Executive Writing Services www.writearesume.biz

Thank you for visiting our blog!

2011-12-04T16:58:00.004-06:00

Please call us at 402.399.9853 to speak with a real person, a professional writer, Mike Young, about building a professional marketing tool to kickstart your job search! But first scroll down and read.

Ho ho ho -- it's the best time to job search!

2011-11-24T12:44:00.006-06:00

It's Time for Job Searching NOW -- During The Holidays -- and Before this Recession Gets WORSE!!!

If you're thinking about a new job, now's the time to aggressively pick up your search. Many people slow their job search down during the holiday months when in fact it's the best time to look!

Here's why. Many companies implement a new direction or strategy AT TIMES LIKE THESE, resulting in a first of the year hiring surge. With new-year and post-downsizing business strategies mapped out, many companies start aggressively looking for résumés and interviewing new job candidates in November and December.

Oddly enough, while employers start reviewing résumés and candidates in November and December, and even during downsizing, job seekers often decide to wait to mount their search until after the holidays, feeling that no-one will be hiring until then. This creates an optimal job seeking environment for you, of more jobs and less competition.

Don't forget to budget for your job search before you max out your funds and your credit cards on "stuff" for under the Christmas tree.
You don't want to be maxed out with a pile of bills in front of you in January.
Your job search can be tax deductible, and your Christmas presents can't.
CLICK on http://writearesume.biz/

Your job search including your résumé is TAX DEDUCTIBLE --

2011-11-20T10:10:00.006-06:00

Job Search Tax Deduction Tips
From Alison Doyle,
Your Guide to Job Searching.

Tax Deductions for Job Seekers
When you're job searching, it's important to keep track of your job search expenses, because these costs may be a tax deduction when you file your income taxes.

Job Searching in the Same Line of Work

If you've been looking for a job in the same line of work you're currently in, many of your expenses like phone calls, the costs of preparing and copying your resume, and career counseling are deductible. You don't have to be out of work to have some of your costs qualify as a deductible expense. However, if you have been unemployed during the last year, you'll need to report your unemployment compensation as income. Also, severance pay, bonuses, 401K and/or other pension distributions may be taxable. Work done as an independent contractor also must be included in your income. For detailed information on what you need to report and how to report it, the IRS web site is an excellent resource. CLICK HERE

What You Can't Deduct

You can deduct certain expenses you have in looking for a new job in your present occupation, even if you do not get a new job. You cannot deduct these expenses if:

# You are looking for a job in a new occupation
# There was a substantial break between the ending of your last job and your looking for a new one
# You are looking for a job for the first time

Deductible Job Search Expenses

The following are allowable job search deductible expenses, summarized from IRS Publication 529:

Employment and Outplacement Agency Fees
You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay in looking for a new job in your present occupation. However, if, in a later year, your employer pays you back for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year. Also, If your employer pays the fees directly to the employment agency and you are not responsible for them, you do not include them in your gross income.

Résumé
You can deduct amounts you spend for writing, typing, printing, and mailing copies of a résumé to prospective employers if you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.

Travel and Transportation Expenses
If you travel to an area and, while there, you look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. Even if you cannot deduct the travel expenses to and from an area, you can deduct the expenses of looking for a new job in your present occupation while in the area.

Phone Calls
Local and long distance phone calls to prospective employers are also deductible.

We will be back at the Job Fair again!!!

2011-10-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

Mr. Young to be featured again at the Council Bluffs Job Fair ```

Job Fair features top employers, institutions

SWIowaJobs.com - southwest Iowa’s regional recruitment Web site and a Job Network affiliate site - and The Daily Nonpareil, southwest Iowa’s daily newspaper, are teaming up with area employers to hold a regional Job Fair this fall.

Job seekers and those looking to advance their careers throughout the two-state area are invited to take this opportunity to meet a wide variety of employers from the greater Omaha metro and southwest Iowa areas. Those attending the job fair are invited to submit resumes and applications and potentially interview for job openings.

The Spring Job Fair will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in ballroom A, just inside the south entrance. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. Attendees are encouraged to dress for an interview and bring copies of résumés.

CLICK HERE

Thank you for inquiring about our services!

2011-07-23T10:27:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your interest in creating a more effective résumé in order to market yourself in the job market!

Most of my clients want to meet with me in person, although I have many clients with whom I have only communicated by email, teleconference and/or fax.

I have clients in 50 states and 20 countries, including a few dozen military personnel and civilian contractors now working in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of them was referred to me by his father in Omaha, and the others were referred by him or one another. Many clients find me on Google or Bing, et al.

A job description from your current or recent employer would also help. If you are in the military, gather your performance evaluations, award certificates and commendation letters, training certificates, academic transcripts, etc., and bring them with you. These are invaluable to me in composing a military/civilian conversion résumé.

BUT the most important part of the process is our consultation, whether it be in person, by e-mail or over the phone. I will interview you and recommend appropriate information to include in your résumé.

I am the only advertising journalist listed under résumés in the local Omaha, Nebraska business listings. I don't use formulaic, "cookie cutter," "one-size-fits-all" document templates with sing-song generic phraseology. I "think outside the box" when launching a new product (you, the employment candidate) into the job market. Your résumé must sound like you at your best; it must be written in the language of your industry. It is far too important a document to trust to a mere typist with little or no training in grammar, syntax, parsing and orthography, much less the psychology and strategies of marketing.

Your résumé should be much more than a mere outline -- it should be a marketing tool. It will arrive at the employer's office along with dozens or hundreds of other résumés. Most of them will be glanced at and discarded. I want yours to make that first cut, to make it to that shorter stack of résumés that will be read. I want my client's résumé to make a first impression that leads to a lasting impression and an interview -- not a last impression.

I am available by appointment at my office 7 days a week. Between Monday and Friday I am available between 10 and 7 daily. I am the busiest résumé service in the midwest, but I usually can fit you in on the day that you call. January and February are my busiest months, now all the more so with a recession deepening. I will need more than a few days to prepare the first draft of your document, but in the future I can provide updates and cover letters usually next afternoon. Part of my service is that I archive all documents on disk. I have approximately 27,000 clients stored on floppy disks -- going back to 1981 when Professor Harold Gray founded Executive Writing Services. Over 45% of my new clients are referrals from satisfied clients.

I will quote my firm tax deductible fee during our free consultation.
My fees are based on this formula. -- Document design -- "typesetting" desktop design, using MS Word and an ink jet printer, letterhead -- name and address at the top (that will appear on your reference page and cover letter also); headline type for your name and for the section headings; 12 pitch type for easy reading; short paragraphs separated by white space for easy reading; justified (blocked) margins; print emphasis with bold and/or italics for academic degrees, credentials, job titles, etc.; indented paragraphs with "bullets"; special characters for Greek letter societies and scientific symbols -- this document design would be $55 for the first page, $25 for a second page, $5 for a page of references and $15 for a single cover letter.

Composition and editing of your job descriptions, bullet achievement paragraphs and a strong summary of qualifications would be $65/hour. This is probably what you pay your auto mechanic -- but unlike your mechanic, I will quote you a FIRM NUMBER and there will be no surprises at the other end.
A one page document, if I were starting from scratch rather than from an old résumé, might come in at 1/2 hour.
But I would quote you a *firm* fee at the commencement of our project, and that fee includes any further edits, corrections and/or modifications.
There will be no surprises at the other end!
Of course we will "tweak" the document when you come back to read the first draft. But there is no additional charge for any additional fine-tuning that you may require after you have taken the document home.
In any case, the investment you make in your résumé will be one of the smallest investments you have made in your career -- certainly less than in what you wear to that interview -- but, strategically speaking, it will be the most important investment you have made in eliciting that affirmative interviewing response.

Then, in the future, when you need an update of your résumé, your update would be priced at $5 per paragraph affected and/or page reformatted, plus my time.

Send me a request by e-mail for an information form for a new résumé and/or a cover letter form, and I will respond by e-mail. OR just print these forms out from my website at writearesume.biz. Please visit my website, read the Difference Between a Writer and a Typist , my Tribute to Our Founder, and check out my helpful links section.

I hope I have answered all of your preliminary questions and look forward to meeting you. Please call for a chat and an appointment.

ô¿ô Mike
P. Michæl Young
Executive Writing Services
www.writearesume.biz
www.ews.blogspot.com

How long should my résumé be? There's a lot of bad advice out there: check out this link!

2011-07-23T10:03:00.005-05:00

I recently had a client tell me that she was told that her résumé was too long. It was only ONE PAGE. What did the HR person want, a 3x5 index card?

The truth is that lazy secretaries don't like to read. But the decision maker, the hiring manager, wants to know a lot about you!

Most likely he/she will expect you to fill out a multi-page application in addition to your résumé, if your résumé addresses his/her expectations. And then he/she will probably do a credit check and a Google search on you as well. ***Get rid of anything that might be embarrassing on your Facebook and your answering machine!

The truth is twofold. The reader of your résumé wants a quick but thorough summary of qualifications on the first page.
And if that summary meets his/her agenda, he/she will want to read on. You cannot list too many accomplishments!
That means 2 page and even longer documents are often needed.
One size does NOT fit all!
Double click this link --
http://www.brainbox.com.au/brainbox/home.nsf/$all/7E426C1D681D080F49256D4A00303ED0?opendocument

Another newly empowered client writes ---

2011-06-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hi Mike,
Could you please e-mail me back a copy of my resume? It turned out great! Thank you for all your help!

Sincerely,
Alisa

Graduation! -- now it's résumé time!!!

2011-04-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

He or she has worked so hard in anticipation of this day. Untold thousands of dollars have been invested toward that career goal.

One's résumé has to be much more than a mere listing of dates, jobs, and academic accomplishments. It should contain a summary of skills and abilities. It can also be a wonderful, affordable career investment and graduation gift!

A résumé should be an accounting of what that person can do for the employer, not what he/she expects of the employer.
It must be a marketing tool.
Executive Writing Services has assisted over 27,000 clients to achieve their career goals.
Remember -- your résumé can be a first impression that leads to a qualified interview. Or it can be a LAST IMPRESSION.
Please read our website below and make an appointment by calling 402.399.9853.

CLICK on
http://writearesume.biz/

And, please, scroll down for more helpful information!

HERE'S AN EMAIL FROM ANOTHER HAPPY CIENT

2011-04-26T14:31:00.002-05:00

Mike when can we set up an appointment. Went through resume, and had a few folks in management positions take a look at it. All were impressed. Below is a job I will be putting in for. I'd like to use the resume you built for this application.

Company: United States Jobs Alliance

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Salary: $165,000 - $195,000 Category: Law Enforcement / Security Date Posted: 04/25/2011 Travel Required: 1-10% Security Clearance: Yes Work Type: Full-Time Company Type: Private Job Descriptionduties include; executive protection, property security, vehicle escort duties and general security work. Starting salary = $165, 000 to $195, 000 per year, plus bonuses.

Job Requirementsduties include; executive protection, property security, vechicle escort duties and generalsecurity work.

Tony

Omaha World-Herald Interview: Your Cover Letter

2011-03-07T11:04:00.002-06:00

Writing expert recommends cover letters introduce, personalize applicant

BY CHRISTINE GALT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

If you think e-mail and online databases have eliminated the need for a cover letter, think again.

A survey by Robert Half International found that 86 percent of executives said cover letters are valuable.

Mike Young, owner of Executive Writing Services in Ralston, Neb., says a cover letter is a necessity and is a sign of good manners. "In a way, it’s a formality, but it’s also a way of breaking the ice," Young says.

Employers don’t want to read generic letters.

The cover letter should be addressed to a specific employee or department in the company and should never be
informal.

"Don’t use ‘to whom it may concern’ " when addressing the letter, says Young, "because it sounds generic." "Dear Sir or Madam" should be used if you don't have a specific name, or if you cannot discern the gender of the person, as in the proverbial "Pat."

The cover letter should be used to introduce your résumé and highlight key points. Young recommends keeping it formal and brief.

"Too many people write a very long cover letter and have a short résumé," he says. "In reality, it should be opposite."

To make the package pop, Young says to use the same letterhead on the cover and the résumé.

Although the letter should be formal, it’s OK to personalize it by using conversational language.

Young recommends ending the cover letter with a signature and a contact number.

He says the applicant should inform the company that he or she will be contacting them within two weeks to set up an interview.

Often, he says, the cover letter can make a difference.

"First impressions can be lasting impressions," he says.

CLICK on these links --

http://writearesume.biz/
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3235&u_sid=10493053

Client sends in this warning about "job boards" and the scammers who lurk there --

2011-02-27T09:47:00.005-06:00

Don't be suckered by Spam SCAMS like this!!!!

This is the sort of crap email "job offer" I get from posting my resume on Career Builder. I get several of these per week.

Read this (below) word-for-word and see if it makes any sense. Career Builder should prevent these foreign, shyster asses, whoever they are, from being able to access peoples' resumes and sending out this sort of tripe.

Who knows what nature of scam is involved with these jackasses. And who knows where they are from.

Obviously they have used a computer software translation program to get the alien text of this message into "English." And, I have no idea what sort of virus you could get if you attempted to click on the link to their webpage.

Computer job boards should be held liable for damages resulting from people pursuing this garbage. You read about innocent victims not only being duped and scammed out of money from these so-called "job offers," but some people actually are prosecuted and sent to jail for illegal activities they unwittingly get involved with by associating with these crooks. Some people, desperate for jobs, fall into these scams and it often ruins their lives or robs them of their possessions and their freedom.

Let the word resonate far and wide: Never post your resume on a computer job board and make it "readable" to "employers!" ------------
Here's the Spam Scam I received!

-----Original Message-----
From: Igor Gonzales [mailto:gon_hakaima@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 7:30 AM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Vacancy for xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,

Our company is happy to put forward you the office of Food Writer in Market Force . after laying hands on your autobiography at CareerBuilder online. Our employment office did its best to study your CV and remained to be pleased. We trust that your skills will be among our most valuable assets.

Necessary Criteria for being employed:

1. Age: older than 24
2. Internet access
3. 3-5 hours of free time every day for performing your professional capacities
4. Certificate of good conduct

Job Benefits:
As it goes, Food Writer is an ideal way for collaborators to gain profit in the process of providing feedback, making comments, making of, commenting out to corporation. This is a real opportunity for you to get to the top of the career delighting in things you like above all. For instance, one may lunch in cafe or buy things in shops reveling in life and promoting organization at the same time.

Remuneration:
Your month wages may reach $1,500-2,000.

Time Limitation of the Position:
On account of the great amount of applicants for this job, this capacity is time-bound. So, it is strongly recommended for you to provide us the necessary information about yourself ASAP.

To become the contributor of our entity:

1. Please go to our site: Market Force <http://bit.ly/hysK6W>
2. Register yoursel
3. Download, read examine accurately a contract and sign it in a mandatory way.

In underwriting this employment offer, you affirm that your work will be on at-will basis and waive any lamentations against Market Force and its team.

