About Jobs: After the Breakup, Use Software to Create Strong Resumes
With your recent marital status change, perhaps you’ve discovered the need for a new, higher-paying job or you need to re-enter the job market. One of the tools you’ll need to land that new job is a professional, well-written, error-free resume that summarizes your career objective, employment history, educational background, work-related skills, and accomplishments.
The information you include within your resume is important, but how you communicate that information, plus how it looks are equally important when it comes to capturing the attention of a potential employer in less than 15 seconds. A typical job seeker could spend hours fine-tuning their résumé’s content, and then need to invest additional time formatting their resume using a word processor. Additional time is then required to customize the resume for each individual job.
SPECIALIZED RESUME CREATION SOFTWARE
One way to save time completing the resume writing and creation process is to utilize specialized resume-creation software, such as WinWay’s Resume Deluxe 12 (WinWay Software,www.winway.com) or Resume Maker Professional Ultimate (Individual Software, www.resumemaker.com/ResumeMaker/home.jsp). These and other software packages like them are available wherever software is sold. Specific software can be purchased and downloaded online from the software publisher’s own website. While other specialized resume-creation software packages are available, WinWay Resume Deluxe 12 and Resume Maker Professional Ultimate both offer the best combination of easy-to-use, time-saving features that will help anyone, pursuing any job or occupation, create the attention-getting resume they want and need.
There are less expensive options for creating a resume using your computer. For example, you can download a free resume template for use with Microsoft Word from the Microsoft website that will make formatting a resume easier, but this template doesn’t offer the functionality of a full-featured resume creation tool.
FUNCTIONALITY OF RESUME CREATION SOFTWARE
Software packages do a lot more than help you format your resume and perform a spell-check. These packages actually help you write your resume, choose the wording and format to meet your objectives, customize your resume for a specific employer, and then print or distribute it online.
Using an easy-to-use interface, these software packages walk you through the resume writing, editing, printing, and distribution process, plus help you keep track of to whom you’ve submitted your resumes to.To assist with the writing, WinWay’s Resume Deluxe 12 and Resume Maker Professional Ultimate contains more than 115,000 thousand professionally pre-written phrases that can be used to describe job skills or accomplishments. The software will recommend apt wording and phrases, based on your pre-existing qualifications, job titles you’ve held, and your past work-related experience.
The resume software will help you build each section of your resume by asking you a series of questions. You can then choose from hundreds of pre-created resume templates, which follow accepted formats. If, for example, you’re re-entering the work force after an extended absence, or you’re applying for an entry-level position, the software will help you include appropriate content within your resume, while keeping you from making common mistakes (such as discussing your divorce, or the fact that you’re now a single parent raising your children) within your resume.
Flexibility and the ability to fully customize resumes is also a powerful feature. A job seeker can quickly add sections to their resume that are appropriate to them. Someone who has served in the military will benefit from a ‘Military Experience’ resume section, while someone who is multi-lingual should include a section in their resume highlighting the languages they speak. For someone will special licenses, training or professional affiliations, resume creation software will recommend how to best showcase these credentials.
Each of these software packages also has tools for writing cover letters that compliment your resumes. In fact, WinWay’s Resume Deluxe 12 contains a database of more than 14,000 sample resumes (which are job title and career-specific), along with more than 400 sample cover letters.
The resume creation software will then help you select fonts, typestyles, type sizes and page formatting options that will allow everything to fit on a single page. This all happens instantly, with no guesswork.
Finally, resume software will help you proofread your resume and make sure it contains no grammatical, spelling or formatting errors. After helping you highlight specific pieces of information by recommending the use of bulleted lists or borders, for example, it will also help you avoid making common resume creation mistakes, such as showcasing an incomplete or disordered employment history.
The most popular resume-creation software packages also help you find job opportunities by tapping into some of the most popular online job listing services, plus most offer video-based tutorials designed to assist you in preparing for job interviews.
WHY USE RESUME CREATION SOFTWARE?
For every job opening an employer advertises, they often receive dozens, sometimes hundreds of resume submissions from applicants. Some of these applicants are fully qualified to fill the position, but many aren’t. To save themselves time, a human resources professional will scan each resume quickly (or utilize applicant tracking software to do this automatically for them).
As you create your resume, it’s objective must be to showcase all of your credentials and promote you as being the ideal applicant for the position you’re applying for. It must also help to set you apart from other applicants and demonstrate that you’re a dedicated, responsible, reliable, motivated, career-minded individual who could be a valuable asset to the employer.
Anyone, applying for any type of job, can benefit from using resume-creation software. This tool will provide a distinct and much-needed edge when it comes to creating the most well-written and attention-getting resume possible. Best of all, the software will walk you through the entire process, taking away a lot of the frustration and confusion often associated with the resume and cover letter writing task.
Just because you’re utilizing resume-creation software, you still have a monumental and time-consuming task ahead as you seek out and apply for new job opportunities. Using the software, however, will reduce some of the tedious tasks associated with creating your resume. Plus, these software packages will help you better position yourself in the job market, which could help you command a higher salary.
