Resume ?

Agree with modeling yours after an online template or using the template built into Microsoft Word or in OpenOffice or in Google Docs.

If you don't have someone nearby who can proofread it for you, I can help with that.
 
Less is more. Write one you’d like to read if you were the employer. In as few words as possible, you want them curious enough to invite you for an interview.
 
Write your own resume; you know yourself better than any paid writer possibly could.

You do not want to be in an interview trying to come up with an ad hoc explanation for what some writer meant when they wrote a resume for you.

My personal bias when reading resumes was for a compelling summary on the first page; if the first page did not catch my attention, I might not even read the rest.
 
I was in a 3 year job search until the beginning of this year. I wrote my own resume but had as many people proof read it as were willing. I started with a basic form I found online and went from there. I think I totally rewrote it about 6 times in that 3 years and as mentioned I would fine tune it for each job I applied to. I will say by the time it was all over I walked into a job interview with swagger.

I wish you the best of luck in your search and hope yours is much quicker than mine. That job search was an experience I hope to never have to relive.
 
My personal bias when reading resumes was for a compelling summary on the first page; if the first page did not catch my attention, I might not even read the rest.
This. ^^^^

No one wants to read an essay on you. Make it concise. Tell them why you want to work for that company and how you can benefit them. Show them you researched them a little. This ties into the individually customized resume.
 
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You should write or re-write your resume for every job you apply for. It’s more work, but job hunting is a job. Get at it.

This. You need to anticipate the buzzwords that they are looking for in a potential applicant and make sure you have those words so the screening algorithms move your resume to the folks doing the hiring.

Even if you just write them in white font at the bottom of the document ;)
 
Thanks for the replys. I have one, but I haven't updated it in forever. Thanks again.

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This. You need to anticipate the buzzwords that they are looking for in a potential applicant and make sure you have those words so the screening algorithms move your resume to the folks doing the hiring.

Even if you just write them in white font at the bottom of the document ;)
By far the most important help in this thread is ^^^^^^here. They are all good but this one is top dog.

Most job searches are now done online. They will tell you what they are requiring and do. Put as many of the key words in their job listing into your resume. If it says SAP experience, you type SAP experience. If it says top negotiating skills, you will type top negotiating skills. The algorithms in the copy and pasted resume will look at your resume and filter you in, or filter you out.

Less paragraphs leads to more reading.
Make a resume template for your skills then change the template slightly for EVERY SINGLE POSITION you apply for.
Use all the latest buzzwords used by the yuppie new managers. Ex: benchmarks, world class, etc....
 
I’ve been on several hiring committees recently. You need to get past the HR buzzword filter, but it should be easy enough to do that with some word smithing. Having a generic, non targeted, resume or worse cover letter - or even worse one directed to a different company or position, is a quick way to get circular filed. Be concise. Nobody wants to read pages and paragraphs when they’ve got to get though 30 applicants and short list them. Two pages max. I don’t care if you’ve got years of experience that you want to tell me about in the dozen places you’ve worked beyond the second page I may at best glance at it while getting annoyed.

Proof read again and again on different days and get others to do the same.

Two things I will say I do look for: obvious grammatical, spelling, or other odd wording and gaps in the timeline. Include month - year for jobs and if possible make it contiguous.

As far as hiring someone to write it, format, fancy paper, etc, these days they get scanned, uploaded, and put into standard forms. All the fancy crap goes out the window and the readers never see it.
 
Little trick..if applying online or posting your resume to a place that shares resumes.

On the bottom of your resume type in a bunch of buzz words for your desired field that you may not have used in your resume. Then change the font to white so the words disappear. If an HR rep is using a search filter to look for certain resumes it will pick up these hidden words and your resume will be added to the search results.


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Lot of good advice in here. As a headhunter for 25 years I read resumes for a living, all day, everyday.

-Don’t pay someone else to write it.
-Expect to modify it for every position you apply for.
-less is more, I have 35 years (edit: 40 actually, time flies) experience in three different careers, but my resume is one page.
-the singular purpose of a resume is to get the employer to want to talk to you by phone or in person. It has no purpose beyond that.
- be sure what’s in your resume (employment history, education, credentials, licensure, training, etc) matches whatever else is floating around out in cyberspace, like other copies of your resume, and particularly LinkedIn.
 
