How to Create a Professional Resume

Your resume needs to be professional and polished, because if you don't have a professional resume, your application materials probably won't get a second glance from any hiring manager.

Professional (and Unprofessional) Resumes

I've seen resumes that are riddled with typos. I've seen resumes that are inconsistent - bullets in some places, dashes in others, bold in some headings, plain text in others. One of the worst examples of a supposedly professional resume was a resume on bright green neon paper. That one was sent via FedEx, so I would be sure to notice it. Your resume, to be effective, needs to be consistent, concise, and clear and easy to read.

 Use the Best Resume for Your Situation

There are several basic types of resumes used to apply for job openings. Depending on your personal circumstances, choose a chronological, a functional, combination, or a targeted resume. Taking the time to target your resume is well worth the effort.
Use Resume Writing Resources Here's resume writing advice, cover letters for resumes, how to write a resume, resume posting, resume services, and resume writing tips.

Review Professional Resume Formats, Templates and Samples
Resume samples that fit a variety of employment situations. These sample resumes and templates provide job seekers with examples of resume formats that will work for almost every job seeker
Get Creative
Use one of these free resume websites to create an online resume that includes all the facets of a traditional resume, with add-ons like video, images, and links to your accomplishments.
Check Your Resume
This resume checklist includes the information you need to include on your resume. Use the checklist to make sure you have included all relevant information in your resume.
Proof Your Resume
Review these proofing guidelines to ensure that your resume is consistent and error free.
Get Resume Help
Writing a resume is hard work and it's important to get help, or at least have your resume reviewed, before you send it to employers. Here's more information on where to find resume help.

