Essay Guideline

Have you ever wanted to fire your boss? I’ve never known anybody who didn’t want to at least once a year. I’ve worked with lots of people who wanted to once a day!

I believe you SHOULD fire your boss. That doesn’t mean quitting your job.

You have a choice in your work life. You can work for you, or you can work only to make somebody else rich. I recommend the first one.

No matter who signs your paycheck, you can work for you. All that means is using your work effort to produce a better lifestyle for your family. In my opinion, that means financial wealth (at least relative to where you are now) and abundant time to spend with those you love.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? The bad news is that remarkably few employees do it. The good news is that anybody can, and it’s not hard. You simply have to shift the way you think.

Don’t think like an employee, who shows up, collects a paycheck and depends on his employer’s benevolence to keep getting paid. That makes you a prisoner of your boss and your job.

Instead, think like an owner. Go to work everyday and do your best to find ways to increase company profits. Look for ways to reduce costs or increase revenue. Those profit improvement possibilities are literally everywhere, but few employees bother to look.

If you find great ways to increase profit, that will help your boss tremendously. Your boss and his bosses might be too frazzled with the day-to-day grind to see all of the possibilities themselves. Help them out! Believe it or not, that will help you.

Those profit improvement ideas, if you present them well to the right people at the right time, might just get you a raise, or promoted. Those ideas also can help you build a killer resume.

A steady track record of improving profits sells like hotcakes. A few bullet points like that on your resume will make your job prospects a lot brighter, and open doors you didn’t even know were there.

So, when you go into work tomorrow, start thinking and acting like an owner. Look for ways to improve profit. Make that your mission. That’s how you work for you, without quitting your job.

Copyright (c) 2005 by Roy Miller

Roy Miller created http://www.Job-Search-Guidepost.com.

He recently released a new FREE report on how you can (and should) fire your boss. Claim your copy today! And if you liked this article, sign up for Roy’s free weekly newsletter.

Would you like never to need a resume again? Visit Roy’s new site http://www.resale-money-machine.com to find out how.

This article may be reprinted for use in newsletters and on websites provided that this information box is kept intact. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: Roy@Job-Search-Guidepost.com.

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1) Set aside some time, even if it’s just an hour every day looking for jobs. If you do it in the morning, it’ll make you feel better later in the day, as you’ll feel you are taking steps towards your job-hunting process. If you have a partner, they will appreciate it too, knowing you are making good use of your time.

2) Customize your resume for each job that you’re applying for, writing in greater depth about the skills required for the job. This will bring greater prominence and attention to the employer.

3) Make sure that you have all the buzzwords on your resume, as agencies mainly identify candidates through searches.

4) Follow-up by calling a dozen agencies each day, just to remind them that you are still available. Although your resume will come up when the agency does a search, so will hundreds of others, and you want to make sure that the agencies consider you first for jobs that have come in that day.

5) Monitor as many of the job boards as you can, and resend your resume each time a new job comes up that matches your skills, even if the particular agency already has your resume.

6) Keep your resume to 2 pages in length, as no one wants read a 10-page resume when they have hundreds of others to read. Make sure you have a summary of your skills on the front page. Remember that this is a sales document. If you want to impress further, make your resume a Brochure, as this will stick out from the crowd plus show that you work in a professional manner.

7) Show your resume to as many friends as possible for their comments, and ask agencies for their comments as well.

Send out a fresh online batch of resumes to extra agencies each week. More and more companies operate with Preferred Supplier lists, and if you are not on the books of the Preferred Supplier agency, you will not be considered. Therefore, it’s suggested that you be on the books of as many agencies as possible.

9) Don’t rely strictly on agencies, but use your own contacts. Call up or email your old companies, bosses or fellow workers to see if there are any opportunities they might provide.

10) Get in touch with all the old colleagues that you are still in touch with to find out if they are aware of any work that may be going on at their companies. If you’ve lost touch with many of the people that you worked with, use reunion sites like NamesFacesPlaces to see if any old colleagues who might be registered could help you find work.

11) Find something else to do with your spare time, which may become useful in the future. Learn a new skill or build your own website. Once you’re back in work, you’ll wish that you had made better use of your time.

