Employee Turnover Rates Create Opportunity

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, voluntary employee turnover across America was 23.2 percent in 2005, the most recent year available. This means that, on average, a little more than one in five employees quit their jobs every 12 months. What does that mean for you and your clients?

For you, that means that out of every 100 employed individuals, approximately 23 of them will be making a job change. That's a lot of resumes and cover letters.

For your clients, turnover creates opportunity. If there is a specific company they want to work for, chances are that turnover may open up the position they are seeking.

The More I Learn, The More I Don't Know

Have you ever attended a professional conference and learned a lot ... but then realized that there is so much you still don't know?

Things have changed so much over the past couple of years in the resume writing industry. In talking to colleagues over the past few days, I've learned I'm not the only one who feels this way. The introduction of personal branding into the resume development process is just one example. I've also heard over and over again that coaching is a must for working with resume clients, with few exceptions (and not just because it's an opportunity for extra revenue). Is that really true? What if you are a resume writer who doesn't want to coach?

These are all issues we'll be exploring in future issues of Resume Writers' Digest. Do you have a topic you'd like to see us tackle? Let me know. I started the newsletter to get answers to questions I had...and guess what? I still have questions. E-mail me at RWDigest@aol.com.

You can teach an old dog new tricks.

Validation for Resume Writers

On a day when resume writing was under attack as becoming increasingly obsolete (I'd tell you more about it, but I'm under a professional gag order being enforced by the board of a prominent not-for-profit resume association), it was refreshing to return to my hotel room today and find a link to the Brazen Careerist blog, written by Penelope Trunk. Looking through her archives, I found this gem, written in December 2006, about hiring a professional resume writer, and how it is "so totally worth it!"

I got the link from the ERE daily e-mail, which focused on "Some Thoughts on Blogs and Networks" in an article by Kevin Wheeler. If you work with Millennials, Kevin's article will give you some insight into how they are networking.

I'm looking for some good blogs written by resume writers that are targeted at consumers. If you have one you'd like me to showcase, e-mail me.

Converting .docx Files

(This post is for you, Tessa!)

I was talking with a resume writing colleague today, and she suggested I write an article in Resume Writers' Digest about the new version of Microsoft Word (Word 2007) that creates the .docx files. Specifically, she was wondering if there was a converter for the Macintosh that would allow you to open the files. The answer is yes!

With the Office Open XML Converter, you can convert Office Open XML files to a format that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac. You can choose to convert and open one file, or convert a large number of files. You might lose some data, but it's better than not being able to open the files at all.

Also, this is a beta release, and will expire Dec. 31, 2007, but Microsoft is expected to issue a permanent solution early in 2008.

If you are using a PC, you can download the Word Compatibility Pack to convert the files to be opened in an earlier version of Word.