Guidelines for Writing a Professional Resume

What is most impressive to employers when reviewing a resume? Professionalism. Nothing fancy, no gimmicks - just a well written, visually pleasing resume that reads clearly and easily.
Employers read resumes to determine experience and qualifications. Your resume will get a very quick initial read, so it is imperative to convey the most important information first. The following guidelines will help you develop a resume that projects a professional image.
1. Keep your resume brief and to the point. The "meat" of your resume should be your education and experience. Additional categories may include honors, activities, computer experience, military service, volunteer experiences, and scholarships or others. Prioritize information according to its relevancy. When deciding whether to include an item, ask yourself, "Is this relevant to the job I am seeking?" or "Does it enhance my qualifications as a candidate?"
2. Your name should be the biggest item on the page. Increase the font size of your name so that it can be read easily and clearly - even at arm’s length.
3. State specific degree and any certifications. Near the top of your resume, state your specific degree, any certifications you hold and, if applicable, the grade levels included in a teaching certification. (Example: Elementary 1-6).
4. Use reverse date order. Your most relevant and sophisticated experiences will likely be your most recent ones. List experiences in reverse date order in each section.
5. Emphasize what you did. A description of your duties, responsibilities and experience is the most important part of each experience that you include. Where and for whom is not nearly as important and the “what”. Do not include other people’s names on your resume – save those for your reference page.
6. Use action words and sentence fragments. Refrain from using complete sentences on your resume. Instead, use sentence fragments and begin each sentence fragment with a different action word. (action word = verb + ed) Start each sentence fragment on a new line. Avoid repeating the same action words over and over.
Example action words: planned, implemented, coordinated, organized
7. Avoid vague language. Words like numerous, various, or etc. do not convey a professional image. Make your language concise and specific.
8. Avoid extraneous information. Do not include hobbies on a professional resume. However, an employer or a school may want to tap into special talents and abilities of its employees. For a teaching position, it may be helpful to include a category such as "Sponsorship Interests" or “Coaching Interests” and list specific sports you can coach, foreign language clubs you would like to work with, or student activities you can make a contribution toward.
9. Focus on recent activities. Include the activities you have been involved in over the past four or five years. Leave off your high school diploma. Leave out high school activities, unless you can make them apply to the position or sponsorship activity you are seeking. Include all field experiences, organizations, offices held, committee work, honors and awards, scholarships, and volunteer activities.
10. One page or two? The bulk of your most important information should fit on one page. You can shrink font sizes and extend page margins to allow yourself more room, but it is still important to keep your resume crisp and clean instead of crowded. Only if you have an abundance of experience and information would a second page be necessary. If your second page is less than half full, then work with your layout to either eliminate the second page or fill it up.
11. Keep the lay-out simple. It's okay to use some formatting such as bold and indenting to create white space and an appealing look. However, using bold, underlines, multiple indents and italics all on the same page creates confusion. Err on the side of simplicity.
12. Use your tab key instead of the space bar; line up all tabs. Your resume will look neater and cleaner if you line up the information so it has a consistent location on the page. The best way to accomplish this is to use the tab key and make sure your tabs appear in the same location on each line. Using the space bar to line up your information is not recommended – the difference in letter width will usually result in an uneven line.
13. Keep sections together. Avoid splitting major sections between pages. Keep all of your work experience on the same page, keep all of your field experiences on the same page, etc.
14. Use white space appropriately. Use the full page both horizontally and vertically, allowing for approximately a one-inch margin all the way around. Do the "arm's length" test when your resume is complete: hold it away from you at an arm's length. The text should look balanced all the way around and the page should look fully utilized. Sections should be easily discernible and logical.
15. Spell check and edit, then spell check and edit again. Your resume is a representation of your best work so it is expected to be perfect. Computer spell checks will catch many mistakes, but will not catch all of them. Typos that spell another word will slip by, as will grammatical errors. Ask someone else to review it for you so a "fresh set of eyes" can see it.
16. Use quality reproduction. Print your resume on a laser printer. Copy it on quality paper that is at least 20-lb. weight. If using colored paper, stick with soft neutrals such as off-white, light gray or cream. Beware - some colors will not make good photocopies, which presents a problem because resumes are often photocopied for other screeners. Test if needed. Avoid “cute-sy” designer papers such as blue cloud designs or ABC designs. Present yourself as a mature professional.
17. Include references on a separate page. Names, addresses and phone numbers of your references are important pieces of information to be distributed when needed or when requested. Include references on a separate page, complete with contact information, and make your references available upon request. Do not upload a list of your references, with contact information, on the Internet. Keep this information protected and respect the privacy of your references.
18. Put your name on all pages. Put your name and "Resume, page X" on additional pages as well as your reference page.
19. Be consistent with EEOC guidelines. Employers have to follow all equal employment laws. As a result, they do not want photographs, marital information, height, weight, health or any other extraneous information that would infringe on a fair hiring process. Keep the content of your resume focused on job-related characteristics.
Quick Resume Checklist
□ Is the resume printed on conservative paper that will photocopy cleanly?
□ Does the word “resume” appear at the top of the page? (It shouldn’t.)
□ Do the section headings stand out?
□ Is your name the largest item on the page?
□ Are you using space wisely? (Margins not too large, items not spaced too far apart)
□ Are your indentations even? (Use your tab key instead of space bar to make indentations even.)
□ Are there any spelling errors or typos? (Unacceptable.)
□ Is there consistency throughout on the use of headings and fonts?
□ Are pronouns eliminated? (They make your descriptions more wordy then necessary)
□ Does the word “I” appear? (It shouldn’t.)
□ Are vague words such as “various” and “numerous” eliminated?
□ Do descriptions begin with a variety of action words? (Avoid repetition.)
□ If there is a second page, is your name and “Page Two” in the upper corner?
Need Some New Action Words? Check Out These Resources:
Job Web
http://www.jobweb.com/Resumes_Interviews/resume_guide/action.htm
Quintessential Careers
http://www.quintcareers.com/action_skills.html
Placement Manuals Online
http://www.placementmanual.com/resume/resume-02.html

Tips for Writing an Effective Resume

Hiring managers and recruiters alike say they've seen more poorly written resumes cross their desks recently than ever before. Attract more interview offers and ensure your resume doesn't eliminate you from consideration by following these six key tips:
1.   Format Your Resume Wisely "Do the Hiring Managers" Work for Them
No matter how well written, your resume won't get a thorough reading the first time through. Generally a resume gets scanned for 25 seconds. Scanning is more difficult if it is hard to read, poorly organized or exceeds two pages.

• Use a logical format and wide margins, clean type and clear headings
• Selectively apply bold and italic typeface that help guide the reader's eye
• Use bullets to call attention to important points (i.e. accomplishments)

2.   Identify Accomplishments not Just Job Descriptions
Hiring managers, especially in technical fields like engineering, seek candidates that can help them solve a problem or satisfy a need within their company. Consequently, you can't be a solution to their problems without stating how you solved similar problems in other companies and situations.

• Focus on what you did in the job, NOT what your job was there's a difference
• Include a one or two top line job description first, then list your accomplishments
• For each point ask yourself, What was the benefit of having done what I did?
• Accomplishments should be unique to you, not just a list of what someone else did
• Avoid using the generic descriptions of the jobs you originally applied for or held

3.   Quantify Your Accomplishments
Q: What's the most common resume mistake?
A: Making too many general claims and using too much industry jargon that does not market the candidate. A resume is a marketing document designed to sell your skills and strengths rather than just portray a bio of the candidate.

