Many in the jewelry industry don’t appreciate the importance
of a good résumé, warns Glen Beres, owner of GAB Communications, the official résumé-writing service of Diamond Staffing Solutions.

“Because of the economic situation, you see a lot of people
who had very stable situations in the industry, working for years and years,
and now all of a sudden find themselves out of work,” he says. “They have never
had to do a résumé before, and they do it themselves. But a lot of recruiters
simply won’t work with a candidate who does not have a well-written résumé.”

He says the holidays are a good time to update your résumé,
because many companies start hiring after the first of the year.

Having written hundreds of the documents, he gives the
following advice to make sure you make the best impression possible:

– Have your résumé double-checked by someone else for
spelling and other errors. “This is your personal marketing document,” he says.
“You want to make sure that it says about you exactly what it needs to say. If
you know someone who works in human resources, they are sometimes the best.”

– Ignore the “don’t go back more than 10 years” rule. “If
people have been in the industry more than 10 years with strong name
companies, it’s fine to go back that far,” he says. “If your experience is your
strong point, why sell yourself short? As long as your experience is relevant
and shows growth, you should include it.”

– List accomplishments, not just job titles. “A lot of résumés read like nothing more than a list of positions,” Beres says. “People
put too much emphasis on their responsibilities and duties. Accomplishments
make your résumé stand out. Everyone has something that they are particularly
proud of, whether it’s implementing a new procedure or overseeing a program.”

– Customize your résumé. “Gone are the days when you did a one-size-fits-all résumé,”
he says. “Employers don’t like to feel like you are sending them a generic
cookie-cutter document. You want to have one for retailers, one for
wholesalers. Obviously you don’t want to change it for every position, but there
are ways you can alter it subtly.”

– Consider a “functional résumé,” which focuses on skills
instead of positions. This works for someone who is returning to the workforce
after taking time off or who has had a lot of positions but doesn’t want to
be considered a “job hopper.”

GAB Communications is offering industry job-seekers a
holiday discount on its résumé-writing services. The company can be reached at
gab500@yahoo.com.

JCK