by Chad Hunter –

Being laid off can be a critical blow to one’s emotional and financial health. Sometimes, even more difficult than getting let go from a job is beginning the search for another one. We often spend so much time in a job that we forget the skills that got us there and we forget to expect change and we especially lose sight of updating our resumes.

Step back and breathe – Writing THE resume or any resume can seem like a terrifying journey. Don’t let it. Step back and breathe is the first and most important step to writing a resume because it allows for focus, calm and a truer perspective than one of fear and anxiety. Put yourself in a calm environment (soft music, refreshments) and away from distractions and noise before you start to write.

Reassess yourself – After you step back, look at who you are and where you are. After losing one’s job, all the nightmares of what you’ll lose, where you’ll live and how’ll you’ll eat start to come down in unrealistic waves. You start to feel like a “loser” and suffer from lowering self-esteem. In actuality, you may have more savings than you think or you may not be as alone as you feel. Reassess yourself and look at where you will be starting from.

Look at your previous job skills – Many people forget to include or update their resumes with the skills they acquired at their previous job. The job that let us go becomes a mental “no-fly” zone that we never want to mentally revisit. Stop and look at your previous job skills. Did you learn computers and more applications (i.e. Microsoft Word or Excel)? Did you learn accounting systems or how to interview people? Every job teaches something new and that knowledge is yours and cannot be taken from you.

Look at your personal skills – Just because you’ve not been officially paid for it doesn’t mean that your personal skills are not bread-winning skills. Do you like to talk and have a persuasive way about you? Do you enjoy detailing your activities and schedules for vacations or nights-out? Are you good at fixing things around the house or are you bilingual? We all have personal skills that are worth paying for, we just have to stop and look at them.

Write a list – Writing THE resume begins with a list. Begin jotting down the previous job skills you uncovered as well as what personal skills you have. As you begin to write the list, begin to record the years, places and several individuals tied to your list’s items. As you begin to piece your resume together, you’ll have the basic information needed for it.

Keep it simple but not too simple – When writing THE resume, keep your entries for objective, employment history, education and skills simple…but not too simple. You don’t want a resume that looks cluttered and takes over one page to read (unless you’ve been in the workforce for decades). Use short wording instead of complete sentences and use bulleted lists where appropriate. Remember, the resume gets you in the door so you don’t have to write everything about everything down. You sell the rest.

Start with the basic resume – Writing THE resume is not about having an end product that is flashy or filled with artsy shapes and fonts. An excellent resume is about organization and importance of what’s listed. With whatever word processing software you’re using, start with the basic resume. Having a clear objective, employment history, educational background, skills and contact information are key elements to getting across what you offer your next employer.

Use basic resume paper – With so many attractive styles of resume paper in the stores today, it is tempting to get something that stands out. However, off-white or beige, heavy resume paper is still good to use. Having a neon orange resume is going to make your application look more foolish than professional. Use basic resume paper and let what’s on it stand out.

Download my new FREE ebook: “The Best of the Innerwife: Relationships & Unemployment” here at http://innerwife.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/free-innerwife-best-of-relationships-and-unemployment/