Resumes & CVs - Are you embarrassed with yours?

Have you looked at your past "career" and found it's more like crazy paving than a smooth path?

I know for a fact that many people can only say they have a career when they look back and say, "Ah! I can see where I was going!"

I bet you at the time they didn't!

Or maybe you don't know where to start - you need good clean unbiased advice.....

My Career

I looked at my "résumé" :
- first I took a degree in Theoretical Physics
- but I wanted to "do something practical", so I joined an engineering company, making engineering products
- then the opportunity came to go abroad, planning telecoms networks
- when that finished, the only work within the company I could go for were to parts of the world I didn't regard as safe, so I left for a defense company
- after a few years, I was frustrated with the bureaucracy, so I took management qualifications
- I joined a company as Commercial Manager. Again after a few years in a static market, I felt a longing to be part of something growing
- so I joined a telecoms company as a Planning Manager, just as it was doubling in size each year
- and so on.

Not particularly consistent - or is it??

Actually, there was a consistent thread, which I could see clearly on looking back, and armed with what I had learnt from using Career Tests tools. (If you haven't, check out the ways you can do that at my Career Tests page)

I enjoyed organizing things, and getting people to willingly work towards objectives. I enjoyed being involved from beginning to end of a process or project, whether it was bringing in the sale to getting the product out to the customer, or seeing a project through to completion. So I could put down a consistent story in my résumé.

What about You?

So what if you now know what your next step is? You've had a long think about what you really like to do, and worked out what you're good at (see the Career Tests ).

Now you want to take action. You need to market yourself - but first you need a marketing brochure.

Your résumé is your key marketing document. The product is you, so it is at once easy and difficult.

Easy because you know yourself,

Difficult because the information is colored by your emotions and, dare I say, familiarity.

Any potential employer wants to know why he should employ you. This document is your way of telling him why, and providing answers to obvious questions.

What's Involved?

Now we come to the point where you decide what to put in your résumé, your "sales brochure".

In the US, your career history is normally referred to as your résumé. It tends to be a one, sometimes two, page summary of your achievements, selling your abilities. Some historical information may also be there.

The UK is somewhat different, though there is a drift towards the American style.

"CV" stands for Curriculum Vitae, the Latin for "Life's Course". This tends to be a chronological account of career achievements of two pages. Two formats regularly appear - a straight chronological history of achievements with each employer, and one where the first page is very like the American résumé, with the second an abbreviated work history with dates, company and positions held, plus personal information.

Actually, CVs are used in the US, but almost exclusively for academic jobs.

It's a Jungle Out There!

a) There are as many formats and styles as there are advisers, and frequently a résumé deemed ideal by one adviser is rubbished by another.

b) There is a mass of advice out there on résumé and CV writing, in books, articles, writing services and so on. However, résumé books can miss the target, because the objective hasn't been clarified - your career and goals are personal, so your personal questions can't be answered. Writing services can be expensive, so how do you know whether it works for you?

How can you dig through the jungle to find out what's right for you?

I have spent many months and hundreds of dollars/pounds buying books and advice, trawling through them to find the best sources. Here's what my research came up with, in three different areas:

1. Books & ebooks

2. Résumé and CV Writers

3. Free Articles and tips

4. Résumé Databases

Read my comments against these - ones that I have chosen as the best of the bunch. Then choose what is best for you....

1. Books & eBooks on Résumés & CVs

a) The Résumé Handbook - by Arthur Rosenburg & Dave Hizer
This excellent book explains WHY write a résumé, including why you should create one even if you are not looking for a job. It is full of practical advice, no hype. It covers step by step the detail on how to put your résumé or CV together, and the different styles. Examples of successful résumés that have given their authors the jobs they wanted are illustrated, as are some hilarious disasters.

