Since the beginning of the year I have written several resumes for underemployed, unemployed and employed jobseekers looking to find a better opportunity. I write resumes based on the position they are applying for and dig into their background to cover any issues or gaps that may cause red flags to appear on a resume. Along with the resume I offer tips and strategies on how to submit a completed application and a resume to the hiring decision maker, tips on interviews and what not to say, especially if there are issues in their backgrounds, and how to follow up with the decision maker to make you a target candidate.
I have done all of this without charging a fee for these time consuming services. I put lots of effort into each individual, mostly in range of 10-13 hours per jobseeker. The reason I don’t charge a fee is for moral reasons. I don’t believe in taking money from people that are unemployed and are already facing financial challenges. Nor do I want to spend time marketing to clients to have them pay me a fee for candidates, at least not right now anyways.
I guarantee every resume will get interviews. I can successfully tout that out of the last twelve resumes I’ve written,all of the jobseekers got a callback or an email response with the intent to move forward. I did my part. I offer the interview services because I know that most jobseekers don’t interview everyday. They don’t sit in front of people that they want something from and are able to explain their background and skills in a manner that makes sense to the person interviewing them. As a recruiter for a little over 10 years, I have had thousands of conversations with HR and hiring decision makers and I’m able to determine what is best for the jobseeker’s resume and how that resume can be written to answer many interview questions all the while highlighting their greatest accomplishments and skills.
Out of the twelve resumes only four of the jobseekers got through the interview and received an offer. The other eight didn’t get the job for one reason only-they thought they knew better than me. Meaning, they thought they could manipulate the interview process by doing things the same way they always have, instead of taking my advice, (not to sound conceited or arrogant) most people only interview five to ten times in a lifetime and I have that many when I was recruting full time before most people have lunch everyday. It is true that there are many jobseekers that have gone into an interview and got the job because they had all the right answers, but why aren’t they still working there?
My interview prep is designed to allow the jobseeker to have a complete understanding of the hiring company’s expectations in the interview. I help jobseekers answer the tough questions by using real life examples that makes them different from everyone else that is interviewing, the interview prep is designed to get you an offer and it is industry specific.
If you’re resume is getting you in the door then what you say in the interview is the reason you’re not getting the offer, perhaps there are holes in what you say, maybe your answers are too general and not specific enough for the recruiter to understand you as an individual. One example on this is “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?” and your answer is “I’m hard working, goal oriented, reliable” then there is a good chance they aren’t getting to know you but know that you're just like everyone else that answers the questions the same way because a college recruiter or someone at the county job center told you to say that. Not bashing those professionals, but they mostly teach and advise on basic resumes, and these days your resume needs to be a preface that carries the right keywords that will lead to the decision maker.
If you cannot explain yourself in a cover letter (if needed) a resume, and in the interview that makes you different, well then that's the reason the unemployed are not getting hired. I am advising the unemployed to understand this-“80% or more of jobs available are not posted anywhere” It is expensive to advertise on web job boards and in print ads, and the free sites are cluttered with scams and spam. There are tons of jobs everywhere; the only problem is most jobseeker’s don't have the right stratigies to find those positions.
In closing, the best way to find a job is networking, know somebody that knows somebody, make sure your resume is done correctly and that it is written specifically for the job you’re applying to, and eliminate issues and gaps, and finally make sure what you say in the interview matches what is on your resume, give real examples about your skills and background, and be able to explain in a brief sentence how you’re hard working and reliable, especially if you chose to use those adjectives to describe yourself.
Bryan Moore
10 Years-Executive Recruiter
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