I look at a lot of resumes, some good and many bad. I was going through my standard “New year, update the resume” exercise and had a revelation. Please note, I’m not looking for a new job at all....every year since graduating from college I’ve updated my resume in January. Some people garden, I’m a dork about resumes what do you want from me? I never claimed to be cool...
So anyway, I opened up my resume and realized that mine sucks....like, REALLY sucks. Tons of wasted space, no real flow and a bunch of useless garbage that I should just delete. Pretty sure it's in some terrible 1998 format too...seriously, WTF Jeff.
I think it’s time to blow the thing up and start over...alas, that’s another blog....
But this got me thinking, if my resume sucks (and I’m some sort of “expert” apparently) than why not give a few tips and try to build a better resume. Based on my terrible resume...a few thoughts taken directly from mine:
1) Don’t waste space - I think I probably waste about 7 lines at the top of the page showing off “Jeffrey T. Moore” and my contact information...um, fail! Space is like gold, your address isn’t THAT important.
2) Get to the point! - My resume has a ton of babble...awful. So, streamline your thoughts and write concise sentences that get to the point and show off your skills. Not sure why, but reading my resume made me think of the “today junior!” scene in Billy Madison
3) Show how you’ve grown - Clearly I’m a different person than I was 14 years ago when I started recruiting....you wouldn’t know it reading my resume. Looks like I kind of do what I do...so bad. Anyway, your resume should flow and show how you’ve progressed and grow throughout your career.
4) Shine some light on your talents - Ok, I do this pretty well on my resume but yeah, I’m one for four... A good resume shows off your skills and screams “We need to talk to this person!” when someone reads it. Figure out what you do well and make sure it shines though your resume.
Ok, that’s it this week.....I need to rewrite this thing, it’s awful.
Good luck out there, New Year = New Opportunities!
Jeff
So anyway, I opened up my resume and realized that mine sucks....like, REALLY sucks. Tons of wasted space, no real flow and a bunch of useless garbage that I should just delete. Pretty sure it's in some terrible 1998 format too...seriously, WTF Jeff.
I think it’s time to blow the thing up and start over...alas, that’s another blog....
But this got me thinking, if my resume sucks (and I’m some sort of “expert” apparently) than why not give a few tips and try to build a better resume. Based on my terrible resume...a few thoughts taken directly from mine:
1) Don’t waste space - I think I probably waste about 7 lines at the top of the page showing off “Jeffrey T. Moore” and my contact information...um, fail! Space is like gold, your address isn’t THAT important.
2) Get to the point! - My resume has a ton of babble...awful. So, streamline your thoughts and write concise sentences that get to the point and show off your skills. Not sure why, but reading my resume made me think of the “today junior!” scene in Billy Madison
3) Show how you’ve grown - Clearly I’m a different person than I was 14 years ago when I started recruiting....you wouldn’t know it reading my resume. Looks like I kind of do what I do...so bad. Anyway, your resume should flow and show how you’ve progressed and grow throughout your career.
4) Shine some light on your talents - Ok, I do this pretty well on my resume but yeah, I’m one for four... A good resume shows off your skills and screams “We need to talk to this person!” when someone reads it. Figure out what you do well and make sure it shines though your resume.
Ok, that’s it this week.....I need to rewrite this thing, it’s awful.
Good luck out there, New Year = New Opportunities!
Jeff
That is the major problem with many. Lets find it here SIMPLE SOLUTION.
ReplyDeleteCV Format
This is helpful, I am going to have to rethink my resume, and take out skills that don't help.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts on Resume Design?
Amazing post! It's so well written, readable in on breathe, very concrete and straight to the point. You raised some of the most important things one forget when comes to writing a CV. With tips&trick you've shared with us, but also in combination with some other resources who emphasize importance of well-written CV and good preparation such as http://www.blog.ivyexec.com with its great webinars, I'm sure my CV will look wonderful. Many thanks for a great post!
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