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Killer LinkedIn summaries
This story appeared in Forbes Magazine in 2018 but it’s still good. It’s a succinct piece on the importance of the LinkedIn summary. Something I focus on a lot. The summary tells a story in strong verbs, of achievement and results. It packs a punch. “Over the past...
Graduates clear tables and ask: “was my degree worth it?’
Competition for graduate jobs in South Australia is fierce. I work as a resume writer and employment specialist. My clients ask, ‘when will our universities start to focus on quality over quantity?’ I wrote this story for Adelaide’s media. No-one would have believed...
Using a resume writer to get you a job
I started out writing resumes for university and TAFE students back in the 1990s. I was a senior lecturer in writing at RMIT and the students needed help with the ‘sales proposition’. They’d ask, ‘what are my key skills and capabilities and how do I sell them?’ We’d...
Avoid the retirement void and follow your passions
Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for some. When I started Republic Resumes in Adelaide, about 15 per cent of my clients were retirees wanting to work part time or casually. I focused on their interests and targeted their resumes to new careers. This story is...
Dodgy unemployment figures
The ABS unemployment figures don't reflect that true state of unemployment and under employment in Australia. Much of the problem lies in quantifying a qualitative phenomenon. The methodology they use defines the issue away. It’s old fashioned and can’t measure those...
Do more and get referees right
When you’re looking for a job or a promotion, get your best referees lined up first. When I write client resumes and CV’s, I advise them to use professionals who know their work. Not a mate, a relative or someone they worked with ten years ago. Ask the referee's...
Jobs you don’t need a degree for
As a resume writer, I see heaps of kids with worthless degrees. Universities are flogging degree programs for all they are worth. Below are some of the median salaries for jobs you don't need a degree for. Are they REALLY worth the HECS debt? $143,471 Median annual...
Republic closed until 16 March
I'm taking a small break for a couple of weeks. I will be back on deck on Monday, 16 March, 2020. I still keep my hand in as a journalist and I'm having a working holiday in Sri Lanka. I'm writing a story on ocean plastics for the Asian media. The amount of plastics...
The unforgiven: breaking deadlines is career arsenic
The cardinal sin when hiring a professional resume writer, is to fail to provide them with information when they need it. We've had two in the last week. This seems to be an Adelaide phenomena and I don't know why. It could be that the Adelaide Fringe and Festival of...
Resumes with no achievements, results or wins
Every now and then we get a client who not only has no results on a resume but can't remember what they have achieved in a job. This is much like a professional footballer playing a game and not remembering how many kicks he or she had or how many goals kicked. I'm...
Professionalism leads to great resume testimonial
People ask me, why do you like helping people get jobs. The testimonial below from Matt, a former client in Adelaide, answers that question. “Good Morning Malcolm, I just wanted to contact you to let you know how useful your help has been over the last few months. As...
Need new methodology to count unemployed and casual workers
The official Australian Bureaus of Statistics (ABS) figures aren’t telling a complete or accurate picture of unemployment and underemployment in Australia. This is a story I wrote last year for the media in Adelaide. This story examines how tight definitions of...
Dodgy resume writers not near you
Let me tell you a secret. Most of the resume writers you deal with don't live in your area. Most don't live in your city (unless you live in Sydney or Melbourne). I live in Adelaide (have done for the last ten years) and we have a house at Kiama, where I spent much of...
To apply or not – that is the question
Every now and then a client will ask, "What are my chances in getting an interview for a job?" It's a good questions. Most resume writers will say, "Go for it," because they want the money. I'm far more circumspect. I will state what what I think the pros and cons are...
Writing your own resume – Seek
This is from Seek and it is good advice if you are writing your own resume. Take out the objective. Seeing that you're already applying for the job, it's obvious you want it. You can cover your desire for the role in your cover letter, or if you're changing...
Awful bloody job ads
This story is from The Age, written by James Adonis. It's a few years old but it's worth reading. Why are job ads so poor? One of the most demoralising aspects of job hunting isn't just the insufferable recruiters or the flawed interviews; it's also the tiresome...
Failing to meet deadlines
Resume writers work to deadlines. It's part of the job. We expect clients to do so too. Missing copy deadlines shows that the client isn't up to speed with current workforce practice. It also shows that they're not dedicated job seekers. As writers, we can forgive...
Want to put resume writers out of business? List results
I hammer this point so much, I apologise for becoming tedious. In the Employment/Career section of the resume, don’t just list duties and responsibilities. List what your results and achievements were against those duties. Employers want to know what you'll accomplish...
Hitting the bases in a cover letter
As a resume writer, I often get asked, "Should I apply for a job if I don't have all the experience and skills they list?" If you've got 80 per cent of what they want or listed in the job advertisement as 'essential', go for it. Keep in mind, if you've got ALL of the...
Get those referees right
In the context of fierce competition, CV job referees can "make or break" an application. Unreliable or fake references can end up in court, as seen in the high profile case in 2018 of Andrew Flanagan, who was fired as a group manager at Myer, after one day when it...
Resumes that go to work for you
I build expert resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, which unleash an unbeatable business case to promote you as a ‘must have’ asset to an employer.