Comments on: How to Construct a Killer Resume, From Start to Finish

By: Rhonerlianz

Rhonerlianz — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:33:18 +0000

Every time I write a resume, I don’t feel good about it. But when there’s a call for an interview, I think there’s a hope for me. My resume is not too bad. But what is a value of good resume without the skill for an interview??? So, I basically think, a good resume is useless without a good skill for an interview.

By: Erica Douglas

Erica Douglas — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:54:51 +0000

I just found out on Monday afternoon that I will not be needed in my current job after June. At least I get four months’ notice! Thank you very much for your excellent tips. I certainly hope they bring me success!

By: Resume Docket

Resume Docket — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:36:56 +0000

Definitely agree with point # 0 & 2.

Do not use Microsoft Templates to ensure that your resume stands out from the crowd and be sure to research the job before applying for it and this way you will be able to create a customized resume which is cognizant to the needs of the job and hence ensure at least a interview.

By: Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:14:15 +0000

The biggest part of making a resume work is publishing it. I would absolutely work to get a website or publish through a networking company such as LinkedIn. I’ve not had to send my resume to anyone in years.

By: antony

antony — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:02:12 +0000

Font size = minimum 12
Objective. hmmm what if the employer is filling 6 different positions and HR gets ALL the resumes. Which resume goes with which job?

Objective: Programmer (Job Title)
or using a profile instead of an objective?

Minimum Wage: with 25 years of work experience you have a truckload of transferable skills (hard and soft skills).

By: Bobby

Bobby — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:36:22 +0000

Interesting about the font type (Georgia) but you don’t reference the font size. What is considered a readable font size?

By: Gates VP

Gates VP — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:28:12 +0000

Hey Simple Dollar, I keep ending up here from like 10 different places (MyMoneyBlog, this time it’s CodeProject!), good job on the market.

There’s a line from the Tao Te Ching: “good speaking leaves nothing to pick at”, however, the fact that everyone is picking at the same thing (chaired committees and objective) gives me the impression that what you’ve written is very good. So good that “we” only want to “fix” two things to make it perfect. So congrats! :)

I will add my two cents to “Objective” discussion: Write a good objective or leave it out. If you don’t think that you can write a good one, leave it out. I like mine, it’s brief, it’s distinct, it says that I’m here and I’m going there. The same things go for personal interests.

My interests include Magic: the Gathering Pro Tour Competitor. This isn’t small potatoes, this is big money, I got a free flight to Geneva! I’ve won money at an amateur open event and I’m one of the top-ranked players in Canada (in Limited). In a brain field, this is a relevant hobby.

Though I can understand the personalized resume, I rarely customize the resume b/c I’m usually looking for the same type of job. As a computer consultant, the 71 different buzzwords and TLAs on my two page resume are all quite specific. I usually just spend extra time (1+ hours) to customize the cover letter.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:07:12 +0000

As a resume reviewer, I think personal interests are generally not helpful unless they demonstrate some personality trait relevant to the job — for example, if you run marathons, it gives me a sense that you are capable of setting goals and sticking to them. Please don’t tell me you do yoga. I do yoga. Most of the people in my office do yoga. It probably makes you a better worker. But it’s not going to start a conversation or get you the job. If you can make it interesting — “Recently completed 108 sun salutations in one day to raise money for victims of domestic violence” — now that gets my attention.

Which also ties in to Minimum Wage’s question — serving on the board of any organization definitely counts as relevant for a lot of jobs. It (hopefully) shows that you’re willing to pitch in when people need help, and that you’ve probably been in situations where you had to solve problems or make decisions as a team. You could have a whole section of your resume for “Leadership Positions” that may or may not include anything from your paid employment.

By: JimR

JimR — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:37:50 +0000

Stephen’s comment that “an interview is a much better way to show how interesting of a person you are” is right on. Remember, resumes get you interviews, and interviews get you jobs. Write the best resume you can, but don’t neglect interview prep. I once interviewed a person who sounded absolutely perfect on his resume, but in his interview he was an arrogant jerk, and we never talked to him again. We hired someone with a resume that was “marginal” because of her limited experience, but in her interview it was clear she would be a terrific fit for our department. (And she was.)

