Write Archives - TODAY INDIA

How to Write a Quick & Easy Car Repo Letter

On your own letterhead paper write or print out a notice which includes the name, address, and phone number of the defaulted client. Explain that you have attempted to contact them to no avail. Notify that they must contact you in order to come to a resolution to their outstanding payments.

List the vehicle that is in question along with its VIN number.

Give a final date that all past due payments are due by (labeled “last date for payment”) and the amount due to catch payments up (labeled “amount now due”). Explain that:

“If you pay the amount now due by the last date for payment you may continue with the contract as though you were not in default. If you do not pay by that date, we may exercise our rights under law, including involuntary repossession of the vehicle in which we hold a security interest.”

Remember that as time passes until the due date you assign more payments due may accumulate. Include in the letter that by the due date these payments will also be due and list each payment by amount and normal scheduled due date, i.e. “date due_______ Amount _______”

After listing these payments that will accumulate by the final due date explain that:

“In order to fully cure your account, and in order to prevent the exercise of our legal rights under the law, the payment or payments listed above must ALSO be paid in full on or before the last due date for payments”

Inform that even if the account is caught up you still have the right to take action in the event that payments fall behind again within a designated amount of time:

“If you are late again within the next____weeks in making your payments, we may exercise our rights, including repossession, without sending you another notice like this one.”

Explain your rights to collect further monies owed under the lien contract:

“The rights we may exercise under the law include repossession of the motor vehicle securing this debt. If the motor vehicle is repossessed, either voluntarily or involuntarily, it may be sold and you may owe the difference between the net proceeds from the sale and the remaining balance due under the contract.”

Ask the client to contact you right away if they have any questions.

Close the letter with:

“If we do not hear from you within___days, we will have no choice but to put out a REPOSSESSION ORDER on the vehicle.”

Sign it and have it notarized.

Mail the letter certified with delivery confirmation and return address requested. This way you have 2 ways of confirming and proving that they did receive the notice in case legal questions arise after the repossession.

You also obtain any forwarding address if the client has moved so that you can more easily locate the vehicle. The return address requested will send the letter back to you if they have moved instead of being forwarded to them.

If payment has not been made and you are ready to repossess the vehicle you need to write or type a REPOSSESSION ORDER. This will state the following:

Repossess Order

Purchaser:
[Name]
[Address]
[Phone number]

Default of contract
[vehicle year, make, model, VIN]
Net Payoff Balance: [Total bottom line balance owed]
Repo fee: [$ amount of the repo fee you charge]
Storage fee: [$ amount of the storage fee you charge]
Damage: [$ amount of any damage known to be done to the vehicle] You may also write TBD or To Be Determined here
Total: Add up all of these amounts and enter the total here

The named buyer is in default of installment loan contract and payment is under uniform and commercial state and local codes covering installment contract.

We agree to indemnify and save [your name/business name] harmless from and against all claims damages, losses, and actions resulting from or arising out of our efforts, except as may be caused by negligence or unauthorized acts by our agents representing us.

Dealer Authorizing Repossession

[your name/business name, address, and phone number here]

Notarize at the bottom

-Make a copy of the order for your records and give the order to your repossession agent (the person performing the actual vehicle acquisition).

Note that –

* If you follow these steps you will have done a legal repossession.
* Many people do not send a notification letter because many times a client will attempt to hide the vehicle once they have received a letter like this, especially if they have no intentions of paying.
* Most people are unaware of their rights when it comes to a vehicle repossession so they usually don’t report someone who has not followed proper procedure, however, If you do not send the certified letter notifying them of their default and giving them opportunity to make payment they have grounds to report you to the state’s DMV Dealer Services and the state’s Attorney General which can result in you being fined as well as taken to court for violating repossession laws.
* Keep in mind that some states do not allow a repossession to take place on private property if the repossession agent is asked to leave (some states require him/her to leave and for you to obtain a court order).
* Some states have no restrictions on public property.
* Some states forbid repossession to take place at a client’s place of employment.
* Be sure to check specific repossession laws pertaining to your state.

What is a Federal Resume and How To Write One

The federal resume is one of three documents required for official applications for jobs within the federal government. The other two are the OF-612 and the traditional SF-171 – and it’s hard sometimes to figure out which agency wants what document, because some offices prefer one over the other So your best bet is to submit a federal resume – it’s considered the most current type of resume for government employment and, even if the department in question would prefer a different style, you’ll still look like you know what you’re doing!

