Tip #1: Read up on proper grammar
Nothing screams “unprofessional” like a resume with poor grammar. As a resume builder, you have to give attention to this area… or get eaten up by the competing applicants.
If you have a hard time writing with proper grammar, I would suggest one of three things:
1. Hire a professional resume writer (Expensive and effective)
2. Buy a “resume builder” software (Cheap and effective)
Tip #2: Read up on writing sales copy
To get a job you have to sell yourself to the employer. Simple as that… however, more than one resume builder completely ignores this fact.
When it comes to crafting your cover letter, or writing up the content for the resume itself, you’ll be well served to know a thing or two about writing sales copy. And learning to write sales copy isn’t as complicated as it seems, either. Really, you’ll only need two books: Scientific advertising by Claude Hopkins, and Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples.
Read those two, and you’ll be ready to write a cover letter with some teeth and a killer resume. Won’t cost you much either; you can pick up both online for less than $20… and the salary increase you’ll likely see justifies the investment.
Tip #3: Read up on the most common formats
The format of your resume will either lock in the attention of the hiring manager, or repulse them. This is why it makes sense to use tried and true formats that hiring personnel are familiar with.
The two most common formats are chronological and functional. Doing a search on Google will yield you more than enough information on both of them to craft a compelling resume.
Alternatively, the resume builder can use software to structure the resume for them. Most resume writing software these days include templates that one can leverage to save time and cut the learning curve.
Tip #4: Read up on the job position you’re after
A major key of getting the position you’re after is doing research around it. Before you fire up your word processor to write up your resume, you should know everything about the company, the industry and most importantly the position you hop to fill.
Start with the advertisements for the job to get a feel for what they’re looking for. Next, go to the company website to understand who they are and what they do. Use a service like mantle.com to get more in depth information about the company. Finally, do a search on Google News to pull up any recent announcements or relevant news.
As you can see, the process of becoming a good resume builder isn’t easy, but it is simple. The above tips will cut your learning curve, but it is only the beginning. You should follow up reading this article with further research about how to craft a killer resume.
And remember: Getting your resume to A+ quality takes some work. Hard work. But don’t let that discourage you… the bump in salary, responsibility and prestige more than warrant the initial time investment.