About Market Force :
Our organization is drawn in cooperation with other firms to perfect capacity on an international scale by applying anonymous resources. We deal alongside with over 300 firms internationally. Our main work includes marketing and cooperation with merchandising firms, private investigation companies, training organizations and other organizations that are involved in Restaurant Critic services. Our member firms work with their customers in order to fix the medium of improving level of offices.

Regards Truly

Beware the phonies!

2011-02-01T13:27:00.011-06:00

"I is a professional writer!"

Just a while back, I warned my readers against amateurs, quacks, poseurs, charlatans, shams, shamans and shysters who try to pass themselves off as "professional writers of résumés." Especially, I might add, those who tout themselves as "CERTIFIED résumé writers!" --Certified by whom and how were they tested?

These poor, deluded hacks simply bought a gonzo certificate to hang on their walls! Professional writers are not "certified" -- they are successful; they are PUBLISHED! They have CLIENTS! They have word-of-mouth referrals!
You too can buy expensive "pieces of paper" suitable for framing -- there are diploma mill scam artists who sell gonzo college diplomas; there are "reverend mills" where you can become an ordained minister; AND there are "CERTFICATE MILLS," where you can become a gonzo "certified résumé writer!"

Here is a pathetic example of a local executive search firm that is probably hurting for new business, and so has probably decided to try its hand at writing résumés.

Problem is, their grammar in the classified ad is so embarrassing that I feel sorry for anyone who is unfortunate to hire them for such an important investment in their career. And they don't even know enough to put the accent marks on the word "résumés."

This is from a recent Sunday Omaha World Herald. OW! Here are a few examples of their egregious grammatical KLINKERS --

"Professional Resumes that gets noticed"
"Professional Resumes that stands out"
"Professional Resumes that tells your story"

Oh, and the best news is that this week you can have all of this illiterate writing done for you for "20% off." Off what? It is easy to mark up a product by 20% and then offer a 20% discount!!!

Let the buyer beware!!! Please read on down and review the credentials of Executive Writing Services, dominating the résumé market in western Iowa and Nebraska since 1986.
And with clients in all 50 states and as far away as the Persian Gulf and Japan.

Fall Job Exhibitors to convene in Council Bluffs Nov. 9

2010-10-12T14:59:00.004-05:00

And P. Michael Young of Executive Writing Services will be hosting the résumé critiquing booth as usual!

Fall Regional Job Fair set for Tuesday, Nov. 9

Published: Thursday, October 7, 2010 4:20 PM CDT

SWIowaJobs.com - southwest Iowa's regional recruitment Web site and a Job Network affiliate site - and The Daily Nonpareil, southwest Iowa's daily newspaper, are teaming up with area employers to hold a regional Job Fair this fall.

Job seekers and those looking to advance their careers throughout the two-state area are invited to take this opportunity to meet a wide variety of employers from the greater Omaha metro and southwest Iowa areas. Those attending the job fair are invited to submit résumés and applications and potentially interview for job openings.

The Fall Job Fair will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in ballroom A, just inside the south entrance. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. Attendees are encouraged to dress for an interview and bring copies of resumes.

Dozens of the area's best employers will participate in the job fair representing a wide range of different types of employment opportunities. We will continue to add to our list of employers as the job fair nears. Our employers so far include:

Ameristar Casino & Hotel
Applied Underwriters
Convergys
Cox Communications
REM Iowa
Tyson Consumer Products
University of Phoenix

. . . and more to come!

Nonpareil Job Fair a big success!

2010-05-21T16:13:00.001-05:00

Our Résumé critiquing booth at yesterday's career fair at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs was a big success again. Thousands of jobseekers from Iowa and Nebraska were able to meet with employers, and they came out despite the drizzle.

Many thanks to the Nonpareil for sponsoring Executive Writing Services with a free booth, newspaper ads and an excellent feature article in Sunday's paper featuring our website www.writearesume.biz.
Also thanks to Channel Three for its video coverage on last night's news.
Many jobseekers are calling to make an appointment for a professional résumé consultation with Mr. Young.
We look forward to doing it all again at the next fair in November!!!

We'll be featured at the CB Career Fair again this Spring!

2010-04-23T13:33:00.001-05:00

The Council Bluffs Nonpareil newspaper has again asked Mr. Young to provide free résumé consultations and critiques at its semi-annual career fair next month. Watch the newspaper and its website for further announcements. CLICK on http://www.swiowajobs.com/

Just in -- from another satisfied client!

2010-02-08T17:12:00.002-06:00

Dear Mr. Young, I wanted to thank you for your superb work on my resume. I'm pleased to inform you that I was hired for the Regional Manager position with Sinclair Oil.

I'll be starting my new job March 1st. This is a very exciting time for my family.
Again, thanks for your help!

Regards,

Tom Taylor

Tom, I'm almost as pleased as you. Please accept my congratulations. I knew you could do it! Best of luck, and tell your friends and colleagues about me!

--Mike Young

Never, since the Great Depression, have jobseekers needed more help than today!

2010-01-18T09:31:00.002-06:00

Economy sheds more jobs than expected

Nation lost 85,000 jobs in December; unemployment rate flat at 10 percent

WASHINGTON - Lack of confidence in the economic recovery led employers to shed a more-than-expected 85,000 net jobs in December even as the unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can't find jobs.

The sharp drop in the work force — 661,000 fewer people — showed that more of the jobless are giving up.

Once people stop looking for jobs, they're no longer counted among the unemployed

Résumé expert Mike Young interviewed in today's Sunday Nonpareil

2009-11-08T09:30:00.008-06:00

The right job is just a résumé away

By Chad Nation, Council Bluffs Nonpareil Staff Writer, cnation@nonpareilonline.com

Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 12:22 AM CST

In an economy where unemployment is hovering around 10 percent, potential employees want to do everything they can to make sure a résumé puts them above other applicants; and that’s Mike Young’s specialty.

Young is the driving force behind Executive Writing Services, 7631 Park Drive, Ralston, Neb., and will be at The Daily Nonpareil’s 2009 Fall Job Fair offering advice for sprucing up a resume.

The fair will be held at the Mid-America Center, 1 Arena Way, Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I’m really looking forward to the job fair,” Young said. The business has served over 27,000 clients since 1981, and he said most people make the same mistakes on their resumes.

“Usually, they are too plain, too short and in too small of print,” he said. “There is more to a good resume than just correct spelling and grammar.”

And one size does not fit all when it comes to résumés. Depending on how long a person has been in the job force and what they have achieved, a resume can be a number of pages. Young said he has worked with people in the academic world who have resumes that have pages in the double digits.

Young said résumés are also more than just job descriptions, and too often people forget to include their achievements.

“It has to be interesting and make people want to turn the page and actually read it,” he added. “In journalism, we are taught to front load an article with the most important information, and in advertising it is no different: Here’s what I’ve done, and here’s what I can do for you.”

The key is to get your information read by those who have the power to hire.

“When you are in the job market you are a salesman. Whether you are an accountant or a computer programmer, you have to think like a salesman, and that’s where I help,” Young said. “The question is whether you make a lasting impression or a last impression.”

Young will be available at The Daily Nonpareil Job Fair and will have more information on preparing a résumé. His business can also be contacted through his Web site at www.writearesume.biz.

For more information about the 2009 Fall Job Fair, go online to www.nonpareilonline.com.

Young said. “I will be able to look at some résumés and give people advice.”

Young has been helping people sell themselves since he bought the business from Professor Harold Gray of University of Nebraska College of Business Administration in 1986.

Job Fair advertisement in the CB Nonpareil - - -

2009-10-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

CLICK to enlarge!

Happy Labor Day? Not Going to the Picnic This Year, Bunky???

2009-09-07T09:12:00.005-05:00

It's never too late to get off your heinie and get your career search back on target. Call us to jump-start your résumé today!

Visit our website at www.writearesume.biz
and call us at 402.399.9853

Extended 3-day weekends can stymie your style and impede your job search!

2009-09-03T13:16:00.001-05:00

Holidays and 3-day weekends --

When the cat's away, the mice will play!

While many are taking a leisurely 3-day or longer weekend, savvy job seekers are seizing the advantage to hone their résumés and mail out their cover letters. Executive Writing Services is available by appointment 365 days per year. Carpe diem!
Call us today at (402) 399-9853.

Another résumé "expert" sticks foot in mouth - - -

2009-08-26T08:42:00.006-05:00

As I have said so often, there are just too many charlatans and self-appointed experts out there confusing job hunters. I just emailed the following letter to the Public Pulse of the Omaha World-Herald --

In your Money section of 8/26/09, Michelle Singletary cautions her readers against mispellings and typos in their résumés and cover letters. Good advice, so far. But then the lady counsels us to mispell a word. She asserts that the phrase should be "Dear Sir or Madame," rather than "Dear Sir or Madam." She claims that "madam" is the manager of a brothel. Nothing could be more ludicrous or wrong. Consulting the dictionary or a Secretary's handbook will reveal her error

We refer to Hillary Clinton as "Madam Secretary of State." Likewise it is "Madam Chairperson" or "Madam President." Any reader who takes Ms. Singletary's advice will end up using a typo. A madame is a french lady. But Dear Madam is a proper English term of address, similar to Dear Sir.

In my interview with the World-Herald published on 11/23/08, I correctly counseled to use "Dear Sir or Madam" rather than "To Whom It May Concern." Whenever you are uncertain of the name or the gender of a person, "Dear Sir or Madam" is correct.

I write résumés and cover letters as a profession. Ms. Singletary, undoubtedly a college graduate, should research her grammar and spelling herself.

P. Michæl Young
www.writearesume.biz
Ralston
Ralston

Employers expect you to tell the truth - - -

2009-08-18T10:11:00.003-05:00

After we have made you look good on paper, after the interview, after you have been hired, it is only reasonable that the employer will expect you to live up to your résumé. Here's a survey from a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal. CLICK the picture to enlarge it.

BLACKBALLING! What employers can and cannot say about you

2009-05-25T10:14:00.006-05:00

When approached by your potential employer, most previous employers are aware that the only thing that they can do is verify your employment title and dates of employment, unless there are legal issues such as dishonesty, safety, etc. Here is the story of an employer who got sued because he didn't follow the law.

According to Philly.com (not CA, I know), a former Best Buy Manager is suing the company for preventing him from obtaining gainful employment.

Stung by a scathing job reference, a South Jersey man filed a federal lawsuit last week, claiming that Best Buy, his former employer, blackballed him.

Michael Oliveri, 47, said it was impossible to find a new job after he was fired in August 2006 from Best Buy, the electronics megamart.

In his suit, Oliveri said he became suspicious after job offers at Circuit City and Target were abruptly terminated.

So Oliveri, of Columbus, Burlington County, hatched a plan.

He created an e-mail account using the name of a Target employee. Then Oliveri sent a note to his former company asking for a “candidate reference.”

According to Oliveri’s lawsuit, the district human resources manager, Ann McCafferty, allegedly responded:

“I will give you the skinny on him but you can’t say you got any info from Best Buy or we can be sued. Just don’t hire him and say you went with a better candidate.

“He was hired as GM and demoted after 12 months or so because he sucked. He is desperate for a job because supposedly his wife left him because he has no job. I would not touch him.

“Again, do not forward this e-mail to anybody or say where you heard the info from because we were not allowed to give this info out, but I would hate you to get stuck with this guy!”

Needless to say, Oliveri did not get the job.

If she indeed said these things, I’d love to find out what this HR Manager was thinking, not only for saying such things but for putting it in writing and then requesting it not be forwarded (an invitation to do just that).

Honest feedback is often appreciated but can truly land one in hot water.

I’m all for letting a potential employer know if there are violence/safety issues, but I still believe the path of least resistance is to provide only name, rank and serial number.

And Lord knows, we all need as little resistance as possible.

Wisdom from Cal for jobseekers - - -

2009-05-19T10:00:00.002-05:00

"No man ever listened himself out of a job."
-- Calvin Coolidge

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Calvin Coolidge

CLICK ON http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge

Bring in the clowns! Caveat emptor --- buyer beware! - - -

2009-05-17T17:28:00.009-05:00

"I is a professional writer!"

Just a few posts down the page, I warned my readers against amateurs, poseurs, charlatans, shams, shamans and shysters who try to pass themselves off as "professional writers of résumés."

Here is a pathetic example of a local executive search firm that is probably hurting for new business, and so has probably decided to try its hand at writing résumés.

Problem is, their grammar in the classified ad is so embarrassing that I feel sorry for anyone who is unfortunate to hire them for such an important investment in their career. And they don't even know enough to put the accent marks on the word "résumés."

This is from this morning's Sunday Omaha World Herald. Here are a few examples of their egregious grammatical KLINKERS --

"Professional Resumes that gets noticed"
"Professional Resumes that stands out"
"Professional Resumes that tells your story"

Oh, and the best news is that this week you can have all of this illiterate writing done for you for 20% off. Off what? It is easy to mark up a product by 20% and then offer a 20% discount!!!

Let the buyer beware!!! Please read on down and review the credentials of Executive Writing Services, dominating the résumé market in western Iowa and Nebraska since 1986.
And with clients in all 50 states and as far away as the Persian Gulf and Japan.

Something to think about -- about job security

2009-03-13T09:54:00.003-05:00

"If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm."
-- Vince Lombardi

Omaha career fair swamped! But not enough employers!! Too many people without résumés and wearing jeans!

2009-01-28T12:01:00.008-06:00

Want to throw a big party? Just call it a job fair
BY JOHN KEENAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Amanda Collier came to the Omaha Career Fair on Tuesday in search of a job in management or customer service.

The Holiday Inn convention center was hopping with hopefuls Tuesday for the Omaha Career Fair, designed to bring together would-be workers and employers.

Recently laid off, Collier said she visited all 21 booths except those for the armed forces and law enforcement. She has attended other job fairs and posted several résumés online. "And there's nothing," she said, sitting at a table in the middle of the room, her New York Giants coat folded over her lap.

Organizers said they had expected 800 people to pass through the six-hour event, in the Holiday Inn convention center, near 72nd and Grover Streets, and sponsored by Career Fairs Global. By 11 a.m., 500 had already come through the doors.

The job fair took place just a day after companies nationwide announced tens of thousands of new layoffs.

The country lost a net 2.6 million jobs last year, the most since 1945, and might lose another 2 million this year. The recession's impact has been less severe in Omaha and in Nebraska, but layoffs are occurring regularly here as well.

Makayla Trapp of Omaha has been unemployed since December, when the roofing company she worked for shut down for the winter. She said she came to Tuesday's fair looking for any work. "I even applied at Burger King, and they never called," she said.

Among the companies represented at the event were Raytheon, Primerica and Verizon Wireless. People in winter jackets and jeans stood next to people in suits and ties, some carrying briefcases or leather portfolios.

One couple had a young boy with them. Milton Johnson, who just relocated from Colorado, said he hoped to talk to representatives from Mutual of Omaha or Blue Cross Blue Shield, neither of which was represented at the fair.