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One other word of advice, if you are a total stranger to the prospective employer (i.e. versus referred by a trusted employee of the employer so that they already know something about you) if the resume doesn’t capture a hiring manager's attention in the first paragraph (like a summary at the top of the resume) or first line of experience, that might be as far as the read.

What captures their attention is specific experience with other employers they recognize in the applicant’s immediate past. Everything else is sort of crap shoot.
 
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My wife works in HR. She is a firm believer in the one page resume with no cover letter. If you write your own she likes to edit people's resumes or check them over if she has time. She probably wouldn't mind if you wanted to get a second pair of eyes.
 
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What captures their attention is specific experience with other employers they recognize in the applicant’s immediate past. Everything else is sort of crap shoot.
Based on candidate discussions I've been involved with, I would agree with you. Having been involved with other places known to require skills similar to that which were looking for is a plus.
 
From the perspective of the person applying, you need to mentally prepare yourself to send out A LOT of resumes.
It get monotonous and discouraging but it’s the unfortunate reality of today’s marketplace.


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What's a resume, never had one.
I’ll write you a resume old timer, but it requires a night in front of the firebowl, and a stenographer.
It might not get you a job, but we might be wildly entertained with the results here.
:D
 
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Damn fella's, I really appreciate all the info/advice. Luckily, I'm not having to find a job right now, it's just I'm just stuck in a position at work where I can't move from, and I want to move to a different department and learn new skills to better myself. Talked to plant manager, and was told that I'm where they want me, lol. I get it, I really do, but I also want more for myself. Hard decisions ahead.
 
I’ll write you a resume old timer, but it requires a night in front of the firebowl, and a stenographer.
It might not get you a job, but we might be wildly entertained with the results here.
:D

Man, I would pay decent money to be there for that, haha.
 
Damn fella's, I really appreciate all the info/advice. Luckily, I'm not having to find a job right now, it's just I'm just stuck in a position at work where I can't move from, and I want to move to a different department and learn new skills to better myself. Talked to plant manager, and was told that I'm where they want me, lol. I get it, I really do, but I also want more for myself. Hard decisions ahead.
That is a tough position. On one hand, you’ve likely got job security in that you’re what they need and want. On the other hand it clearly isn’t fulfilling enough for you.

By all means, take every opportunity to improve your skills, increase your training, and apply for other opportunities, especially in the market we’re in right now.
 
Damn fella's, I really appreciate all the info/advice. Luckily, I'm not having to find a job right now, it's just I'm just stuck in a position at work where I can't move from, and I want to move to a different department and learn new skills to better myself. Talked to plant manager, and was told that I'm where they want me, lol. I get it, I really do, but I also want more for myself. Hard decisions ahead.
The very best time to be looking for another job is when you don’t need to.

Just think about where you want to be in five years. If a new job will put you farther along, now's the time to look. If your current employer can put you where you want to be once you get past whatever discomfort you are experiencing then stay where you are.
 
See, it's a double edged sword. A little backstory. I started here in 1994, it's a print shop, getting on a offset sheet fed Heidelberg Press. Worked there ten years, then left to start my own photography company. Fast forward to 08, when the crunch happened, things got too tight with my business, so I went back into printing. Fast forward again, current company calls me in 2014 and ask if I want to come back, but not on a press. I go back, work about 3 months, and the pressman that took over my press when I left, leaves the company. So they try and find a replacement, but off set pressman (on a big press, and good ones at that) are very hard to find in our area. So they come to me, and ask if I can come back over to the press I use to run, and help them out. I tell them I will, but I don't want to get stuck back on the press (hahaha), and go back on it. That was 2014, and I'm still on it. Now, it's obvious where the double edge is. I'm in demand, in a field that is hard to find replacements. So, I have all the job security I could ask for, I'm paid pretty well, and I don't have to worry about anyone coming in and taking my job. But, the other side of that blade, it's hard to find good pressman, so I'm kinda stuck, in a position that is not growing at all. Offset printing has been on the decline for awhile, we are just very lucky to have the clients we have, that still want what I do. There are other areas in our shop that are busting at the seams growing, and I want in on learning the new stuff (I know some of it already, in other shops I worked). It makes making a decision to move VERY hard. Leaving that job security and money is tough, but I didn't go back to be doing what I'm doing. Sucks really, lol. I know, first world problems. Sorry so long, and thanks again for the replies.
 
