Resume Resources

A number of my friends have recently been working on creating or revising their resumes. I don't know what makes me the de facto resume reader, but let me tell you, if I were to charge for resume reading services, I would have a few more bucks in my wallet.

Anyway, I thought I would put together a list of what I believe to be some pretty good resources for the resume writer.

Emurse is a great site dedicated to helping people create, share, and store resumes online. Even if you don't use their service, you have to check out their Complete List of English Power Words and their article on writing entry level resumes.

In addition to great words to use on resumes their are also some that could hinder your job search, check out this article on the 25 Words that Hurt Your Resume. Also you might want to look into a few of the other mistakes that can cause your resume to scream, "Don't hire me."

For a complete guide to resume writing, explore the guide put together by the Rockport Institute entitled, How To Write a Masterpiece of a Resume.

Once you have a draft of your new resume put together, you might want to check out this blog entry on how a hiring manager will likely look at and think about your resume. It offers some great insights and some helpful suggestions.

Getting all your content up to snuff is step one, getting your resume looking good is step two, check out this site for tips on how to give your resume a face lift.

Another resource that I have found to be incredibly helpful is my university's career center. Even if you have been out of school for a while it is probably worth checking out what kind of services your alma mater may offer their alumni.

Once you have gotten your resume all dolled up, it would be terrible if the individual you are emailing it to does not use the same word processor as you. Or, perhaps she does not have all the same fonts on their computer causing your resume to display differently on their screen. Once you have completed your resume, consider converting it to pdf for distribution. You can do this on the web using a service like this one. Or, if that doesn't work check out PrimoPDF which I wrote about here.

My resume could probably benefit from the advice found in the links above, but if you need an example to get you started, click on the picture below for a full size version of my own CV.Please feel free to leave comments below if you have some additional resume resources that others might find useful.