Twitter is one of those social media sites that might surprise you. On the surface, it seems frivolous—do you really need to read all those Tweets about the smallest daily details of life? But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll realize just how powerful Twitter can be for your medical sales or health care sales career, if you learn to use it.

Twitter can be great for tweeting about what you’re doing, but even better for following what others are doing—if you’re following the right people. Following the ones who can be the most useful and relevant to your career success right now is a tremendous opportunity you should not let slip by. Ultimately, Twitter is about communicating and connecting. The more you do, the more you’ll learn things that will be useful to you in your career.

If you’re in marketing, you must use Twitter—it’s cutting edge. Both for your own tweets and for seeing what’s up with your competition.

If you’re in sales, it becomes a little less “must do,” but still pretty good. Are your customers out there? How about your competitors? Better keep up.

If you’re in the job search, you’re back to making Twitter participation a top priority on your to-do list. You can follow recruiters, hiring managers, career coaches, and others who can lead you to job prospects and give you the edge over other candidates. You can also follow companies to keep up with the latest. Twitter is a great job search tool.

So how do you find the people you need to follow? Twitter can be difficult to use for searches, but you can find ancillary software/models like Twellow and Twitter Search, and learn how to search. Here’s a place to start: a list of the top 25 Recruiters on Twitter.

As always, be a good participant and interact with professionalism. Tweet about things that are useful to others, help other people find jobs if you can, and take care to avoid negativity that can haunt you later.

Article by: Peggy McKee

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

When we work with resume clients, we provide them with a plain text version of their finished resume.  Regardless of whether you hire a professional or write your own resume, it is useful to have a plain text version on hand during your job application process.

Most medium to large companies now use online application systems for their job openings.  Some job seekers blow through these application systems, even writing things like “see resume” in the blanks asking for your previous job responsibilities.  This is a bad idea!  Many companies never look at applicants’ attached resumes until they’ve used specific keywords to screen the online applications.  Although employers generally look at things like education level or years of experience, they are also searching for specific things within your past job responsibilities.  Therefore, leaving those sections of an online job application blank can kill your chances of ever being forwarded through the hiring process.

Now, obviously typing your entire employment history into an online system is a very time-consuming process.  Cutting and pasting from your sleekly formatted resume will save you some time, but it will still take some work to go through and delete things like bullets and section dividers that don’t make sense inside the text box of an online application.  This is where having a plain text version of your resume can save you a tremendous amount of time.  By having your previous job accomplishments written out without any extra formatting, you can cut and paste quickly into the sections of an online system without having to spend much time editing.

Remember, no matter how frustrating the process can be, you simply have to complete the online application in a hiring system as thoroughly as possible.  The company may never see your impressive resume unless their application system recognizes you as the outstanding candidate that you are!

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.

If you’re visiting this Web site, you understand the importance of having a polished looking resume to use during your job search.  Whereas having a marketable resume is extremely important, a fantastic resume by itself won’t get you a job.  So, what do you do with your resume now that it has been tweaked (and proofread three times) and is ready for distribution?

Send it to your references

It’s really helpful to give your references something to reference while they’re recommending you.  It also helps jog a person’s memory about any previous jobs you may have discussed with them in the past.

Carry it around with you

Whenever you walk into a job fair, networking event, or even lunch with a colleague, you should have several printed copies of your resume with you.  Think about how often the subject of work comes up, and someone ends up saying, “Send me your resume and I’ll see what I can do.”  Giving them a paper copy right then and there emphasizes your urgency and speaks well of your preparation.  Just be sure to follow up with an electronic version that they can forward to their connections.

Post it online

It’s a tedious task, but uploading your resume to job boards like Careerbuilder and specific company Web sites in advance will save you time when you see a specific job for which you’d like to apply.  Plus it gets you into that company’s database, where you may then be searchable to their hiring managers. If you don’t want to spend hours uploading it yourself check out our resume distribution service.

Use it to build your brand

Having a copy of your polished resume in front of you as you create or update your LinkedIn profile, Google profile, twitter page, or any other social media presence will help ensure that you’re conveying a consistent message.  That’s the way to build a personal brand!

A rock-solid resume is essential to any successful job search.  If you work your resume, it will work for you!

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.

Guest post by: Peggy McKee of http://www.career-confidential.com

The very best time to look for a new job is while you still have your old one–but what if that means you need to keep it on the down low? Keeping your job search confidential can seem virtually impossible, but it isn’t.

One great way to stealth job search is by using LinkedIn. It’s entirely possible to reach out to others without it being a matter of public record. Using LinkedIn to contact hiring managers directly is amazingly effective.

So what do you have to do?

