Please tell me what you think...

I am putting together a resume that is a little different from the 'classic' approach.

Whoever may be interested in helping me out by looking at a 'generic' resume and giving me your impressions - I would really appreciate it.

Look at the bottom of my signature for the link.

Critique anything and everything - from content, structure, how-easy-is-it-on-the-eyes?, whatever...

Make suggestions - in the thread, or by PM.

You don't have to tell me that the personal information at the top is missing --- that is deliberate...

Thanks!

I am currently unemployed, and looking for a job. So -- I am putting together a resume to use 'online'. I do not want to "spruce it up" too much ( i.e. - too much color, etc. ); however, I do want it to be 'presentable' - and, especially, easy-on-the-eyes 'readable'.

That is why I am asking for the impressions of others.

One man's opinion.
It's impressive and informative, but too bloated and wordy.

Your "objective" should be simply to make your
employer money so that they'll pay you some of it.

The "skills" section could be edited down to basic industry vernacular.
Keep it concise and relevant.
Assume that prospective employers are well enough versed in
their respective fields that they don't need much explanation.
Neither do they want to spend excessive time reading résumés.

The "achievements" section, which you are no doubt
very proud of, and rightly so, reads like a novella.
Don't show all your cards before you've even met them.
Boil individual items down to their essences.
Most of them could be summed up to the effect of "You've got
problems that are costing you money, and I'm your solution."
Leave them curious and intrigued.

A résumé should read like an augmented business card.
One man's opinion.

Do you wrestle lions in your spare time?

If so, ...that would be cool,... and l would definitely put that in the Special Skills
Kick that bad boy up a notch.

Maybe resumes are set out different in the US than the UK.

Usually in the UK, you would not put "available on request" down.
Instead the resume would set out the qualifications received, education, places of
work etc.

Im thinking that if an employer had 10 resumes in front of the, 5 listed the above and 5
said available on request. You would take more interest in those where everything was set out
already.

But as I say, maybe it's different in the US?

I agree with Lynn, it could do with rewording to make to more precise and relevant.

I think you might have gone into a little too much detail about your achievements.
Maybe summarise them on the resume. You need to give yourself something to discuss if
you are called for an interview, you can go into more detail about your achievements
at the interview stage. Otherwise you will have nothing to talk about.

In Norway we are told to keep our reusme' at maximum 1 page (and our application not much more than half a page)

Here you would be expected to list (relevant) education and (relevant) work experience in the resume, not say it is available on request. Only thing we might do that with is references.

My resume would be

Contact info

Into

Education

Work experience

Skills (Keywords)

References

I do appreciate the comments -- please, by all means, keep 'em comin'...

I will wait until later to write some responses. All I will say at this point in time is -- it should go without saying that if I was going to give a resume directly to a prospective employer - it would have all of the information on it. (DUH?) As I mentioned in the first two posts, it is a 'generic' resume intended for posting 'online' - in a venue where resumes may be searched and requests for more information may be made if the resume draws enough interest. Still, I will consider any and all comments that seem to be offered sincerely.

Also -- it is very important to me to know if the color scheme is "easy on the eyes"...

Thank you.

- the font size and font styles are inconsistent, uniformity makes your resume look cleaner. Use a consistent format. I like to use tables in Microsoft Word to achieve the look I want on my resume, but there are other programs and methods.

- I would leave out the objective entirely. If you must have one, it should be individually tailored to the position you're applying for, to the point where it is virtually a one sentence summary of the job description you're posting for (your goal is their goal if you want a foot in the door)

- take out everything that says "available upon request". It's unnecessary verbiage...its implicitly understood that serious candidates will furnish those things (a lot of applications already have a section for references, but also good to bring a reference sheet to interviews with a few extra copies of your resume)

- I would actually combine your employer history and your skills section into a category titled "experience" as a way to smooth over the gaps in your employment and highlight your abilities. You need to cut out a lot though.....your resume isn't the place for paragraphs, save that for interviews. All of that information in your skills section needs to be cut down to concise bullet points.
For the sake of organization, I personally organize my resume so that my experience is in reverse chronological order (most recent items first)
For example

Experience

XYZ Company, Orlando, FL
Job title x (August 2015 to January 2017)
- led a team of 10 people to produce x amount of sales in x months
- delivered solutions to clients seeking to XYZ
- wrote the standard operating procedures manual for XYZ department

ABC Company, Miami, FL
Job title X (August 2013 to August 2015)
- XYZ
- XYZ
- XYZ

Volunteer Ministry ABC, Tampa, FL
Volunteer role x (January 2015 to present)
- etc etc etc
- blah blah blah
- you get the point


It helps to be as specific as possible...quantify your experiences. How much in sales did you produce? How much in costs did you reduce? How many people did you lead? What did you provide to your clients? How much time did you save? The programs you wrote, what did they accomplish...faster results? A reduction of expense? That's what will grab the attention of someone who will most likely be skimming your resume.

- use action verbs. Avoid "am, is, have, was, were, looked, worked" verbiage. There are actually some good lists online with suggestions for verbs on your resume. Think more along the lines of "led, developed, created, implemented, negotiated, restructured, coordinated". If it is a past experience, verbs should be past tense, if it's a current job position everything in that section needs to be in present tense.

I think I will put this - just exactly as you wrote it - at the very bottom of my resume...

How well do you think that would go over?

hahaha - just kidding.

Honesty is always the best 'policy', so, that being said, I would definitely ask Lynn=Depleted -
if she would be interested in taking me on as a 'client', point being, 'she won't LIE' for you,
'True-Rewards'? an 'honest position that will give you Peace within'./.

I read your resume and have to say that you're definitely well qualified in your field and was certainly most impressed.

Its just another word for the same thing.
But a bit more detail.
Though they still need to be as brief as possible, employers don't want to see
a dissertation.


https://www.thebalance.com/curriculum-vitae-format-2060351

Hi Gary. One thing that occurred to me.

Maybe potential employers will want to print out resumes?
If so it might be better to have a very light back ground colour, or even just plain white
with a border so it stands out.

Or maybe something like this





I dont know what other US resumes may look like.

In a field that evolves as rapidly as tech, you can leverage that education section to your advantage as well, Gary. In addition to any degrees you may have, you can list any certifications you acquired, professional licenses or designations you may hold, workshops or conferences you participate in, things that show that your ability to learn and desire to keep your skills up

I have made changes to the resume. What do you think, now?