An expected uptick in hiring for 2010 will likely spur additional competition in an already tight job market. Many job seekers mistakenly search only the largest, most recognized job boards in search of open positions. Contrary to widespread belief this strategy is not as effective as one might think. In today's economy, the cost of advertising is often a concern and many of the large job boards are often out of reach of those with limited advertising budgets. When it comes to job boards, my recommendation is to go where there are the most jobs with the least amount of competition.

As a Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Strategist, I am often called upon to assist job seekers with their job search. I recently had a young client--a college student, who was seeking a Customer Service position outside of a retail or call center environment. While browsing various websites, I found a job site with two open positions calling for a Customer Service Associate at Embassy Suites. Although Embassy Suites is a large and well known corporation that pays a bit more per hour than other local employers with similar job postings; they chose only to post the openings on their corporate website.

Many of the smaller, more specialized job sites do not rely on advertising revenue; but rather search employer's websites for posted career opportunities and provide this service to members. These opportunities are often virtually untapped since these positions are more difficult to find and generally rely on word of mouth advertising to fill. Although some of these websites require a subscription, many are at no cost to the job seeker. When evaluating a website, I look for the most unique jobs with the least amount of advertising.

My 10 most preferred job sites include:

http://www.indeed.com

http://www.craigslist.org

http://www.jobcentral.com

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-myspace

http://www.linkup.com/

http://hound.com

http://www.vault.com

http://www.dice.com

http://usajobs.gov/

http://www.execunet.com

An effective job search strategy requires several components including: an exceptional resume, strong networking skills, and simply knowing where to look for the best leads to available jobs. Incorporating these job sites into your arsenal of job search tools will significantly improve your employment outlook.

In today's highly competitive job market, only those with exceptional resumes will be called to interview. It isn't unusual for even the most qualified candidate to be rejected due to a poorly designed resume. Unemployment is expensive. Writing your own resume using a template designed years ago can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost income each week.

Many job seekers mistakenly believe that because their old resume worked years ago, it will work again in today's job market. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Due to the shear volume of resumes that employers receive, many have opted to automate their hiring system. Rather than read each resume from start to finish, employers more often require that job seekers upload their resumes into a database with resumes from hundreds/thousands of other candidates. At that point, hiring managers filter for select industry-related keywords very similar to a Google search. The more hits they find, the more likely your resume is to be printed and reach the hands of the hiring manager.

Jumpstart your job search and improve your response rate by developing an effective marketing strategy that demonstrates to the employer why you are the best candidate for the position. Quantify your accomplishments whenever possible using numbers, dollar amounts, and percentages as this information will demonstrate both the level of responsibility that you've held, as well as your success in the position. Search current job postings for the most sought after industry-related keywords and use them within sentences to establish context optimizing your resume for the employer's ATS (Applicant Tracking Software).

I often hear job seekers state that "a resume won't get you a job" and this is true. Building a strong network and interviewing skills are also key to an effective job search. However, a poor or mediocre resume can prevent you from getting a job. Many polls show that only one or two typos are enough to disqualify a candidate from consideration. In fact, I've even worked with a job seeker who had been offered a job with the resume supposedly required as a formality. The employer later recinded the job offer after reading the job seeker's self-written resume which lacked organization and demonstrated poor written communication skills.

An example of a resume incorporating many of these marketing principals is available for review. Click here.

If you aren't sure what is required on your resume in order to capture the hiring manager's attention--this isn't a good time to experiment. Professional resume writers are not all alike. In fact, many have no specific training and use the same templates available to anyone with Internet access. Make sure that your resume writer is certified and then verify his/her certifications. Many writers claim to be certified, yet are not. Training and talent varies greatly and quality is often sacrificed when working with local writers or resume mills so ask to see samples of their work. The investment in the highest quality resume is often little more than that for a mediocre resume.

As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, I am often approached by highly qualified job seekers frustrated by weeks and often months of costly unemployment. Job seekers who have sent hundreds of resumes yet never hear back from the employer.