A federal resume should be developed in the “chronological” resume format, listing your work history in reverse order of when you were employed. It must also include some additional information that’s not usually requested by civilian employers. You’ll need to include:

Job Information (job/listing number, title, series and grade of job)

Personal Information (full name and address, day and evening phone numbers, social security number, country of citizenship, veteran’s preference, reinstatement eligibility, highest federal civilian grade held)

Education (high school, including name, city, and state, date of diploma or GED, colleges or universities, including name, city and state, majors, type and year of any degrees received)

Work Experience (job title, duties and accomplishments, employer’s name and address, supervisor’s name and phone number, starting and ending dates, hours per week, salary, references)

Additional Qualifications (job-related training courses, skills, certificates and licenses, honors, awards and special accomplishments; for example, publications, memberships in professional or honor societies, leadership activities, public speaking and performance awards)

It may seem odd to provide so much information before you even get an interview, but keep in mind that applying for government jobs is very different than applying for private ones. The purpose of the federal resume in the private sector is to get an interview, after which an employer will ask for more information. In the government, the purpose of the resume is to present your qualifications, proving that you meet eligibility requirements, so that you can be approved by the Human Resources office. Your federal resume, therefore, needs to include similar language to that in the job announcement, because the HR specialist will be looking for applicants with experience that meets the requirements of the open position.

Your federal resume should cover about ten years of employment, with details describing your accomplishments. Focus on highlighting skills that are compatible with the the position for which you are applying. The resume should be no more than three to five pages long, plus pages outlining your knowledge, skills and, where applicable, performance ratings. Start with three pages as a goal. If you don’t have the work experiences to fill three pages, that’s okay – just make your on to two pages the best they can be.

If you are looking for additional information on federal resumes, KSA and ECQ documents, and Resumix applications, check the other articles we have published here.

How to Write an Effective Resume – Top Ten Tips From a Recruiter’s Perspective

Your resume is one of your most important marketing tools. But remember, no matter how great it is, your resume will NOT get you a job. If it if written properly, however, the odds are much greater that you may gain a recruiter’s interest and be invited to interview.

As a Senior Recruiter for both small firms and large corporations, I have reviewed thousands of resumes during my 15+ years of recruiting and HR experience. My experience is that applicants often tend to miss these most important aspects that could make their resume more effective in attracting the attention and interest of recruiters and hiring managers.

Resume purpose: to market and sell your background, skills, accomplishments, and experience to those who have a need for your expertise or a problem that you can solve.

Resume role: to create interest, to show that you indeed have the requisite skills and experience, and to get a recruiter and/or hiring manager interested enough to invite you to interview.

Top Ten Tips for Writing an Effective Resume (from a recruiter’s point of view):

1. You can (and should) have more than one resume! Create a separate resume for the top two to three main areas of your expertise. (For example, one resume for marketing, one for sales, one for engineering). Each resume should highlight specific examples of your accomplishments, skills, and experience from your current and previous roles that directly relate to that particular area of expertise.

2. Two Pages in Length, Max. Condense, condense, condense! Pretend that each word costs you $100 and you will write less, enabling you to fit your most important information on two pages. (Exception: doctors and other published professionals often need a few more pages to list their credentials and published works. But even they should keep it as short as possible). Have someone whose opinion you trust proofread your resume and edit where necessary before sending it out.

3. Choose an Appropriate Format. The best and easiest resume format to review is chronological (starting with most recent job and date and working backwards through your job history). However, a functional resume format is often suggested as an option especially for those who have been out of the job market for a while or who want to change careers. But it can raise red flags that could stop your resume from being reviewed further. Recruiters know that a functional format is often used to hide gaps in employment dates. In addition, details for skills and experience are lumped together into separate functional areas, instead of under each particular job held in the past. In many cases, because of the time and difficulty involved in reading a functional resume, recruiters often pass them over and move on to the next one.

4. Focus Your Attention on The Most Important “Real Estate” on Your Resume: the top half of the front page. Why? Because recruiters today are inundated with resumes, especially in these tough economic times when so many are out of work. Often, recruiters are managing anywhere up to 50+ jobs at one time, with each one having hundreds and hundreds of resume submissions. The average time an experienced recruiter spends initially scanning a resume to determine if it is relevant to the position is approximately 7 to15 seconds. If the top half of your resume does not quickly differentiate and sell you as a viable candidate with recent and relevant skills and experience for the specific job for which you are applying, the recruiter will simply move on to the next one.

5. Develop a Keyword Rich Resume. Be sure to add the main keywords for your skills and experience as well as your industry and organizational keywords all through your resume. Recruiters use various types of search tools in ATS (applicant tracking systems) where they type in main keyword terms for the specific job and position qualifications to search for related resumes. They also conduct similar keyword searches online on major job boards and even some social media sites. Only resumes that contain those keywords will appear in their review box and those are the only resumes that they will scan for consideration. If your main keywords are not in your resume, it is very likely that your resume will not be reviewed, even though you may be very well qualified.