Johnson is seeking a sales or customer service job. "I thought it would be bigger," he said of the job fair. "I thought there'd be more companies." Creighton University was one of the schools with a booth. "A lot of people come to job fairs not really equipped to obtain the jobs that they're seeking," said Creighton representative John Gallion. "So what better place to recruit individuals to go to school than at a job fair?"

In the first two hours, the longest line — 20 people at times — was for technology company West Corp. Amanda Smith, standing at the end of that line, said she'd already been to all the other booths. She said West Corp.'s popularity among job-seekers was because of its recognizable name and the variety of positions it offers. Employer representatives at several stations declined to take her résumés, said Smith, who graduated in November from the Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design. "I only was able to drop off two résumés," she said. "A lot of them rejected them and said, 'Just go online and do it that way.' I'm sure it's easier for them."

She did, however, have "some good conversations."

Several employer representatives said they were delighted with the turnout. People were waiting outside the doors when they opened at 10 a.m., they said. Paul Rible with the U.S. Border Patrol said he spoke to a number of interested people who seemed undaunted by the required move. "I'm finding now it's easier to get people that are willing to relocate," he said. "In the past, it's been kind of a struggle for us. That's been the big thing holding people back."

Attending a career fair? Remember these key things;

Bring a professionally prepared résumé -- bring lots of copies!
Dress and prepare for an interview!
Bring a note pad. You will want to send a followup letter to the person with whom you speak!
Don't bring your children, pets or food!
Get rid of the bling and the excessive perfume; a job interview is not a date!
Be professional; be enthusiastic! You want to make a positive first impression! Too often, first impressions become last impressions -- rather than lasting impressions!
Think!

-- For a free booklet on Interviewing, email Executive Writing Services at ews@juno.com. Visit our website at writearesume.biz

2009-01-03T10:47:00.003-06:00

Collect specific examples of the benefit that your company gained from the work you've already performed.

5 Job Search Tips to Survive the Recession

--Joe Turner, Career Coach

Today's economic news may be gloom and doom but it needn't derail your job hunt. You can still win a great job, even in a lousy economy. You will have to get smarter in your job search strategy, though.

Here are five tips to incorporate into your job search approach during an economic downturn:

1. Research your options

Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the Web through Google or Yahoo. Start with "best industries work recession" or "recession jobs 2008" to uncover articles describing some of the more "recession-proof" sectors to target.

2. Change your focus

Start asking yourself the question, "What's in it for them?" as opposed to, "What's in it for me?" Especially in an economic downturn, you'll want to stay focused on what you can accomplish for your next employer. Show them that you understand the macroeconomic "bigger picture" of the role you play in moving the company forward.

3. Sell results, not skills

Leave behind that old mindset that your job-related skills or length of service are selling factors. The new mindset is to think of yourself as a mini profit-and-loss center rather than just an employee. Employers today buy results and are less impressed with candidates promoting a long laundry list of skills. You'll want to define the many ways your past and present job performance is an asset to your next employer.

4. Start talking money

The downturn has made the private sector economy even more bottom-line-oriented than ever. Hiring managers categorize employees into one of two distinct groups:

a.) those who help make money

b.) those who help save money.

Which one are you?

For example, Barry, who preferred to withhold his last name for the purpose of this story, worked as the human resources manager of a midsized company. While much of his work focused on compliance issues, he noticed that the company was paying many thousands of dollars to locate and hire good employees. As a result, Barry developed and implemented an in-house employee referral program that netted three quality hires in a six-month period. This saved the company almost $70,000 that the company would have paid for recruiters and advertising costs.

Barry saves money for his company, and this is an accomplishment future employers will want to hear about.

Rethink your current or past job to understand your position in the bigger corporate P&L picture. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How did my work improve the performance of my department or company?

How many roles did I perform that saved the company the expense of added employees or contractors?

How has my work made the work of others (employees and managers) easier, faster and more effective?

5. Add achievements to your résumé

Employers don't hire employees, they hire problem-solvers. Your new résumé should be a hard-hitting sales tool designed to accomplish one goal: get the interview. To demonstrate this, add a specific achievements list to your résumé. Take the list that you developed in the previous section and hone it down to your biggest and most notable accomplishments. Now, describe the benefit that your employer gained from each example. This will put you several steps ahead of your job-seeking competitors. Plus, you'll now have some talking points ready for that next phone interview.

Summary

Don't let all the hype about the recession spook you into a state of panic. By revising your tactics to include a more solution-selling approach to employers, you stand a better chance of getting hired in today's faltering economy.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers.

Now is NOT the time to take a break from your job search!

2008-12-24T11:19:00.004-06:00

Job Hunting During Any Holiday Season Is a Worthwhile Strategy

CLICK on --
www.writearesume.biz

By Sinara Stull O'Donnell

The holiday season isn't relaxed for corporate recruiters or headhunters. In fact, the heat is on in December for many of them.

While working as an in-house recruiter for a major food manufacturer one year, I made a pact with my husband to be home on Christmas Eve by 7 p.m. We lived in Los Angeles and its infamous traffic problems made us somewhat indulgent about the exact time. Still, I didn't make it until nearly 9:30 p.m.

I was late because that morning, a hiring manager at my company selected a finalist for an opening. I was supposed to make the offer and complete all the paperwork before the manager left for a week's vacation. I negotiated back and forth all day and finished the offer only at about the time my husband was rolling into our driveway. The paperwork done at 8:30 p.m., I headed for Casa O'Donnell.

I'm not recounting this tale to portray myself as a martyr, although all sympathy is welcome. My Christmas Eve story is no different from many other recruiters'.

Positions close in December for lots of reasons, including:

Executive recruiters' commissions go up as the year progresses. They receive more from their companies on deals that close at the end of the year because they're paid on rising commission payout plans (their payout rises as their gross revenues rise).

Internal recruiters may feel pressure for budgetary reasons. "Hire him/her now. I may not have the funds in January."

Many sales organizations have kick-off meetings in January and want to include new hires.

Psychologically, recruiters want to tie up loose ends, such as unfulfilled job orders.

Yet job hunters often blow off the holidays because they view it as a dead hiring period. Nothing is further from the truth.

When calling job applicants in December, I've often heard: "I can't believe you called me this time of year." This doesn't make sense, since recruiters work a full month, except for the few days they take off around Christmas and New Year's.

In some cases, candidates resist coming for interviews in December. I've heard all kinds of excuses. Some are legitimate: "I'm flying out of town that day." Many were silly: "We're going to a party that night and, with the traffic, I don't think I had better drive in for an interview in the afternoon."

I felt like screaming, "Do you want the job or not?"

We made an effort to be flexible with applicants. We sometimes interviewed them by phone while they were away skiing or visiting family. Occasionally, we'd pay to fly a candidate to and from a vacation spot to interview.

Because of my recruiting background, I'm often sought out at gatherings for job-search advice. This time of year, the conversation typically starts with: "Well, I know it's dead in December, so I thought I'd hit it hard after the first of the year."

"Where did you get the idea it's dead in December?" I ask.

"Oh, it's common knowledge, and there aren't as many ads in the paper."

This common knowledge is a misconception. As for the ads, they may dwindle after Dec. 15, but that doesn't mean you should stop all job-search activity.

Many recruiting firms and most corporations list jobs online. Most provide the chance to apply online, and the last two weeks of December are a great time for this. It's also a good opportunity to do research, send targeted letters and network. You'll have laid the groundwork to get off to a good start in the new year.

You might even get a recruiter on the phone. While working for a search firm, I was holding the fort alone in our small office after Christmas. The candidate who phoned the office was surprised when I picked up. "Oh, I thought I'd get a machine," he said.

"Oh? How can help you?"

"Do you want me to call back when the office is open?"

"It is open."

"Are you one of the recruiters?"

After several more exchanges, I convinced him we were open for business between Christmas and New Year's. His disbelief reinforced my conviction that job seekers assume they get a pass to relax the last week in December.

Corporate offices don't shut down, either. As an employee, I've often seen activity increase markedly at the end of December. Perhaps we had too much sugar from the cookies and candies in the office, or maybe we had too-urgent deadlines, but there was a definite rush on to hire people.

Savvy candidates can take advantage of this urgency. They must be flexible enough to drop the wrapping paper for spur-of-the-moment interviews. Remember, job requisitions are sent to corporate staffing offices regardless of the date.

Unemployment may be high, but companies are still hiring and recruiters are still recruiting. December is just the last month of the year.

Ms. O'Donnell is the principal of SinaraSpeaks, a professional-speaking firm in Springfield, Mo., specializing in career issues and humor in the workplace.

Professional writer explains the cover letter's importance - - -

2008-11-23T16:57:00.009-06:00

Published Sunday November 23, 2008
Writing expert recommends cover letters introduce, personalize applicant

BY CHRISTINE GALT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

If you think e-mail and online databases have eliminated the need for a cover letter, think again.

A survey by Robert Half International found that 86 percent of executives said cover letters are valuable.

Mike Young, owner of Executive Writing Services in Ralston, Neb., says a cover letter is a necessity and is a sign of good manners. "In a way, it’s a formality, but it’s also a way of breaking the ice," Young says.

Employers don’t want to read generic letters.

The cover letter should be addressed to a specific employee or department in the company and should never be
informal.

"Don’t use ‘to whom it may concern’" when addressing the letter, says Young, "because it sounds generic." "Dear Sir or Madam" should be used if you don't have a specific name, or if you cannot discern the gender of the person, as in the proverbial "Pat."

The cover letter should be used to introduce your résumé and highlight key points. Young recommends keeping it formal and brief.

"Too many people write a very long cover letter and have a short résumé," he says. "In reality, it should be opposite."

To make the package pop, Young says to use the same letterhead on the cover and the résumé.

Although the letter should be formal, it’s OK to personalize it by using conversational language.

Young recommends ending the cover letter with a signature and a contact number.

He says the applicant should inform the company that he or she will be contacting them within two weeks to set up an interview.

Often, he says, the cover letter can make a difference.

"First impressions can be lasting impressions," he says.

CLICK on these links --

http://writearesume.biz/
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3235&u_sid=10493053

2008-11-19T17:19:00.005-06:00

Reasons the Internet Stops Job Seekers From Being Successful!

By: JoAnn Nix

If this sounds familiar, “I’ve posted my resume on countless job boards but no one has ever called me,” this article will explain why the Internet is not a good way to land interviews.

There are two reasons why job seekers who respond to job ads on monster.com, careerbuilders.com, dice.com, and other job boards rarely receive interviews.

Reason #1

First, when job seekers apply for positions through the Internet they are not one of 10 or 20 people sending in their resume – in fact, there may be thousands of candidates applying for the same position. Hence, competition is extraordinarily tough! So, where does that leave the job seeker? More than likely, frustrated! The competition is so great the odds of a resume getting noticed is very, very slim.

Also, here’s something to consider… if a company posted a job on monster.com and received 500, 1,000 or as many as 5,000 resumes the company would never have the time to print each resume, review each one, and then decide who to contact for interviews. The project would be far too overwhelming and the company would not invest human capital resources nor pay employees to print and review each resume

Managers realize the best candidate’s resume may be in the stack of “left behind” resumes, but the project is too huge. This is one of the primary reasons job seekers depending on the Internet experience frustration.

Reason #2

The second reason job seekers fail to get responses from Internet postings is based on the fact they simply push their resume through technology – meaning through the e-mail gateway.

Hence, the job seeker hasn’t established any relationship with any person. Job seekers are hired by forming relationships with contacts and hiring decision makers. People hire people, computers do not.

E-mailing a resume in response to a website posting doesn’t enable a job seeker to form a relationship with the right decision makers.

Summary

These are the two key reasons why the Internet rarely produces results for most job seekers; the Internet does help a few people get interviews – but the majority of job seekers are not successful using this method. If a job seeker decides to use the Internet as a method of pursuing interview opportunities, he shouldn’t use this avenue as a primary way of generating interviews. If a job seeker does use the Internet as the number one resource, frustration is just around the corner.

I recommend only spending one or two hours a day searching for Internet job opportunities IF a job seeker desires to use this method. In my professional opinion as a job search coach, it’s really not worth the time. I highly recommend a job seeker invest all his time and energy networking and directly interacting with people, one-on-one. I’m sure they will be delighted with your results! It beats Internet searching any day!

2008-10-09T10:03:00.002-05:00

Layoffs At PayPal and Cabela -- Don't panic, get your résumé updated

Ebay Spokesperson Sarah Gorman tells 1110 KFAB some of La Vista's 3,000 full-time employees were let go on Monday.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The reduction at the La Vista office comes on the same day that eBay announced it would be eliminating 10% of their 10,000 full time employees and releasing temporary workers.

Gorman would not mention how many positions at the La Vista office were eliminated, but says the company remains dedicated to its operation in Nebraska, which opened in 2000.

Cabela's Cutting Jobs In Nebraska

Outdoor outfitter Cabela's Inc. says it is cutting about 10 percent of jobs from its headquarters payroll in Sidney.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

A company news release says about two-thirds of the reductions will come from not filling open positions and the remainder from cutting workers. Cabela's says it will be providing severance and outplacement aid. The company would not specify how many jobs would be lost or how many people would be fired, but it said only the Sidney headquarters would be affected.

2008-08-29T11:13:00.007-05:00

P. Michael Young is a

-- a professional journalist, a magazine writer, and, of course a writer and designer of professional résumés, résumés that are more than mere outlines, but actual employment marketing instruments.

Young purchased Executive Writing Services in 1986 from retiring UNO Professor Harold Gray, and has since accumulated over 27,000 client files, with clients in all 50 states and as far away as the Persian Gulf and Japan. Most of his clients are by word-of-mouth referral, but many just find him by Googling "Omaha" and "résumés." If you haven't done so yet, please click his regular website at http://writearesume.biz/

Please scroll down and read on - - - -

When the cat's away, what are you doing?

2008-08-28T17:43:00.002-05:00

Holidays and 3-day weekends --

When the cat's away, the mice will play!

While many are taking a leisurely 3-day or longer weekend, savvy job seekers are seizing the advantage to hone their résumés and mail out their cover letters. Executive Writing Services is available by appointment 365 days per year. Carpe diem!
Call us today at (402) 399-9853.

Happy Labor Day?

2008-08-16T10:33:00.001-05:00

2008-08-12T20:20:00.003-05:00

Omygosh. I forgot my checkbook!

Come on, good people. That is the lamest excuse, and I've been hearing it for 22 years now. You don't tell that to the clerk at Wal-Mart or the gas station.

