). This type of resume works great if you have lots of jobs to list. With a solid work history, this resume style presents an easy-to-read overview of your progression through your past jobs and employers like to see that.

Potential problems with the chronological resume:

• You have gaps between jobs or you have little work experience (are seeking an entry-level job) and few past jobs to list.
• Your job history shows that you have held your jobs for short amounts of time when you’ve had to change jobs frequently.
• Your jobs are in one particular industry, but you are applying for a job in another.

When a chronological resume doesn’t suit you, you may want to use another type of resume, such as a functional resume.

Functional Resume Overview:

This type of resume highlights your experiences, skills, and accomplishments rather than a list of recent jobs. When used properly, it doesn’t feature dates of employment or the positions you’ve held in the same way a chronological resume does. With a funcional resume, you would mention the types of jobs in broader terms to eliminate emphasis on things such as too many jobs for short periods or not enough jobs.

Functional resumes work well for these job seekers:

• When you plan to re-enter workforce after an absence or to find a job in a new industry or career field.
• You’ve held multiple jobs but your job history doesn’t indicate a career path or growth in your profession.
• You are new to job seeking and don’t have enough work experience.

Your Advantages in using a Functional Resume – Use it to emphasize the things you have accomplished that you feel relate to the job you are applying for. Highlight acheivements that might be of interest to prospective employers. Use it to point out things that you feel added value to the company you worked for in some of your previous jobs or give an indication of unusual background information (such as knowing a second language or having worked overseas). By doing this you can add the information to focus the employer on your special skills or abilities rather than listing job details that detract from your being considered for a job.

Functional Resume Disadvantages – Employers may still want to know about the specific jobs you’ve held and for what length of time. They might be doubtful about your qualifications when they can’t see continuity in a work history.

Choice Number Three  -  The Combination Resume

Incorporate the features of the functional resume with the chronological resume to create a combination resume. Start out with your skills, accomplishments and other qualifications on this type of resume. Then below that, add a list of jobs you’ve held (as you would in a chronological resume).

This is an excellent resume  format if:

• Your chronological list of previous employment doesn’t clearly show a connection to the type of job you are currently seeking. Or your work history alone just doesn’t show the strengths or skills you have to offer.
• You’ve only used a chronological resume and aren’t getting past the screening process to get interviews.
• You are changing careers but want to show that you already have skills that relate to a new career.

There really is no absolute right or wrong type of resume to use. It’s possible you may need to create several versions of your resume using a different type for different prospective employers.

No matter which resume format you use, make sure it is professional looking and have someone proofread it and check to make sure the writing makes sense. Be sure that your contact information is correct. Most importantly, try to customize your resume in a way that relates well to the type of job or the company you are seeking to work for.

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