FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
General Topics:
Q. Which is best, a one-page or a two-page résumé?
A. It is not the number of pages, but the
quality of the content that is important in presenting your resume and
other credentials to a prospective employer. The word, résumé, is from the
French language, meaning "to summarize." The goal is to be as brief as
possible, but not at the expense of failing to thoroughly enumerate those
talents, expertise and education which you possess that would be of
interest to a prospective employer. After all, you are competing against
others for the same job, and you want to convince the employer that you
are among the best qualified and that your qualifications justify a
personal interview.
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Q. Is a cover letter really necessary?
A. Maybe not. It depends upon what
methods of job searching you are using to advertise your availability. If
you are answering employment ads in newspapers or trade publications, or
contacting a company on the basis of some research which you've done, or
any other situation in which you are contacting persons who have never met
you personally and are not expecting your résumé, then an accompanying
cover letter is absolutely essential. Cover letters are invaluable in
announcing why you are contacting an employer, what position you are
seeking, and for amplifying one or more of your qualifications, especially
those which you know to be valued and sought after by the employer. The
cover letter can also be used to handle a request for salary requirements,
or to state availability for relocation, travel and other factors
supporting selection for an interview.
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Q. Which is the best job search method for finding a
quality job?
A. There is no one "best" method that
works equally well for all types of persons, careers and situations.
Research has shown that the most successful approach is to use a
combination of methods simultaneously. Some methods are more appropriate
for certain career fields than others. For instance, neurosurgeons and
nuclear physicists will find no success in scanning newspaper employment
want ads, while welders and warehousemen will discover want ads to be an
excellent resource. Persons with strong verbal skills and a good telephone
voice may find personal telemarketing using the Yellow Pages very
effective. Information Technology (IT) professionals, engineers and
scientists have enjoyed success using the Internet job boards, and the
e-mailing technique of "blasting" recruiters specializing in their
industries. The most powerful and most reliable job search method of all
is to conduct definitive research to identify vacant positions in the
so-called "hidden job market," and directly contact the companies. This
method is not successful for so many people because it takes a greater
effort, and demands the highest professional level of personal marketing
documents. Since most people continue to write their own résumés, and are
unwilling to invest the time and money to conduct a targeted job search,
the best jobs continue to go to those who went the extra mile. Charles
Darwin would label it, "survival of the fittest."
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Q. Hiring professionals to write my résumé seems
expensive. Is the end product really that much better than something I
could write myself?
A. The difference between the résumé that
you would write for yourself, and the résumé that we would create for you
is so great that you will be astounded by the results. Never, ever have we
had a client complain of the cost once the résumé was put to work. What is
the value of a résumé that wins very few, or no job interviews at all? The
answer is zero. So, what is it that makes for so much difference in a
résumé's performance? Two things, actually: Perspective and Practice. The
main factor that separates amateurs from professionals is practice. At
CareerFlorida.com, we are writing
personal marketing documents every day, all day long. And our perspective
is that of the marketplace and the prospective employers. We know the
language, the buzz words, the key phrases that create the curiosity which
results in an invitation to a job interview. There are times that call for
frugality, but not when it comes to preparing the documents that win or
lose a shot at a great job. The stakes are too high, and competition is
too tough. We suggest you read the article, Why
Can't I just Write It Myself? for more thoughts on the matter.
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Q. How do I choose a résumé writer?
A. Credentials, credentials,
credentials. No matter whether you're using your home town's Yellow Pages,
or the globe-spanning Internet, check on the credentials of anyone you're
considering hiring to create your résumé. It is the education and
experience of your writer that will determine the quality of the finished
product. Unfortunately, the résumé writing industry is unregulated and
anyone who has the money to set up a web site or buy Yellow Page
advertising can call themselves a résumé writer. Inquire into the
employment background of the writer. Look for a writer that has hands-on
experience in recruiting, job placement, corporate human resources,
outplacement, career counseling or other professional experience that is
related to job hunting and career changing. Also, look for a writer with
at least a Bachelor's degree, and preferably a Master's degree. If the
degrees were in disciplines related to counseling or human resources, even
better. And just because a writer displays membership in one of the
professional résumé writing associations doesn't mean that person is a
competent writer. Anyone can buy membership in those organizations, and
the mere act of paying membership dues does not confer either competency
or professionalism.
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Questions About How We Work:
Q. What does a résumé cost?
A. Creating a résumé is custom work. No
two persons' careers are alike. It is a function of time as much as
anything else. The longer a person's work history, the more companies
worked for, the longer the list of accomplishments, training, etc., then
the more time it takes to discuss those things and get it all down and
organized on paper. For that reason, the price for creating a résumé
varies with each client. Occasionally we get a particularly complex one,
or one involving a significant change in career direction that requires
more time. The important point is this: we give you a firm price quote
before we start, and we never charge more than that.
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Q. How long does it take?
A. From our first conversation to
exchange information, to the day we put it in the mail to you, about 5
business days. Writing your résumé is a creative endeavor for us. Like all
artists, we don't like to be rushed, but we know also that you're anxious
to get started with your job search.
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Q. Is it really possible to do a high quality résumé
by long distance, without ever meeting?
A. Yes, of course. Keep in mind that we
have been doing this for years and years. In all likelihood, we have
worked with many hundreds of persons in your career field. We know the
right questions to ask; we know what the employers want to hear, and we
know how to write the very special language of a résumé. And remember: we
guarantee results, or we'll do it over for free!
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Q. How about future updates of my résumé?
A. Piece of cake! We keep your documents
on file forever. When you need an update, just call us or e-mail us. We'll
contact you for the changes, update your résumé and send it to you either
by e-mail, or hard copies by U.S. Mail if you prefer.
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Q. Can I get my documents on a computer diskette?
A. The price includes your résumé saved
to a 3.5 diskette. It will be mailed to you along with the hard copies.
All of our word processing is done with Microsoft Word unless you
specifically order it in some other application like Adobe Pagemaker,
WordPerfect, etc.
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Q. How do I pay for your services?
A. We accept
all of the major credit cards. We also accept checks and money orders.
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Q. How do we get started?
A. Go to the
Critique/Price Quote page of our site and complete the information
e-mail. We will then call you to review your old résumé (if you have one)
and give you a firm price quote. If you give us the go ahead, we then send
our Comprehensive Career Survey for you to complete and set up a time for
our first consultation. You will make payment for our services at that
time.
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If you have a question which we have not addressed, please feel free to
Contact Us. We will return your call or answer
your e-mail as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.
