|
HOW TO START YOUR OWN HIGHLY PROFITABLE RESUME WRITING SERVICE
Here's a business you can start for virtually nothing, parlay into a million dollar enterprise in five years or less. Many established resume writing services in the large metropolitan areas are reporting annual incomes of $250,000 or more. Even the smaller operations, in towns as small as 15,000 are experiencing sales of $50,000 or more. No special knowledge, education or experience are required for total success in this business. An awareness of the general format of the "modern resume," and the ability to keep oneself up-to-date on refinements or new approaches to presenting resume material are about the only prerequisites to successfully operate a resume writing service. Probably the most exciting and motivational aspects of this business idea are the low investment and risk factors involved, and the growing demand for resume service. Up until the past couple of years, few if any Americans really had to look for jobs. People in general have either forgotten how to look for a new job, or never knew how in the first place. Since the start of World War II, back in 1941, the American worker has been spoiled by an affluent society and an ideal market for the job seeker. Usually, all he had to do whenever he lost a job or wanted to change jobs was to report in to the local branch of his local employment service office, check in at his union office, look at the want ads in the Sunday paper, or call a few friends and ask about job openings. Related Sites But no more! Times have changed! There are fewer jobs
and an increasing number of people applying for those jobs that are available.
Just recently, the post office department in a large west coast city
advertised that applications would be accepted on two days only, for 600 upcoming openings. Would you
believe that twenty thousand applicants showed up to fill out applications?
Can you imagine the post office personnel people reviewing all those
applications, and then interviewing all those people, according to the fair
employment practices act? On another day, word got out that there was going to be
an opening for a forklift driver at a local warehouse. Fifteen hundred men and
women showed up even before the job was advertised! Times are tough, and we're moving ever deeper into the
age of specialization. Employers are demanding to know more about the
applicant - his work record, natural talents and personality traits. They want
more information upon which to base their interview selections than just the
cold facts on the application form. Personnel managers are placing a higher
premium on their time, and delegating to others the job of "weeding
out" the unqualified applicants from those whose backgrounds and goals
come closest to fitting the needs of the company. To get in to see the person doing the hiring nowadays,
the job applicant has to "sell the short-stopper," and that calls
for a professionally written resume. More and more firms are demanding
resumes. Industry estimates are that by the year 2000, most of the jobs worth
having will require a written resume before even an initial interview is
granted. And that's where you can fit into the picture with your Professional
Resume Writing Service. Probably 80 percent of the people searching for jobs
don't have a resume. Of the 20 percent who do have resumes, many are
ineffective; they simply do not adequately present the applicant's total
qualifications. Everyone - with or without a resume - is looking for
this key: A professionally written resume, a sales presentation of their
qualifications and experience that will get the job for them - the job they
want. The job hunters are wound up in their own specialties and problems. They
don't know how, and they don't have the time - AND they're willing to pay you
to put it all together for them. Just as you're willing to pay a doctor,
dentist or investment broker, those who need a resume are willing to pay you
for this service. The market exists in every city and town in this country,
and the demand for this service is growing daily. Your opportunity for success
beyond your fondest dreams has never been greater! The brass ring is here! Grab it, and hold on! You'll need a modern, professional quality typewriter.
You can begin, and perhaps get by for a month or so, with a top quality
portable, but do yourself and your business a favor: Arrange to rent, lease or
buy on monthly payments if necessary, the best machine for the quality of work
that will command top dollars for you. Setting up and operating from your own home will be the
most economical way to begin. In addition to your typewriter, you should have
a typewriter stand, typist's chair, adjustable long-arm lamp, and a file
cabinet. However, just as you can make do with a portable typewriter for a
month or so, you can get by for starters with a kitchen chair at your dining
room table. To prepare yourself properly, invest in a good book on
how to write "job-winning" resumes. Select a book which discusses
both the cover letter and the format of the body of the resume. The most important part of any resume package is the
cover letter the applicant sends as part of the resume. This letter states the
specific job the applicant is applying for, explains why he believes he is
qualified, and pointedly asks for an interview. In most cases, you'll be able
to provide an "all-purpose form letter" which your client can adapt
to any position that interests him. More later about actual writing of the
resume and the cover letter. The format and style of the body of the resume are the
items you want to learn from your book. Resumes of today generally follow this
outline: 1. Name 2. Address 3. City, state, zip. 4. Phone Number 5. Type of job or position wanted 6. Goals and/or desires in life 7. Job history, starting with current or last job held 8. Special courses, education or training completed 9. Military History 10. Formal Education 11. Activities while attending school: athletics,