No one leaves the house without cash, plastic or a checkbook unless he just doesn't want to invest his money.
When you make an appointment to consult with Executive Writing Services, you don't have to pay unless you decide to retain me. But retaining me means you must make a commitment -- a payment.
The folks at the Kwik Shop are not going to let you fill your tank and let you tell them that you'll think about and come back later.
Please. Bring your wallet or checkbook, and let's talk.
If you want to go home and commit to this investment after consulting with your spouse or just think about it over coffee tomorrow, fine.
But don't tell me you're going to come back tomorrow with a check, and then not do that. And then call me three days later and ask me how the project is coming along.
There are no hidden fees, but I expect to get paid in whole or at least in half before I commence work on your employment marketing document.

2008-07-17T21:16:00.012-05:00

Do I Need A Cover Letter? Duh?

This from USA Today -- what do employers say??

Yes 86%, no 14%!!

Think about it!!!! A letter is good psychology, even if you are just going to email your résumé. It's just as important as what you wear for the interview.

It is called courtesy! It is called making you look better than the lazy guy that didn't send a letter. It's just common sense!

When you put a gift under the tree, or present your spouse with anniversary gift, you accompany it with a thoughtful, signed card for the same reason -- it personalizes an otherwise impersonal offering!

Executive Writing Services has a cover letter form under DOCUMENTS on the home page at www.writearesume.biz that you can download, print out and fill it out, scan it back in-- and then email it to ews@juno.net. You will also find a form for the even more important interview followup letter, thanking the interviewer for his/her time, and briefly reviewing what was discussed -- to be sent as soon as possible after the interview. Employers seldom receive thank you letters, so this is an excellent chance, again, to outshine your competition for that job!!!

Even so, call us at 402.399.9853 to determine when your letter will be ready the next day----

2008-06-17T15:44:00.015-05:00

Just a Few Things Not to Put Into Your Résumé.

I see résumés every day that are homemade and full of standard errors that, rather than open doors to interviews, stand in the way instead.

Seeking a position utilizing my skills and abilities. Duh! Who isn’t? Your objective should say specifically what kind of work you are seeking!!! Your potential employer isn’t a career counselor or a mind reader * give him a targeted objective. Executive Writing Services can help you with this, as with those mistakes listed below.

No objective at all. That’s a good idea only if you are sending your résumé to a headhunter who prefers it that way, or if you are giving it to someone who already has a specific opportunity in mind for you. Otherwise, no objective sends the message that you don’t know what you want to do when you grow up. No objective at all, or a nonspecific non-objective can end up on the desk of the wrong hiring manager, perhaps the guy who hires the cleaning crew. Your résumé writer will help you construct an objective.

Self-motivated. So are most two-year-olds. That sounds selfish and myopic * why not self-starter, highly motivated, energized by challenges. Independent worker, but also a team player. You might want to say that you are outgoing and client-oriented. A strong problem solver.

Strong oral skills. No * that goes on Monica Lewinsky’s résumé! Yours might say “Articulate verbal skills."

A people person. What kind of person isn’t a people person? Even animal handlers have to interact with people as well. Even Hannibal the Cannibal was a people person! He was very fond of people, properly cooked and seasoned.

Voted most popular girl on campus. That could be taken more than one way, but I have seen it on home made résumés. Believe it or not, I have seen all of these on résumés that were homemade or churned out by one of the résumé mills.

Personal Information: Unless the information is directly related to the job you are going for, mentioning your religion, race, politics, sexual orientation, body measurements, etc., or including a photo, are not good ideas. I had a client once who had moved here from San Francisco, and he wanted to include: “Voted Gay Cowboy of the Year.” Not a good idea, at least in middle America, unless he is looking for a job in that particular genre of employers. Don't ask, don't tell. A photo would be a good idea if applying for a job modeling or as a stage performer or as a TV personality, but not for most jobs.

2008-06-09T15:51:00.005-05:00

Mike, I am overwhelmed with my wife's new resume. It was worth every dime, and is certainly a huge improvement over the "bargain price" we got from xxx. And when you explained that it can be included in job search expenses and deducted from our taxes, what a relief!

Rob

Rob, always beware of bargains when buying something important. Parachutes, life preservers, etc. And remember you will be on my computer for inexpensive updates as you need them.

Mike

2008-05-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

This email just in from another happy client ---

Hello Michael,

The resume you made for me a few months back looks great. I have been recently promoted and need to update my resume, I also am moving at the end of the month and will have a new address that will need to be updated. Let me know if you would like to do it through email or if you would like me to call you and we can go over it on the phone. I look forward to hearing from you and have a good day!

Mike

2008-05-19T13:53:00.008-05:00

NOT TO SPOIL YOUR DAY, BUT HOW

PREPARED ARE YOU

-- TO LOSE YOUR JOB???

Hundreds of the hapless at First Data Resources just received a surprise pink slip.

Resumes may not often be needed, but when you need one NOW, it may be too late. Just like home insurance or car insurance. It's a matter of planning ahead for the inevitable!

There's little excuse these days for not being ready to kick a job search into high gear at a moment's notice. Better yet, aim to become the type of perennial passive job seeker who stays in touch with former colleagues and industry peers and gets a call every now and then from a recruiter looking for candidates.

There's little mystery about how it's done. The hard part is remembering that it's necessary. The threat of recession is a good reminder.

"In survival mode, people hunker down as opposed to taking risk," said Sharon Noha, senior vice president at Robertson Lowstuter Inc., an executive development firm based in Bannockburn, Ill.

"There's tremendous opportunities for people during mergers and restructurings to step out into areas where they don't have a lot of experience. Yet in the times when there are the most possibilities, a lot of people lose out," Noha said.

"If you've got your head down and you're tucked in a little corner someplace, your boss leaves and then who knows you? If you've done your work by creating some visibility," she said, "you have a much better chance of somebody carving out a new responsibility. It's not really that different from networking externally, and you need to be doing both."

Here are some other suggestions from experts:

• Be visible. Neil Schermitzler, a regional human resources manager in Rosemont, Ill., for Fujitsu Computer Systems, recommended: "Be visible in a very positive way. Volunteer for projects. Volunteer for overtime."

• Network online. If you haven't created or updated your profile on a professional networking site such as LinkedIn, you are missing out on an easy way to raise your external visibility, said Diana Smith, managing director in Chicago at the Novo Group, a professional-services recruiting firm.

"It's like your Internet business card," Smith said. "Treat it just like you would a good résumé, only you're not limited to two pages the way you are on a résumé. Show concrete accomplishments and information about what you could bring an employer. It's a way of getting that information out there without the awkwardness of your employer seeing your résumé posted on job boards."

Ask your boss to write a few sentences about you for your profile, she said, or "write one for them first and ask them to return the favor. I've had a lot of my staff ask me to do this for them over the years. As a manager, I would expect them to put themselves out there and stay in touch with colleagues."

• Set benchmarks. Financial planner Michael Haubrich of Milwaukee-based Financial Service Group Inc. recommends benchmarking yourself every few years against the job market to find out how relevant and transferable your experience and skills are and what others in comparable positions make.

He recalled a client who initially resisted the notion that her biggest financial risk was job loss because she was overpaid, based on a career adviser's assessment of what her job was worth and her transferable skills.

"When the company was sold, her job was on the chopping block," he said. "They kept her long enough to do the knowledge transfer. She ended up working in a different industry, but her income is considerably lower."

• Start a career fund. Haubrich also recommended preparing for the inevitable job changes and career transitions by starting a "career asset working-capital fund" in addition to your emergency reserves of three to six months of fixed expenses.

The fund has three functions: to continue lifelong education, to finance job changes and to fund sabbaticals during career makeovers or when you step out of the work force for family or personal reasons.

One option is putting money aside in a Section 529 college tuition savings plan, where it can grow tax free. Most people think of using 529 plans to save for their children and grandchildren, but you can make yourself the beneficiary.

The main lesson from Haubrich's suggestion is that you will need to invest in maintaining your most important asset, often without help from an employer. The amount depends on your salary, your career's volatility and how many changes you make.

Young workers face the prospect of changing jobs nearly nine times before age 32, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In March, the average length of unemployment for all ages was nearly 17 weeks.

2008-04-19T13:05:00.003-05:00

Good news from another client --

Mike, The resume looks great!!! I was unable to attend the job fair because my daughter is sick. Thanks for the help. I 'll keep in touch.

Steve S

2008-03-31T14:03:00.002-05:00

Quantify Accomplishments - Numbers Get Attention

Why is it so important to quantify accomplishments?

Your resume must provide prospective employers with a glimpse into your life. What
they are looking for is your potential to serve their needs in an effective and definable way.

When you specify or quantify accomplishments (results) in your resume, you speak the
language that employers want to hear. This means using facts and figures to define your successes.

Using results helps explain in concrete terms how you benefited your last employer. When you are able to state an outcome to your accomplishments, you are going to begin to get the approval of hiring managers.

Why?

Outcomes have meaning. They are real. They are definable and relational. Defining your achievements in this way allows an employer to see specific representations of your ability to perform the duties of a job well. They are clear, concise and remove subjectivity. Numbers provide a means to quantify accomplishments - your specific achievements - in a way that will excite prospective employers.

2008-03-18T10:04:00.004-05:00

Good News! Executive Writing Services has recently moved to a storefront location in the heart of downtown Ralston, Nebraska, next to Omaha. Our website, www.writearesume.biz, has the address and a map. We are located at 7631 Park Drive, which is at 77th & Park, just one block SOUTH of Main Street. Our new email address is ews@juno.com.

Please read on for more useful information about our services, and for employment announcements.

2007-05-22T21:38:00.005-05:00

Don't drop the ball. A client just came in with an old, old question. She was misadvised that she should have a "functional resume." Not wanting her to waste her money when she had already invested in a top-drawer resume from Executive Writing Services, I gave her the following article.

Yes, I talked her out of spending her money with me But that is what I do -- I give people good advice, and I feel good about myself for having done that. She told me that her EWS resume had received rave reviews and had interviewed for better jobs, and, yes, was offered a job.

Please remember your friends at this time of year -- especially those who are graduating or being downsized. Friends don't let friends write their own amateur resumes. Send them to me and to my website. I now have over 27,000 clients worldwide, and am presently writing resumes for some military personnel serving our country on the USS Anzio in the Persian Gulf.

Peace and prosperity!

P. Michæl Young
http://writearesume.biz/
http://www.ews.blogspot.com/
http://writearesume.biz/memoriam.html

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

RESUME MYTHS 101

The “functional résumé” is a favorite fiction of résumé writing books and résumé writers without relevant real world experience. In theory, functional résumés help conceal deficiencies in a candidate's background; in the real world, recruiters, staffing managers and hiring managers view functional résumés with suspicion and disdain. In practice, functional résumés raise a red flag before each employer.

Authors of résumé writing books, and unsophisticated, naïve résumé writers who buy into their hackneyed nostrums, often advocate functional résumés for three reasons: it is a simple solution to a complex problem, the advocates do not know any better -- and they do not have to live with the consequences.

If you assume that most people who make hiring decisions are of above-average intelligence, it stands to reason that they would recognize an overused method of hiding information. Many gatekeepers trash functional résumés as soon as they see them. Employers use chronological employment application forms. Therefore, use a chronological résumé format.

To that you should add a Summary of Qualifications, which pinpoints your “functional” qualities.

The Essential Summary of Qualifications

A Human Resources Manager, working at a Fortune 500 company, asked for my help in writing her resume. She told me: "Thousands of resumes have passed through my hands but when it comes to writing my own I have a difficult time doing it." She isn't alone in her concerns. Most people find resume writing challenging. A resume is nothing more than a slick piece of advertising, but an important piece, especially in today's job market. It can be a gateway to an interview or a barrier, a first and lasting impression or a last impression.

Employers report that most resumes get only a 15-20 second glance. If you don't capture the reviewers' attention and interest quickly they will pass you by and call in someone else for the interview.

There is one effective technique that you can use that dramatically improves your resume. In our national survey of 600 hiring managers, the overwhelming majority said the most important part of your resume is the SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS section. Employers reported that this was one of the very first areas they read and when the summary demonstrates solid ability to perform the job it catches their attention and they slow down and give the applicant more careful consideration.

Hiring managers also reported only about 5% of resumes received contained this key section, and I never write a resume without it. It's just too powerful to leave out. This section usually consists of four to six sentences that present an overview of your experience, accomplishments, talents, work habits, and skills. Think of it as a mini-outline of you; a highly influential summation of the specifics you bring to the job.

Here is a good example from one of the resumes I wrote for a client:

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Proven track record serving as corporate counsel with eight years experience dealing with intellectual property and partnerships in a global environment. Responsible for a broad range of legal matters including: copyright and trademark protection, contract negotiations, compliance, and litigation. Led legal team in completing sophisticated joint venture negotiations that delivered millions to the company's bottom line. Recognized for superior problem solving, project management, relationship building, and strategic planning skills.

It's easy to see by reading this brief summary how this candidate is qualified to perform as a corporate attorney. Indeed, she got several interviews and accepted a Fortune 100 company's offer, which included a very significant salary raise and signing bonus.

The SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS, which speaks volumes by consolidating the best you have to bring to the job, really makes you stand out and pulls the employer in for a closer look. Be sure that your resume has this essential section. It comes right after your name, address and career objective. One caution -- employers complain that many people lie on their resume. Exaggeration! Misrepresentation! LYING is a deadly error. Don't do it! Employers do more background checks now than ever before so when you get caught, and sooner or later you will get exposed, you'll likely be fired and/or sued. Only solid facts and verifiable experience should highlight your experience and accomplishments.

2007-05-04T15:57:00.002-05:00

Response to a client --

That's okay; I'm used to it. At least you hadn't had a bad experience with one of the resume mills. Those people soured me against "resume services" when I first moved here from Illinois 21 years ago. That is all explained on my website. Especially beware of so-called "Certified Resume Writers" -- for $75 or so, any illiterate can buy a certificate, suitable for framing.

Great writers don't need a store-bought certificate; they produce results -- quality copy -- and win repeat and incremental business. Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Frost, Poe, King, Shakespeare, Dickens -- etc. weren't foolish enough to buy a store-bought "certificate."

Those 27,000 client files of mine are my credentials. I actually have clients who have journalism degrees but who cannot write a simple cover letter and who are working in factories (nothing wrong with factory work; I worked in one myself for a year when I was a kid, but what a waste of college money). They are certifiable -- not certified, at least by my standards. I teach remedial business writing to business executives.

Some people spend tens of thousands of dollars on buying that college diploma, and then don't perceive the value of a $100-$300 investment in a professional employment marketing resume!

Incidentally, I just picked up another potential client currently serving on the USS Anzio aircraft carrier, referred to me by two of his buddies.

2007-04-20T14:09:00.004-05:00

Keep in mind that EXECUTIVE WRITING SERVICES provides a scannable form on its website in the documents section for a brief followup letter. Fill that out, scan it in and email it to us as an attachment, or deliver it, and your letter will be ready or emailed to you next day for $10.00. A more detailed followup letter (more pages) will require a larger fee.

Five Tips for Writing
A Tailored Thank-You

By Sarah Needleman

For job candidates seeking an edge, sending interviewers a customized thank-you is critical.