6. Create a Brief Bullet Point Summary. At the top of the front page of your resume, list 5 to 7 bullet point phrases that highlight your most compelling skills, experience, accomplishments, training and education. This summary should be located somewhere within the very top third section of the resume underneath but close to your name and contact information. Critical: avoid “fluff” or trite phrases such as “Good at multitasking” or “Detail oriented”, etc. The reader’s eye should be able to quickly scan the summary section and determine at a glance that your resume is one worth continuing to read through to the end.

7. Quantify and Qualify Your Experience. Recruiters and hiring managers highly value proven accomplishments and results. The more you can quantify or qualify your bullet point statements under each of your position listings, the more strongly you will be perceived as a person of action and results. After each statement, ask yourself, “What did I accomplish?” or “What was the result?”. Try to tie a quantifiable result to the end of each statement if possible, such as, “and as a result, saved the company $X” or “increased revenues by X%”, or “sold the most widgets on the team and was selected as employee of the year”.

8. Focus on Your Most Recent and Relevant Job Information. Recruiters and hiring managers want to know what you have done most recently that is relevant to the position for which they are hiring. Write the bulk of your resume information about your skills, experience and accomplishments for the most recent 5 to 7 years of your job history. Unless your experience past that point is unusually helpful for stating your case, minimize that information to save valuable resume space. Beyond 7 to 10 years of job history, you can just list one or two line entries for each position held. Save the rest of the details of those positions for the application form and interviews.

9. Place Your Key Credentials, Certifications, and Educational Experience Sections In a Conspicuous Place. A bachelors degree should typically be located near the end of the resume under the educational section heading. However, do you have a job-related advanced degree such as an MBA, PhD, or other certifications or credentials that you want to make sure a recruiter or hiring manager sees? Place them toward the top front section of your resume, right before or after the summary section. Why? If you bury them at the end of your resume, they may never be seen. (See Tip #4)

10. List Organizations, Associations and Affiliations of which you are a volunteer or member. Often overlooked, this information can be a great way to show an employer that you stay current with information and contacts in your industry. If you volunteer for positions, especially leadership roles, be sure to list those as well. This information is especially important for those applying for roles in financial services and sales and marketing firms who need to show that they already have an established network. Place this section of information near the end of your resume.

This final tip is a bonus. However, it is THE single most important tip of all in writing an effective resume.

Always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on your resume…always! Never, ever misrepresent what you did or be tempted to tell a “little white lie” on your resume or to a recruiter – period! Be especially careful with job titles and job responsibilities you list. Make sure that the job title and responsibilities you put on your resume can actually be verified if someone were to call your current or former employer or colleagues and ask about you. Untrue and misrepresented statements, no matter how innocent they may seem, are a breach of integrity and can come back to haunt you many years later. You could even be fired as a consequence! It just isn’t worth it.

Use these ten tips to tighten and refine your resume and then you can submit it with confidence!

Tips to Write a Good CV for Your Dream Job

Introduction: Occasionally, you may find yourself wanting to apply for a job, but the question you should ask yourself is, does my CV provide all the required information? Probably your CV has been doing you a disservice because it is shallow and the only question ringing in your mind is ‘How to write a good CV?’ Well, worry no more as I take you step by step and giving you some tips that will add some spice to your CV. These tips will make potential employers impressed and they will take note of your CV. You should keep in mind that your CV is your first line of defense when it comes to employment, therefore, you should take ample time to write down your CV to perfection.

Attributes of a Good CV: Before I talk about how to use the correct format, it is important that you note your CV should be able to sell your strong attributes. Therefore, as you put down your information make sure you know your strengths and use them to your advantage. Some good pointers that indicate a good CV include:

Accuracy
Truthfulness
It should be concise

The Format and Layout: First of all, you start by writing your name. Below your name write your email address which should be professional, avoid nicknames. Note that an email address should not have capitalized letters. Once you are done with this step you can start entering your personal information. Such information will include:

Your ID number
Date of Birth
Nationality
Language(s)
Drivers’ license code

Next, step involves giving your CV an objective. This will enable a reader to Know exactly what you are looking for and if you are a good candidate for the position being advertised.

Once this is done you can then proceed to step number four. This is where you shall offer information on your educational background. It is Important that you indicate all your educational achievements. You will be required to fill in all the names of the institutions you have attended alongside with the years. Another important point to note is that, as you write down your educational background, write it in an ascending order. Start with the lowest to the highest.