• Include and highlight specific achievements that present a comprehensive picture of your marketability
• Quantify your achievements to ensure greater confidence in the hiring manager and thereby generate interest percentages, dollars, number of employees, etc.
• Work backwards to quantify your accomplishments by asking, If I had not done X, what could have happened?

4.   Cater Your Resume for the Industry
Unlike advertising and design professionals who have greater creative license in designing their resume for those fields, the mechanical engineering industry won't be impressed and may be turned off by distinctive resume design.

• Err on the side of being conservative stylistically
• Your accomplishments, error-free writing, grammatically-correct, clean, crisp type and paper will make the impression for you

5.   Replace your Objective" with a "Career Summary"
A Career Summary is designed to give a brief overview of who you are and what you do. Most Objectives sound similar: Seeking a challenging, interesting position in X where I can use my skills of X, Y, and Z to contribute to the bottom line. Not telling at all.

• Grab a hiring manager's attention right from the beginning, remembering you
  have only 25 few seconds to make a good impression
• Spend time developing a summary that immediately gets their attention, and accurately and powerfully describes you as a solution to their problems

6.   Network. Network. Network.
For unemployed candidates, handing out resumes should be a full-time job. The majority of mid- to senior-level positions are filled through networking, so contact absolutely everyone you know in addition to recruiters who are in a position to hire you or share insights. Networking can include

• Personal business contacts, people you've worked for or who worked for you
• Vendors and sales representatives you've dealt with in the past five years
• People listed in the alumni directory of your alma mater

With a solid resume in hand you'll greatly increase your odds of earning a closer look and getting that interview.

Five Tips for Better Resume Writing

First the good news. You do not have to be William Shakespeare to compose a solid, well-organized, professional-looking resume. All you need are the ability to express your ideas in proper English and an understanding of how a resume should be organized and written.

Being able to handle the basics of English — grammar, spelling, punctuation, proper word usage, and so forth — has become a critical skill in today's e-mail and facsimile-driven business environment. If you lack confidence in your ability to use English properly, think about enrolling in a writing workshop or community college course. Also, get the classic book The Elements of Style, 3rd Edition, by William Strunk and E. B. White (Allyn & Bacon, 1995).

Now the bad news. You can forget most of the rules and principles you were taught when you were writing reports and term papers in high school or college. Those principles simply do not apply to resumes. Resumes are business documents. They follow certain conventions that business people take for granted but that most English teachers would consider incorrect.

Following are five simple writing principles that apply specifically to resumes. All of them should come in handy when you begin to string words together in your resume, particularly when the time comes to describe your work history.

Avoid the first person pronoun

The pronoun I has no place in a resume — and for a logical reason: Who else would you be talking about if not yourself?

Instead of this:

I demonstrated professionalism, tact, and diplomacy while I worked with our customers in high-pressure situations.

Write this:

Demonstrated professionalism, tact, and diplomacy while working with customers in high-pressure situations.

Instead of this:

I managed a department whose chief responsibility was to oversee safety audits. I wrote all audit reports and conducted management briefings.

Write this:

Managed a department whose chief responsibility was to oversee safety audits. Wrote audit reports and conducted management briefings.

Notice that the second version of each example begins with an action verb. Beginning most of your sentences with action verbs may not have been standard practice when you were writing term papers, but this practice is accepted and recommended in resumes.

Keep your sentences short and don't worry about fragments

Resumes call for short, crisp statements. These statements do not necessarily have to be complete sentences; you can frequently leave out the articles a, an, and the.

Instead of this:

Spent three years working on major accounts, as both a lead generator and a closer, demonstrating proven skill in organizing and managing a territory with efficiency as well as in developing customer databases.

Write this:

Spent three years working on major accounts. Generated leads and closed sales. Demonstrated proven skill in organizing and managing a territory and in developing customer databases.

Instead of this:

I was involved in the creation and implementation of statistical reports for a large metropolitan hospital, which required the use of spreadsheet software for cost analysis and, in addition, the creation of a database to track patient visits.

Write this:

Created and implemented statistical reports for large metropolitan hospital. Analyzed costs with spreadsheet software. Created database to track patient visits.

Or try a bulleted format:

• Created and implemented statistical reports for large metropolitan hospital.

• Analyzed costs with spreadsheet software.

• Created database to track patient visits.

