I never thought I'd have such a tough time searching for a new job - let alone landing one. I'm a qualified graphic designer with over 7 years of experience, yet I'm not even booking interviews for the entry-level positions I'm finding.
After a few months, I figured the problem was either my cold calling skills or my resume. So, I took workshops in both. I learned how to develop a network, then I shaped my resume to showcase it with the newfound connections that I'd built. By the end of the workshops, every person I showed my resume to (including my friend who's a hiring manager) told me that it looked good.
I was ready to take on the job market. But then I ran into a new roadblock - every single job application required a cover letter. Now, I'll be honest, I really don't know much about cover letters. In fact, one of the workshop instructors said cover letters are basically obsolete. It made sense to me. Cover letters just regurgitate information from your resume, so what's the point?
I went back to my friend Zoe (the aforementioned hiring manager) and asked her view on cover letters. I was shocked when she said that she values cover letters more than resumes. In many instances, a letter provides a better idea of what kind of person the candidate is.
Honestly, I thought that a cover letter just elaborated on your skills so your resume doesn't run longer than a page. I drafted a few templates that I could use for my job applications, but they were inadequate - rambling and inarticulate. They certainly didn't represent my potential. And considering the lack of interviews, I'd say that was probably the case.
I asked Zoe for a few pointers on how to write a killer cover letter but turns out she isn't much of a writer and I'd be better off with TopResume. Apparently, TopResume is the leading resume-writing service in the country with over 1,500 writers nationwide who are experts on creating resumes for 65+ industries!
When I looked into TopResume, I noticed that they offer a free resume review. Even though my resume wasn't the exact problem, I had nothing to lose so I went for it. Within a couple of days, my one-on-one specialist, Katrina, got back to me with a handful of extremely helpful edits. These ranged from the way my resume was laid out to my use of passive language.
She even shared a little secret about how most employers now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter your resume before it is even viewed. This means that if your resume is missing specific keywords or experience, it might not be read in the first place. And it turns out, even though I spent all of that money on that resume writing workshop, my resume wasn't ready to use at all.
After we finished reviewing my resume, it was time to start working on what brought me to TopResumein the first place - my cover letter. Katrina recommended breaking it into smaller sections to make it easier to write and easier to read. She kept stressing that I shouldn't merely replicate my resume. I should focus instead on my voice, my personality, and how my character comes across.
Then I re-submitted my professionally written resume and cover letter to 15 places that I hadn't received a response from initially. And this time, I heard back from 8 of them! That's insane. I went from a 0% success rate to over 50% - thanks to TopResume's extremely helpful resume and cover letting writing service.
You may have qualms about paying for someone to help you with this, but trust me, the pay-off is more than worth it. After all, every day you go without a job is money you're losing. So what's the harm in spending a bit if it's gonna make you more money in the long term.
Take charge of your career today with TopResume.