"You're helping to jog their memories of you," says Heather Hamilton, staffing-programs manager for marketing and finance at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. Recruiters typically interview several candidates for a position, she explains, noting that in one week she might meet with 10 applicants.

Simply sending a thank-you isn't enough to stand out from the competition, adds Frank Heller, recruiting manager at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in New York. He estimates that 90% of the candidates he interviews make the effort, while only about half personalize their letters.

Here are five tips to help you write a tailored thank-you.

1. Proofread beyond spelling and grammar.

If you're interviewing with several employers, check that each thank-you shows the correct company and recruiter name, advises Theresa Lenczewski, a human-resources specialist for New York-based international advertising agency JWT, a unit of WPP Group PLC of London. She sometimes receives thank-yous addressed to competitors, a gaffe she says costs candidates a second interview. "The positions I recruit for involve a lot of corresponding with clients through email so paying attention to detail is very important," she explains.

2. Reiterate your best qualities.

"I've had candidates get lost in the shuffle, only to rediscover them when I received thank-you notes that restated their strong points," says Kevin A. Mercuri, associate vice president at 5W Public Relations, a New York-based agency. "A thank-you is literally the last chance candidates have to sell themselves to an employer." A candidate for a senior account-executive job once sent him a letter restating her connections with editors at trade publications that Mr. Mercuri frequently pitches. "I forgot about that and it immediately put her at the top of the list again," he says.

3. Show off your listening skills.

In 2003, a candidate for a position at ADT Security Services Inc. included a photocopied article from a trade magazine in his thank-you to Michael Esposito, then vice president of human resources for the Boca Raton, Fla.-based security-services company. "It spoke to the very issue we talked about in the interview," he says. "It told me that this person really was focused on what was going on in our conversation and that he was really serious about the opportunity."

4. Tap into the employer's culture -- but keep it professional.

Scott Barnum, president of Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures, says he favors candidates who reference the food company's sense of humor in their thank-yous. He's received thank-yous with "Sweet 300" for the Campbell, Calif.-based company's address, while others mimicked Mr. Barnum's email signature, "Have a sweet day." "It's definitely a plus when candidates show they're aware of the culture," he says.

But no matter how laid-back a company appears, keep your thank-you professional, advises Bernt Ullmann, president of Phat Fashions LLC, a New York-based designer and marketer of hip-hop fashions and a unit of Kellwood Co. He's unimpressed by thank-yous with slang or funky spelling. "It comes across as contrived," he explains. "It's OK to express some individuality, maybe by choosing an artistic card, but what an employer primarily wants to see is that the candidate knows proper business etiquette."

5. Write to every executive you meet.

If you interview with more than one person at a company, send each a customized thank-you, recommends Dean Fechner, senior manager, U.S. recruiting, at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. The McLean, Va.-based management-consulting firm hires between 70 and 100 business-school graduates annually following interviews with four senior executives. "Partners have forwarded thank-you emails from candidates that were identical to the ones they'd sent me," he says. "A letter that's not well-thought-out can only hurt you." For ideas on what to write, think back to the topics discussed during each interview. "You might say that it was really interesting to learn about a particular client," suggests Mr. Fechner.

-- Ms. Needleman is associate editor at CareerJournal.com.

2007-04-04T15:53:00.002-05:00

Are you underpaid?

I don't know how scientific this link is, but it is interesting.

http://www.cbsalary.com/salarycalculator/?utm_source=Ad+Brite&utm_medium=Ad+Network

Retiring from the military?

2007-03-08T12:36:00.004-06:00

Yes I also write for military personnel returning to civilian life. Reply to an email inquiry from the USS Anzio in the Persian Gulf:

Dear Darron:

Thank you for serving our nation during these troubled times. I have attached a picture of your fleet. Also attached is my special information form for military personnel. Please share it with your military comrades. You can scan that form when it is completed and then email it to me. But of greater importance, I need you to snail-mail me all of your job descriptions, performance evaluations, award certificates, letters of commendation and citation, training certificates, academic transcripts, along with a money order for my retainer fee. Or at least snail-mail what you have and then send the remainder when you return stateside later. But let's get started now. There is no charge for the consultation. Once I have reviewed the above-mentioned papers, I will follow up by interviewing you by email.

My fee structure works like this: using MS Word, for document creation, design and composition: $55 for the first page, $25 for a second page, etc. $5 for a separate page of professional references. $7.50 for each cover letter and interview followup letter, if you use the fax forms that are provided on my website under "documents." My time in writing the résumé is $65/hour; usually a one-page resume is about an hour of my time. If you have been in the service for a long time, I will have more job descriptions and evaluations to read, so I will factor that in. But I will quote you a firm fee BEFORE we get started, due up front of course. But there is never a charge for final editing and corrections. Your documents can be emailed to you for archiving on your computer or disk, but I will also keep everything on my disk. Future updates or alternate versions would be $5.00 per paragraph plus my time.

All of these, as well as other interesting and helpful answers to questions and Frequently Asked Questions, are to be found on my bulletin board or blog at

http://www.ews.blogspot.com/

And of course my website itself is at

http://writearesume.biz/

And please take your time and click on the various buttons and links on my site to thoroughly acquaint yourself with my credentials and expertise. I have written interview-winning résumés and supporting documents for thousands and thousands of military personnel from E-1 to Generals and Admirals. I have over 10 clients right now working as civilian contractors for Halliburton in Iraq. Like you, 75% of my clients are referred to me. I have clients in 50 states and 20 foreign countries.

You will note that our founder Dr. Harold Gray pursued a successful second career designing and launching training centers nationwide for the United States Air Force for many years after I purchased this business from him. He referred hundreds of military men and women to my services.

Please note the blog posting about tax deductibility. Your resume and other job search investments may be tax deductible. Please snail -mail me a money order made out to P. Michael Young for $100 as a retainer when you snail-mail your military papers. I realize that you probably don't get daily postal access while at sea, but let's get this started as soon as possible.

And, yes, please share my websites with your buddies and colleagues.

Thank you for your inquiry and interest. And for your service to our nation. Best of luck in your career transition.

P. Michæl Young
Mike

Dear Mike Young,

My name is Darron Bennett, currently stationed on USS ANZIO with Chris Horton. I understand that you wrote a resume for his wife, Stacy. I, as well as others, are interested in you writing resumes for us. I will pass on your email address to others interested, but I was wondering what all do I need to do in order for you to write a resume for me? Also what are your standard rates for writing resumes? And seeing how I do not have access to all of my records and certificates at this time, is it possible for me to mail them to you after my return to the states, which should be in late May? I really appreciate taking the time out to talk to me. Thanks for you time, Darron V. Bennett

2007-02-27T15:52:00.004-06:00

The 10 Biggest Interview Killers

By Joe Turner

When you're on a romantic dinner date, you try to avoid "mood killers" -- talking with a mouth full of food, cursing an ex-lover, or complaining about a foot ailment. During a job interview, you have to avoid similar spoilers if you want to make a good impression.

Here are 10 of the most common "advantage killers" and how you can steer clear of them during your next job interview.

1. Not knowing your aim. Too often candidates think their purpose in an interview is simply to ask for a job. Your goals are to demonstrate how you are a good fit for the organization, and to assess whether the job is really right for you.

2. Being too needy. Neediness is probably the No. 1 advantage-killer in an interview. Remind yourself before walking in the door: you do not need this job. You do need food, you do need air, and you do need water. Keep things in perspective.

3. Lousy nonverbal communication. This is about demonstrating confidence. Your first impression makes the difference. When you enter the interview room, stand up straight, make eye contact, and offer a strong handshake with your interviewer. If necessary, jot their name on your notepad as soon as you seat yourself. Do the same for any other individual you are meeting with.

4. Compromising your position. You should always participate in the interview as an equal, not a subordinate, of the person conducting the interview. Often this is a subtle matter of self-perception, so remind yourself before the interview.

5. Falling into the answers-only rut. An interview is a conversation. Don't just answer their questions. That's why you've prepared stories to highlight your accomplishments, which will be your moments to shine. When you do answer any questions, make sure that you answer immediately and follow up with a question of your own, if at all possible.

6. Rambling. Telling your interviewer more than they need to know could be fatal. Your stories should be 60 to 90 seconds long and they should have a relevant point. Focus, focus, focus. Stick with your rehearsed stories, your research, and the questions you need to ask. Don't fill up the silence with unnecessary talk.

7. Being overly familiar. A good interviewer will be skilled enough to put you at ease within the first 10 minutes of the interview. That doesn't mean that they have become your best friend. Don't let your guard down. You're there to interview them and get answers to your questions. Treat this from start to finish as the professional business meeting that it is.

8. Making incorrect assumptions. Points are not deducted at the interview for asking questions when you don't understand something. Don't guess at what your interviewer means. Effective interviewing is all about collecting information in real time, taking good notes, and responding only to the actual facts you've collected. If you find yourself making assumptions or guessing about something that was said, stop and ask for clarification before you answer.

9. Getting emotional. At times the interviewer may hit a nerve or consciously try to provoke you into an "outburst." Don't fall for it. Clear your mind of any fears or expectations, so you can maintain a calm, open-minded perspective at all times. When emotions enter into an interview, failure follows.

10. Not asking specific questions. You want to find out more about what this job is really about and whether you want it. Arrive with a list of several prepared questions about the company, the position, and the people who work there. Ask questions that begin with "what," "how," and "why." Avoid simple yes/no questions. Get your interviewer talking as much as possible, then take notes. Most interviewers are unimpressed by someone who has no questions.

2006-12-09T11:41:00.001-06:00

At Executive Writing Services, our clients send their friends, family and colleagues to us in order to most strategically market their skills and talent. Here's a recent email from one such client --

Mike,

Just want to touch base to let you know there will be a slight delay in e-mailing you information to begin working on Mike M's resume. Mike will be in Omaha around the 17th, so I will call and schedule a time to come in with Mike.

Also, I want to let you know we checked out your web-site, and I am very impressed. The web-site is very professional - and I love the music. We will begin sending you information as soon as we can.

I'll be in touch.

Thanks!

Judy M

2006-12-09T11:36:00.002-06:00

Job Hunting in December
Is a Worthwhile Strategy
www.writearesume.biz

By Sinara Stull O'Donnell

The holiday season isn't relaxed for corporate recruiters or headhunters. In fact, the heat is on in December for many of them.

While working as an in-house recruiter for a major food manufacturer one year, I made a pact with my husband to be home on Christmas Eve by 7 p.m. We lived in Los Angeles and its infamous traffic problems made us somewhat indulgent about the exact time. Still, I didn't make it until nearly 9:30 p.m.

I was late because that morning, a hiring manager at my company selected a finalist for an opening. I was supposed to make the offer and complete all the paperwork before the manager left for a week's vacation. I negotiated back and forth all day and finished the offer only at about the time my husband was rolling into our driveway. The paperwork done at 8:30 p.m., I headed for Casa O'Donnell.

I'm not recounting this tale to portray myself as a martyr, although all sympathy is welcome. My Christmas Eve story is no different from many other recruiters'.

Positions close in December for lots of reasons, including:

*

Executive recruiters' commissions go up as the year progresses. They receive more from their companies on deals that close at the end of the year because they're paid on rising commission payout plans (their payout rises as their gross revenues rise).
*

Internal recruiters may feel pressure for budgetary reasons. "Hire him/her now. I may not have the funds in January."
*

Many sales organizations have kick-off meetings in January and want to include new hires.
*

Psychologically, recruiters want to tie up loose ends, such as unfulfilled job orders.

Yet job hunters often blow off the holidays because they view it as a dead hiring period. Nothing is further from the truth.

When calling job applicants in December, I've often heard: "I can't believe you called me this time of year." This doesn't make sense, since recruiters work a full month, except for the few days they take off around Christmas and New Year's.

In some cases, candidates resist coming for interviews in December. I've heard all kinds of excuses. Some are legitimate: "I'm flying out of town that day." Many were silly: "We're going to a party that night and, with the traffic, I don't think I had better drive in for an interview in the afternoon."

I felt like screaming, "Do you want the job or not?"

We made an effort to be flexible with applicants. We sometimes interviewed them by phone while they were away skiing or visiting family. Occasionally, we'd pay to fly a candidate to and from a vacation spot to interview.

Because of my recruiting background, I'm often sought out at gatherings for job-search advice. This time of year, the conversation typically starts with: "Well, I know it's dead in December, so I thought I'd hit it hard after the first of the year."

"Where did you get the idea it's dead in December?" I ask.

"Oh, it's common knowledge, and there aren't as many ads in the paper."

This common knowledge is a misconception. As for the ads, they may dwindle after Dec. 15, but that doesn't mean you should stop all job-search activity.

Many recruiting firms and most corporations list jobs online. Most provide the chance to apply online, and the last two weeks of December are a great time for this. It's also a good opportunity to do research, send targeted letters and network. You'll have laid the groundwork to get off to a good start in the new year.

You might even get a recruiter on the phone. While working for a search firm, I was holding the fort alone in our small office after Christmas. The candidate who phoned the office was surprised when I picked up. "Oh, I thought I'd get a machine," he said.

"Oh? How can help you?"

"Do you want me to call back when the office is open?"

"It is open."

"Are you one of the recruiters?"

After several more exchanges, I convinced him we were open for business between Christmas and New Year's. His disbelief
reinforced my conviction that job seekers assume they get a pass to relax the last week in December.

Corporate offices don't shut down, either. As an employee, I've often seen activity increase markedly at the end of
December. Perhaps we had too much sugar from the cookies and candies in the office, or maybe we had too-urgent
deadlines, but there was a definite rush on to hire people.

Savvy candidates can take advantage of this urgency. They must be flexible enough to drop the wrapping paper for spur-of-
the-moment interviews. Remember, job requisitions are sent to corporate staffing offices regardless of the date.

Unemployment may be high, but companies are still hiring and recruiters are still recruiting. December is just the last month of the year.

Ms. O'Donnell is the principal of SinaraSpeaks, a professional-speaking firm in Springfield, Mo., specializing in career issues and humor in the workplace.

2006-09-15T13:17:00.002-05:00

Congratulations! You have sought professional expertise in marketing your skills in today’s competitive job market. Executive Writing Services at www.writearesume.biz offers results, not excuses. P. Michael Young is a published professional writer in business communications.

Thinking INSIDE the box in terms of resume development and strategy can misroute your resume into the “circular file,” rather than into the “possible interviews” file.

You are not too far away from EWS. We have over 27,000 clients in all 50 states and around the world – even as far as Baghdad. Full information on contacting us is on the website at www.writearesume.biz.

Scanable forms for targeted cover letters and interview-followup letters are included in the documents section. Please take the time to browse our website.

And email us at ews@juno.com to ask for our free Interviewing Guide that includes the 40 questions most often asked by interviewers.

2006-09-03T12:49:00.001-05:00

Hi Mike,

You seem to be my goodluck charm with job applications. You last updated
my resume about two years ago. I applied for two library jobs at that
time and got two offers! I think I want to try for a new position and
need an update on my resume. Do you still have an electronic copy and can
you help me update via email and phone (should be really simple)?

