Bill over at Employment Digest has an excellent point this week that deserves to be shared, and that is that resume writing doesn’t have to be a solo gig.  Although the resume may be the single most important document you ever write when it comes to your career, people don’t pay nearly as much attention to it as they should.  Most procrastinate writing or updating a resume as they would a dental cleaning, and when they do get around to putting something on paper, it’s a painstaking weekend at most.

Bill suggests that you consider getting third-party help with your resume. A simple Google search will uncover experts who have written hundreds of them, and these people can be a valuable resource even if you’re a professional writer.  What do resume counselors, as I call them, do exactly?  Well, for one thing, they’ll help you transform your ho hum resume into a powerful marketing tool that positions your experience and talents so that the document peaks the interest of an employer who is reading it in exactly five seconds.  And having worked on so many resumes, they'll have the big picture perspective to tell you what information should stay and what should go, what’s specifically relevant to the job you’re looking for and what no one cares about except for you.

At the junior level, you might not be able to afford a few hundred bucks for a resume critique.  In that case, I recommend scouting out potential resources that are right around the corner.  Maybe you have an older sibling who is a few years ahead of you in the workforce, or maybe your friend is in human resources or is a career consultant.  Offer to buy her dinner, and then make a date to plow through the resume.  Best of all, have you networked recently with anyone in your field who might be willing to have a look and give you some tips?  The best person to review a resume, after all, has lots of experience with your industry and your particular type of job.  She will know what to look for and how to make the employer salivate at the prospect of getting you in for an interview.