Made my resume "idiot proof" and greatly increased results.

[Tober138]

Originally Posted by KMG1

Have you gotten any good responses using that method?

I applied to about 6 positions last summer (May-June 2009) and was hired before the end of June.

[Calilady]

Thank you, a little hope always brightens the day. I'm on it ! Will bookmark and report! peace.

[OngletNYC]

Originally Posted by TheJagMan

I had a resume, I tried using the objective and an executive summary which is basically is like a mission statement. I would always tailor it to the job description and had spotty results.

I had applied to a specialty military position (ART), it's sort of dual role of both military and a federal worker. Someone recommended on the resume I replace objective/executive summary with QUALIFICATIONS at the top, almost copy and paste the qualifications and put it bullet formats.

If the job description says...
Must have a minimum of 4 four years experience processing widgets
Must have a bachelors degree
Must be proficient in MS Office

I put at the top under a heading of qualifications...
Have six years experience of processing widgets
Awarded B.S. from XXX in 2004 with a GPA of 3.8
Proficient in MS Office

I kid you not, I had it that basic. I resent the QUALIFICATION resume to several companies I already applied for and had a 90% success rate of getting a positive response. Amazing how lazy H.R./recruiters are that it seems writing skills no longer matter. I just wanted to share.

This has been my experience as well, particularly when you know your resume is going to be screened by an HR drone. Spell it out for them right at the top, don't make them read and intellectually process your resume in order to see you are qualified. Most of the time, the HR person doesn't really understand the specifics behind a job they have posted.

One different though, I don't use a "career objective" because I don't think employers care about my goals for my career. Instead I put what I call a "Candidate Overview" at the top. It is a one sentence description of who I am and what I do (and of course I tweak it according to the job posting).

[tasmtairy]

I like that...Candidate Overview! I just refurbished my resume as I am currently employed but with no active work, no clients. I have 30 years of jobs but only 2 fields so can I compact jobs into each field instead of listing every job, difficult for 1 page resume? Then I can add the Candidate Overview to the job whether it is Healthcare or Manufacturing. I know, 2 polar opposites but hey!