They are going to post the job on Sept. 6 and I would like to mail a week
or so after that if possible. I can do all the printing on my end.

I hope all is well with you and I will await your response.

Pamela J. Collins

2006-08-16T11:55:00.001-05:00

8-15-06

Dear Mike,

Please accept my sincere gratitude for all your efforts on my behalf.
The documents you've provided to me are very professional, and I
believe will greatly assist with my career search.

Again, thank you so very much for all your time and efforts to complete
these documents!

Best regards,

Sandi Elwood

2006-08-12T11:22:00.002-05:00

Subject: Promotion up the Career Ladder
From: "McElderry, Connie"
To: "ews"

Hi Mike, If you recall back in January I engaged you to complete a resume for me. I am happy to let you know that the Front Office positions have now been defined and I have been promoted to the Customer Advocate Team.

I wanted to thank you for helping me put together the outstanding resume that I believe helped me tremendously in securing this promotion.

Sincerely,

Connie

2006-07-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

And still, another, totally satisfied client.

Dear Michael Young,

Thank you for doing an excellent job with my resume!

Jenny Bartholomew

2006-07-21T13:17:00.001-05:00

YET ANOTHER CLIENT SENDS KUDOS

Mike, I used Elaine's Resume Service recently and got what I paid
for.... I think you did a nice job with this. Wished I had approached
you first.

Rob Porro

2006-07-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Executive Writing Services, delivering INTERVIEWS rather than feeble excuses --

"One size fits all" is about socks, not employment candidates. Most employment applications are at least four pages long. My clients include Human Resources Directors and CEOs from some of the largest firms in Omaha, even Fortune 500s, and nationwide; most of them have 2-3 pages or more of solid, impactful career achievements. Entry-level jobs are simply looking for entry-level candidates, not necessarily for you. If you only are looking for minimum wage, go ahead and pare your document down to a page. "Wordy?" How do we communicate without words? Thinking "inside the box" can keep you from interviews. Please read on.

My website addresses these issues, because the one-page myth has damaged more careers and gotten more resumes into the trashcan than any other myth. Please visit my website and spend time there -- http://writearesume.biz/

2006-06-11T14:13:00.001-05:00

You have terrific experience. Your work ethic is superb. You're even willing to be flexible on salary. But after sending your home-made or resume-mill typed resume to countless, perfectly matched management opportunities, you are still getting lost in the employer's database -- you're just not getting the interviews. Why? It may be hard to believe, but it's likely that your resume is the culprit. Your resume can be a gateway to qualified interviews, or a barrier!

It's time to consult a professional. Please read on below, and click the other links at writearesume.biz. Better yet, call Executive Writing Services at 402-399-9853 to schedule a free in-person or telephone consultation. Executive Writing Services now 27,000 client files going back over 20 years -- clients who use EWS for updates and who refer their colleagues, friends and family to EWS -- clients in 50 states and 20 countries.

It's time to proactively market your experience and expertise. Only a professional resume and cover letter can do that.

2006-04-06T14:04:00.001-05:00

Executive Writing Services delivers results --

From: "Jason Engelke"
To:
Subject: Thank You Letters from Career Fairs

Mr. Young,

I had a great time at the two career fairs on Tuesday. I was a lot more confident knowing my resume was done by an expert. You did get quite a few compliments on the resume and I blew a couple of them away by the presentation! I did modify the resume slightly in the Professional Training & Academic Preparation section and changed my title from Petty Officer First Class to Information Systems Technician First Class under the US Navy in Professional History. It’s a Navy thing and has a way of confusing everybody else in the world about Rank/Rate. Both are correct.

I’ll have quite a few thank you letters I’ll be requesting from you. Also, to make it easier for me, I converted your electronic follow up/thank you form (Follow97.pdf) into a fill able PDF version. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve attached it to this email so it’s yours to keep.

Anyway, I’ll be emailing some of these as PDF attachments to you shortly.

Thank you,

Jason Engelke

P.S. I just got an email from one of the companies while I was typing this!

2006-04-01T11:32:00.002-06:00

ANOTHER ACCOLADE ---

Resumes written by an advertising professional DO deliver results:

From: "Gerald Thompson"
To: ews@juno.com
Subject: Thank you

Thanks to you and your gift of writing, I now have a job. You did such a superb job on the resume, that my new boss has already referred to 2 or 3 things from the resume that I didn't know that anyone would really zero in on (like conversant in Spanish), since it isn't really a necessary part of my job.
Thanks again for all of the time that you spent with me in order to create a great resume.

Patricia Thompson

gcthompson1@earthlink.net

2006-01-21T17:27:00.000-06:00

My name is P. Michael Young, and I am always willing to help clients at every career level to market their skillsets, proficiencies and capabilities in today's highly competitive job market. That is why I frequently present before college and high school classes, as well as professional associations such as the Jaycees and at career fairs. I am energized by empowering my clients to land those interviews.

Being without a PROFESSIONALLY authored résumé can be a barrier, rather than a gateway, to one's next career advancement. Please read on --

Subject: RE: Class Presentation, April 4, 2006, from P. Michael Young of Executive Writing Services
From: "Smith, Chuck"
To: "ews"

Mr. Young,

Thank you for agreeing to speak with the Accounting and Business
Professional Development class. Let me confirm your presentation for
April 4 at 4:00 p.m., and the time frame you mentioned (about 20-30
minutes with time for questions at the end) will work perfectly. As we
get closer to April 4 I will send you some further confirmation
materials with directions on how to get to the classroom. Right now we
have 25 students enrolled in the class and I'll let you know if that
changes significantly between now and then. If you need to get in touch
with me, here is my complete contact information.

Chuck Smith
Assistant Professor - Business/Accounting
Iowa Western Community College
2700 College Road
Council Bluffs, IA 51503
712-325-3315

Thanks again for agreeing to speak with the class.

Chuck Smith

2006-01-07T09:18:00.000-06:00

Follow-Up Letters Win Job Offers (Your Job Search)
By: Linda Matias, Career Coach

A surefire way to separate yourself from a sea of other qualified candidates is to write a follow-up letter after an interview. Most job seekers neglect to write a letter, assuming that once they leave the interviewer's office the interview is over. Well, it isn't. The interview process extends beyond the one-on-one meeting and it is up to you to keep your candidacy in the forefront of the decision-maker's mind.

An effective follow-up letter serves two purposes: (1) It reminds the interviewer of your skills, knowledge and abilities; with the number of candidates they are interviewing, it can be easy to get lost in the crowd. (2) It demonstrates that you remain interested in working for the company and that you were impressed by the organizational culture.

-- Executive Writing Services provides next day follow-up letter writing. A form is provided for you to print out, fill in and fax to us. It is in the documents section of our website at writearesume.biz

2006-01-02T12:21:00.002-06:00

JUST LAID OFF? NOT 'ECONOMICALLY VIABLE?"

If you are one of the casualties from the Christmas layoffs at FDR or elsewhere -- or if you know someone who just lost his/her job at this most inappropriate season, there is help and there is hope. Executive Writing Services offers a full suite of job marketing tools, a free consultation, interviewing advice and strategic insight to
give the job seeker a "leg up" on the competition. Also, a 10% discount for anyone currently out of employment.

Now, before you have to go on unemployment, is the time to get help and start sending out résumés. Read on -- and call us at 402.399.9853 today.

2005-12-09T16:48:00.002-06:00

Before we talk about your job search, let us address the poor state of American writing. If someone cannot write, he/she cannot write a resume. Here is an article by a colleague of mine --

Random Thoughts On The Decline Of English -- Bile, Vitriol, and Lost Clauses
By Fred Reed

Being as I am a shade-tree writer, tinkering with these essays as with a ’54 Merc on blocks behind the garage, I find myself grieving for what was once quite a language. English grows ugly and lapses into deformity. My mail creaks under the weight of misused pronouns and homeless participles. People seem to spell by ear: “Your” and “you’re,” “it’s” and “its” are mixed like salads. The young assert that “me and him was talking,” and really don’t know better. Perhaps three people in the United States know what a contraction is. Many believe that a verb agrees with the object of the nearest preposition.

Words seem to have become more puzzling than they once were, even to the purportedly educated. A list of confusions is easily compiled. “Partly” doesn’t mean “partially;” nor historic, historical; nor philosophic, philosophical; nor sensuous, sensual; nor religiosity, religiousness; nor belligerent, bellicose; nor feminine, effeminate; nor beneficent, benevolent; nor continuous, continual; nor effete, epicene; “It is important that you do not smoke” is not the same as “It is important that you not smoke.” “The new airplane is five times faster than the old” probably doesn’t mean anything at all; if it does, it means “The new airplane is six times as fast as the old.” The word “disingenious” doesn’t exist, though I hear it from the educated. (“Disingenuous” is meant.)

[Also there are no such words as "irregardless" or "orientate or "administrate." They are regardless, orient and administer! --- PMY]

Are there real writers out there under fifty? I mean distinctive writers and fine craftsmen, the Mark Twains and Ambrose Bierces and Hunter Thompsons and Joseph Hellers that once made the United States a font of genuine if eccentric talent. They may exist. If so, they aren’t promoted.

We have allowed the schools to fall into the hands of fools and charlatans, and we pay the price.

A language in a high state of development is a lovely and a precise instrument, but a fragile one. English at its peak—which might, very arbitrarily, have been the time of Chesterton, Galsworthy, C. S. Lewis and Tolkien—was limber, yet hard-edged and surgical when it needed to be. You could write a sonnet in it but also a textbook of physics, without ambiguity. A robust subjunctive gave it a subtlety that is the purpose of subjunctives, and the curious mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Grecolatinate vocabulary gave it a complex but flavorful texture (if textures can be flavorful).

But no longer.

Good English (or French, or Spanish, or Chinese) depends on a cultivated elite to preserve it. A pride in language is needed to prevent degradation from seeping upward from the lower classes, and only careful schooling instills the fine distinctions that make the difference between the literate and those who recognize words vaguely, like half-forgotten relatives.

In England the aristocracy and its schools, as for example Oxford and Cambridge, maintained linguistic standards; in ancient Rome, the ruling classes who studied under the great rhetoricians. In the United States the tradition survived awhile in a variety of schools. My own experience was of Southern colleges such as William and Mary and Hampden-Sydney (in which latter my grandfather was professor of mathematics).

As is usual in civilizations not yet in decline, people at these institutions cared about language and literature. I remember that we played a parlor game in which the contestant called out numbers, as for example 234, 2, 6. He was then read whatever word was found on page 234, column two, entry six of a massive unabridged dictionary. He was expected to spell it, and give its etymology and first and second meanings. People do not, I think, play that game today.

Today of course we have no elites of any influence, and we are prescriptively hostile to what is called “elitism.” Elitism is simply the idea that the better is preferable to the worse. Why anyone with good sense would be against it escapes me. The unwashed have discovered that it is easier to ignore the language than to learn it. Given that the unwashed now run the schools, that, as we say, is that. I do not know how one repairs the chain once it is broken.

The unworthy like to argue, almost as if they had some slight idea what they were talking about, that any language is acceptable provided that it communicates. The problem with unschooled and degraded English is precisely that it doesn’t communicate well. In an America that has embraced the tastes and standards of the black ghetto, I occasionally see it written that Ebonics is a language to be respected as much as English. Oh? It is an unwritten language, which might seem to put it at some slight disadvantage to a language that has had a rich literature since at least the fourteenth century. (I’m not sure that pre-Chaucerian English is quite what I think of as English.)

But how in Ebonics does one say, “The entropy of a closed system tends to remain the same or to increase”? I will avoid parody. A more important question is how do decreasingly literate professors write textbooks of subjects that have to be explained clearly? As the distinctions between words are lost, as the grammar degenerates toward bumperstickerhood, people can no longer express, and perhaps cannot think, things that once they could have.

Language does not exist only to convey logical complexities or to make abstractions crystalline. Words can be as beautiful as a sunset, a truth probably discovered five thousand years ago. The difference is that a sunset is accessible to anyone. No training is needed to love those great gaudy skyscapes that flow across the heavens like incandescent dunes. They stand on their own.

To appreciate literature requires intimate familiarity with the language. Art is freedom exercised within rules. (There. We’ve settled that.) Just as you cannot tell good jitterbugging from bad if you do not know the structure of the dance, so you cannot tell good writing from bad if you don’t know how the language works. Few any longer learn the rules.

Of what provenance is this awful drabness? I can only guess. We fill the universities with people who have no business being there. We then accept their values. The country has embraced almost lasciviously a radical egalitarianism whose pretences can be maintained only by dragging all to the level of the lowest. Television bathes us all in the moral and cultural drains from which there is no escape. Elites can exist only when they can isolate themselves. They no longer can.

What we have lost we will be a long while in getting back.

2005-11-14T16:11:00.001-06:00

Job Searching During The Holidays

If you're thinking about a new job, now's the time to aggressively pick up your search. Many people slow their job search down during the holiday months when in fact it's the best time to look!

Here's why. Many companies implement a new direction or strategy at the first of the year, resulting in a first of the year hiring surge. With new-year business strategies mapped out, companies start aggressively looking for resumes and interviewing new job candidates in November and December.

Oddly enough, while employers start hiring, job seekers often decide to wait to mount their search until after the holidays, feeling that no-one will be hiring until then. This creates an optimal job seeking environment of more jobs and less competition.

One of the best ways to take advantage of this situation is to give yourself massive exposure by signing up to all the top job boards as soon as possible. Of course it will take a little time, but it's well worth it. Job boards are visited by 1.5 million employers and recruiters daily - And collectively list thousands and thousands of jobs.

2005-09-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

-- from our mail:

September 3, 2005

Mike Young
Executive Writing Services
4780 S. 131st Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68137

Dear Mike,

I would like to personally thank you again for speaking to our business class at the Omaha School of Massage Therapy.

The students were very pleased with the information you gave them, and I believe you were able to demonstrate the importance of a good resume and proper communication while job searching.

A Number of the students mentioned that they were planning on using your services in the future.

Again, thank you for your time and expertise. I look forward to working with you again in the future!

Sincerely,

Dana Thelander
Program Facilitator

2005-08-31T15:06:00.000-05:00

Excellent quotation from a client. It has to do with thinking outside the box--

It was nice seeing you again. Look forward to your help with my resume.

Here is the info on the quote I mentioned.

Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.
W. Somerset Maugham

Talk to you in a couple of weeks.

Thanks.

Mary Wilcox

2005-07-28T16:00:00.000-05:00

Tips for a successful job transition
Jay Block, Best Selling Author / Keynote Speaker

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- To make a successful job transition, you must first understand the strategies necessary to make such a transition. So let's cover the four bases for making a successful job transition. As you leave the batter's box and head for first base, you have to want to run the bases. So the starting point is to have a passion for what you do. Without enthusiasm, the process will be significantly compromised.

