Okay, you have completed your research into companies in your industry, you know the jobs you want and are qualified for, you have listed your major accomplishments and skills—but how do you write the resume? Writer’s block can occur for many reasons, including second-guessing yourself about your choices, anxiety about “boasting,” low self-esteem because of a recent job loss or poor interview and a dislike for writing in general. At Robin’s Resumes™, we rescue you from writer’s block with a professionally written resume that you are proud to send out. But here are a few techniques you can use yourself:

◾Do not worry about how the resume sounds. First make sure that the resume contains all the information on your skills, accomplishments, prior experience and education. Then you can go back to edit it for flow, consistency, accuracy, grammar and spelling.


◾Handle content first, then format. You may write better if you do not have to worry about the special format of a resume. For example, you may begin by writing everything in paragraphs in the first person (“I managed a team…”). Again, after the content is on paper, you can re-format the content to fit a hiring manager’s or recruiter’s expectations (using bullets and starting with verbs: “Managed a team…”).


◾Talk to a chair. Pretend that your best friend is sitting there and asks you what you do or how you handled a particular situation. How would you answer? Record the words you speak and write them into your resume. Often we speak more fluently than we write.


◾Read blogs like this. In past blog posts, I have described solutions to many writing problems, from emphasizing the right achievements to reining in adjectives and adverbs. But read the advice after you have a resume draft; do not let even the best advice inhibit you from that first step of getting everything on paper.

Writing is a skill like any other, and it may not be a skill you feel comfortable with.