Last week confirmed what I did not want to admit when it comes to resume development. I taught a resume development workshop and a resume lab. Unlike a resume workshop, a resume lab is geared towards helping customers develop their resume with staff assistance. I sat for about an hour with a screen and computer and illustrated my approach to two types of resumes (chronological and functional approaches), from top to bottom. At the end of the lecture/demonstration, I had blank faces. I realized that, with one exception, the workshop attendees had no clue of how to remotely do what I had accomplished on screen. The truth of the matter is, like any skill you want to master, resume development takes more than practice. It takes a lot of time thinking about what you have done and properly conveying those thoughts to paper. There are tons of bad resumes out there, and sometimes bad resumes get noticed, but this is rare. Don’t reduce your stock value in an employment market that is growing more crowed every day. Your initial presentation has to be on point. Invest the energy in making it the best it can be:
1. Make sure you at least attend a resume workshop, even if you think your resume is the best ever.
2. Get someone to coach you through making your resume a winner. Remember, everyone has an opinion on how you can improve your resume. You may value your neighbors’ input, but he or she may not be the best person to provide resume guidance.
3. Once you have a final product, analyze how well it’s working for you. For example, if you were to send your resume out to 10 employers, for positions you are well qualified for, keep track of the response rate.
4. Continue to refine your resume as your job search evolves.
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