Resumes and Personal Statements

Resumes, Cover Letters, Curriculum Vitaes, and Personal Statements

Each document is pertinent and important, and is necessary contingent upon the specific necessity for your particular circumstances.

Resume

This document serves to identify your knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is the second document a hiring manager will review… It will serve to illustrate your employment history, educational level and pursuits, memberships and associations, volunteer activities, awards and recognition… and perhaps some additional choice information (at the discretion of your writer).

Cover Letter

The Cover Letter drives the reader to your Resume. It should identify your key skills that are pertinent to the particular opportunity, and list a few reasons why you are a qualified candidate for that particular opportunity. A properly, and strategically engineered, Cover Letter will compel the reader to review your Resume.

Remember: Resumes and Cover Letters were never designed to get you the job. They were designed to get you the interview.

Curriculum Vitae

This document is a roadmap of all your professional pursuits. It can include hobbies and interests, but primarily serves to identify ALL previous education, ALL previous employment, ALL professional memberships and associations, ALL awards and recognition. Everything. It is a rather “Black and White” document. Very factual. It leaves the writer virtually no room for creativity (otherwise exercised on a Resume). The Curriculum Vitae is suitable for professionals such as Doctors, Lawyers, Educators, Scientists, etc.

Please contact me for CV pricing.

Personal Statement

This document is used to persuade a person, team, or committee why you would be their best choice for a particular opportunity. Often required by academic institutions and teaching hospitals it is an incredibly important tool. Academic institutions require application information that is primarily factual. An admissions counselor or committee reads hundreds, if not thousands, of such documents each season. They contain personal information, academic standing, grades, GPA… information that after awhile begins to look the same… from one application to the next. The Personal Statement is the opportunity to color your world. The Personal Statement is your substitute… serving as you standing before a counselor or committee. The Personal Statement serves as a “tipping point”. You want to be certain that your Personal Statement is designed with the primary objective of creating a connection between you and the reader. It absolutely must stir certain emotions to establish the connection. A seasoned writer of Personal Statements knows how to “paint” you… how to “color” your circumstances. Me…? I view each Personal Statement I engineer as a work of art.

Remember: The sweet smell of low price is forgotten long after the odor of poor quality lingers.

James P. Shelley

Business Document Engineering & Consulting