First base is the base for developing exceptional tools. You must create an exceptional resume, cover letter and a portfolio of references to attract exceptional jobs. Second base is the tactical base where you will develop a comprehensive and measurable marketing strategy to leverage your tools. Strategy means developing a written plan that includes the number of hours a week you will work on job transition, how best to use your network of contacts, and the number of resumes you will distribute weekly.

Third base is where you aggressively market yourself. Third base is simply 'taking action' and promoting yourself - taking advantage of the tools and strategies you created. And if you slide into home plate and are 'out at the plate' (you fail to get the job), simply get up, dust yourself off and run the bases again and again. Yes, you may want to tweak the tools and strategy, but you must maintain a positive attitude and keep running the bases until you succeed.

2005-06-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

Another RAVE review from a client who got the interview, successfully sold himself and will refer his friends, family and colleagues to Executive Writing Services for the rest of his lifetime! ----

May 10, 2005

Executive Writing Services
4780 South 131st Street
Omaha, NE. 68137

Dear Mr. Young,

Subject: Job Offer

I wish to thank you for your hard work and professionalism in creating my résumé. The initial interview was very in-depth-and allowed some-of my-past and current skills to shine forth. The résumé that was created was very impressive and put to shame many of the other so called professionals.

The timely manner in the "follow up" and "thank you" letters was very impressive. I have no doubt that the "Thank You for Interview" letter that was written by your service was the deciding factor in my current hiring. This follow up letter allowed me to get the job position ahead of someone that was already working at the company!

I also wish to extend my sincerest appreciation of your skills and help in creating not only a job opportunity but a new and profitable career path for me.

Thank you,

PARRISH COISMAN

2005-04-07T10:52:00.002-05:00

FIVE INTERVIEWING MISTAKES, from Job.com

1. Interrogation versus Interview: Most candidates expect they will be interrogated. An interrogation is when one person asks all the questions and the other gives the answers. An interview is a business conversation where both people ask and respond to questions. Too many job seekers believe an interview is an interrogation. With this attitude, candidates do not ask questions and hence do not make their best impression. You need to ask questions throughout the interview. If you don't, you force the interview to be an interrogation.

2. Making a Positive out of a Weakness: Unskilled interviewers frequently ask candidates "What are your weaknesses?" Conventional interview advice recommends candidates highlight a weakness like "I'm a perfectionist" and turn it into a positive. Interviewers are not that easily fooled. If you are asked, "What are your weaknesses?," highlight a skill that you wish to improve upon and (more importantly) describe what you are proactively doing to enhance your skills in this area. Interviewers really don't care what your weaknesses are. They simply want to see how you address the question and what your answer may indicate about you. Highlighting an area for improvement demonstrates you are self-aware. Describing what you are doing about that weakness demonstrates that you are proactive and seek to continually improve your talents.

3. No Questions: Every interview concludes with the interviewer asking if you have any questions. The worst thing to say is you have no questions. Having no questions shows you are either not interested or not prepared. Interviewers are more impressed with the questions you ask than the selling points you try to make during the interview. Before each interview make a list of 5 question you will ask. Take out your list when they ask if you have any questions. This demonstrates you are prepared and thorough. In some cases the interviewer starts the interview by asking if you have any questions. In such instances you will be well prepared to handle this situation.

4. Only Researching the Company, What about You?: Candidates intellectually prepare for interviews by researching the company and reviewing the company web site. Most job seekers do not research themselves by taking inventory of their experience, knowledge and skills. Formulating an organized talent inventory prepares you to respond immediately to any question about your experience. Interviewers will focus their questioning on your experience and talents. You must be prepared to discuss any part of your background at a moment's notice. Creating a your talent inventory refreshed your memory about the many dimensions of your experience and helps you immediately remember experiences you would otherwise forget during the tension of an interview.

5. Leaving Cell Phone On: We may live in a wired, always available society, but a ringing cell phone is not appropriate for an interview. Turn it off before you enter the company.

2005-04-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

From Job.com --

Tip: What Your References Will Be Asked

Experienced reference checkers will ask probing questions instead of yes / no types of questions. We've listed a couple of common probing type reference questions below:

* How did the candidate communicate with others across departmental lines?
* How did the candidate react when he/she was "shot down" on an idea he/she had?
* If you had one word to describe the candidate what would it be?
* What made you choose that word?
* The candidate stated on his/her résumé that he/she did XYZ accomplishment, which is pretty amazing, is that really true?
* We're thinking of candidate for a position as a Widget Accountant, do you think they possess the skills to do this?
* If this candidate is so great why did you let him/her leave your employ?
* Would you re-hire this candidate?

Always remember if a company is deciding between two equally proficient candidates the one with the stronger and more enthusiastic references will typically get the job!

2005-03-28T13:00:00.002-06:00

Writing a great résumé does not necessarily mean you should follow the rules you hear through the grapevine. It does not have to be one page or follow a specific résumé format. Every résumé is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication. It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do. Executive Writing Services will help you break your résumé "out of the box" and out of that cumbersome stack of résumés on the employer's desk. If you have not done so yet, please read The Difference Between a Resume Writer and a Resume Typist, the Tribute to Our Founder on our Main Page. That tribute to Professor Harold Gray explains the difference between a résumé writing service and a mere résumé mill.

2005-01-02T15:27:00.000-06:00

Did you procrastinate and put off your job search because of the holidays? Don't feel alone. Most people do just that.

And then they find themselves panicking because here it is, a new year -- and their résumés are not standing tall and ready for action. Your VISA bills from the holidays are hitting the mailbox, and you really need that better employment opportunity!

It's not the end of the world! Granted, you procrastinated. Granted, your priorities became confused in the rush of the season.

Give us a call. Soon you can have a competitive, top-drawer résumé that is much more than just an outline -- from Executive Writing Services -- that will give you a leg up on all of the amateurs competing with you for that all-important job interview.

We are available by appointment seven days a week. Usually we can schedule a same-day appointment, even into the evening. We can consult in person or via email and teleconference.

Call us at 402-399-9853. Now. And please read through our webpage and our weblog. See link at writearesume.biz.

There are handy forms that you can fill out if that will help. Visit the Tribute to Our Founder, which will explain the difference between a writing service and a résumé mill. Also a map to our new location at Execu-West Office Suites across from Western Bowl in Millard, Omaha, Nebraska. Call for an appointment first!

Start off a new year with a competitive résumé and a viable employment marketing plan.

2004-12-26T17:24:00.000-06:00

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: First impressions can be lasting impressions or LAST impressions.

Do you really want a potential employer to hear the "cute" message you've left on your voicemail for your buddies or significant other? Do you really want to use your "cute" email address such as cuddlybear@beer.com or studmuffin@gogo.net to greet a potential employer? No you don't. But too many jobseekers never stop to think about this first impression.

Always upgrade your phone message before soliciting employer calls. Always create a separate email address (enthusiasticjobseeker@hotmail.com or aceprogrammer@yahoo.com are credible and evocative).

Don't let a bad first impression become a barrier between you and a job interview.

2004-11-05T15:30:00.000-06:00

Great news! I just completed teleconferences with two new clients, both of them referrals from Iraq, two
civilians working for Halliburton. One of the gentlemen, Bob Dawson, is included in an earlier posting
hereinbelow. He emailed me his friend's résumé. She is in Texas and we had a teleconference this
morning. The other gentleman is a colleague of Bob's. Both are now supporting our fighting men out of Kirkuk, Iraq.

Word-of-mouth referrals account for 45% of my new business, and I now boast of 27,000 clients in 50
states and over 20 countries.

2004-10-27T13:17:00.001-05:00

Thank you for your interest in creating a more effective résumé in order to market yourself in the job market!

Most of my clients want to meet with me in person, although I have many clients with whom I have only communicated by email, teleconference and/or fax.

I have clients in 50 states and 20 countries, including about ten civilian contractors now working in Iraq. One of them was referred to me by his father in Omaha, and the others were referred by him or one another.

A job description from your current or recent employer would also help. If you are in the military, gather your performance evaluations, award certificates and commendation letters, training certificates, academic transcripts, etc., and bring them with you. These are invaluable to me in composing a military/civilian conversion résumé.

BUT the most important part of the process is our consultation, whether it be in person or over the phone. I will interview you and recommend appropriate information to include in your résumé.

I am the only advertising journalist listed under résumés in the local Omaha, Nebraska, Yellow Pages. I don't use formulaic, "cookie cutter," "one-size-fits-all" document templates with sing-song generic phraseology. I "think outside the box" when launching a new product (you, the employment candidate) into the job market. Your résumé must sound like you at your best; it must be written in the language of your industry. It is far too important a document to trust to a mere typist with little or no training in grammar, syntax, parsing and orthography, much less the psychology and strategies of marketing.

Your résumé should be much more than a mere outline -- it should be a marketing tool. It will arrive at the employer's office along with dozens or hundreds of other résumés. Most of them will be glanced at and discarded. I want yours to make that first cut, to make it to that shorter stack of résumés that will be read. I want my client's résumé to make a first impression that leads to a lasting impression and an interview -- not a last impression.

I am available by appointment at my office 7 days a week. Between Monday and Friday I am available between 10 and 7 daily. I am the busiest résumé service in town, but I usually can fit you in on the day that you call. January and February are my busiest months, now all the more so with a recession threatening. I will need more than a few days to prepare the first draft of your document, but in the future I can provide updates and cover letters usually next afternoon. Part of my service is that I archive all documents on disk. I have approximately 27,000 clients stored on floppy disks -- going back to 1981 when Professor Gray owned Executive Writing Services. Over 45% of my new clients are referrals from satisfied clients.

I will quote my firm tax deductible fee during our free consultation. My fees are based on this formula. -- Document design -- typesetting using MS Word and a laser printer with 370 type fonts and symbol sets to choose from, letterhead name and address at the top (that will appear on your reference page and cover letter also); headline type for your name and for the section headings; 12 pitch type for easy reading; short paragraphs separated by plenty of white space for easy reading; justified (blocked) margins; print emphasis with bold and/or italics for academic degrees, credentials, job titles, etc.; indented paragraphs with "bullets"; special characters for Greek letter societies and scientific symbols -- document design would be $55 for the first page, $25 for a second page, $5 for a page of references and $7.50 for a single cover letter (additional cover letters would be $3.50 each).

Composition and editing of your job descriptions, bullet achievements, summary of qualifications would be $65/hour. This is probably what you pay your auto mechanic -- but unlike your mechanic, I will quote you a FIRM NUMBER and there will be no surprises at the other end. A one page document, if I were starting from scratch rather than from an old résumé, might come in at 1/2 hour. But I would quote you a *firm* fee at the commencement of our project, and that fee includes any further edits, corrections and/or modifications. There will be no surprises at the other end! Of course we will "tweak" the document when you come back to read the first draft. But there is no additional charge for any additional fine-tuning that you may require after you have taken the document home. In any case, the investment you make in your résumé will be one of the smallest investments you have made in your career -- certainly less than in what you wear to that interview -- but, strategically speaking, it will be the most important investment you have made in eliciting that affirmative interviewing response.

Then, in the future, when you need an update of your résumé, your update would be priced at $5 per paragraph affected and/or page reformatted, plus my time.

Send me a request by e-mail for an information fax form for a new résumé and/or a cover letter fax form, and I will respond by e-mail. OR just print these forms out from my website at writearesume.biz. Please visit my website, read the Tribute to Our Founder, and check out my helpful links section.

I hope I have answered all of your preliminary questions and look forward to meeting you. Please call for a chat and an appointment.

ô¿ô Mike
P. Michæl Young
Executive Writing Services
writearesume.biz

2004-08-04T13:51:00.001-05:00

YOUR JOB SEARCH OBJECTIVE

Well begun is half-done. But far too many résumés begin with objective statements that can only be described as ... half-baked.

As a professional résumé writer, I peruse and critique over 1500 résumés annually. And the opening objective is an area where almost everyone could use a little help with his or her résumé.

To show you what I mean, here are three example objectives from actual résumés sent to me for critical review by employment seekers. (My comments are in parentheses.)

OBJECTIVE
To obtain a responsible (as opposed to irresponsible?) and challenging (what, you don't like dull work?) position where my education and work experience will have valuable application (like finding a cure for cancer?)

OBJECTIVE
Seeking a position in the sales department with an opportunity for advancement (in effect, you're saying to the employer, "Give me a job where the pay is good ... and keeps getting better.")

OBJECTIVE
Seeking a challenging career with a progressive organization which will utilize my skills, abilities and education in management, product management, operations, purchasing and buying. (Zzzzz. You won't bore anyone into hiring you.)

You can stand out from the crowd if you just write your objective from the employer's point of view, instead of your own. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

It is.

All you have to do when writing your objective is make sure it answers this question: "What's in it for me?" That's the question on every employer's mind as he or she reads your resume.

Here's an example objective, to get you started:

OBJECTIVE
Management position in procurement where over 10 years of experience will add value to operations.

Avoid such trite phrases as: "seeking a chance for advancement," or "where my skills will be utilized," or "where I can further my career." Duh -- that's stating the obvious! Like you DON'T want to advance your career or utilize your skills??? I've seen each of these on résumés that were badly hampered as a result.

So, to keep your objective from being objectionable (and torpedoing your job search), put the focus where it belongs -- on the employer and his/her needs.

Call 402-399-9853 or email us at ews@radiks.net for a confidential employment marketing and résumé consultation.

2004-08-02T15:31:00.002-05:00

Résumé Writing Truths: Format, Gatekeepers, Etc.

Do you know what happens to your résumé after you send it to an employer? Some résumés produce
immediate results--others disappear without a trace.

Anyone who has scanned, reviewed, and discarded tens of thousands of résumés knows that most
résumés have serious defects; in fact many résumés have flaws that guarantee failure. Intelligent, highly
qualified candidates often write subpar résumés because they are unaware of the cold realities of résumé
writing -- realities that can prevent even the most qualified candidate from getting hired.

Recruiters, staffing managers and HR managers will tell you that the job seekers who get interviews and
offers of employment are not necessarily the best qualified. Often, they are simply the best prepared.

No one enjoys searching for employment. If you are like most job seekers, you spend a considerable
amount of time and effort searching job ads, networking and writing your résumé and cover letter.
These simple activities can take as much effort as a full-time job.

If you would like to work smarter not harder, there are a few résumé writing facts to consider before you
submit another résumé.

The truth about résumé writing:

* Your résumé should be like a Trojan horse: Whether submitted via mail, fax, email or online job
board, your résumé must get you past an employer's gatekeepers (recruiters, staffing managers, HR
managers etc.) and into an interview or telephone screen with the hiring manager. Your résumé must get
past the gatekeepers before the hiring manager ever gets to see it. Needless to say, if your résumé cannot
pass the scrutiny of these gatekeepers, you will not get many interviews.

