Greg Ryan

4 Key Ingredients of All Quality Resumes

Hi! Welcome to my Blog. I like to use my experience as both a Certified Résumé Writer and administrator in charge of the candidate selection and interview process for my department to share helpful tips that I have picked up along the way. This blog will be updated frequently. I hope you enjoy it! Positive Testimonials and remembering to “Like” my Facebook page are GREATLY appreciated.

4 Key Ingredients of All Quality Resumes

We all know that resumes should be personalized and customized to meet the needs of each individual and industry of interest. Still, there are common traits to all quality resumes to consider when creating and perfecting your resume. Here are my top 4 key ingredients of all resumes.

Convey Value to Employer: You can go on for hours about every minor detail of your career, but you’re just wasting everyone’s time if none of those details will benefit the specific employer you are trying to impress. Make sure to highlight and focus value-added to the company to which you are applying. It’s not about having the most experience, it’s about having the right experience.

Engaging Storytelling: You don’t have a lot of space on a resume nor will you have the reader’s attention for long, so make sure to hook them as quickly as possible in your career story. Make sure the content is pleasing to the eye, coherent and, most importantly, phrased in a way to maximize your ability and potential impact.

Quality and Logical Flow: It can be confusing when resumes bounce around too much or move from one section to another without a clear and logical transition. Make sure your message constantly flows and supports your overall appeal to a company by routinely adding quantitative points to strengthen your resume.

Focus on YOU. I added this last point because too often I have seen clients and prospective employees focus too much on how impressive their previous company was without including how they added to its success. Employers need to see proof that the company was that successful BECAUSE of you, not that they happened to simply be successful while you were there.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!

5 Reasons to Always Keep Your Résumé Updated

5 Reasons to Always Keep Your Résumé Updated

As the year comes to a close, we are approaching the busiest time of year for job hopping. The New Year doesn’t only usher in a change in the calendar, it also brings about the highest volume of employment opportunities. There is a (completely understandable) tendency to only look at your résumé when you know you’ll be using it soon. After all, who has the time to continuously work on a document that they aren’t planning on using? Valid point. But that thinking may also come back to haunt you. The trick is to consistently update your résumé so that it’s not a single, monumental task. In the end, there is a good chance that the reward will significantly outweigh the effort spent. I could easily include more, but here are my 5 most important reasons to always keep your résumé updated.

Remind yourself of your skills and achievements. It’s easy to get caught up in our daily tasks and forget about everything that we have accomplished. Revamping your résumé will allow you to revisit what helped get you to where you are today. This should also work to instill a sense of confidence as you explore more exciting job opportunities.

Be prepared for the next great opportunity. As quickly as opportunities pop up, they can disappear even quicker. Some fields are so specialized that intriguing job openings do not come up often. When one does, you need to be ready. Scrambling to update your résumé before an imposing deadline can lead to mistakes and oversights.

… And be prepared for the worst. Hopefully this never happens to you, but sometimes positions or companies cease to exist without much warning. Most people are not in a position to withstand a lengthy stint of unemployment. I sincerely urge you to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Advertise yourself as an expert. This is important if you strive to present at conferences, publish your work or be considered for management positions. If your résumé doesn’t accurately reflect your impressive background, then you might miss out on valuable chances to further your career.

Focus your career path. It might seem like your experience is all over the place and without a common thread. However, writing it down on paper and articulating key attributes of each position may expose some interesting commonalities. From this, you may discover a career path of interest that you hadn’t considered previously.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!

How to Answer 3 Difficult Interview Questions

How to Answer 3 Difficult Interview Questions

While specific interview questions vary greatly by industry and role, there are some general questions that consistently pop up during an interview. Even though applicants know they’re coming, far too often do they enter an interview without a plan to answer these effectively. Here, I will list proven ways to properly answer 3 common interview questions.

Tell me about yourself. Sounds simple enough. But it often leads to rambling and losing the interest of the interviewers before the interview has even begun. First, be sure to know what is important to the company and align your response accordingly. While you may have enjoyed working at your aunt’s grocery store in high school, that may not be all that interesting when interviewing for an IT Director position. Second, prior to the interview, make a list of what makes you a good fit for the position and address the ones that you are most passionate and confident about. Finally, plan your answer carefully with a clean, coherent beginning and end.

What is Your Greatest Weakness? There are two rules that I recommend following here. First, choose something that won’t cast doubt on your ability to fulfill this specific position. For example, if you are interviewing for a teaching position, don’t say that public speaking is your biggest weakness. Second, wrap-up your answer by stating how you are addressing this issue and how you will continue to work on it in the future.

