Need A Sample Resume?

I had the opportunity to review resumes for job seekers who are not getting any opportunities for interviews. Many of them have been in the market for a long time and are feeling quite discouraged. The problem as I see it is their resumes are poorly crafted. The shelf life of a resume is 2-4 seconds at best in the hands of a recruiter or hiring manager. And if it is a poorly written resume, you can forget it.

As I mentioned to one of the job seekers I spoke to today, I never saw any of his skills. I was distracted by too many little things that should be non issues. For example, poor grammar and misspellings. These things will make or break your resume. You only have 2-4 seconds to make a strong first impression.

Another issue I saw was creative title blocks at the top of the resume. Having a creative title block for your names is not a differentiator when you are looking for a job. You can be as creative as you want in your title block at the top of your resume, but if the resume itself has no substance you have wasted your time and theirs. Substance is better. Accomplishments are better. Font size matters, white space matters, titles and length of service matter.

Don’t just write your resume based on what you like or what you think is creative. Pink paper, blue paper or gray paper matter too, but in the end substance is the critical mass that will help the phone ring and get you an interview opportunity. Go back and review your resume. Get someone else to look at your resume and make adjustments. Substance that hiring managers are looking for in your resume include, accomplishments, action words, responsibilities, and time in service (dates). These things should be listed with bullet points.

If you need a sample resume to help you, please send me an email to darlingmcdaniel@gmail.com. Please put “SAMPLE RESUME” in the subject and I would be happy to send you a sample resume to help you. If you would like me to review your resume, you are welcome to send me an email with your resume attached in a Word document and I will give you feedback.

Image Credit: sxc.hu