offices, awards 12. Hobbies and special interests 13. Notation that names of business and personal
references will be furnished on request. 14. Availability 15. Health Once you're organized with space and equipment, you're
ready for business. All that's necessary from this point on will be
advertising, client interview, and producing the final product. Your advertising needs, in comparison with many other
businesses, need not cost you an exorbitant amount of money. It should,
however, be consistent and eye-catching. You should contact your area's most widely read
newspaper and arrange to run a one-column by one inch ad every day for the
next six to twelve months. By purchasing your ad space on a daily insertion
basis, and over at least a six month period, your rate will be much lower than
the rate charged for shorter contracts. Your newspaper ad might read something like this: A Complete, Professional Service MIDWEST RESUME SERVICE Resumes - Letters - Portfolios ...that result in jobs! Phone 123-4567 Aside from an ad in the newspaper, and perhaps a similar
one in your area shoppers' papers, the only other advertising efforts you
should worry about are those that don't cost money - free bulletin board
announcements, radio and television talk show interviews, and low cost flyers, circulars or brochures
that describe your services. One method of gaining business exposure which is most
often overlooked is the radio and television talk show interview. Call the
broadcast stations in your area and get the names of the producers of these
talk shows. Then write them a letter explaining your services, and how you
believe an appearance on their program could be educational and beneficial to
their audiences. Include a brochure with your letter. A couple of days after
you're sure they've received your letter, give them a call on the phone, and
ask them to consider an interview with you. Another area to explore for free publicity is as a guest
speaker for your civic clubs. For these, simply write out a speech emphasizing
the need for a resume, and the proper way to write one that will result in a
job for the job-seeker. Explain the growing trend of employers to use the
resume as a screening device, and the fact that a well-written resume can get
a better job for someone when there are seemingly no openings. Don't be afraid
to explain what goes into a professionally written resume. Many of the people
listening to you - if you sell them on the idea of a resume - will come to you
to have it written because they don't have the time or know-how, and because
you'll have the reputation of an "expert" after having spoken before
their club. Basically, people are lazy in this respect, and would rather pay
someone else to do something than to take the time to learn how and do it
themselves. Once you spread the word that you're in the business of preparing
resumes for people looking for work or wanting better jobs, you'll have no
trouble at all keeping busy! Your brochure can be as simple as a Z-folded 8 1/2 x 11
sheet of paper. It should de scribe your services, emphasize your
professionalism, fast service and reasonable cost. It would be best to have
your story typeset and laid out in three columns down the width of the paper. Related Sites Most quick print shops can handle all this for you, at a
nominal cost. Once you've had your brochures printed, leave off a supply with
your area high school and college counselors, vocational and trade school
placement directors, and with as many private employment agencies as will take
them. When prospective clients call you, simply explain your
services and prices, and set up an appointment for them to meet with you. For
this it's best to prepare a script, which might read like this: YOU, answering the phone: Good morning! Midwest Resume
Service. May I help you? CLIENT: Yes, I'm calling about your ad in the paper. YOU: Oh yes, and thank you for calling. Let me explain
our services. We're professional resume writers - we interview job - seekers
such as yourself - learn the important features of their backgrounds as those
features apply in helping us to write a resume that will land them the job they're looking for.
Then we assemble all this information into a winning presentation, type it
out, give you the original plus 50 copies and a cover letter (which you can
modify as necessary on your home typewriter and have copied each time you
submit a resume). Your cost is only $50, and usually we can have everything
ready for you within three or four days. Now, does that sound like what you
had in mind? CLIENT: Yes! That's just what I had in mind. When can we
get together and start the ball rolling? YOU: How about this afternoon at 3:15, or would tomorrow
morning at say 9:45 be better for you? We're located at 600 North Main Street.
Are you familiar with the area? CLIENT: Yes, I know the area, no problem. This afternoon
at 3:15 will be fine. YOU: Good! Now, let me have your name and phone number
please. CLIENT: Gives you his name and phone number. YOU: All right, Bob, we'll look forward to seeing you
this afternoon at 3:15. You now have a client, and an appointment to interview
him for background information in order to put together a resume that can
result in a job for him. Be sure you're prepared with a "researcher's
questionnaire," to guide you in the questions to ask. Type your resume format on a separate sheet of paper,
numbering each question you want an answer to, or subject you want to cover.
This of course serves as a "master" which you duplicate and use as
the researcher's questionnaire guide. For each interview, take one of these "interview
guides" and an ordinary yellow legal tablet, and start asking questions.
Identify each page of notes with a number or subject matter from the resume
format, and use a separate page of the tablet for each subject and each job
the client may have had. The interview should be relaxed, with the client doing
most of the talking. However, you should control the interview and take notes
as the client gives you the information you need. Be confident, but friendly.