See, it's a double edged sword. A little backstory. I started here in 1994, it's a print shop, getting on a offset sheet fed Heidelberg Press. Worked there ten years, then left to start my own photography company. Fast forward to 08, when the crunch happened, things got too tight with my business, so I went back into printing. Fast forward again, current company calls me in 2014 and ask if I want to come back, but not on a press. I go back, work about 3 months, and the pressman that took over my press when I left, leaves the company. So they try and find a replacement, but off set pressman (on a big press, and good ones at that) are very hard to find in our area. So they come to me, and ask if I can come back over to the press I use to run, and help them out. I tell them I will, but I don't want to get stuck back on the press (hahaha), and go back on it. That was 2014, and I'm still on it. Now, it's obvious where the double edge is. I'm in demand, in a field that is hard to find replacements. So, I have all the job security I could ask for, I'm paid pretty well, and I don't have to worry about anyone coming in and taking my job. But, the other side of that blade, it's hard to find good pressman, so I'm kinda stuck, in a position that is not growing at all. Offset printing has been on the decline for awhile, we are just very lucky to have the clients we have, that still want what I do. There are other areas in our shop that are busting at the seams growing, and I want in on learning the new stuff (I know some of it already, in other shops I worked). It makes making a decision to move VERY hard. Leaving that job security and money is tough, but I didn't go back to be doing what I'm doing. Sucks really, lol. I know, first world problems. Sorry so long, and thanks again for the replies.
How many years to you see left in your career?

I’m going some where with this.
 
Man, that's really hard to say. For the business, on the offset press side, we could keep rockin and rollin for many years to come, or it could taper off big time within a few years. I've seen some very heavy hitters lose a lot of business, laying off large numbers of people, to closing down completely. Small mom and pop offset print shops are almost a thing of the past.
For me, I'll be 46 in January, so I have a while, but no spring chicken either. Hope I'm answering your question the right way, lol.
 
I honestly think you're in a great spot to start looking for a job. You've got no pressure to move outside of your desire so that gives you the unique ability to be very selective about whatever job you take. If something seems off or the position being offered just doesn't do it for you then you can pass and wait for the next opportunity.
 
Damn fella's, I really appreciate all the info/advice. Luckily, I'm not having to find a job right now, it's just I'm just stuck in a position at work where I can't move from, and I want to move to a different department and learn new skills to better myself. Talked to plant manager, and was told that I'm where they want me, lol. I get it, I really do, but I also want more for myself. Hard decisions ahead.

A good employer wants their employees, especially the ones with drive, to learn as much as they are willing to learn. Worked for a company where this was an issue, and the supervisors/managers that actively encouraged select members of their groups to not only learn more, but to pushed them to them to take over their own supervisory position, were the most successful. The management that tried to hem folks into being sh*t beasts and workhorses had high turnover and interdepartment bailing out.

Sorry to hear you're having this issue. Hopefully there is somebody higher up that takes notice of your potential and drive.
 
A good employer wants their employees, especially the ones with drive, to learn as much as they are willing to learn.
Sounds to me like this is one of those jobs where outside help is going to be hard to find and they’re going to need to recruit, train, and apprentice someone from within. That they’re not, that the OP is stuck for 5 years now on a job he said he didn’t want to make long term tells me a lot.
 
I’ll write you a resume old timer, but it requires a night in front of the firebowl, and a stenographer.
It might not get you a job, but we might be wildly entertained with the results here.
:D
You may not get a resume, but you would probably land a book deal.
 
Like @fieldgrade and @ChickenHawk mentioned, make it one page. Most HR folks I've known and worked with consider this the norm, even for some very experienced, very high level candidates.

Lots of good advice here, I would add that you will want to be very mindful in your choice of words to describe your experience or accomplishments. I'm not familiar with your industry nor how they make hiring decisions but in general don't make your resume all buzzwords as at the end of the day the difference is YOU. If every applicant simply fills their resume with buzzwords they become part of the minimally qualified stack, eg all the same. Sure, there's the "get past the gatekeeper" aspect, but you want to be moved higher in the stack.

A mediocre resume describes efforts, a good resume describes results. 95% of resumes people type up essentially are stories describing how they turned energy into heat, you want to be in that 5% of people who stand out by actually having made a difference to their past employers.

You have experience running your own business, be sure to include those skills and accomplishments prominently, as well as the experience with the other in-demand aspects of your industry. Just a thought, but you might even consider going to the "dark side", eg working at one of the clients who needs to understand your printing business to get things done. Ad or PR agencies and the like, given your photography/media background ?
 
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