For example:

Primary School
High school
University
Postgraduate studies

You could also note any other relevant information regarding your educational background.

In step five, you will give all the relevant information pertaining to your previous work experience. You will give the job title as well as the period you did a particular job. You should also offer information on what your roles were and the skills you are perfected at your previous job. You can also list a number of accomplishments you achieved at your previous workplace. Remember to also give the name of your previous employer and where the firm you worked for is located. It is the most important section of a good CV.

In step six, you can go ahead and illustrate that you are up to the task for the job being advertised. Demonstrate that you understand the job you have applied for and justify why you should get that job. You can talk about your leadership skills, computer skills as well as any information regarding community involvement. You can list any community projects you have been involved in.

In step seven, you can talk about your conference papers and presentation as well as any publications that you may have, However, it is of great importance that you distinguish any published work from your presentations and conference papers. This step only applies where it is necessary.

In step eight, talk about your interests. This step solely depends on your preferences. However, do not overdo it. Just give a few points.

In step nine, this being your final step, offer a list of three people at most that will act as your referees. Before naming anyone to make sure to get their consent to use them as your referees. Your referees will provide reference letters. These letters will accompany your application.

Conclusion: Once you have followed these vital steps and points you will be able to come up with a formidable CV. You will be able to eliminate common mistakes that tarnish your CV. You will finally be able to answer that ringing question in your mind on,’How to write a good CV?’ Remember to take your time, do not rush. If you rush the more mistakes you are prone to make.

Write a Standout Resume Without Resorting to Common Lies

When J. Terrence Lanni resigned from MGM Mirage in the fall of 2008, he became the tenth in that year’s string of major CEOs felled by “little white lies” on their resumes. The former industry titan never completed his MBA, but listed it on his resume, anyway. Over the past few years, leaders at Radio Shack and MCG Capital surrendered their jobs after failing fact checks. Despite the risk of ruining otherwise successful careers, some aspiring leaders still stretch the truth when submitting job applications.

According to many personnel managers, using a fib to land a job often requires maintaining that lie for years. When confronted, some professionals report blurred memories of their early careers. Others freely admit to lying, using the challenges of the job market to justify their actions. Although some headhunters once recommended creative resume writing as a method to get your foot in the door, today’s business world traditionally rewards integrity over invention.

Common Resume Lies Can Hold You Back

It can be tempting to “pad your resume,” exaggerating some of your real-life experiences to make yourself more attractive to hiring managers. According to recent surveys of HR professionals, some of the most common resume lies include:

o Inflating job titles or responsibilities at past employers

o Replacing a gap on your resume with an invented job at a company you claim has now closed

o Claiming to have earned a degree you didn’t complete

o Claiming to have earned a different degree to make you more attractive to a prospective employer

o Adopting the alma mater of a hiring manager to help build rapport

o Reporting a different reason for leaving a past position

Solid Resumes Exhibit Honesty, Clarity, and Focus

Recent regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have forced employers to examine job applicants more closely. Many recruiters and hiring managers at large firms rely on third-party investigators to verify resumes, often before applicants reach the interview phase. Small businesses can use the Internet to track down inaccuracies by requesting college transcripts or researching employment history. Even an online search for different versions of your resume can result in questions about edits and changes over time.

Surveys conducted over the past five years reflect the concern and confusion about fabricated resumes. Respondents to one recent poll suggest that about one in twenty resumes contains the kind of lie that could cause embarrassment or even financial penalties for employers. In another survey, HR specialist reported that about half of all resumes include at least one lie. Today’s most successful resumes should emphasize hard facts, provide clear timelines, and offer accessible references. Crisp language underscores your respect for executives’ time.

Making Your Resume Stand Out

Instead of inflating your experiences, career counselors now recommend improving the quality of your presentation. Using inexpensive software or word processing templates, you can craft a highly polished resume that fits on a single page. Sacrificing some flowery language for the sake of white space should attract the eye of most hiring managers. A professional layout, free of typos, demonstrates one of the most sought-after skills in today’s job market: powerful communication. Paring down your resume has a powerful side benefit, as well. HR databases often strip formatting from electronic resumes, filtering submissions by keyword. Automated recruiting tools that hunt for specific job titles or action words favor sparse resumes.

In an economy where job hunters battle each other to get ten minutes of face time at hiring events, it can seem counterintuitive to dial back your resume. However, the buyer’s market for talent and the scrutiny of independent investors have rewritten the rules of getting hired in America. Professional presentation of action oriented facts will get you farther today than any puffed-up resume would in the past.

