Fair warning:  This post is the first in a three-part series about resume writing.  By agreeing to read this, you're commiting to this Thursday's and next Tuesday's posts -- no excuses! 

Candidates tend to suffer over resumes, worrying that they're presenting themselves in the best possible light.   Everyone has an opinion about a resume, so here’s mine: whatever you do, DO IT YOURSELF. Don’t rely on outplacement companies or professional resume writers. As part of layoff packages, more companies are offering this up to employees as part of a severance package so suddenly it's a question that's popping up to me. The service is nice in theory, but you’ll do far better negotiating for their fee in cash (that'll be three months more of Cobra payments!), taking some time, clearing your head and doing it yourself.

Why? Those resume writers don’t know you. And even more importantly, they don’t know your field as well as you do. The resumes they write have jargon which doesn’t quite match reality, formats which employers recognize as coming out of a book, and an arms-length feeling to them which keeps someone from getting to know you. Even if someone sits with you for hours and talks with you about your work. Even if you explain your successes to them in great detail. Even if they show you fancy samples on nice paper with beautiful fonts. DO IT YOURSELF.

Thursday's post will tell you how so stay tuned...