I’ve found that the majority of my clients attempt to write their own resume and only seek the help of a professional after weeks of failure. There are many reasons they ...<< MORE >>

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to review scores of resumes while providing free critiques at a local job fair. I was saddened to see that so many jobseekers have a difficult time selling themselves on paper. When jobs disappear and retirement funds are obliterated in the stock market your resume becomes the most important financial document that you have.

Your resume is your lifeline back into the world of employment, however the majority of Americans try to write their resumes on their own. This attempt to save money often results in extended periods of unnecessary unemployment proving more costly than seeking the help of an expert.

If your resume isn't working and the phone isn't ringing; it isn't because there are no jobs. It is because other candidates were better able to articulate their skill sets and experience to the hiring manager for the few jobs that are there. This has become an employers market where only the fittest job seekers will survive.

A great resume requires that you show within the first 1/3 of the first page supported information documenting that you are the best candidate for the position. You must quantify your accomplishments showing both the previous level of your responsibility, as well as your level of success.

Industry related keywords are imperative. Employers today expect you to apply online and upload your resume into their vast database of candidates. They then scan for these keywords and the more "hits" that they receive the more likely it is that your resume will be printed and reach the hands of the hiring manager.

If in doubt how best to sell yourself to ensure that you standout from your competition, it is important to seek professional help. Remember, your career professional knows how to sell your skills and experience to the hiring manager. They are also experts at tapping the hidden job market.

The biggest mistake most jobseekers make is waiting too long to seek the help of a professional. They often wait until they can no longer afford to seek assistance. A successful job search requires that you have both the experience and the best means of articulating your skills and experience to the hiring manager.

It is not unusual today to read articles like the one posted on CNN 's website "Obama transition sees eye-popping 300,000 resumes" where thousands of applicants apply for only a few jobs. The number of resumes that hiring managers are receiving are staggering. If your resume isn't one of the top 5 it's likely that you won't even be considered for the opportunity.

What can you do to optimize your chances for review? Many employers today expect applicants to apply online through their corporate website where they ask that you upload an ASCII version of your resume be uploaded into their system. At this point many employers use scanning software to scan for certain industry related keywords. The more "hits" that your resume has ... the more likely it is that your resume will be printed and reach the hands of the hiring manager.

It is true that you have only 15 to 20 seconds to capture the attention of the hiring manager. If your resume isn't formatted to quickly demonstrate the skills and experience that you have to offer the opportunity ... the job of your dreams may be lost forever. Hiring managers simply don't have the time to read resumes from top to bottom to see that you have the experience that they seek. Your resume must demonstrate at a glance that you are the ideal candidate for the postion.

Which format is best for your situation? Chronological, functional, or a combination of both? A simple chronological resume will not work for everyone. You will need to analyze your individual situation. Are you changing careers, do you have a gap in employment, or have you moved from job to job?

It is also important to include only relevant work experience for most positions. Generally employers don't care that you flipped hamburgers while you were in college when you've worked 10 years as a Sales Representative. Speaking of college, care should be taken not to disclose anything that indicates you are approaching middle age. Although age discrimination is illegal it continues to happen all the time.

A resume written by a certified professional resume writer can help you avoid many of these pitfalls and will give you the best chance for interviews in this highly competitive market. These highly trained resume writers can be found through www.parw.com www.nrwa.com www.careerdirectors.com and http://www.careermanagementalliance.com. Be wary of non-certified writers as they may not have anymore training or experience than you have yourself.

It is not unusual for me to hear jobseekers express concern regarding the cost of having a resume professionally written. Many are under the assumption that all the resume writer needs to do is to sit down and "type" a resume. Unfortunately, it is far more complicated than just typing a resume.

In order for a resume to be effective the jobseeker's skills and experience must match the needs of the hiring manager. A professional resume writer cannot effectively match the jobseeker to the position without becoming an expert in the specific industry. Now that so much of the application process takes place over the Internet, the writer must understand the importance and have extensive knowledge of industry related keywords. This requires a strong knowledge of each industry in order to use the most up-to-date industry jargon to ensure that filtered keywords are captured by the scanning software. The more hits that your resume receives the more likely it is that your resume will be printed and reach the hands of the hiring manager. All of this requires extensive research on the part of the writer.