How to Write a Compelling Email

Today’s business person will spend hours at the tailor crafting a fine business suit, hours at a power lunch sweet talking their next big client and hours pouring over proposals or negotiations to try to get every last penny they can, and then spend 30 seconds banging out an important email that will single handedly cost them a dozen more potential clients. While grammar and spelling aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, knowing basic email rules is an absolute must in this day and age where email has taken over as the primary form of communication used in today’s business world. Here are a few simple tips.

Let your email utilities work for you

The world of email has come a long way since Outlook Express. Today’s email clients are quite sophisticated and come with all sorts of bells and whistles that can make sending an email easier. It used to be that email spell checkers were absolutely horrible, but they have been vastly improved and most use the same spell check library as Microsoft Word. If your email client is old and doesn’t have a grammar or spell checker, upgrade now, or simply type your emails in Microsoft Word and copy/paste. Make sure you check how the format looks before you do by sending yourself an email.

Use a template

If you have trouble setting up the formal date/address/body/signature form in every one of your emails, than simply write one and save it as a template that you can go back and use again and again. You can even have multiple templates ready to go for clients you email on a frequent basis; that way, much of the hard work is done before you even get started.

Avoid being overly casual

Since most people still view email as a casual way to communicate, the one problem that costs more businesses clients more than any other is the urge to be overly friendly and casual when communicating with current clients or future clients. When writing a professional email, it is always better to sound formal and stilted than casual and overly friendly. If you have trouble coming up with the proper vocabulary, have a dictionary and a thesaurus on your desk that you can flip through to come up with better verbiage. You can even use websites like Dictionary.com or similar sites to help increase your vocabulary so you don’t sound unprofessional in your correspondence.

If all else fails, ask for help

We all know that many competitive office environments will take asking for help as a sign of weakness, but if you want to get the process of writing compelling emails down, there is no shame in asking for an occasional email to be proofread by someone else in the office who has an English background. Most bosses will take asking for help as a sign of maturity, and before you know it, you’ll be a master of the formal email.

Many people think that if you can write a compelling letter then you can automatically write a compelling email. The truth is that writing a compelling email is a learned skill that takes practice.

How To Write Your Close Protection Resume

Submitting your CV should be considered part of your employment interview and thus be treated with the same level of professionalism and preparation. First of all there are a common misunderstanding that a resume and a CV is the same thing, it is not! CV stands for Curriculum Vitae, which is Latin and means “Life history”. A CV is therefore commonly from 4 to 10 pages long as it covers ones “life history”, the CV is most commonly used in higher positions within the corporate and intellectual environment.

The Resume

What is most commonly used in the Close Protection world is a Resume. A “Resume” is a really a brief introduction to your full CV. Thus in your resume you include the vital points from your CV in a short and simple manner. As the resume is a short version of your CV it should preferably be one to two pages long.

Getting started

If you are using Microsoft Word as your editor then save yourself time on the layout, by simply opening Word. In the “File” tap choose “New”, from the “right panel” options choose “General Templates” and from the Templates menu choose “Other Documents”, then open “Elegant Resume” or “Professional Resume” based on your personal preference. I prefer the elegant version, but that’s just me.

The template you have opened will give you a general layout of what information should go where etc. However, when it comes to writing your details then the template cannot provide you with more than a generic description; this is where you need to be creative. Having a resume that merely looks good isn’t going to cut it, you need a resume that will be opened and read.

Don’t be lazy and just quick type your resume into the email message, there is nothing more annoying for the receiver, than having to copy and paste the information into a Word document before it can be saved. Ask yourself why should someone else do your work for you? And then ask yourself, if you think that will help you get a contract? I am sure it won’t! Most résumé’s that have been written directly into the email message gets lost in the inbox somewhere or are simply deleted.

Your Cover Letter

It always amazes me that so many applicants send their resume, with the subject line flatly saying “My CV or Resume”, and the email itself often contains no text but simply has an attached CV or Resume. How well prepared is that? The first thought a receiver will have of the person, who emailed this message will likely be something like this; “if you are that lazy when it comes to writing and delivering your resume, your work ethics is most likely just as lazy…”. After that thought they are very likely to simply press the delete button!

A CPO, who is sending out his CV or Resume, is actually asking strangers in HR positions, to either hire him or find him a close protection contract. But he does not even have the courtesy to say thank you, or please, or even introduce himself first. He is so full of arrogance that he feels everyone he sends it to, should be overly joyful that he has shown them mere humans, the honour of applying for a position with their company. Well no matter what is in that resume, it is not going to place him on top of any HR managers lists for anything; it is simply going for the deleted items bin… and I am know that I am not the only one who does that!

