Using the Internet to Write a Marketable Resume

You don't have to pay someone to write you a resume to land the big interview. You know you better than any career coach or resume writer, so it makes sense that you should be able to sell yourself better. Whether you have written disappointing resumes in the past, or have never written a resume, there is hope. And, you don't have to have an eye for design or the gift of gab. As long as you know your selling points, an enviable resume is just a few Internet searches away.

As with most things you are not an expert on, the best place to start when writing a resume is the Internet. If you know what to search on, you should be able to find everything you need. So, what keywords or phrases will find you the tools to build a marketable resume? The phrases "resume writing", "resume samples", "resume examples", "resume appearance", "resume objectives" and "resume format" will lead you to numerous websites and web pages with tutorials, suggestions, templates and samples. You will have to do a little weeding to get the best information, but once you hit the jackpot, here is what you can do to make the most of it.

1) Build a file or files where you can save what you think is valuable or helpful. The files can be on your computer, or they can be hard copy. You might actually find hard copy a more convenient format for viewing and comparing multiple documents at once, though.

2) Create a document where you can cut and paste useful tips and guidance on specific topics such as formatting, or resume objectives. Doing this will keep you from having to jump back and forth between multiples sites to find tidbits of information you thought you remembered seeing.

3) Look through the resume samples you have saved or printed and start marking the resumes, or parts of resumes that appeal to you from a style and appearance perspective. Think about how and where you want your name and address. Do you want an objective? Do you want to include a professional profile? Will that profile include a bulleted list of your functional qualifications? If you want to list your jobs, how do you want to list them? Do you want to summarize your work for an employer in a paragraph before you provide selected results for that employer in a bulleted format? Where do you want to put your education? Do you want to include hobbies? From an appearance and styling perspective, there are a lot of factors to consider when writing a resume. Don't overlook this part, though. If the resume is poorly assembled, confusing, or hard to read, the potential employer will never even see your content.

4) Once you decide how you want the resume to look and what kind of information it will include, you can turn your focus to the personal content. Start reading through the saved resume samples. If you printed the samples out, highlight action words and descriptive phrases that are applicable to you and your accomplishments. You can even highlight entire sentences or bullets that would fit well in your resume. Sometimes someone has already written the perfect bullet that just needs a small tweak or adjustment to be yours. If you have chosen to store the resume samples electronically, as suggested before, you can create a document where you can cut and paste (or type in if the sample resume is in a format where you can't copy) powerful selling words, phrases, or entire bullets to use on your resume.

Writing a resume can be a foreboding task. But, it doesn't have to be. In this day and age you don't have to pay someone, or have a penchant for creative writing to crank out a masterpiece. All that you really need is access to a computer. With all of the samples available on the web, you should be able to build a resume that you and potential employers will find visually appealing, with the right content to pack a punch.