Use plain English

Don't be victimized by the myth that the bigger the word you use, the more impressed the reader will be with your intelligence. Keep things simple. Go easy on the adjectives. And be especially wary of those grammatical constructions known as nominalizations — that is, nouns that are built around verbs and become part of a bulky phrase that can just as easily be expressed in a single word. See the examples in Table 1.

Table 1 Using Plain English

Bulky Phrase	Better
Effected the solution of	Solved
Engaged in the operation of	Operated
Offered assistance in the facilitation of	Helped facilitate

Use bullet statements when appropriate

You usually have a choice when you are writing your resume to combine a series of related statements into a single paragraph or to list each sentence in that paragraph as a separate statement, each occupying its own line. There are pros and cons for each option, and sometimes you have to base your decision on the amount of information you need to get across.

Bulleted information is more readable and tends to stand out more than the same information contained within a paragraph. But bulleted information also takes up more room. Your best bet is to combine the two.

If you decide to express information in bulleted style, keep the bulleted items brief and pay attention to parallelism. That is, try to make all the items in a sequence adhere to a similar grammatical pattern.

Examples of nonparallel statements include

• Reconcile all statements for cardholders

• Purchases are approved

• Have experience in performing training of tellers

Examples of parallel statements include

• Reconcile statements

• Approve purchases for Marketing department

• Train tellers

Go from general to specific

Sequence the information in a section by beginning with a general statement and following it with more specific ones.

Instead of this:

Supervised training of seven toy-making elves. Responsible for all toy-making and customer-related activities in Santa's workshop. Answered customer complaints during peak season. (Note that the second of these two sentences is more general than the first.)

Write this:

Responsible for all toy-making and customer-related activities in Santa's workshop. Supervised training of seven toy-making elves. Answered customer complaints during peak season.

44 Best Resume Writing Tips

Having a solid and effective resume can greatly improve your chances of landing that dream job. That is beyond discussion. How does one make sure that his resume is top notch and bullet proof, however? There are several websites with tips around the web, but most bring just a handful of them. We wanted to put them all together in a single place, and that is what you will find below: 44 resume writing tips.

