A winning resume MUST include your "SELL" as well as your "FACTS".  Do you know how to sell yourself in a resume?  Are you relying too much on a cover letter?  Or are you hoping that a readymade resume template or wizard will do this for you?  Sorry, but they CAN'T!  In 2009, you will need to analyze, develop and record your own SELLING POINTS -- or ask a professional resume writer to help you.

So, don't be too quick to blame the tough 2009 job market if you're not getting any interviews.  Don't stop trying. The awful truth is that 9 times out of 10 the resume you are using is NOT selling you.  It is not a winning resume.  In fact, it may even be working against you.  Any resume without the right kind of "sell" is a killer!

WHAT ARE EMPLOYERS LOOKING TO HIRE IN 2009?  Can you meet many of their needs?  Your best "selling points" should be offered in the first 5-10 lines.  They should be written in the language that employers use in job advertisements.  (Flowery or classroom writing is a turnoff!)  You also need to draw attention to your achievements by using black bullets intelligently.  ("Bullets" also need to be "smart".)  Important KEYWORDS should be bolded or underlined.  These steps will turn your basic resume into a winning resume.

Writing a winning resume involves making important decisions.  What should you include, emphasize or highlight?  But what to leave out or downplay may be as or more important.  A single negative or "red flag" item could mean "File C" – the circular file.  Do you have the skill to identify potential negatives or no-no's?  Probably not!

How does a winning resume differ from the basic or general resume that most job seekers write?  Why will it beat using a resume template or wizard?

A winning resume has a target.  It is FOCUSED from A to Z – from Job Objective onwards.  It tries to answer what employers are looking for.  Such a focused resume will continue to sell you during interviews and also afterwards when your resume is compared to others.

By contrast, a general resume is too vague because it lacks a target or focus.  It is also very unfair to a busy reader because it expects him or her to read your entire resume from A to Z in order to search for and figure out what he or she needs to know about you.  Why should they bother?  You should be telling them up front!

This is why – in 95 cases out of 100 – a self-written resume will NOT be a winning resume in 2009.  It will not be able to compete with a professionally written resume that "talks" to the reader and sells you – in seconds.

Always remember, you will NOT get a second chance to make a winning first impression.

Do Resume Templates or Wizards Help or Hurt?

Should you use readymade resume templates or wizards?

The purpose of a winning resume in 2009 is to show the employer that you can do what they need you to do – better than other applicants.  Unfortunately, readymade resume TEMPLATES or wizards are less-than-useful and may even work against you.  Why?  Because they can only help you create a nice looking or elegant but very basic resume, i.e. a resume without "sell".  Instead, a resume should be designed to SELL or market your value.  For this reason, constructing a winning resume will always require more flexibility than any rigid resume template or wizard will allow.

In this regard, you also need to be warned against rushing to copy items from resume samples.  Sample resumes that may have worked for others, may not work in your case because your facts and skills are different.  They will NOT reveal to you how they were constructed (and why) or show you what has been added or left out or changed or corrected.

Why is it worth investing $100 or $150 or $250 or more to have your resume revamped by an experienced resume writing professional?  WRITING A WINNING RESUME IS AN ART.  It requires many skills to help you beat the odds.  The awful truth is that most self-written or general resumes will NOT make it to first base and you can’t blame the job market when your weak resume might be the problem.

Job seekers with the best or winning resumes will continue to be hired during a recession.  "Smart" resumes will consistently produce results.

In short, it may cost you far more to continue using your self-written resume in 2009 than to hire a skilled professional writer to assist you.  He or she has already assisted hundreds of job seekers like yourself and will know what to do in your case.  Why continue to lose job opportunities?

Note: Management and executive level job seekers should also refer to the two specialist articles elsewhere on this website.