Therefore you need to write a cover letter, which goes with your resume that introduces you and your reasons for sending your resume. The cover letter is the key that unlocks the door for you and give the receiver a little knowledge about you, before he either deletes your message, or opens and read your resume. To not just unlock the door, but also open it, requires that your cover letter makes the receive wants to read your attached resume!

The AIDCA Approach

The AIDCA approach has been used in advertising and marketing for decades and it is still being used because it works. Your resume is your advertising brochure, aimed at selling your personal services to a CP employer; you need to approach your job applications as if it was a marketing campaign, which it is! Because, if you want to compete for the few contracts that are available for outsiders; you need to “sell” yourself and your experience and skills better than all the other applicants.

AIDCA stands for:

o Attention

o Interest

o Desire

o Conviction

o Action

Attention: is what your email subject line should create. Many persons base their decision, on whether to open and read an email or ignore it, simply on what is in the subject line. So make sure it is short, direct and most of all informative.

Writing “My CV” is definitely short and direct, but it is definitely not informative and worse it is just plain rude. “Experienced & SIA Licensed CPO at Your Service” is short, direct and yet informative and much more likely to catch the attention of the receiver. Think about it, next time you compose the subject line before sending your resume by email.

Your Cover Letter, whether it is in printed form or an email message, should also use the “Attention” factor in its first “heading” and the first full paragraph. The first paragraph should ideally consist of 2-3 or max 4 lines, and basically further “bind” the reader’s attention, so that he will be compelled to read your resume and do it with a positive attitude.

So your first “heading” and paragraph have to be well composed and follow this simple and proved guideline:

o Communicate the offer – what is your purpose of the communicating and what you are offering.

o Highlight your best aspects – what are your best qualities and what makes you the ideal candidate for the job.

o Engage the reader – what do you know that is of direct relevance to the position or company you are applying with.

When your head line and opening paragraph accomplishes to deliver all three points, then the Human Resource department or receiver will open and read your resume! So put some real work into it, after all it is your economic future and security career that you are securing by adding a little extra work to your resume.

Your resume (or curriculum vitae), combined with the cover letter, are the master keys to opening the prospective employer’s mind and the company door; so that you can proceed to the next step in the process – the job interview!

Interest: this is the first “body” section of your resume, and this is the second most important part. You have to make sure it that the first two parts stimulates the interest of the reader, so that he will continue to read the rest of your CV. That means that in the interest part, you should describe your last employment relevant actions such as; a recent job function, related military background, police background of relevance, specific security operations or special training you have completed etc.

Desire: this is the third part of your resume and should describe your complete employment history in order of relevance. Always place the most relevant position first, then follow with a chronological list of your all other employment records. Always start the chronological section with the most recent position first and then backwards through time.

If your history of employment includes positions of little relevance to what you are applying for, then simply state the position, date and company/employer, do not describe what you did if it is not relevant. For all prior job positions that are of relevance, you should describe what responsibilities you had and the positive effect your involvement had. This is where you have to take some honour upon yourself, whether you like it or not. A resume is not the right place to display humbleness; unless of course you are applying to be a priest!

Basically the desire part should make the reader think positively about having you and your skills in their company and how they would benefit from that; you need to make them desire to have you working for them!

Conviction: this is the part where you include your references, your written recommendations, your accomplishments and any merits and medals you have received. Provide full contact details for at least two people, who hold positions of relevance and are ready to vouch for you, and recommend you to the new employer. Make sure the referee, is a person that would himself hire you again if needs be. There is a standard “coy” question all human resource managers ask… “Well that sounds fine, so you would be happy to have him work for you again tomorrow?” “Eeeh… well no because we did not get along that well and his work ethics are different than mine eeeehhh so…” And that is all the HR manager needs to dump your application in the waste bin. Make sure you only provide the referees that were happy with your performance!

When reading this part of your resume, the reader should feel confident that everything you have stated so far is correct, and that you are indeed a competent and highly trustworthy individual, whom the reader would be lucky to employ before someone else gets you.

Action: the final part of your resume, this is where you should include an “action trigger” that will compel the reader to contact you for a conversation or to schedule an interview. Therefore this part has to be specific about when you will be available and how to best contact you. A lot of CPO’s who sends out their resume, only place their contact details at the top; which is a good place to have it, but you have to repeat the contact details again in this part and with a prompt, to contact you today.

One way to get the reader to take action and contact you are to include a specific date and time, which you are planning a visit with them for an interview. “As you have seen in my resume then I have the necessary skills and experience that your company needs and would therefore like to present myself for a proper employment interview. I will be in your area/city on Wednesday next week and will call on you at 10 am, if that suits your schedule.”