It also addresses the covering letters, which are so important in ensuring that your résumé even gets seen at all.
To find out more, click on résumés.
For UK, click here.

b) Creating A Successful CV - by Simon Howard
This book is aimed at the UK market. It overcomes that common problem in the UK - most books are simply UK editions of American books - which is pretty useless as the conventions of putting a one page "résumé" together are irrelevant in the UK employment market. It also has received positive reviews from recruitment consultants and personnel managers alike - the two most important audiences the job seeker needs to convince.
To find out more, click here .

c) Résumé Magic - by Susan Britton Whitcomb
This book has been written from an "insider" point of view, and has some great insights as to how the "Professional" résumé writers compose the résumés for their clients. It also provides valuable information from a hiring managers perspective on what they do and don't like to see on résumés. This information was compiled by a very well conceived survey conducted among some of America's top companies.
To find out more, click here.
For UK, click here.

ELECTRONIC BOOKS

a) The Résumé Makeover - by Jeffrey G Allen This electronic book takes advantage of the medium by not only giving an excellent coverage and step by step advice, but links to list of the most popular Internet résumé posting services. It also gives a valuable free critique of your résumé.
To find out more, click here.
For UK, click here.

b) Your Career Strategy - by Paul Hogwood This ebook takes a holistic view of finding your ideal job, and covers with clear examples how to construct your résumé or CV. It links to tools and free advice As it is so important not to treat your résumé in isolation, I recommend you treat this book as the basis for your overall career strategy.
To find out more, click here.

c) 60 Proven Résumés
A compilation of 60 different successful résumés, so you can see the variety of different jobs applied for. Candidates have seen salary rises of 50%, and testimonials make clear how useful these examples can be.
Click here for more info.

2. Résumé & CV Writers

They are not cheap, with $100 - $300 being a typical package. However, what I did not want to do is recommend you go for a $30 service with a Mickey Mouse product - you would be better off spending that on my recommended books and doing it yourself.

a) Résumé Edge. Not only does RésuméEdge measure their success, but they divide the market into those who are just starting out, professional and Executive, so that they can allocate the most experienced certified résumé writers to you. Samples of before and after real résumés should give you confidence that this is a professional outfit. If you have properly listed your career and your aspirations (see Career Tests), then committing at this juncture should be a positive step to gain a new position. To find out more, click here.

b) Proven Résumés This outfit has an excellent set of examples framed as workshops, where they take you through actual cases where people have come to them for help, and illustrating the steps taken right to successful new job offers. The website has a wealth of links, with free tutorials on job searching, and for those who sign up for the service, a free series of electronic booklets "Proven Résumés Strategies" - a good backup to make sure you use your new résumé to the best effect. To find out more, click here.

c) CV Services by Steve Holmes A UK site, with useful, sensible content on the construction of your CV. All the contributors to this site, and the CV writers, are mature people who understand both the marketplace, and the state of mind that you may be in when you are looking for your ideal CV. I especially like his examples of: A bad CV, a half baked CV and a good CV. The articles are especially useful for those in mid career, and the assistance is pragmatic and personal. A definite recommendation for those looking for a position in the UK. Click here for more info.

d) Cutting Edge Resumes Unique resume writing service helping people find meaningful careers in line with their values and beliefs. High impact, professional resumes carefully targeted to your career field. Expert, internationally published writer. Complete career packages from $99. Click here for more info.

e) Transform Your Career's own Resume Service! The above services are highly professional, but you may find them a bit expensive. While I do not pretend to research every industry and have experts available in each of them, as does Résumé Edge above, I do have extensive experience it helping many people fashion professional Resumes and CVs. To find out more, click here.

3. Free Tools for Résumés & CVs

The RésuméTutor! tool will teach you a lot about how to write a résumé, with a "Frequently Asked Questions" section to guide you - well worth a visit - click here.

4. Résumé Databases

a) www.freeresumesites.com Access hundreds of FREE resume databases on the web with databases full of free resumes with contact information. Post your job openings for free at over 90 sites.

b) Resume Directory - AllOfResume.com
This Resume Directory designed to help its users find the resume information, source, companies, products and services... It's your one-stop destination for anything you can think about resume. To find out more, click here .