Professionally Written Resumes

I am repeatedly asked the same question by candidates “Is my resume OK?” My response is always the same: “You can ask a thousand professionals for resume feedback, and everyone would be wrong, even me”. Resumes do contain industry prescribed formats and algorithmic experience information, but more importantly, it’s a hiring manager’s first insight as to whether or not you are a good team fit. A resume is a working marketing document personalized explicitly for you. While it may be a good idea to have a professional review the document, only one person can generate that resume! Not all professional services have your best interest at heart.

Careerbuilder resume critique baffles blogger

Fri, May 22, 2009 (Article)

Amber Shah, an experienced software developer and popular career blogger on Geniusopia, recently discovered that CareerBuilder was offering free resume critiques to promote their resume writing service. Since Shah often performs critiques on her subscribers’ resumes, she thought she’d submit her own resume to see if the advice CareerBuilder doled out would be similar.

On her blog Shah says she knew that CareerBuilder would give her some kind of sales pitch, but she wasn’t expecting the canned response she received that assured her no one at CB had even glanced at her resume. Here’s what the ‘resume expert’ told her:

Dear Amber Shah,

A well written, attention grabbing resume is crucial to getting an interview. It is important to be concise, highlight your qualifications, and present yourself as a proactive employee. Recruiters will only briefly skim your resume to determine if you are worthy of an interview. Therefore, it must be easy for recruiters to find the information that sells them on you. In order to more effectively showcase your skills and abilities, we recommend making the improvements that we list below. If you need help making these improvements, the experts from cbResume are here.

* Include a quick synopsis of what you have to offer
* When an employer glances at your resume, what will they see? A brief summary of who you are and what you have to offer? If not, you might get passed over. We recommend that you grab the hiring managers attention with a brief overview of your most impressive and relevant strengths.

After you re-write your resume, don’t forget to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation before using it to apply for a position. More often than not, people overlook their own spelling and grammatical errors. We recommend having several trusted friends and colleagues review your resume to verify that it is easy to understand and free of inconsistencies and minor mistakes. If you would like help re-writing your resume, just let us know.

Keep in mind that your resume is a marketing tool. You must display only the most pertinent and impressive pieces of your experience. cbResume, CareerBuilder.com’s professional resume writing team, can prepare your resume to make a positive first impression. We are experts in the field and know how to craft a resume that will get you interviews.

Sincerely,

cbResume

The improvements recommended were already in plain sight on her resume. Disappointed, Shah concludes this: if you offer to do something, do it right. Otherwise it’s just annoying. Some people will help you in your job search and others only want to take your money. Avoid the latter.