With a direct and timed call like that, the reader will have to get back to you, even if he does not want to or are not capable of meeting you at that time. This response gives you an extra opportunity, for communicating with the reader. Just make sure that you are ready and able to keep the appointment yourself!

Now print this message and read it again; then sit down and rewrite your resume using the basic guideline included in this message and then go and apply with those companies that have not employed you yet. Don’t be concerned about sending your resume to the same company again; just include in the description line that this is your updated resume. Send it every three to four months, and within a year they will remember your name even if they have not had any positions for you yet. Being known and remembered is a key to getting employed. In many sectors of the private security industry it is not “What you know but who you know, that gets you a job”. So get known by repeated communications, but don’t stalk them!

My last resume advice is these ten points, which are wise to remember when writing your resume.

1. Keep it focused and businesslike

2. More than two pages is to much for a resume

3. Check the grammar and try to get the punctuations right, always remember to spell check and have someone read it over for you

4. Keep the resume relevant to the specific company or position

5. Make sure it looks good and reads well, have “white” space in it, that mean empty space and not a page that is filled from edge to edge.

6. Make sure you describe what you can do today, not only past skills but also what you are presently learning

7. Be honest; self advertising is good, but exaggerations are not

8. Follow any specific instructions if required by the company you are applying to, for both the format and content

9. Make sure your resume is received, specify the receiver and follow up with further emails or even better a phone call

10. Use a cover letter and keep it short and focused on catching the attention of the reader

Good luck with your job hunting! If you need ideas about where to seek your next foreign close protection contract, then read my last EzineArticles.com article; Close Protection Versus Crime in Mexico.

3 Reasons Why You Should Write a New CV Today

Over the past decade the quality of CV writing has risen dramatically. This is down to the amount of free information you can find online. There are lots of CV writing guides and tips which help anyone wanting to improve their application, and this has pushed the quality up to a whole new level.

Because of this employers are now expecting a higher quality of CV, which leaves anyone not swotting up online in the past. The old style of writing a CV is not good enough anymore and it’s harder than ever to now get an interview.

If you’re worried that your CV may be failing you, here are 3 massive reasons why you must write a new CV today.

It’s too generic

If your current CV is purely a list of all your skills, qualifications and experience – then read on. This approach to CV writing is out of date and not going to impress anyone. But what will help you get a job interview is tailoring your application.

To find out if your CV is too generic, grab a highlighter pen and print off a copy of your CV. Having read the job advert you should have a good idea of the skills and experience they require. Then, highlight all the information which isn’t relevant to the employer you are going to send it off too. After highlighting all the irrelevant parts you will probably have most of your information in yellow by now!

Like so many other CVs you should find that most of your information isn’t going to be of interest to the employer. Now that you’re staring at a huge sea of yellow or pink highlighter, you can see why a generic and untailored CV is not going to get you an interview.

Now would be a great time to start again completely from scratch. Keep your old CV so you have all your work history, but create a new one which now takes into consideration what the company wants.

You must tailor your CV to the role and the company if you want to succeed. The hiring manager wants to pick up your application and instantly see that you are suitable. A generic CV will force them to read between the lines, and most of the time they won’t bother.

You only update

If you keep the same CV and simply keep updating it every time you change jobs, you definitely need a new CV. Your old and tired CV is going to continue to slowly step out of favour with its design and content.

“Tailor your CV. Look at the company’s website and social media accounts, look to see if they’ve recently been mentioned in the local press and use the job advert to make sure your CV is targeted to the role and employer.”

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv

We’ve already covered the topic of tailoring your CV to the role, and by doing that you will prevent this from happening. You don’t need to keep making small updates if you always write a brand new CV every time you apply. Even if you’re applying to numerous employers for the same job title, you should still write a new one for each – there will always be differences, no matter how subtle they may seem.

So stop making small updates and start again. It will ensure your information is relevant and fresh, and you can also choose a new design for your layout. This brings us on to…

You haven’t used a CV template

A CV template is a ready made layout that you can use to simply insert your details. Not only will that save a lot of time and stress, it will look great!

Unless you are a graphic designer or have a keen eye for this sort of thing, you should always choose a ready made CV template. You just have to make sure you pick a good one and avoid any rogue websites. Unfortunately not every CV template website you come across offers the best designs, but hopefully you will be able to filter out the good from the bad.

There are lots of modern designs to choose from and most are free to download. If you can find one that’s recent and clearly looks fantastic, it will certainly help you get a job interview. The overall layout and design of your CV is just as important as the skills you have to offer.

