Shopping Cart
Your Cart is Empty
Quantity:
Subtotal
Taxes
Shipping
Total
There was an error with PayPalClick here to try again
CelebrateThank you for your business!You should be receiving an order confirmation from Paypal shortly.Exit Shopping Cart

Human Resources Consulting and Support

Click this text to start editing. This block is great for showcasing a particular feature or aspect of your business. It could be a signature product, an image of your entire staff, an image or your physical location, etc. Double click the image to customize it.

Our Blog

An ongoing series of informational entries

Our Latest Blog Entry

March 15, 2020

Click this text to start editing. This blog block is a great way to share informational entries with your visitors. You can click the green +/- button to add new entries.

Our Second Blog Entry

February 14, 2020

Click this text to start editing. This blog block is a great way to share informational entries with your visitors. You can click the green +/- button to add new entries.

Our First Blog Entry

January 15, 2020

Click this text to start editing. This blog block is a great way to share informational entries with your visitors. You can click the green +/- button to add new entries.

 Job Search Resources


Tips for a successful job search – The Resume Part I

October, 2018

I hear from people regularly who are struggling with their job search. Some of you have been looking for months with no success. Finding a new job is not easy! So, what can you do?


In my experience, it begins with having a compelling resume. A compelling resume will open doors with companies. A non-compelling resume won’t even make it to the porch.

In order for a resume to be compelling, it must be accurate, visually appealing, and likeable.


Accurate

Spelling and grammatical mistakes are found in almost one-third of all resumes. We are all moving so fast, that a simple misspelling (“personal” instead of “personnel”, or my favorite “manger” instead of “manager”) can be easily overlooked.


Your resume is your one chance to make a good first impression. Some hiring managers may overlook a simple spelling or grammatical mistake, but it still looks bad and may bring up a question about your attention to detail.


Beyond the obvious (and avoidable) spelling and grammatical mistakes, is your resume truthful? Did you actually graduate from college with that degree in that year? Did you really work at that company during that timeframe and with that title?


Companies fact-check regularly. Be sure to double and triple check your work history, dates, job titles, and other pertinent information.


Visually Appealing

Sure, “visually appealing” is subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. But objectively, there are some formatting basics that make a resume visually appealing:


- Are the margins all lined up correctly?

- Is the font consistent?

- Is the text big enough to read without squinting?

- Is the paragraph spacing uniform throughout the document?


Most resumes use Arial or Calibri font with text size 10.5 - 12 (I like Calibri 11). Graphic designers and other artists may choose to use fun and bold colors and text sizes, but the rest of us should stick with standard formatting.


Also check the length of your resume. There are varying opinions on the optimal number of pages. Some believe it best to cram everything onto one page. Others think there should be no limit to length, as long as the content is impactful.


My standard resumes are 2 pages, with a recommended maximum of 3 pages. If you are early in career with only one or two jobs, one page is sufficient. Pro tip - remember to add your name to all pages!


Likeable

Your resume is an extension of you; you have to feel good about it. Call it karma or psychology or self-fulfilling prophecy - whatever you call it, you have to personally like your resume for it to work.


You want to put your best foot forward with your resume. If it’s accurate and visually appealing but you don’t like it, we rewrite it.


Sometimes we rewrite it as a functional resume. Sometimes we change the font or the margins. Sometimes we add or remove content. Whatever we do, you have to like it or it’s not complete.


In Conclusion…

There are many considerations when writing a resume, such as content, cover letters, objective statements, and more. Resumes are not one-size-fits-all! If you start with a compelling resume that is accurate, visually appealing and likeable, your results are sure to improve.


An ongoing series of informational entries

A Short Story

October, 2018

“That’s Not My Job”

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

A good referral for me is....

October, 2018

This month we are focusing on job seekers. We want to help people find jobs. Who do you know that is having trouble finding a job? We can help write your resume, prepare for the interview, and coach you through the job search process. Call us today!

One of my favorite quotes

October, 2018

No matter where you go, there you are!

Tips for a successful job search – The Resume Part II

Above, I shared with you the “big picture” of writing a compelling resume. In order for a resume to be compelling, it must be accurate, visually appealing, and likeable. Now, let's talk about content.


Once you're happy with the layout of your resume, you need to refine the wording. What story are you trying to tell the reader? Are you portraying your skills and accomplishments in the best possible way?


The people reading your resume need to know that what you did – or do – will benefit them. The best way to explain this in your resume is by ensuring each of your previous jobs tells a story. You can frame each story with the acronym FRY – Feature, Result, You.


Feature

What did you do and how did you do it? These are factual, action statements about your job. If you are a painter, you might say “Paints interior and exterior of homes.” Or if you are a Customer Service Representative, you might say “Answers phones and handles customer complaints.” Most resumes do a good job of this. Pro tip – use action verbs when explaining what you do.


Result

What was the positive result of the task? These are specific accomplishments that show the reader how you performed on the job. If you are a housecleaner, you might say “Successfully completed all cleaning jobs on time and under budget.” Or if you are a salesperson, you might say “Achieved 120% of quota.” Many resumes make the mistake of skipping this part. Pro tip – use numbers when possible. Percentages and dollar amounts stand out on a resume.


You

What training or self-improvement were you a part of for the benefit of the company? If you are a Human Resource Generalist, you might say “Attended employee benefits training to learn new compliance rules.” Or if you are a help desk technician, you might say “Attended company sponsored network engineering training to learn additional technical skills.” This is not the time to be shy! Pro tip – be sure that what you add is relevant to the company or position.


In Conclusion…

There are many considerations when writing a resume, such as cover letters, objective statements, and more. Resumes are not one-size-fits-all! Be sure to review your resume regularly for accuracy, content, and likeability. Have several people review it for you, and don’t hesitate to make changes as needed.