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:01:40 +0000

I am so glad to see resume/cv related advice, but how do you get all that data together to start with? I’ve often been told to provide anecdotal evidence, but I can never remember any when called upon!

By: John

John — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:12:53 +0000

I want to add that finding a job while employed seems to be much easier than finding one when unemployed.
I setup a linkedin.com page and have been using it heavily. Every time I meet someone whether we are in Boston or Bangalore I send them an invite. Slowly but surely my network is growing and people are coming to ME to see if I will work for them rather than the other way around.
Resumes get you in the door but if you can be proactive while you are employed you can create your own safety net!

By: Mr. Safety

Mr. Safety — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:20:05 +0000

I disagree with you, DrBdan on step #5. Generally speaking, you are right – this should most certainly be shouted out at in your cover letter – thats the blurb that is going to get the potential employer to read your resume, period.

However, if you can do two different blurbs, having it at the top of your resume will 1 – reinforce the idea, and 2 – show your employer that you didn’t just copy and paste a blurb from the web, because you were able to organize your skills in two different ways. I think its a great idea to replace the mission statement with a pitch.

Good stuff!

By: DrBdan

DrBdan — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:31:05 +0000

Good tips, though I don’t agree with step #5. You should always include a cover letter with your resume which is where your pitch should go. Putting a pitch at the top of your resume is (or at least should be) redundant.

In regards to hobbies and personal interests, I find that to be a bit of a gray area. Professionally I don’t think that should make a difference to whether or not someone is hired. Their life outside of the job is their own business. On the flip side you want to hire someone that fits with your team and common interests can be an easy way to have a conversation and find out a bit about someone’s personality.

By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:06:17 +0000

Thanks for a great post! Any resume advice is greatly appreciated!

By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:56:58 +0000

Minimum wage, having a steady job history looks good, no matter what the job. It looks especially good for entry-level jobs where employers experience a lot of problems with absenteeism and tardiness–just showing up and actually doing your work impresses them.

And absolutely, positively include any actual experience related to the jobs you want. Just because you didn’t get paid, doesn’t mean it’s not work experience. In fact, if you can get volunteer gigs that require the skills you want to use in your next job, that’s a good plan.

Did you accomplish anything impressive on these boards? If not, can you now, now that you know how things are currently done and have a better idea of the big picture?

Another approach is to get an entry-level job in a company that also hires people for the kind of job you want. I’ve even heard of people crossing the invisible barriers–I know an assembly line worker who got a job as an engineer in the same firm just by speaking up at a meeting once (in addition to doing awesome work).

Another approach is to join the professional associations that people who have the job you want next belong to and do committee work so that you can meet people and get good advice on what to do next.

By: sverrir

sverrir — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:06:07 +0000

I´d further reccomend that people, Trent included, that are interested in this to check out the Manager Tools podcast and website. They have a podcast titled “Your resumé stinks!” and I believe they know it. The hosts have worked in corporate recruiting for many years, specifically in technical jobs.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:36:16 +0000

Great post. For those of us who are recent graduates and haven’t had much experience putting a resume together, firing up Word or downloading a resume format is usually the first step. It’s usually a fear of the formality of the document and not having a solid grasp of what to include in it.

I like how the personal interests were actually not mentioned. Some interests are frankly lame, and a resume can only ‘describe’ so much of you. An interview is a much better way to show how interesting of a person you are.

By: Eric Ogunbase

Eric Ogunbase — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:30:38 +0000

Funny you should bring this up. I came across an interesting resume format the other night.

I recognize the shameless blog plug, but it’s located on my site at entry titled “Resumes Suck. (Until Now)”.

Rick Turoczy of the More Than a Living blog has an awesome format.

By: SJean

SJean — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:06:43 +0000

Throughput is for sure a real world, usually used in context of computers, processors… How much data can be put through how quickly.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:42:02 +0000

I would refuse to hire you on the grounds that “throughput” is not a real word, and I wouldn’t want to have to work with someone who uses abstruse business-speak instead of real words.