Using a Sample Resume in 2012 – Pro’s and Con’s

There are advantages in using a "perfect" sample resume to write your own resume in 2012. First, you can get a good idea of what the final product should look like. Second, you may be able to use the same or a similar format. Third, you may be able to copy a few phrases and buzz words.

But don’t become too confident. No sample resume can provide you with all of the ANSWERS you'll need in writing your own resume. Nor will a sample help you to make important DECISIONS about what to include in yours, what to emphasize and what to leave out .

Readymade resume examples will also mislead you because you will never know what has been added or left out during the writing process.

The worst is that you may be copying blindly from someone else's resume without really understanding why the resume was done that way. That resume was once designed for another job seeker with a different work history and his/her own resume problems (or even blemishes). By using the answers given to someone else, you are using the "medicine" prescribed for someone else's resume. This is not smart at all and it will HURT you. It will also cost you a few job opportunities.

The sample resume you are looking at may look very elegant and be neatly done. But has it worked to get the writer job interviews? Some of the most elegant resumes do NOT generate a single interview! They are completely ineffective. Why? Because an elegant, Garamond resume template may not show you WHERE and HOW to add your own "sell" to the neat headings. That means you will be UNDERSELLING yourself which is a fatal mistake.

And that’s why many resume templates are less-than-useful and even outdated!

Most homemade resumes include 20 to 40 stupid black BULLETS. Why? Only to make the resume look "pretty". But those black dots or arrows or other dingbats will NOT impress anyone. There are too many of them. Instead, only 5 to 10 bullets or arrows should be used to draw attention to your most valuable skills and accomplishments. (Please read my # 1 ranked article on Smart and Strategic Bullets.)

Before you decide to copy a phrase written in fancy English, ask yourself whether that is the LANGUAGE used by the employer. The language of a schoolteacher or journalist or literary writer may not be suitable for a job resume.

This is why you need to be extra careful when copying or adapting a JOB OBJECTIVE. Many samples contain objectives that are all "me", "me" instead of addressing what the employer wants to read – what you are offering to do for him/her. Phrases such as "dedicated" and "highly motivated" are turnoffs! Even "results-oriented" is overused.

And don’t ever write that you're seeking a "challenging opportunity in a progressive company or firm". Only God can understand that, not ordinary employers.

In a sample resume, the DATES of employment will usually look "normal". So what must you do about your short-term positions or gaps in your employment history that make you look like an unstable "job hopper"? In a well-written sample, the dates of employment will be expressed only in YEARS. By doing that, the gaps between jobs are closed, your stay in each job will seem longer, and you can now safely omit – yes, leave out, a few of the positions you have held. After all, a resume means "SUMMARY". It is not a True Confessions sheet!

Finally, it is a painful fact that 90% of home-made resumes and resume templates will NOT work in this recession. Please get your resume written or strengthened or "fixed" by a good professional writer.

CALL MATTHEW GREENE FOR FREE ADVICE ON 1-718-436-3504

OR WRITE: mattgreene@aol.com

Copyright, 2006-2012 by Matthew Greene. All rights reserved.
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