It’s that moment you have been anticipating for weeks, months, and maybe even decades! Earning your degree has been hard work, and you are ready to face what’s next, but are you properly equipped to take on an exciting and successful career?   Many graduate with the basic skills regarding a solid resume. You know that you need an informative and exhaustive job history, but where does begin exactly? Surely there’s no need to mention those lawns you mowed or the children you babysat back in eighth grade. But, how do you make yourself look good on paper if your career and job history is really just getting started? The key is to make your skill set and aptitude shine!   There are some that have the talent and know-how to represent themselves well in this regard, while others need to [...]

  Do you ever get trapped inside of your own head? You didn’t intend to get stuck in this place once again, yet here you are. You’re staring into the dark void which appears to be your future and spiraling out of control with all of the “what if’s” and the “how much longer’s”.   Your job search can oftentimes seem like it is taking far too long, and your efforts feel undervalued. Maybe the applications have been submitted, but it has been days or weeks since the interview has been addressed. By this point, you are tapped out on patience in the waiting game.   First off, don’t be so discouraged! You are one of countless people who are all experiencing the same frustrations right now. A successful job search is one that takes time. It is not something to [...]

Whether your recent job search kick off was unexpected or seen coming a mile away, it is most likely leaving you somewhat frazzled. There are a lot of different pieces in play when conducting a professional job search effort, and it can be overwhelming to get keep everything together when your emotions are all over the place.   A successful job search is not necessarily one that produces top notch interviews after the first week, but one in which the job candidate is patient and wise. Many folks fall into their job search without a plan or knowledge of where to even begin. They know the basics of writing a cover letter and resume, but the networking and marketing angles of a job hunt might be foreign concepts.   At Platinum Resumes, we see clients on both ends of the spectrum. [...]

Since childhood, we’ve all battled with learning to tell the truth. It always seems easy at first, but how far can we stretch a lie before we get found out? We are taught how to finesse the truth in certain situations, and we learn the consequences of our lies.   All of these life lessons come into play in adulthood, specifically when searching for a new job. We don’t want to overdo it in portraying ourselves, but we also don’t want to undercut our potential. We must give ourselves credit for all of the work that we’ve done but not blow our accomplishments out of proportion. We must appear very eager for this new job opportunity but not ridiculously over the top. How can we find the middle ground and fight for what we want?   The answer lies in the [...]

Now, more than ever, our online presence matters. Using technology to communicate with one another, both professionally and personally, has become the natural way in which we operate. Greeting cards and postage stamps are gathering dust on the retail shelves, and no one actually remembers a phone number anymore. Everything is programmed into our devices, and we use those devices to connect with one another at the touch of a button in a matter of seconds.   With this current atmosphere in mind, your job search should be changing accordingly. Gone are the days when attending job fairs and rubbing elbows with CEOs were the most influential forms of networking. Although such opportunities still exist, they are greatly overshadowed by the power and ease of online outreach strategies. You can now get your foot in the door of your companies of [...]

There are times in life when we have ample notice to prepare for upcoming situations, and there are other times when we are thrown into the mix without any chance to properly ready ourselves. For this reason, it is important for any professional to always have a current and quality resume on hand. It’s one thing to have a running list of recent accolades and outstanding skills in your mind or on your phone, but gathering all of those scattered ideas and formulating them into a solid resume takes more time than most realize.   If your job takes an unexpected turn for the worst or that dream job you’ve been eyeing for years suddenly becomes available, you have no time to hesitate. You need to be ready to pounce on an opportunity right away, and you need to have a [...]

Do you have the right friends in the right places? Are you the person who always seems to have a former friend or colleague in your back pocket at a crucial time? Or, rather, are you the person who is always watching the “other guy” gain ground with the appropriate connections while you watch and wait?   Having the right connections within your career field is a huge player in determining which jobs are within your grasp. Having a knockout resume and a fiery passion for your work will get you far but sometimes not far enough. There are times when knowing the appropriate person who can open the right door will secure an opportunity that would have otherwise been beyond your means.   A recent article by The Muse states that the odds of being hired for a particular position [...]

Is it time to amp up your job search game? Are you ready to see better results when it comes to interviews and call backs? Over the years, we have seen countless individuals walking in your same shoes, job seekers who have pushed themselves and made a lot of right decisions. Yet, despite those right decisions, doors still remain closed and opportunities seem beyond your reach.   It is at this point of your stressed-out, wiped-out job search that you need to seek help. You need a wing man who can hear you out and steer you in a more fruitful direction. If you were a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, it would be the crucial moment in which you decide to “phone a friend.”   Platinum Resumes is that friend, and we provide a series of services [...]

Most of us were schooled on job references long ago, and we know to pick those that will make the best professional impression on our behalf. Remember that first miserable job you had? The one where you realized you were obviously in the wrong line of work? That job probably didn’t bring about your best efforts or proudest moments. We choose former employers, coworkers and protégés that have, in contrast, witnessed our strongest work ethic and would do well to articulate our skill set.   What you may not have been told, however, is that choosing those references is only half the battle. Once the right individuals are in place, then you have to create a document that strongly links the two of you together. Most job applicants come to the table with the same, dry formatting for all of their [...]

You may have been told that no job equals no chance, that having a time gap on your resume results in a hopeless future. While unemployment gaps can be tricky to work through, there is still huge potential for a strong resume to be born despite your circumstances.   Maybe your company downsized and rendered your job as nonessential to business. Perhaps you were let go for a careless mistake without room for explanation. Could it be that you found that your passion lies within an entirely different industry, and you quit your job to better equip yourself for the next steps?   Regardless of your reasoning, long periods of joblessness can be puzzling to hiring managers. You don’t want to over emphasize this time gap, yet you don’t want to lie about it. Honesty is always the best policy, and [...]