Last week I was contacted by a CFO who sent me two resumes to review along with a request to talk by phone. I would normally just do an email review on one of his resumes, but since he was referred to me I deviated from my typical response.
Turns out I was about the 10th in a long line of resume reviewers that he contacted. I guess he didn’t like any of the other feedback and was more interested in finding someone who would agree with what he did, or he just wanted free advice.
What he did, he told me, is pull an “award-winning resume” from another resume writer’s site and insert his name and employer names. Whoaaaaaaaaa! Resumes are about strategy, not taking a template you like and plugging in words.
Every candidate has his own unique personal brand, value proposition, strengths, values, and goals. Someone else’s resume will not foster powerful positioning from “his” (or her) uniqueness but rather, will more likely result in positioning as a commodity.
It’s what is different, unique, and valuable about you – what you distinctly bring that a company is willing to pay to get – that creates powerful positioning … not those things that are “like” or “very similar to” every other candidate.
I could not agree with you more Cindy. Your resume must scream, “Here’s what’s in it for you!” Every word must count and be relevant to the person you’re sending it to.
Thanks David! With the high value of resume real estate today, every word is critical!
Absolutely!What a missed opportunity. It’s bad enough when candidates do this. I get real prickly when professional resume writers work from a template. It’s like the stylist who gives all of her clients the exact same haircut.