Above all else, you must have a polished LinkedIn profile. The better you look on LinkedIn, the more likely it becomes that you’re contacted by recruiters or hiring managers (the easiest way to land a job of all). But be careful of what you write in your summary. You can’t put “seeking a sales opportunity” if you’re trying to keep it quiet. Concentrate on highlighting your skills and accomplishments while making connections and participating in relevant groups. Essentially, you’re putting your best foot forward while growing your network. And you’ll learn a tremendous amount of information from the resources you’ll find there.

What if your employer wants to know why you have such a shined up LinkedIn profile? Don’t let him put you on the spot. You can say (especially if you’re in sales or marketing) that you see yourself as the face of the company, and customers seek you out on LinkedIn. You can also say that you’re trying to learn about the latest social media tools to be current on the trends. There are over 65 million professionals on LinkedIn, and they’re not all looking for jobs. It’s not going to be unusual for you to jump in, too.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

This past week I attended a presentation about Baby Boomers, Generation X-ers, and Millennials learning to communicate and work well together in the professional world.  The speaker provided great tips for understanding each generation and how to effectively use their strengths to the best advantage.  While the presentation focused on helping everyone work well together, I couldn’t help but think about the ramifications of what she was saying for those out in the job market today.

Let’s start with Baby Boomers, those born between 1946-1964.  Baby Boomers have generally been in the workplace for several decades and possess knowledge and experience.  Writing a resume for a Boomer often entails trying to pare the candidate’s experience down to only the most important elements.  However, Boomers also need to be particularly careful to include on their resumes any technological competencies they possess.  For those in the position of competing with Millennials when they apply for jobs, it’s particularly important to show that they can work quickly and efficiently.

Generation X defines those who were born between 1965 and 1979.  Gen X-ers are in their 30s and 40s and often have significant work experience.  A Gen X-er preparing his resume should pay particular attention to quantifying his achievements with numbers and statistics.  Many members of this generation have managed others or have been responsible for various financial results; so putting a number to those results helps to truly define you as a candidate.

Millennials are those who were born between 1980 and 2010.  Employers generally assume that Millennials grasp technology or will be able to learn new software programs quickly.  However, Millennials too often lack the all-important “soft skills” of intelligent and effective communication and socially acceptable personal presentation that some employers still value so much.  Therefore, for those who are in their 20s and are trying to enter into or move around in the workforce, it’s particularly important that both your resume and your interview reflect your ability to communicate personably and effectively.

With one in 10 Americans currently looking for full-time work, all three generations are competing against one another for available jobs.  It’s helpful to understand the assumptions a member of another generation might make about you as a candidate so that you can present your resume and yourself in a way that speaks to those concerns.

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.

People often ask me why anyone would seek professional help with writing his or her resume.  The great part about resume writing is that I often work with educated professionals who have years of great experience.  Unfortunately, they just don’t know how to get their resumes in front of people with the power to give them a job.  Generally, they’re too busy being a great nurse, project manager, executive, or whatever else to understand one important thing: how recruiters think.

1) They have very little time

While recruiters and hiring managers have many different philosophies and approaches, one thing is certain: they all review scores of resumes.  Rejection letters often inform candidates that more than 100 people had applied for the same position.  Faced with competition of that magnitude, it’s easy to see why your resume has to be outstanding in order for you to get any attention from an employer.  Most people reviewing your resume simply don’t have more than a minute or two to look it over.

2) Know your audience

Given the volume of resumes employers receive for each position, lower-level hiring staff are frequently used to “shortlist” candidates for each opening.  This means that a less experienced HR professional is reviewing dozens of resumes in order to weed out 6-10 strong candidates.  With this in mind, it’s important to write your resume in simple terms that someone who doesn’t have your background can grasp.  As you develop the highlights from each of your previous positions, ask yourself if a stranger at a cocktail party would understand what you’ve just written.

3) Experience doesn’t always matter

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re looking for a pet sitter while your family is away for a week’s vacation.  In looking for a pet sitter, you would generally want to know about the person’s experience with pets, whether her availability met your needs, and whether your pet liked her during an in-person introduction.  The pet sitter candidate would be wasting your time if she told you all about her experience roofing houses or preparing people’s income taxes.  It’s fabulous that she has those abilities, but all you need to know is whether she can walk and feed your dog.

The same principle is true for resumes.  Because the average worker holds more than 10 jobs during his or her career, chances are good that some of your accomplishments may not be relevant to the job you’re currently trying to get.  Use your resume space for the experiences that matter, and don’t overwhelm reviewers with information that they don’t need.

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.