How to Write a Good Cover Letter – Where to Start

In today’s world with the struggling economy we have enough to worry about, writing a good cover letter shouldn’t be another worry of ours. For most, writing a good cover letter wasn’t something that we were taught in college or even high school for that matter. Which is quite sad to think about it, we spent all that time in school preparing for life, but we were never showed one of the most important aspects of job hunting and how to write a good cover letter.

When starting out, you need a good cover letter to be attached along with your resume. A cover letter is an introduction to you, prior to a prospective employer reading your resume. This is your first impression so to speak. You want to grab their attention and keep their focus and make them want to learn more about you. Doing this will make the job hunting process a little less frustrating for you.

Tip 1.

Upon the mastering the basics required for writing good cover letters, it shouldn’t take too long to whip one up pretty quickly. The first rule is simply, that your main agenda in writing a good cover letter is to get the employer to give you an interview. You should do what you can to grab their attention and keep it.

Try to imagine yourself as if you are an item for sale, and you are trying to self yourself to the employer. You need some attention grabbing headlines. Seize your opportunity of landing a second interview. The cover letter is, for all intensive purposes is your first interview. This is the reason why learning how to write a good cover letter is vital when job hunting.

Tip 2.

You need to come out swinging and keep going. You opening to your cover letter must captivate your reader. By keeping this energy going, your reader will continue reading.

Your next paragraph must explain why you are perfect for the job. Relate your skills and experience to the position your applying for. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw in some information about the company your applying with as well, it’ll give your reader the impression that you have thoroughly done your homework and are truly interested in working with them.

A further selling point for yourself, would be to include a few lines about something you love to do and the passion and dedication you would be able to provide to your potential employer.

Your final paragraph is the contact section. Provide your email address or phone number. Don’t make it difficult for the reader to get in contact with you. These are the essential pieces of a great cover letter, now we are going to close it out with a bang.

Tip 3.

You can close out your cover letter with a PS or post-script. This is the final step of the crucial part in job hiring. Here you summarize your letter. Here is where you include the position that your applying for.

This is how you close your cover letter in the most effective way. Once you nail down these basics and start applying them, you should expect your phone to be ringing off the hook from potential employers wanting to hire you.

How to Write an Effective Resume That Gets You Hired

If there is one crucial tool most job seekers need to master – it is their resume. This is synonymous to a carpenter’s hammer, a writer’s pen, and a surgeon’s instrument. It must work accordingly for the person in order to land a perfect job. Needless to say, ending up with the right career will not be feasible unless you have a ticket for entry. This is when the creation of an effective resume comes in. How will you do this? There are considerations that you have to ponder, of course.

Assembling the Perfect Resume

Assembling an effective resume requires a ton of self-reflection. What are the best ways to write a resume? How will you start? These are the usual steps:

Start with a plan

Prior to sitting down and writing your very own resume, it is vital that you have a plan in mind. Your plan will set the direction. As you do this, you also get to establish coherence which will be of great impact to your resume. Digging deeper to the field that you want to be a part of is also ideal. Once you have your aim clear in mind, materializing the resume will be the next priority.

Showcase your accomplishments and strong points

In resume writing, it is crucial that you know how to show case your strengths. You may do this by foregrounding your accomplishments. Among the information utilized for these are education, training, work history, accomplishments and certifications. Always remember that these will give you the edge over other candidates. As much as possible, highlight the turning point of your features. They should be realistic to the position you are eyeing for. If you can put them in summary, and then that is going to work accordingly.

Make it visually appealing

Little do people know that aside from the substance, the form of your resume will also have to be given attention. It is just safe to say that designing should also be a part of your resume writing and creation. Always glance at the whole document. Does it attract the eyes when placed side by side with other entries? You will not want its design to be a hinder to your qualifications. Do not ever let this cause a problem. It should not. If you can, it will not hurt to go for white spaces. These can be maximized. When it comes to the number of pages, your stand will also be studied. If you are in the middle of your career, and then summing up a two-page resume is just fine. For starters, a one-page resume will do just fine.

Remembering everything above will help a lot in resume writing. Starting from the top, a powerful CV can be the output. Do not ever underestimate the effects of this. Remember, this is the only way for you to get noticed. Give your best shot in it and you will be miles closer to your dream.

Additional Tips

Truth be told – employers do not spend much time going over resumes. They spare about 10 to 20 seconds on it. With this said, capturing their attention should be the name of the game. This is a chance to gain their interest and advance into comprehensive reading. As this is the case, do not fail to master the basic elements of resume writing.