12) Attend networking events such as those organized by the PCG or the BCS. Perhaps you could organize a reunion or other event. Schedule a time to get together for drinks with colleagues who worked at a particular site with you. The people you invite will invite others and as they may have similar skills to you and may know of some work going at the companies they work for.

13) Look in on IT discussion web sites where you will find people with the same problems. Here you can learn and share advice. You may also get encouragement after talking to some people who were out of work but have managed to get jobs. Ask them how they did it.

14) When you finally get an interview, remember to prepare well for it. Make sure that you reacquaint your self with the subject matter. Ask one of your friends with similar skills to interview you first so you can better prepare yourself. There’s nothing worse than failing an interview that you feel you should have landed, due to lack of preparation.

15) And lastly, don’t give up. It’s difficult to keep repeating and doing the same things on a daily basis without immediate results, but your perseverance will pay off in the end.

Gerry McLaughlin has fulfilled every role in Software Development from Trainee Programmer through Systems and Business Analysis, Project Leader and Manager, Systems Manager and Chief Information Officer with a department of 80 people. Tens of thousands of IT Contractors visit http://www.ITContractor.com each month to keep themselves in touch with the market.

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Good question, considering that nowadays you can find many
useful resources to help you write your own resume
(including many located at http://www.impressive-resumes.com).

A professionally written resume might be just what you need.
On the other hand, perhaps you can easily write your own
resume using a resume template or commercially available
resume writing software. How do you decide which is right
for you?

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you
decide.

* “Do I have the time to do the job right?”

If you want to create a resume that works, i.e. one that
captures the attention of a hiring manager during a 10
second initial “toss or keep” scan, you need to be willing
to invest some time. Depending on your comfort level, your
familiarity with resume design factors and how well you’re
organized, this can take anywhere from a couple of hours to
several days or more.

If you have the time, energy, focus and desire to learn how
to write an effective resume, you’re probably a good
candidate to do it yourself. If you’re really not ready to
devote the time and effort, you’d be better served by
allowing a professional resume writer to write it for you.

* “Can I afford the services of a professional resume writer?”

If you’re on a no kidding shoestring budget, writing your
own resume is probably the way to go. But most people are
surprised at how inexpensive and easy it is to hire a
professional resume writer who can write a truly effective
resume. Chances are good that there’s room in your budget
for a professionally written resume, especially considering
that the right career step could pay back your investment a
thousand times over (or more).

You’ve probably already spent tens of thousands of dollars
on your education, (not to mention incredible amounts of
sweat equity) to get where you are today. The small amount
of additional money you spend on a professionally written
resume may just be the best career advancement investment
you’ll ever make.

* “What makes a resume writer a “professional” writer?

There are several well known professional resume writing
organizations through which individuals can attain
professional resume writing credentials. These include the
National Resume Writers’ Association (NRWA) and the
Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career
Coaches (PARW/CC). Individuals who attain accreditation from
these organizations have demonstrated an in depth knowledge
of the resume writing process. The writers at
http://www.impressive-resumes.com are certified by one or more
such organizations.

* “What are some of the benefits of hiring a professional
resume writer to write my resume for me?”

There are many. You’ll likely save time and almost certainly
money in the long run. You’ll avoid making one or more of
the common resume writing mistakes that so many people make
when writing their own resumes. You’ll enjoy the peace of
mind that comes with knowing your resume was “done right”
from the beginning. You’ll be able to devote more time to
doing all the other things required of you when looking for
a new job. And you’ll have someone in your court who has
your best career interests at heart.

* “How do I work with a professional resume writer?”

Nowadays you no longer need to meet with a resume writer in
person or by telephone to conduct an interview. You can
order an online resume and complete your interview
conveniently on your own schedule. In fact, purchasing an
online resume that is written by a professional resume
writer is one of the nice things about the online world. The
whole process is built around YOU. You and the professional
resume writer working with you always have the option to
communicate by telephone or email if additional information
is required.

Copyright 2005 by Vincent Czaplyski, all rights reserved.

You may republish this article in its entirety, as long as
you include the complete signature file above without
modification.

Copywriter and consultant Vincent Czaplyski is founder of
http://www.impressive-resumes.com, your online source for
professionally written “industrial strength” resumes and
cover letters guaranteed to land you an interview.

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