Resumes & Cover Letters
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Senior Investment Analyst Resume
This accomplished, high level investment analyst had a resume that was not a match for her level of success. It lacked any summary section, was poorly formatted, and was weak on quantifiable achievements. It also included more job history than was necessary. We created a professional format that speaks to the analyst’s excellence, begins with a strong title and summary of who she is, and has plenty of white space so is pleasing to the eye. Since this client was seeking to apply to public policy graduate school, we emphasized her accomplishments that would be most applicable to public policy work.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
This "Before" resume looks good at first glance and for the most part it was a good resume already. There were a few things however that needed improvement. First, the client's summary read more like a list of competencies than like a summary statement. Conversely, her "Key Strengths" were more soft skills that belonged in the summary – and at 14 there were way too many of them! We created a new summary statement that incorporated these strengths, and listed a more manageable 8 bulleted core competencies that reflect her hard skills. Additionally, we did some reformatting to make sure all the text was large enough to be legible. We also gave more color to her most recent position, adding achievements and detail, and made sure her past positions had bullets that began with past tense verbs (you'll notice on the "before" resume that her verbs were not consistent).
This client landed a recruiting job with Northwestern Mutual just two months after finalizing her resume with The Essay Expert.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
Management Professional Resume
This management professional had a largely unformatted resume that lacked grace and punch. Although she started out with some strong bullets, there were too many of them and the text was so dense that the average recruiter or hiring manager would be unlikely to slog through them. There were 12 bullets for her most recent job alone! We reformatted the resume to look crisp and clean, with just a touch of graphic interest (a table with shading). We highlighted her core competencies for ease of scanning. We streamlined her position descriptions, highlighting the most important items, and condensed the resume from two pages to one so that all necessary information is accessible without having to turn the page.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
The first thing you may notice in the “Before” version of this resume is that most of the text is in italics. This font is challenging to the eye and the flow of the text is difficult to follow. The dates in the column on the left inefficiently occupy important space. The 11 bullets in the first experience section reduce readability. There are distracting links inserted into the resume body. Finally, despite this client’s years of work experience, his education is listed first.
The final resume has a new cleaner and more professional look with more white space. Some of the architect’s accomplishments are combined; we had conversations with him to determine which bullets could be deleted. All extraneous, duplicative and unnecessary text was carved away to produce a clean, sharp and beautiful resume – a visual match for this accomplished architect.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
Human Resources Professional Resume
When we began work on this resume, it was already 2 pages long and the client’s current position was not yet on it; the most recent position contained 10 bullet points – too many bullets to be effective. Another position contained 13! The resume lacked a Summary of Qualifications which would have assisted a recruiter in assessing her competencies and experience. In addition, the original resume contained excessive copy in boldface so that the client’s position titles did not stand out. The applicant also made the common error of starting each of her experience sections with the dates of employment instead of with the name of her company and her title.
We modeled the final resume on a sample provided to us by the client and worked closely with her to meet her needs. The final resume reduces the number of bullets by half yet retains the applicant’s important responsibilities and achievements, while also adding commonly used HR keywords. We combined related bullet points; took out one of the client’s shorter positions; and condensed her most distant position. The space created allowed for a strong summary at the top as well as the inclusion of her current position. We also created separate sections for Certifications and Education. Nothing was deleted or combined without first gaining the approval of the applicant. The result is a collaboratively created and powerful resume.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
Product Developer Resume (Fashion Industry)
This resume began as a 2-page resume and the client requested that we reduce it to one page; we created a one-page version without any loss of essential content. The format of the original was very busy, with italics and various fonts that distracted the eye; we cleaned up the fonts to be consistent and less busy. In addition, the original resume contained some repetitive and superfluous information that did not directly support the client’s current career objectives. We focused her direction and streamlined the information in her resume so that she comes across as clear, concise and professional.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
The format in this resume was inconsistent and its language needed streamlining. The final version is easier to read and is internally consistent with fonts and language. Phrases like "responsible for" are replaced by strong verbs. Bluebooking standards are employed for legal case cites. In order to keep the resume to one page, we decided to forego a Qualifications section in favor of providing details of Mr. Howell's experience. In this case, his experience speaks volumes. Mr. Howell obtained a sought-after position as an Associate at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC, a 100-attorney Dallas bankruptcy law firm where he still practices.
http://www.munsch.com/biographies/jonathan-howell
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After - pdf
Solar Installation Professional
This solar installation professional had a resume that lacked essential information about his skills and accomplishments. The original resume also ran onto 2 pages unnecessarily. The Essay Expert had a lengthy conversation with the client to attain a detailed history of his successful projects. We then created a one-page resume that highlights what he is capable of accomplishing, keyed to the job for which he was currently applying.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
This resume had a look indicative of someone new to the job market, despite the candidate’s years of significant teaching experience. We highlighted the candidate’s achievements and formatted the text to be streamlined, consistent and professional. We also ordered the job history chronologically and focused on what the candidate did rather on what her students had done. With the new format, the candidate had space to include important information about her work and educational history that did not fit in the original resume.
Before - pdf
After - pdf