1. Know the purpose of your resume
Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look like desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).
2. Back up your qualities and strengths
Instead of creating a long (and boring) list with all your qualities (e.g., disciplined, creative, problem solver) try to connect them with real life and work experiences. In other words, you need to back these qualities and strengths up, else it will appear that you are just trying to inflate things.
3. Make sure to use the right keywords
Most companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital databases to search for candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t have the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts.
These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description and related job ads for a clue on what the employer might be looking for. You can read more about resume keywords on the article Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness.
4. Use effective titles
Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 5 seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will be the titles that you listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the attention. Try to be as descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of your past work experiences. For example:
Bad title: Accounting
Good title: Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping
5. Proofread it twice
It would be difficult to emphasize the importance of proofreading your resume. One small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip. Proofreading it once is not enough, so do it twice, three times or as many as necessary. If you don’t know how to proofread effectively, here are 8 tips that you can use.
6. Use bullet points
No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short sentences to describe your experiences, educational background and professional objectives.
7. Where are you going?
Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need to have a special section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic.
8. Put the most important information first
This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be the most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.
9. Attention to the typography
First of all make sure that your fonts are big enough. The smaller you should go is 11 points, but 12 is probably safer. Do not use capital letters all over the place, remember that your goal is to communicate a message as fast and as clearly as possible. Arial and Times are good choices.
10. Do not include “no kidding” information
There are many people that like to include statements like “Available for interview” or “References available upon request.” If you are sending a resume to a company, it should be a given that you are available for an interview and that you will provide references if requested. Just avoid items that will make the employer think “no kidding!”
11. Explain the benefits of your skills
Merely stating that you can do something will not catch the attention of the employer. If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company, and to connect it to tangible results, then you will greatly improve your chances.
12. Avoid negativity
Do not include information that might sound negative in the eyes of the employer. This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You don’t need to include, for instance, things that you hated about your last company.
13. Achievements instead of responsibilities
Resumes that include a long list of “responsibilities included…” are plain boring, and not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing responsibilities, therefore, describe your professional achievements.
14. No pictures
Sure, we know that you are good looking, but unless you are applying for a job where the physical traits are very important (e.g., modeling, acting and so on), and unless the employer specifically requested it, you should avoid attaching your picture to the resume.
15. Use numbers
This tip is a complement to the 13th one. If you are going to describe your past professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make them as solid as possible. Numbers are your friends here. Don’t merely mention that you increased the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased them by $100,000, by 78%, and so on.
16. One resume for each employer
One of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a standard resume and send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it will save you time, but it will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an interview (so in reality it could even represent a waste of time). Tailor your resume for each employer. The same point applies to your cover letters.
17. Identify the problems of the employer
A good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific employer is to identify what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to understand the market of the company you are applying for a job, and identify what kind of difficulties they might be going through. After that illustrate on your resume how you and your skills would help to solve those problems.
18. Avoid age discrimination
It is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but some employers do these considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble? Unless specifically requested, do not include your age on your resume.
19. You don’t need to list all your work experiences
If you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that are not relevant to the current opportunity, you should just omit them. Mentioning that you used to sell hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not going to help you land that executive position.
20. Go with what you got
If you never had any real working experience, just include your summer jobs or volunteer work. If you don’t have a degree yet, mention the title and the estimated date for completion. As long as those points are relevant to the job in question, it does not matter if they are official or not.
21. Sell your fish
Remember that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you don’t go over the edge, all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume (in its content, design, delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage over the other candidates.
22. Don’t include irrelevant information
Irrelevant information such as political affiliation, religion and sexual preference will not help you. In fact it might even hurt your chances of landing an interview. Just skip it.
23. Use Mr. and Ms. if appropriate
If you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to include the Mr. or Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your gender.
24. No lies, please
Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided. Apart from being wrong, most HR departments do background checks these days, and if you are buster it might ruin your credibility for good.
25. Keep the salary in mind
The image you will create with your resume must match the salary and responsibility level that you are aiming for.
26. Analyze job ads
You will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze no only the ad that you will be applying for, but also those from companies on the same segment or offering related positions. You should be able to identify what profile they are looking for and how the information should be presented.
27. Get someone else to review your resume
Even if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a good idea to get a second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind to our own mistakes or way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good position to evaluate the overall quality of your resume and make appropriate suggestions.
28. One or two pages
The ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most employers and recruiting specialists, however, say that it should contain one or two pages at maximum. Just keep in mind that, provided all the necessary information is there, the shorter your resume, the better.
29. Use action verbs
A very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But what are they? Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more easily, and that will clearly communicate what your experience or achievement were. Examples include managed, coached, enforced and planned. Here you can find a complete list of action verbs divided by skill category.
30. Use a good printer
If you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make sure to use a decent printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain white paper is the preferred one as well.
31. No hobbies
Unless you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy, avoid mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming team, but share it with your friends and not with potential employers.
32. Update your resume regularly
It is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new information that you think is relevant, as well as courses, training programs and other academic qualifications that you might receive along the way. This is the best way to keep track of everything and to make sure that you will not end up sending an obsolete document to the employer.
33. Mention who you worked with
If you have reported or worked with someone that is well known in your industry, it could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same thing applies to presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked executives, add it to the resume.
34. No scattered information
Your resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative impression if you mentioned that one year you were studying drama, and the next you were working as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will include will work towards a unified image. Employers like decided people.
35. Make the design flow with white space
Do not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should make your resume as short and concise as possible, but that refers to the overall amount of information and not to how much text you can pack in a single sheet of paper. White space between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve the legibility of your resume.
36. Lists all your positions
If you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10 years) it could be a good idea to list all the different positions and roles that you had during this time separately. You probably had different responsibilities and developed different skills on each role, so the employer will like to know it.
37. No jargon or slang
It should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang should never be present in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume that the employer will know what you are talking about. Even if you are sending your resume to a company in the same segment, the person who will read it for the first time might not have any technical expertise.
38. Careful with sample resume templates
There are many websites that offer free resume templates. While they can help you to get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy and paste one of the most used ones. You certainly don’t want to look just like any other candidate, do you?
39. Create an email proof formatting
It is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via email to most companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an attachment, you should also have a text version of your resume that does not look disfigured in the body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might get blocked by spam filters, and many people just prefer having the resume on the body of the email itself.
40. Remove your older work experiences
If you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need to have 2 pages of your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with the job at the local coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the last 15 years of your career are enough.
41. No fancy design details
Do not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your resume. Sure, you might think that the little flowers will cheer up the document, but other people might just throw it away at the sight.
42. No pronouns
You resume should not contain the pronouns “I” or “me.” That is how we normally structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about your person, using these pronouns is actually redundant.
43. Don’t forget the basics
The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one).
44. Consider getting professional help
If you are having a hard time to create your resume, or if you are receiving no response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring a professional resume writing service. There are both local and online options are available, and usually the investment will be worth the money.