Maintain your confidence and ask leading questions that elicit complete,
revealing responses. Take your time, and "listen" to what the client
isn't telling you as well as what he is telling you. With a bit of practice,
you'll be able to find out all there is to know about your client in twenty
minutes or less. Look ahead to the day when you have employees working
for you. Develop your interviewing techniques to a state of maximum efficiency
for your business, and then record three or four interviews for use in
training your employees. You should also reproduce several examples of
completed resumes and put them into an instruction book for study by new
employees . After the interview, you need to interpret your notes
and type the information into a resume. This should be easy because you have
gathered the details in sequence with your resume format. Familiarity with
format writing style makes the task of putting every-thing into finished form
quite simple. At the very least, a quick course in resume writing will
be necessary. Check out a book on the subject from your public library. The
important thing to remember is to drop the "I's" and write in a kind
of note-taking reportorial style: "Hired as an entry level shipping clerk. Recognized
need for organization on the loading dock to eliminate congestion. Suggested
designated spaces for incoming and out going shipments. This program was
adopted and immediately eliminated congestion of trucks and decreased overtime
requirements, with an estimated savings of $700 per week for the company.
Promoted to Line Expeditor after six months." Don't put a time limit on the amount of time you devote
to each client, but once you're organized and established, the interview
through the finished resume shouldn't take more than an hour or two. After you have the resume typed, call the client in to
check it over and approve it. In almost every case, he'll be very favorably
impressed and ready to go with anything you suggest. The secret is in the
quality of your work - a modern type writer with good type, clean paper and
error-free copy. So, you explain to your client that his resume will make
a more favorable impression on the prospective employer when it is printed on
better quality paper. Suggest to him that you have it printed for him on
colored "offset" paper instead of ordinary bond. Ivory, tan or blue
shades are desirable. For the really expensive-looking resume, suggest that it
be printed on 11 x 17 paper, and then folded in half to make a kind of
"book" about the client. The charges for your service should be about $50 for the
interview, original resume, 50 copies on white bond paper, and a universal
cover letter. For colored offset paper, or for 11 x 17 sized sheets, check
current prices at your print shop. You should pass those costs on to your
client, plus a nominal service charge of $5 or so. Also explain to your client
that you can up-date or add to his resume whenever the need arises, and for
this service you charge $10, plus the cost of printing as many copies as he
requires. Now for the cover letter - probably the most important
part of any resume submitted for job consideration. The first thing you ask
your client regarding the cover letter is if he intends to submit his resumes
in answer to advertised positions, or if he intends to "shot-gun"
them out to possible employers. According to his stated plan, you simply use
one of the two general forms for cover letters. And that's it - the basics you need for starting your
own highly profitable resume service. A couple of things to always bear in
mind: Your success will be directly related to the quality of the finished
product you put out. Learn to do it right, and then strive for perfection with
every job you complete for a client. Remember too that the image you project is the
credibility rating you'll carry with your customers. Shabby surroundings, a
disorganized office and a less than professional appearance will doom you to
failure. Be impressive! Keep your eyes open, and move into an office among
professional people as soon as you can. Finally, put some real planning into starting your
business; get it well established and running smoothly; then hire other people
to do the work. The object of a business of your own is not steady employment
for you, but financial security and independence - to achieve and enjoy the
fruits of your labor. Plan your business, nurture its growth and then hire
other people to do the work while you guide, supervise and make bank deposits. COVER LETTER IN RESPONSE TO AN ADVERTISED OPENING Your recent ad, expressing a need for an experienced
stock clerk, has come to my attention. I'd like very much to get together with
you at your earliest convenience to discuss my qualifications for this
position. With hopes for such a meeting in mind, I'm enclosing a
copy of my resume for your information and consideration. I assure you that I am experienced, learn very quickly,
and am adaptable to new methods of operation. I have heard favorable comments
about your company as the place for one with ambitions for growth and
self-improvement . I'm available to come in and meet with you at your
convenience and can begin work immediately. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. A
call from you will be most welcome and appreciated. Sincerely yours, /s/ Your signature Your Typed Name (123) 456-7890 COVER LETTER FOR THE SHOT-GUN APPROACH WHERE NO KNOWN OPENING EXISTS As a salesman, I have ambitions to improve my status in
life. Your company's reputation as a leader in the publishing
of educational materials impresses me, and I would like to explore the
possibilities of becoming a part of your sales force. I'm currently a top-producing salesman, but feel stymied
with my present employment. I think I could do much better with a company
receptive to innovative ideas and energetic people such as myself. Could we get together and discuss the possibilities of
my joining your organization in some capacity that would utilize my abilities
to a greater extent, and at the same time benefit your company? I will be free from 10 o'clock on, next Tuesday, the
27th. Please give me a call at (123) 456-7890. Thank you! I am looking forward to meeting you. /s/ Your signature Your typed name PS: Enclosed is a resume that will give you an in depth
look at my accomplishments, and an idea of my potential. I
appreciate your time and consideration. Home
Full list
Bookmark
Tell a friend
Link Partners Directory-Unlimited articles.
All
rights reserved. |
Ebooks & Software Blowout Sales Read more..
See our ebook and software packages with full master reprint and resale rights
|
