Spring Resume Makeover - Portray experiences in the proper light
View Before Resume
View After Resume
Client Background
Steven’s goal was to secure a new and challenging Creative Director position. His original résumé, which featured a one-page, two-column design, was lacking in content and I feared would not hold the interest of a hiring manager seeking an executive-level candidate. I explained to Steven that while I liked the look of his original résumé, it seemed to position him more as a designer or entry-level candidate, and was not portraying his achievements, experiences, and skills in an executive light.
Résumé Strategies
Steven’s résumé was completely rebuilt primarily utilizing our consultation as a means to gather the information I needed to differentiate his candidacy. His original résumé focused on daily responsibilities instead of achievements, so it was my goal to spend our consultation reviewing where he had gone above and beyond. During the consultation, I realized that Steven’s original résumé was truly under representing him as a candidate and promoting form over function. It was therefore imperative that his new résumé accurately present and explore the contributions he had made during his career, particularly in his current Creative Director role.
Missing from his original résumé was a qualifications summary presenting an overview of his candidacy. This section is imperative on any résumé, but particularly important on an executive-level résumé where the hiring manager really does need to understand the candidate’s core offerings as related to the position of interest. In the summary I not only presented highlights of his career, but also noted some of the campaign honors and awards he had received.
In the professional experience section, responsibilities were explored fully and achievements were differentiated through a clear distinction in formatting. At a glance, I wanted a hiring manager to know exactly what to read on Steven’s résumé, and the use of selective formatting serves to pull the eye to this section of his résumé. What appeared as a paragraph on his old résumé was now expanded to reveal his full contribution as an employee, taking up almost two-thirds of a page to accurately present his most recent experience. Earlier experiences were also explored more fully, being sure to present key achievements to demonstrate a consistent track record of success.
Lastly, I presented Steven’s academic background, training, technical skills, and professional affiliations. In Steven’s original résumé, his education was given much more prominence, appearing at the top of the second column. In his new résumé, his experience was focused on much more heavily while using his academic qualifications to support his candidacy, a much more appropriate strategy for this executive-level client.
Client Comments
On the day Steven received news that he had secured a new position he was kind enough to write, “I just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for helping me SECURE my Dream Job...YES, I was offered the position today. I do not believe I could have landed this ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ without your help. From the resume to the interview coaching, everything was just perfect. The position is even more than what I was hoping for…thank you again.” Today, Steven enjoys his new position as Senior Creative Director with a full-service PR, public affairs, and marketing communications firm.
To send your question to Dear Sam for possible publication, please email her at dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
If you would like Dear Sam's résumé writing firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or toll-free 1-888-9-LADYBUG.
View After Resume
Client Background
Steven’s goal was to secure a new and challenging Creative Director position. His original résumé, which featured a one-page, two-column design, was lacking in content and I feared would not hold the interest of a hiring manager seeking an executive-level candidate. I explained to Steven that while I liked the look of his original résumé, it seemed to position him more as a designer or entry-level candidate, and was not portraying his achievements, experiences, and skills in an executive light.
Résumé Strategies
Steven’s résumé was completely rebuilt primarily utilizing our consultation as a means to gather the information I needed to differentiate his candidacy. His original résumé focused on daily responsibilities instead of achievements, so it was my goal to spend our consultation reviewing where he had gone above and beyond. During the consultation, I realized that Steven’s original résumé was truly under representing him as a candidate and promoting form over function. It was therefore imperative that his new résumé accurately present and explore the contributions he had made during his career, particularly in his current Creative Director role.
Missing from his original résumé was a qualifications summary presenting an overview of his candidacy. This section is imperative on any résumé, but particularly important on an executive-level résumé where the hiring manager really does need to understand the candidate’s core offerings as related to the position of interest. In the summary I not only presented highlights of his career, but also noted some of the campaign honors and awards he had received.
In the professional experience section, responsibilities were explored fully and achievements were differentiated through a clear distinction in formatting. At a glance, I wanted a hiring manager to know exactly what to read on Steven’s résumé, and the use of selective formatting serves to pull the eye to this section of his résumé. What appeared as a paragraph on his old résumé was now expanded to reveal his full contribution as an employee, taking up almost two-thirds of a page to accurately present his most recent experience. Earlier experiences were also explored more fully, being sure to present key achievements to demonstrate a consistent track record of success.
Lastly, I presented Steven’s academic background, training, technical skills, and professional affiliations. In Steven’s original résumé, his education was given much more prominence, appearing at the top of the second column. In his new résumé, his experience was focused on much more heavily while using his academic qualifications to support his candidacy, a much more appropriate strategy for this executive-level client.
Client Comments
On the day Steven received news that he had secured a new position he was kind enough to write, “I just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for helping me SECURE my Dream Job...YES, I was offered the position today. I do not believe I could have landed this ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ without your help. From the resume to the interview coaching, everything was just perfect. The position is even more than what I was hoping for…thank you again.” Today, Steven enjoys his new position as Senior Creative Director with a full-service PR, public affairs, and marketing communications firm.
To send your question to Dear Sam for possible publication, please email her at dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
If you would like Dear Sam's résumé writing firm to write your résumé, please visit www.ladybug-design.com or call 614-570-3442 or toll-free 1-888-9-LADYBUG.
posted by Dear Sam at Sunday, April 08, 2007
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