I think I’m beginning to sound borderline preachy with my resume and cover letter advice.  But I also feel I have a duty to share with job seekers the blunders and mistakes they make that prevent them from getting the interview and ultimately the offer.  After ten years of working as a human resources manager and recruiter I’ve seen my fair share of job seeker mistakes.  So here’s my list of the five biggest mistakes job seekers make on their resumes.

MISTAKE #1: Outdated formatting

The first impression your resume gives is critical.  How do you want the hiring manager to perceive you?  Professional and accomplished?  Or sloppy and disorganized?  Old and outdated formats only reflect poorly on you as a viable candidate for the position.

MISTAKE #2: Using an objective

If your resume has an objective, please remove it.  That is an outdated practice that is no longer relevant in today’s job market.  Objectives will only land you in the “bland, just like everyone else” pile—not the “oh yeah, don’t let me forget to call them today” pile.

MISTAKE #3: Forgetting important keywords

Don’t forget to use industry specific keywords.  Also, make sure you know where to place them.  The top section of the resume is the best place because that’s where the hiring manager’s eyes will be drawn.  Short keywords are a great way to tell the employer about your expertise.

MISTAKE #4: Length and text density

Too long or too short and you’ve lost your hiring manager.  Keep paragraphs to 3-5 sentences—and the same goes for the number of bullets you use in your resume.  Why?  Any longer and you lose the audience in information overload—any shorter and you appear under qualified.

MISTAKE #5: Listing responsibilities instead of accomplishments

The hiring manager doesn’t want your resume to be an exact replica of the job ad.  He already knows what he needs.  What he needs to know is how you’re going to meet their needs.  Utilize statements that demonstrate your expertise and accomplishments in a given area.  Certainly there was a challenge you faced while working for your current or previous employers.  How did you address these challenges and what were the results?  The answers to these questions make for GREAT bullet points on a resume.

Are you making these five mistakes on your resume?  Compare your resume to those designed by certified advanced resume writers at http://www.greatresumesfast.com.

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.

Check out this great FREE job search resource! If you’re currently job searching you cannot afford to miss picking up this great resource. The first volume in a series now three deep is chock full of great career and job search advice from some of the best career experts today.  Go to http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2010/06/free-book-launchpad-career-search-guide.html to get your free copy today and look for the second and third volumes on amazon.com.

Check out our latest article posted on CareerRocketeer.com:

http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2010/06/30-strong-action-verbs-to-spice-up-your.html

It’s not always easy to know what to do with your executive resume when you realize that it’s not getting you jobs, but you don’t exactly know why. Sometimes your resume requires a few minor tweaks and sometimes it needs a complete overhaul. Then there are times that it just needs a boost to make it interesting to more recruiters.

If you think your resume falls into the last category, supercharging it is probably all you need to give it that boost. Here are some ways to get this done…

Make Your Key Details Stand Out

One great way to supercharge your resume is by learning how to make your key details stand out. You could get this done by positioning your details as high as possible on your first page. If you have a career summary, you could place this underneath your title and contact information then list out in a paragraph or bullet-point format what details you want them to know about you.

Some stand-out details that you might consider include record-breaking or award-winning moments you had with previous employers. You could also mention exception moments of bringing in revenue, having huge results with a small staff or any other moments that showcase how you were able to help previous employers improve their business.

Also, you could mention skills that you’ve acquired that make you stand out from the rest. Basically, the idea is to mention whatever you think will convince the hiring manager into read on.

Get Testimonials

Something many executive job seekers don’t consider when writing their resume is adding testimonials. While it’s not necessarily something you’ll see on the typical resume, it’s something that you could absolutely add to spice things up and give insight into your work ethic before the hiring manager ever checks up on your references.

A good way to get this done is to ask for a number of testimonials from your networking circle. If you have LinkedIn contacts, you could easily ask for recommendations on there then ask for permission to add the ones you desire to your resume. Having these testimonials adds credibility to your cause and gives the hiring manager an additional reason to read on.

Stick with a Theme

While you want to cover a number of bases to show you’re well-rounded, it’s also important to choose some type of theme for your resume, especially if you’re sending your resume out into the job pool to be discovered by recruiters. The idea is to create one career goal for your resume so that recruiters will know how to categorize you as they look for prospects. If you have more than one career goal, create more than one resume. This way, your resume(s) will be focused enough to draw in the audience you’re looking for.

Having a good resume is not a bad thing, but having a supercharged one is better by far. So if you’ve decided that what you already have just isn’t good enough, consider the above tips to supercharge your resume and create the interest you’ve ultimately been looking for.

Guest post by Heather Eagar of Resumelines.com

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that transform job searches into interviews and ultimately job offers. For more information about professional resume writing or to read more career and job search related articles visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or call 1.800.991.5187.