SACRAMENTO, CA - As one continues to build their professional career, a resume is probably the most powerful tool to have in our back pockets. It’s a convenient resource for not only prospective employers but for ourselves. In light of the recent events surrounding COVID-19, there’s no better time to update that ol’ curriculum vitae. We tapped our good friend and expert in the field, Rex Lawrence, Founder and President of Joe Produce and JoeProResumes.com, to glean some insights on how to make a strong resume in today’s age.

Rex Lawrence, Founder and President, Joe Produce Search“The ROI on a resume is HUGE. We encourage professionals to invest their time and/or money into making their resumes stand out from the mediocre masses. Be prepared!” Rex said. “For some of us right now, it’s about necessity due to layoffs and furloughs. For others, it’s about being proactive. Either way, I encourage you to be prepared—have a solid resume prepared.”

For that, Rex came ready with some tips in hand. In our sister publication, The Snack, we published critical steps to take while job hunting. One vital component is to have a solid resume. It may seem daunting at first, but a carefully crafted resume is valuable and can be quite rewarding when completed. We asked Rex what quick tips he could provide, and he didn’t disappoint:

• Always be honest
• Do not include your street address—city, state, and zip are enough
• Resumes are strategic marketing documents with one purpose—to get you to the interview. Do your selling and get into details at the interview
• Know your target audience
• Know the job(s) you’re targeting
• Accentuate your positives and de-emphasize your negatives/weaknesses
• Remember, employers want to understand how you fit their needs and create ROI
• Two or three pages are fine. White space is good in terms of ease of reading
• Worth saying it again, but in another way—your resume is marketing you and NOT selling you. No one gets a job only from the resume, so don’t try to have everything on your resume
• Be prepared for an interview. Know your resume 100 percent. Be prepared to speak about every point on your resume. Be able to answer this question: “So tell me about this?”

“Over the years, we have shared information about the importance of various aspects to finding and securing a great job, and it’s now more important than ever,” continued Rex. “At the very least, when you finish creating or updating your resume, you should feel great about your career and accomplishments. I can't tell you how many times I’ve heard from customers how they enjoyed the process with our professional resume writer, and how much better they feel about the body of their work.”

Rex and I share a mutual love for quotes and mottos, so we would like to leave you with a list of inspirational quotes to ponder:

One such inspirational quote comes from Bobby Knight, a role model for Joe Produce Search's Rex Lawrence (Photo Credit: AP)

• “I don’t believe in luck, I believe in preparation.” - Bobby Knight
• “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” - Bobby Unser
• “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” - Abraham Lincoln
• “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” - Stephen Keague
• “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin
• “Prepare the umbrella before it rains.” - Malay Proverb
• “Our confidence comes from our preparation.” - Ronaldinho

Carpe diem, everyone! Having a solid resume will only benefit you in the long run.

As we bring you more insights from experts in the field, keep checking in with ANUK.

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