As I mentioned a couple of days ago on Introducing Resume Makeovers, we will be selecting a resume to critique on our site. This featured service is intended to show our readers how to write a resume. From the amount of resumes John and I have received in the past month, we thought it would be a great time to post one of the resumes we helped Makeover today. For each resume makeover we do, we will describe the type of resume it is, the field in which the person submitting is in or wants to be in, and walk you through the steps of what we did to makeover the resume.
Our first resume makeover on Career Ramblings comes from Stephen, also known as HMTKSteve or Steve. Steve sent us his resume since he wanted to find new opportunities in the programming field. With technology and the internet bringing the world to your finger tips, this is a great field to be in or want to be in. More and more companies are looking to advertise, grow and expand through a wider net to reach more people. A programmer can have many options in today’s world. Steve currently serves as webmaster to many sites, but the one I frequent the most is HMTK dot com.
Steve’s resume at first glance needed some formatting help. His name was hidden with other contact information and he was not highlighting his experience as well as he could have. As you will see, there were inconsistencies. But with a little help from Career Ramblings we have sharpened up his resume making it new and improved.
For Steve, a combination of a chronological and a functional resume was used. Since his experience as webmaster was what we wanted to focus on, we used those experiences first and moved his employment experiences under that. Let me show you what I mean.
This is Steve’s resume before the Resume Makeover:
Steve’s Resume (click to view pdf)
Now that you’ve seen what he submitted to Career Ramblings, let me show you what we did to it:
Steve’s Resume Makeover (click to view pdf)
I reformatted his resume so that the focus is on his name, headings and experience. I set the page up so that the use of space would be more efficient with maximizing the margins. As you read the bullets, you will notice the different terminology used. I wanted to include stronger words to emphasize the strength in Steve’s abilities and experiences. One thing I was very careful of is matching what he has done to what is on the resume. The last thing you ever want to do is lie on your resume. That will only hurt you in the long run.
Once your resume has the excellent new look that all employers will want, you can post it on Beyond.com for free or have Resume Zapper distribute it to thousands of recruiters for you.
If any of you are looking for an experienced webmaster to hire, I would seriously consider Steve as a potential candidate for the position. Not just because of his resume and allowing us to showcase it here, but because of first hand experience that I have had interacting and viewing his site.
This concludes our first edition of our Resume Makeover series. We currently have 2 resumes on deck to be featured. If you are interested in a resume makeover, or would like to sponsor this series, be sure to contact us.
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View Comments
As someone who’s been looking through a lot of resumes lately, I would like say that the makeover looks a LOT better than the original! The only issues I would like to point out is that I would prefer to see an educational background and also some sort of “Other Skills” section that I could look at to differentiate Steve’s resume from every other programmer that’s applying for the job. I look for good team players and even though I can’t determine if they are from looking at a resume, I can get a better feel if I see something “different” about them.
Gary,
You add some very good points. But what if there is no additional education other than what the person has learned through experience? Normally, I would include education first followed by work experience, involvement (professionally, leadership positions, etc.) then skills. Steve’s resume does include a “Skills” section in the PDF once you click on the sample.
The ability to gauge and measure a person to be an important part of the organization is critical. A resume is just one component, but a very important component.
In terms of format, my resume looks a lot like the made-over one, so I guess that’s a good thing. That said, I haven’t given my resume to anyone in about the past two years.
I’m sure your resume is pretty good being a free lance writer and all
I see . . i thought you omitted the skills and education to concentrate on experience. Overall, great makeover!
I wonder if you could have a look at my resume as well Gary?
Wow…like seriously, Jane. That looks almost like mine. Either way, big difference. Kudos to the makeover!
Like.
Yes the difference is huge!
Thanks guys! Nothing but high quality on this site hehe
Jane did a great job on the resume for me.
I have not written a resume in over ten years. Even when I id write my last one I had no idea what I was doing!
Like many in the tech field who are over 30 the majority of my “tech” education came from hands-on experience. The branching of IT degrees is a relatively new thing.
I started building computers in 1990, back when DOS was the only game in town. I simply never stopped.
I am still looking for a job but the phone number on the resume posted here is incorrect. The email is correct and if anyone is looking for a programmer you can contact me via that email address.
Thanks again Jane!
I WANT ONE AS WELL!!
No problem Steve! It was fun learning a little more about you and helping you out as we did. Hopefully the real help will come when you land that job you’re looking for
Keep me posted!
The makeover was very good overall.
What about the “ojective” paragraph?
In my opinion this an important paragraph, where the applicant will be able to emphasize subjects such as “communication” and “interpersonal skills”, whose are crucial in applying for any field in this competitive job market.
Personally, depending on the field a person is in, I dislike the objective. A resume should avoid block text for most jobs. I understand that some positions require more of a CV style resume, but for the most part, if you’re objective doesn’t set you apart from everyone else’s objective, then you’re better off with it out.
Looks like you have a fan Gary!!
Jane, I think it is a really good idea helping fellow bloggers with resume makeover
Jane,
Thank you for this valuable insight. It couldn’t come at a better time for me.
– Scot
I noticed that none of the accomplishments were quantified. Omission of an education section in the resume could be fatal especially if it shows an individual’s ability to do a job. The size of the font is too small. In my practice as a resume writer and job coach, I would never use a font that small 11 points is my lower limit. I hope this is just a first draft.