It took a wide layoff and fierce job competition to persuade Tony Confer to do something he had never wanted to do: write a r?sum?. Confer, 44, who was laid off first as a maintenance technician and later from a factory job, admitted that putting together a r?sum? wasn’t a priority after 19 years at the same company repairing air compressors, electric furnaces and hydraulic systems.

Tony Confer of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, has sent out r?sum?s in search of a blue-collar job. “This is the first r?sum? I ever made in my life,” he said. “It was a little hard bragging about myself. That’s not something I like to do. I’m used to thinking about my family and my home ? not about jobs. I wasn’t really sure what an employer would be looking for.”

Career professionals say they are seeing more blue-collar workers like Confer seeking advice about writing a r?sum?, often for the first time. Many are recommending that even union workers and others with seemingly secure jobs put together a document once thought to be the exclusive domain of white-collar workers.

The reason, they say, is that manufacturing jobs are dwindling, increasing the competition for available positions. Moreover, employers are seeking more information on prospective workers, and a trend toward smaller staffs means that one person may be required to perform several jobs.

Factory workers like Confer are expected to accept the fact that lifetime employment with one company is nearing extinction, and adapt by updating their professional and marketing skills.

“People who have always had a lot of dirt and grease under their fingers have to begin to see themselves as businesspeople,” said Marc Sampson, president of Industry People, a staffing and recruiting company, whose web site, MEPatWORK.com, is a job board for blue- and white-collar workers in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing industries. “Those vying for an edge with better companies need to upgrade their credentials, continue to work on skill training, get certifications and to make sure all of it is on paper.”

Confer of Bellefonte earned $19 an hour as a maintenance technician at Murata Electronics in State College, Pennsylvania, before the company shut its factory and laid off 300 workers. In August 2004, Confer took another factory job at $14 an hour. The second company experienced financial problems, and in August 2005, he was once again out of work.

Confer turned to the local Pennsylvania CareerLink office to help him write his first r?sum?. A counsellor helped him highlight transferable skills like welding, plumbing and working with sheet metal. He has applied for six jobs in his field, but has received no responses. He worries about having to sell his home and “flip burgers” to survive.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in manufacturing averaged above 17 million from 1994 to 2000, but by 2004, the average had dropped to 14.3 million. The sector is expected to decline another 5.4 per cent by 2014.

Betty Geller, a career coach and r?sum? writer in New York, frequently works with laid-off blue-collar workers in central New York. After 30 years in the business, she has seen an increase in employers who expect blue-collar workers to have r?sum?s.

“In the past, blue-collar workers really didn't need r?sum?s, an application was all that was required,” said Geller, who runs Apple R?sum? and Career Services. “Many don’t have college degrees or great writing skills, so I help show them in the best light. Many who have never done a r?sum? before say to me, ‘Oh my God, is this really me?’”

After mechanic, Lee Vanderhoff, was laid off from his job at a company that made cathode ray tubes for colour televisions, he was able to leverage his experience and skills to find a new job as a mechanic at a local truck dealership. His r?sum? highlighted his general experience as a technician and mechanic, with electrical, plumbing and control systems skills.

For the most part, the pressure for blue-collar r?sum?s is being driven by employers, Sampson of Industry People said. “The workers wouldn’t make the change if they didn't have to,” he said. On a recent day, companies with offices in Manhattan and Queens had posted jobs on Sampson’s MEPatWORK site looking for a sprinkler fitter, fire alarm inspector and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning service technician. All required applicants to send r?sum?s.

But not all employers are convinced that r?sum?s help. Geller said that even if a r?sum? was not required, submitting one with an application would immediately set you apart from the rest of the pack.

A professional r?sum? helped Andrea Okleshen, a welding inspector, land a job in April. Okleshen, 34, has worked in the welding industry 13 years, and says that the day after she sent her r?sum?, she was contacted for an interview. The executive complimented her on the document’s thoroughness and eye-popping presentation. Okleshen said, “There wasn’t overkill. It got straight to the point. A job application can’t sum up, in a little bit of space, 13 years of experience.”