The fact of the matter is that the best online resumes follow a formula. This writing formula gives the resume poster (read: you) a competitive advantage in the job market.
Fortunately, weaving these formulas into your own resume is easier than it might seem. You don’t have to go as far as hiring a professional writer or buying resume builder software.
Instead, you can leverage online resume samples and their inherent benefits. By using online resume samples as a guideline, you’ll have what you need to build a professionally written resume without the time and hassle of becoming a pro resume writer yourself.
But the benefits don’t end there. Here are a few other compelling reasons to use samples in your own resume writing efforts.
- Commonly used structure and layout is built in
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for those putting together an online resume is getting the layout and structure right. A lack of “white space”, confusing allocation of facts, or a less than ideal online resume length can all sink your chances of getting an interview quickly.
These considerations become a non issue when you’re using an online resume sample as a guideline when crafting your own resume.
- Easily accessible
By using any of the major search engines (MSC, Yahoo, Google), you can easily find online resume samples free of charge. Simply run a search for the term “free online resume samples” and you’ll be bombarded with potential websites. By last count (as of October 2009), there are over 12 million results on Google alone.
- Gets rid of writers block
Many professional writers will tell you that the first sentence is the most difficult. Most job hunters find this true when it comes to writing an online resume as well.
When you have a sample to work with, knowing where to begin gets much easier. In addition, seeing the words that professional writers use is a great source of inspiration and direction.
- Gives your resume focus
It’s hard to know what to include in your online resume, and what to omit. Most online resume samples are focused solely on what is important and by using the same approach your resume will be more provocative for employers.
- Makes life easier for hiring managers
Sifting through a job bank full of online resumes is one of the most boring things one can be tasked with. For this reason hiring managers tend to look for ways to rip through resumes as quickly as possible. This means using familiar layouts to speed up the resume reviewing process. One could assume that unfamiliar layouts get ignored without stretching the imagination.
By using an online resume sample you are effectively improving your chances of getting your resume read, since most of them use the most common resume layouts.
For these reasons and more I strongly feel that every job hunter should use online resume samples. It’s the only way to write a killer resume while also making the most of your time.
So, before you fire up Word and start banging on the keyboard, make sure to look up some samples first to make sure your resume is as strong as it can possibly be.
Tags: online resume, resume