Why Should We Hire You? This may seem like a loaded question that can stress you out with doubts of whether or not you answered it correctly. That is why it is important to prepare a response before the interview begins so you know what you are going to say. Be sure to focus your answer on how you will benefit the company/employer instead of simply listing soft skills such as you are hardworking and a people person. Those qualities are fine to mention as well, just use them as part of a statement that relates to specific impact for the company. Next, explain how previous successes will directly tie into your potential new role. This takes out the guesswork for the employer and paints a clear picture of how you will be successful. Finally, rehearse this answer multiple times prior to going into the interview so that you are specific and succinct. You don’t want to start rambling and give the impression that you are searching for reasons because you don’t really know why they should hire you.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!

5 Things To Do Before Your Interview

5 Things To Do Before Your Interview

You were fortunate enough to get a call back for an interview. That’s great news! But also not the time to rest. Your journey is just beginning and smart candidates continue to prepare for success. Now that you know the time & date of the interview, it’s the perfect time to begin ensuring you are fully ready for what lies ahead. Here are 5 things to do before your interview.

Triple check résumé. You want everything to be perfect to help you stand out from the other applicants. If it comes down to you and another candidate, a simple typo or oversight may be the difference in the decision. While I obviously believe in the importance of what I do as a Certified Résumé Writer and recommend enlisting in our services for help, this point is critical regardless. Finding the right job is important enough to exhaust all resources and efforts.

Conduct a mock interview. Have someone ask you potential interview questions (search for common interview questions to find these) and practice verbalizing your response. It helps to actually say them out loud prior to the interview rather than simply thinking them in your head. If you feel awkward or don’t have anyone to practice with, verbalize your responses in front of the mirror.

Have a strong, positive closing remark. Studies have shown that the two most influential points in any conversation are the first moment and the last moment. Your closing remark will be remembered after you leave the room. Reassure them that this is your dream job and you’re prepared to work as hard as necessary to make the team more successful. If it’s intimidating to say that in front of the interview team, practice saying it aloud a few times the night before so it feels more natural.

Update your references. References are often an overlooked piece of the interview process. People tend to find quality references initially but forget to continuously update them. There is a good chance that your network has grown, in size and status, since you began your current job. Also, be sure that all e-mail addresses and phone numbers are still accurate. Employers are not going to spend all day trying to track someone down if their contact information isn’t accurate. If possible, give your references a heads up that you are interviewing and listing them as a reference. This way, they can give some thought to what they want to say about you.

Prepare relevant questions. This is sometimes easier said than done, but it is best to have at least one relevant question about the position for which you are applying. It also leads to a smoother conclusion to the interview (remember what I said about the last moment being important). If nothing else, you can always reiterate that you are excited for this opportunity and curious about the timeline for moving forward.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!

Top 4 Things to Considers When Choosing Your Resume Layout

Top 4 Things to Considers When Choosing Your Resume Layout

One thing that I have noticed while going through piles of resumes from hopeful applicants is that candidates often do not do themselves any favors with their chosen resume layout. There are certain factors to consider when deciding how to optimize your resume format. Here is a simple list of my top 4 things to consider.

What are your strengths? I have written in the past about how research shows that employers will focus most of their time and energy dissecting the top portion of a resume. So make sure that your strengths as a prospective employee are reflected somewhere in the top half of the first page.

Experience vs Enter-Level? If your best asset is 20 years of experience increasing company revenue and consistently earning awards, then it’s a good idea to start your resume with your professional experience. Conversely, if you’ve only had random part-time jobs but you do have a Doctorate, two Masters Degrees and a prestigious internship at a nationally recognized company, then highlight your education and how that will benefit you in the job position of interest before getting into your sparse employment.

What Sets You Apart? What sets you apart goes one step beyond your strengths. It includes what truly makes you the best candidate for the job. If you are a real estate agent, did you lead the area in property value bought and sold last year? If you are a teacher, did you win Teacher of the Year at your previous district? Make sure that any recognitions are highlighted early and often throughout your resume.

Unavoidable Areas That You’d Rather Not Focus On. We all have them at some point in our career. Areas that would raise red flags by leaving off the resume, but may also raise red flags if they become a point of focus. The key is to not make these areas a focus by burying them beneath more positive content and summarizing (without lying!) these experiences/factors when possible. Don’t go out of your way to mention a negative review or a time when you were laid off, and have a plan to respond if it does come up in an interview.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!