The writer must also spend time reviewing the jobseekers documentation and will often interview the jobseeker. The interview gives the resume writer a better understanding of the jobseekers skills and experience and an idea of what they seek in their next job. All of this, along with the design, analysis, actual writing, and organization of a compelling "marketing" document require many hours of the writers time.

In this bleak economic environment and highly competitive job market; your resume is the most important financial document that you have. It can mean the difference between having a paycheck or not and it also plays a huge part in determining the size of that paycheck.

It is important to remember that not all resume writers' qualifications are the same. It is wise to seek a certified professional resume writer. One who has proven that they have the skill and the experience necessary to design a document so crucial to your financial future. The cost of a professional resume should be considered an investment in your career that will pay for itself over and over again.

You've made the decision that you need professional help writing your resume. Now where do you go? Do a search on Google for Resume Writer and more than 24 million entries are returned. How then do you find a good resume writer with so many choices?

The Internet abounds with those claiming to be professional resume writers. The majority of resume writers on the web have no more training or experience in resume writing than the average job seeker. It's easy to spend hundreds of dollars for a resume that doesn't work. What should you look for in choosing a resume writer?

Typical deciding factors in selecting a professional resume writer

• The cost of the resume is very affordable.
  Unfortunately, it is true that you get what you pay for. Would a good writer spend hours designing a resume that is capable of beating your competition for $75 to $99? Wouldn't they charge more for the resumes they write if their resumes were worth it?
• The resume writer should have a background in recruiting or human resources.
A background in HR or recruiting helps to identify a poorly written resume but doesn't teach anyone to write resumes. How do I know? I have countless HR professionals that come to me for help with their resumes. Resume writing requires exceptional writing, grammatical, and marketing skills. These are not learned simply by reading the resumes of others.

• The resume writer should be proud to show you samples of their work.
  Any writer who will not provide samples of their work upfront should be stricken from the list of possible writers. Writers may claim that they don't want people copying their work which "is" likely. However, the counter argument to that is they can send resumes outside of the field of the job seeker which are of no use for copying.
• Check references!
  Ask for references and contact past clients to see that they are indeed happy with the writers work.
• Most importantly, choose a certified professional resume writer and verify their certification.
  Certified professional resume writers have been extensively trained and tested to ensure they meet the high standards of the certifying association. Don't forget to verify certifications! Many resume writers claim to be certified when indeed they are not.
  

In today's highly competitive job market it is imperative that a jobseeker's resume actually gets printed and into the hands of hiring managers. Due to the sheer volume of resumes that recruiters and hiring managers receive it is true that you only have 10-20 seconds to capture their interest. If your resume doesn't immediately demonstrate that you have the skills they are not likely to read it but instead go on to the next resume.

Many people assume they are simply hiring a typist when they hire a resume writer and are astonished to hear quotes of $250 - $600+ from certified professional resume writers (CPRW). A certified professional resume writer has been trained and tested in the strategic development of resumes that match the jobseekers skills and experience to the hiring managers needs.

A certified professional resume writer will analyze your strengths, research and become an expert in your field, and identify and present the value that you offer the employer. Certified professional resume writers are familiar with the skills that hiring managers and recruiters seek. A professional resume writer has an excellent understanding of the Internet job search and the importance of including powerful industry-related keywords in your resume.

The purpose of a resume is actually two-fold with the first reason to win invitations to interview. The second reason is to serve as a review document which the employer uses to determine the value that you bring to their organization. A top-notch resume which highlights your skills and experience is more likely to generate a top-notch salary offer.

It is not unusual for a jobseeker to be offered $5,000 to $50,000 more than they received in their last position. However, even if offered only $1,000 per year more but you work in the same position in the company for 10 years the return on your investment could be $10,000. A professionally written resume can also shorten your job search time by several weeks which means more money in your pocket.

Keep in mind that no resume writer can make guarantees regarding salary offers but simply give you the best chance.

www.anewresume.com