* A 10-Second scan is the norm: Most staffing managers and recruiters (headhunters) scan and
discard each résumé in 10 to 15 seconds unless the résumé provides them with a compelling reason to
flag it for an in-depth review. Gatekeepers do not enjoy reading résumés. In order to process hundreds
of printed and electronic résumés a week, busy gatekeepers look for excuses to reject most résumés
quickly.

* Gatekeepers are paid to be conservative and suspicious: If they have any questions or concerns
about a résumé, they rarely try to contact the applicant for clarification; they simply discard the résumé
and pull up the next one. Most employers receive résumés from applicants who are obviously qualified;
they do not have time to contact applicants who may be qualified.
.
* Strong Candidate + Weak Résumé = No Interview: In résumé writing, mediocrity equals failure.
Many discarded résumés belong to qualified candidates who are not aware that they are doing substantial
damage to their career prospects by using résumés that do not adequately sell their experience, skills, and
qualifications. Résumé screening is impersonal and unforgiving; an energetic job search will not survive a
poor résumé.

* Your résumé must be tall and short, fat and thin: Your résumé must first survive a ten second visual scan,
then it must survive a thorough examination by a gatekeeper looking for an excuse to remove it from
consideration. In order to survive a ten second scan, it must stand out and present a good snapshot of
your skills. If your résumé survives the scan, it should provide enough rich and compelling detail to sell
you to the reviewer and answer important questions that arise during the in-depth review. These
competing imperatives are very difficult to balance.

* Excellence is the only option: If only 100 people apply for a desirable position, your résumé must
tell the gatekeeper in no uncertain terms that you are better qualified than at least 85 of the other
applicants. If your résumé cannot beat 85% of the competition, you will not get interviews. Your
résumé is much more important than your actual qualifications at this stage.

Résumé Writing Tips: Keywords, Length, Objectives, Etc.

Résumé Writing Tips - Theory vs. Reality

There is much more to effective résumé writing than putting together a résumé in a layout and format that
are pleasing to the eye. Effective résumé writing involves art, science, and a large helping of technology.
A good résumé writer should have deep knowledge of the technical aspects of résumé writing. He/she should have strong grammatical and composition skills. Most "résumé services" don't know the rules for using apostrophes or commas -- they couldn't even tell you when to use "whom" as opposed to "who."

A few things have changed in the last 5 years: the Internet, online job boards, the job market, applicant
tracking systems, etc. Unfortunately, some résumé writers dwell on things that were important a few
years ago but are virtually irrelevant today.

The alleged importance of résumé paper quality and résumé scannability are a couple of outdated résumé
writing issues that come to mind. If you apply for jobs online, paper quality and scannability are
unimportant. Even if you apply by mail, inexpensive laser printer paper will suffice; content, structure,
format, and strategy are much more important. If a "professional" résumé writer harps on résumé paper
quality and scannable résumés, or suggests a keyword section, run away as fast as you can.

The "functional résumé" is a favorite fiction of résumé writing books and résumé writers without relevant real
world experience. In theory, functional résumés help conceal deficiencies in a candidate's background; in
the real world, recruiters, staffing managers and hiring managers view functional résumés with suspicion and disdain. In practice, functional résumés raise a red flag before each employer.

Authors of résumé writing books, and unsophisticated, naïve résumé writers who buy into their hackneyed nostrums, often advocate functional résumés for three reasons: it is a simple solution to a complex problem, the advocates do not know any better -- and they do not have to live with the consequences.

If you assume that most people who make hiring decisions are of above-average intelligence, it stands to
reason that they would recognize an overused method of hiding information. Many gatekeepers trash
functional résumés as soon as they see them. Employers use chronological employment application forms. Use a chronological résumé format!

2004-03-04T11:54:00.000-06:00

Tax deductions aren't limited to charitable contributions and mortgage interest deductions. Job-hunting
expenses -- including transportation costs to and from interviews, periodical subscriptions, long-distance
phone calls to prospective employers, career counseling and résumé preparation -- are tax deductible,
whether you find a new job or not. However, there are some restrictions. According to Jackie Perlman,
senior tax research analyst at H&R Block, the job hunter must be looking for a job in the same line of
work as previously employed. "It can be broad, like looking for a different job within the financial field
or the medical field," Perlman said. "But if I leave my job as a tax analyst and decide I want to be a
nurse, it won't work." For those reasons, college graduates looking for their first jobs can't deduct their
searching expenses, nor can employees who are moving into self-employment. But the casual job seeker
-- someone who looks for a new job while staying in the current one -- may be eligible for a series of
deductions, as well as someone recently laid off who's looking for a new position in his or her field.
Additional information on job-search deductions is explained in IRS Publication 529. Go to www.irs.gov
to download a copy of the form.

2004-03-04T11:52:00.001-06:00

The speech before the Junior Chamber of Commerce went very well on the 25th of February. The question-and-answer session was especially educational. Many very intelligent questions were asked, and I was glad to answer them. Thanks again to Jennifer Stone and her colleagues for a wonderful reception.

Mike Young

2004-01-21T20:34:00.000-06:00

I wish to thank all of my clients and prospective clients who attended the career fair on this date at the Southroads Mall. The new people I encountered at my booth and during my seminars asked very intelligent questions. And I certainly appreciate the support of my satisfied clients who encourged the prospective ones to make an appointment for a free consultation. My website has recenly been relocated and revamped. Please visit it at writearesume.biz. Note that it is biz -- not com. Give your friends and colleagues a helpful nudge and pass my website along to them. Thanks again!

2003-09-25T13:27:00.000-05:00

We receive so many success stories from clients. It is no wonder that 45% of our new clients are referred to us.

Here is an e-mail just received from a client in Iraq, emailed to his dad in Omaha and to us.

Dad,

I am so sorry that I haven't gotten back sooner. The resume
was perfect I got the job.

Mike,

That was a super job!!! My brother will be with you next. It
was well received and won me the position.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Robert Dawson

Operations

KBR

CPA-SC

APO AE 09335

AL Hillah, Iraq

PH# +8821677442354

2002-09-15T15:05:00.001-05:00

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

"How Soon Can I Pick Up My Work?"

If you have ordered cover letters or a simple update on your résumé, it is ordinarily ready next afternoon or next morning by mutually agreed upon appointment. Much as we would like to do everyone's work first, obviously that is not possible, and we cheerfully try to do each project in the order in which it arrived. Even little projects. Of course, it is always wisest to ascertain ahead of time with your writer whether and when it would be best to just "drop by" next afternoon or to call ahead. Calling ahead ( to determine when to pick up your work is always foolproof. It prevents disappointment on your part and ours, and we recommend it. We reserve the right to charge extra for Rush projects.

"Why Do I Need an Appointment Just to Pick Up My Work?"

Appointments prevent disappointments If you should "just stop by" and we are on an errand or with another client or under a tight deadline on another project we will both be disappointed. Also, you may want to make some changes or corrections before you leave. Even when our receptionist is here (and she is part-time), she cannot do those for you; changes and/or corrections can be completed while you wait if you have an appointment with your writer. OR you can ask us to mail it to you, payment within five days.

"Why Do I Need an Appointment Just to Drop Off Work?"

You don't. Even if we are not here, you can slide your papers under the door for that purpose or leave it with the receptdionist. And you can save yourself a trip if you just fax or e-mail the project to us. But if you want to speak with your writer, even briefly, it is always best to make an appointment.

"When Will My Work Be Done?"

Everyone asks this question, and it is a fair one. Most of our mornings are spent on the phone answering this question. For updates and letters we try our best to provide next afternoon service, by appointment, but sometimes we may have to ask for more time, and always for new résumés or for larger projects. Sometimes we are overwhelmed. Sometimes the computer needs fixing. Once in a while your writer may be under the weather.

"But I only found out about this job today!"

The best time to update your résumé is before the urgent need arises. We reserve the right to charge extra if we agree to a Rush project. It is a good idea to get your résumé - out at least once a year and review it to see if it needs updating.

2002-06-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

FIRST PERSON vs. THIRD PERSON. -- Response to a recent inquiry regarding first person job description verbs vs. third person.

Harold, résumés are correctly written in the FIRST PERSON. Sure, we omit the first person pronoun (I, we). But a résumé is an AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

One wouldn't start out a cover letter by saying, "Harold Herrington requests that you consider his qualifications for your recently advertised position. Please examine his enclosed résumé." That kind of writing sounds stilted at best. In a cover letter, one would speak in the first person -- "Please consider MY qualifications...."

Likewise, your résumé SHOULD use the first person verbs. Therefore, "possess, analyze, anticipate and provide." -- Not "possesses, analyzes, anticipates and provides."

The confusion probably arises from employer-written job descriptions, which are always in the THIRD PERSON. But that is because the employer is NOT writing an autobiographical piece; he is writing it about a third person! You. Or him or her or them!!!.

You might remember that in his ill-fated and ill-conceived exploratory run for the Presidency in 1999, Donald Trump was soundly ridiculed by the press and his detractors for his penchant for speaking of himself in the third person, as in "The Donald promises...." He came off sounding officious, conceited and imperious. http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/gaming/part4_bar.htm

Experts in job marketing may and do disagree on lesser résumé issues such as length, format, font, photos, paper color, personal information, politics, religion, etc., but they all concur that résumés should be written in the first person verb without the first person pronoun.

Helpful Links (cut & paste into your browser):

http://www.florisumc.org/resume-prep.html
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/042902/bus_124-8285.shtml
http://www.work4teens.com/structure.htm

Thank you.

ô¿ô Mike

P. Michæl Young
Executive Writing Services
402.399.9853
Fax: 402.399.9571
now on the web at www.ews.blogspot.com
and www.writearesume.biz

2002-05-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

It is that time of year again when new grads are entering the job market. Also, sadly, this season has seen massive corporate "downsizings" -- layoffs. Avayah and Qwest come to mind, but many smaller companies have also "let go" valuable employees. Too many of these recent graduates and
downsized staff will attempt to market their skills with inadequate home-made marketing tools, often crafted from the "cookie cutter" templates on their computers' word processing systems. Unfortunately, templates only create bare outlines, not interview-winning résumés. If you are already my client:
you know this well from experience.

Often all that it takes is a little "nudge" from a friend, relative or mentor to jump-start a job search. Over 45% of my new clients are referred by existing clients, who just provide that important nudge.

For your convenience, and just in case you or someone you know is back in the job market,
I urge you to email me for my new résumé form. I will email it back to you as a Word attachment, you can fill it out or use it to supplement your old résumé. Then you can call me at (402) 399-9853 for an appointment. I am available by appointment 7 days a week, until 7pm on weekdays, and weekend afternoons.

For more about what a professional résumé should and would contain, please read on below. >>>>>>>

2002-03-07T17:43:00.001-06:00

Executive Writing Services offers a SUITE OF MARKETING TOOLS for the job-seeker *
* Résumés: Each carefully composed résumé is a distinctive portrait of an individual's career
and educational history, credentials, vocational skills, talents, qualifications, and professional
accomplishments. These components are all artistically formatted and psychologically worded
to deliver an impactful message, make a favorable first impression, and elicit an affirmative
interviewing response. A formal Profile Cover and Envelope are optional, but if you use them
your credibility as a candidate will be further enhanced.
* Reference Pages: Three to five professional references are usually requested at the
interview, not before. There is usually not space enough on your résumé to include references
there anyway. Your Reference Page will be printed with your letterhead at the top, so that it
matches your résumé.
* Cover Letters: A cover letter is like the card that accompanies a gift * it is a personal touch
to an otherwise impersonal offering. It explains why you are sending the résumé. It has an
inside address and attention line, telling the employer that you are especially interested in his
or her company. It mentions the employer's company name in the body. It is essential to
business etiquette. We will help you compose your cover letter, and it will be prepared on
matching letterhead, bond paper, and envelope to complement your résumé.
* Merge-Print: For those individuals pursuing expanded job search campaigns, we will
compose and program a library of cover letter versions designed to address a variety of
employment opportunities. Multiple individualized cover letters will be produced at quantity
rates.
* Followup Thank You Letters: Many employers will not hire someone who does not send a
letter after an interview. The followup letter is an opportunity (1) to thank the employer for his or
her time; (2) to reinforce the employer's positive impression and memory of you by recalling
the high points of the interview; (3) to tell and confirm to the employer in writing that you do want the job; and (4)
of greatest importance, to make you look better than the candidate who did not bother to
send a followup letter.
* Other Letters: A letter of acceptance when you have been hired gets you started on a
positive note. Another good idea is a letter of resignation to your recent employer that thanks
everyone for the positive experience and wishes each of them continued success. A formal
letter of intent is sometimes required by an employer. A letter expressing disappointment in
not being selected in the final cut, but expressing continued interest, may ensure that you will
be considered for future opportunities.
Please bear in mind that the résumé itself is an essential, professional, personal marketing
tool. It is a vital first impression. If it is not adequate, it will be the last impression. It is a written
personal advertisement that certainly merits an investment of money and time if it is to be
successful in generating qualified interviews. Simply stated, you cannot afford less than a
quality résumé.
Executive Writing Services offers a MARKETING APPROACH to job seeking!

2002-03-07T17:33:00.000-06:00

Résumé Etiquette
A Few Guidelines

1. Résumés forwarded to a prospective employer by mail SHOULD be forwarded
along with a business-quality cover letter on matching paper, envelope, and
letterhead. A personal note might suffice if you are forwarding it to a close
friend; otherwise use a business quality letter. A "generic" letter * i.e., one with
no inside address and/or attention line * conveys to the employer the same
impression that you get when you receive a "Dear Occupant" letter in the mail -- that is, a NEGATIVE impression.
2. If possible, address the cover letter to someone by NAME. Call and ask the
name, simply explaining that you will be forwarding a letter and want to be sure
you have the correct name, title, and spelling.
3. NEVER use your employer's stationery in your job search.
4. Résumés of more than one page SHOULD NOT BE STAPLED together. NEVER
staple résumés to cover letters. But your résumé should have your name and the page number on each and every page.
5. Take AT LEAST THREE copies of your résumé to every interview:
a. One for you.
b. One for the interviewer if he or she does not have yours at the desk.
c. One to be on hand in case you unexpectedly are interviewed by a second interviewer.
6. Follow up after the interview by sending thank you letters to those who
interviewed you and to those instrumental in arranging the interview. GET
PEOPLE'S NAMES, TITLES, and ADDRESSES BEFORE YOU LEAVE. The
purpose is to:
a. Show courtesy.
a. Reinforce interest.
b. Confirm in writing essential details that were discussed.
c. Keep you at the front of interviewers' minds. AND
d. Make you look better than the candidates who fail to send a follow up letter.
**** Fax forms for cover letters and followup letters can be emailed or faxed to you. These forms can be filled out easily and faxed back to Executive Writing Services. E-mail us at ews@radiks.net, or fax us at (402) 399-9571 with your request.
© MMII * Y2K+2 * 2002 * commencement de siécle et de millenaire, Executive Writing Services, All
Rights Reserved