Perhaps you have a resume. Maybe you wrote and designed it yourself based on a template you found online. If you are currently looking for work, perhaps you have emailed or shared it with recruiters, posted it on job sites, and sent it out via carrier pigeons.
But all you have heard is crickets, and you are starting to get worried. If you haven’t had any responses or a request to interview, it could be that your resume needs professional work.
Perhaps your writing is spot-on, and you utilize keywords relevant to your industry. But maybe your resume is butt-ugly. Admit it. You used Comic Sans as your font, didn’t you?
Perhaps you followed a contemporary, clean template to a T, and your resume looks sophisticated, modern, and attractive. But maybe you aren’t particularly articulate when describing your previous job responsibilities. Perhaps you are uncomfortable writing a resume because it sounds as if you are bragging or exaggerating about your skills.
Regardless of why your resume isn’t getting any attention, it is a real problem.
Your goal is to have your resume stand out. How do you get to the right hiring manager? What do you need to do to get your foot in the door? There are several strategies that hiring professionals recommend you do to get that all-important interview.
Try some of these strategies and tools to make sure your resume has the punch it needs to get the job done. Here are five tools available to you.
Hire ZipJob
You hire a chiropractor to crack your back. You hire a tutor to teach your kid how to read. You are a talented, bright, energetic person, but you aren’t great at everything you do. (Sorry to have to tell you that.) If your current resume isn’t getting any feedback, hire ZipJob to write one for you.
No matter how much experience you have or the type of industry you are seeking work in, your ZipJob resume is sure to get you some positive attention. They guarantee that you will receive two to three times more interviews as a result of your new resume or they will rewrite it for free.
What’s their secret? Besides hiring talented writers, ZipJob scans each resume with ATS technology. Are you not familiar with this process? Here’s how it works:
When HR departments receive your resume, employees run it through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). The system pulls specific keywords and phrases from your resume and stores the information in a searchable database. A hiring manager searching for applicants with particular experiences or relevant skills can explore all the recent candidates to try to find people to interview for a position.
ZipJob knows about this ATS technology. And, they will scan your resume with a similar system to make sure it will pass your future employer’s HR department scan. Spoiler alert: it will pass with flying colors since a professional resume writer at ZipJob wrote the resume. We know how to format your resume correctly to pass scans, and we know what keywords and phrases are essential to use in each industry. Trust us, out of the 75% of resumes that are rejected; yours won’t be one of them.
ZipJobs writers will also tell you if you include too much or too little information on your resume. For example, since everyone is skilled using Microsoft word, do you need to add that on your resume? At what age do you remove accomplishments from high school? Is it essential to include those babysitting gigs on your resume?
What if you volunteer for a political or some other divisive organization? Depending on the job you are applying for, perhaps it is not appropriate to include this information on your resume. Your future manager wants to hire someone who will remain professional in the workplace. If you can’t keep quiet about politics or other divisive subjects, they may not want to touch your resume with a 10-foot pole.
Maybe you include too much information about your hobbies, families, or pets? ZipJob writers may suggest that you not add the fact that you have tried 882 different craft beers in your travels across the U.S. Maybe they will suggest that you include the fact that you have run 23 marathons.
ZipJob will also look at your LinkedIn profile as well. They probably will draw the line at writing a glowing endorsement for you. You have to do some of the work yourself.
ZipJob offers three different packages to the job seeker. Each package includes a professionally written resume that is keyword optimized. Each package even offers unlimited revisions. They want you to be happy and proud of the finished document.
For an additional fee, ZipJob will help you complete a cover letter, which will guarantee that you will receive more interviews within 60 days. In the unlikely event that you do not receive additional interviews, ZipJob will rewrite your resume for you for free.
The top package allows you to work with one of the most experienced writers on the staff. Not only will you be working with the best, but that person will also update and optimize your LinkedIn profile a well. Do you want to know the best thing about this package? You will never, ever have to write your resume again. ZipJob will update your resume every time there are changes in your career. All that and a delivery time of three days sounds pretty impressive.
Use Word Press
Once your resume is perfect and keyword optimized, go the extra mile, and create a webpage for your career by using WordPress.
Building a WordPress website is easy, and your future employers will be impressed that you have an actual website displaying your experience and skills. As cool as it is to have your website, make sure the content is well-written and utilizes keywords that are important to your desired job and industry. It would be a good idea for you to hire Zipjob to write your resume, and then use that text to create your website.
Before jumping into WordPress.org and creating your site, you need to take care of a small piece of professional housekeeping. You first need to purchase a hosting platform for your website. Go to Bluehost, and you will be able to choose from a variety of price points. Some are only $3 per month.
There are plenty of hosting platforms, but Bluehost works well with WordPress. Bluehost also allows you to take your domain name with you should you later choose a different hosting site.
Next, you will need to purchase your domain name. Bluehost makes it easy for you, as you can buy the domain name through them.
Finally, download WordPress.org (again, you can do this through Bluehost), and then search for a resume plugin, such as Resume Builder. The drop and drag technology makes it extremely easy. Oh, by the way, wordpress.org (and the resume plugin) are free. How awesome is that?
Resume Builder walks you through the process of creating a resume, similar to how you created your LinkedIn Profile. There’s some personalization available. For example, if you want to highlight your skills as opposed to your experience, you can change the order in which they are displayed.
There’s one additional note about creating an online resume. Please, please, please hire a professional photographer to take your photo. Nothing ruins a LinkedIn profile or an online resume more than a fuzzy, grainy photo of yourself taken 15 years ago at your cousin’s wedding.
An online resume would be super cool, but remember that words all the communication you write while getting a job is critical. For that reason, you may consider some of these other tools.
Check out Grammarly
Your resume is not the only thing that you will need to write during the job-hunting process. Even if a professional writes and designs your resume, you will still need to write a cover letter and a thank you email after your interview. There may be a few other necessary correspondences as well.
If writing is not your “thing,” you really should check out Grammarly. This website is a super-charged spelling and grammar check. It alerts you when you are writing in passive voice (using words like “is” and “are” instead of strong, active verbs), and points out words you tend to overuse. It tells you if your sentences are too long. Grammarly also gives you wording suggestions to make you sound like you have a better vocabulary than you do.
Grammarly gives you a writing score based on correctness, clarity, engagement, and delivery. It’s also easy to use. All you have to do is copy your text and paste it onto a new page in Grammarly. Your work will be scanned immediately, and you will be given the option to fix errors or keep your writing as you originally intended.
Grammarly is great for anyone who writes. Whether you correspond through emails at work, or whether you are still writing papers as a student, Grammarly is entirely worth the subscription price.
You might consider Readable, too
Readable is less expensive than Grammarly, and it’s worth check out if you are concerned about your writing skills. Readable will scan your work for spelling and grammar errors. The thing that sets it apart from Grammarly is that the website will give you the Flesch-Kincade grade level of your resume or other written document. This grade will tell you whether or not you have written your text at an appropriate reading level.
Think about it. If you are seeking a technical job, your resume may need to pass through several non-technical HR employees before landing at the right spot within the company. If your resume is written at too high of a level, complete with jargon and acronyms, it may not receive the attention it deserves.
Readable will also rate your resume with the Gunning Fog Index. An American businessman created this formula to assist others with writing for industry.
Make sure your resume and cover letter are readable, or you may as well have sent it to a company via carrier pigeon.
Hire help through Upwork
Upwork is proof that you can hire anyone to do anything. Need someone to sing some background tracks for your latest rap recording? Find someone through Upwork.
Do you hate writing thank you notes, but your mother-in-law is nagging you to send them for your wedding gifts? Hire a freelancer to handwrite them for you.
Do you need someone to look over your resume to check for grammar and spelling? Hire a proofreader. You can also find someone to write the resume for you as well.
Hiring a person on Upwork is extremely easy. All you need to do is create a job listing. Publish what you are willing to pay for the job and a quick description of what you expect. You will receive proposals from freelancers who will tell you how much they will charge and how fast it will be completed. The freelancer will send you projects they previously completed, and you will be able to see their reviews from previous clients.
You choose a freelancer, and you will only be charged when the project is completed to your satisfaction.
There are plenty of other freelancing websites as well, such as Freelancer, Fiverr, Cloud Peeps, and Guru. Even if you don’t use one of these websites to help you with your resume, you may consider using them in the future – such as when your mother-in-law nags you to get those thank you notes written.
As adults, many of us become shy about asking for help. Some think it is a sign of weakness that they can’t figure things out on their own. But if your resume isn’t working for you, you need to swallow your pride and seek the help from someone who knows what they are doing. Your professional life may depend on it.