good site for resume samples?

[Jimbilly]

I may have a new opportunity and I need to put together a resume. What's a good site for a sample to work off of?, I haven't written a resume in a long-long time. thanks!

[Armitage]

Other then not putting down "Fired for stealing" on your resume, I can't help you.

[specialk]

No sites I know of, but you could try your state employment office. The one here has a class on resumé writing. It's a lot different from 20 years ago.

[MCChris]

Are you on LinkedIn? Poke around on there; people usually just cut and paste the contents of their resumes in their profiles.

[Armitage]

Here you go, put an ad in the newspaper offering the kind of job you're looking for... and rip off the best resume you get!

[alantig]

Google "resume formats" as well. Some years ago, I found some really cool ones. The one I ended up using was "wrong" by all standards, but almost every interviewer commented on the format. Unfortunately, during an upgrade, it didn't convert well (also didn't convert easily to a plain text version when that was all the rage), so I've changed formats.

[Thundernotes]

A few years back, my state unemployment office lady said "make it all fit on one page and emphasize your skills for the job you're after." I sent out two of those resumes in the first week. Both got me interviews, and one got me a job. YMMV

[MCChris]

put an ad in the newspaper

Newspaper? What is this, 1973?

But yeah, whatever keywords are in the job description of the position you're going for, put the exact same ones in your resume. HR people are doing keyword searches almost exclusively these days, partly out of laziness but mostly to sift through the avalanche of resumes they get for each job posting. Nowadays any idiot can apply for any job and in mass quantities, whereas in the past you had to be dedicated with a professionally printed resume, cash spent on postage, etc., and therefore more discerning so you weren't wasting money on just any job or company.

[JohnnyB]

Both Word and Apple Pages have several resume templates. Each one has a specific "look," but they vary some in organization as well. Rodip is correct about searchable keywords. I consider this an unfortunate development, because keywords are like fads; they not only come into and fall out of favor, they vary from one organization to another to some extent. It's also symptomatic that a gorilla does the initial screening of resumes (often a clerk-level temp), who knows nothing about the skill set for a given position, so the temp is given a list of keywords to scan for.

In the wake of the dotcom bust and 9/11 (in Seattle) I spent most of 2003 unemployed and looking for work. Trying to optimize the cover letter and spin the resume for each opening--trying to psych out the best way to get past the gorilla screening--was exhausting and near futile. I say this not to discourage you, but to advise you to simply be yourself and follow your instincts, because many of your best efforts to accommodate might get shot down anyway. So following some other model may not be particularly helpful even if it was helpful for the one who used it.

Also, in spite of my difficult year in 2003, I have had a lot of success in creating resumes that result in interviews, not just for myself but for my wife and several friends and acquaintances. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to send me your resume for a free eval and some recommendations. Since I've had over 100 jobs in my lifetime I've had a bit of practice.

[MCChris]

Trying to optimize the cover letter and spin the resume for each opening--trying to psych out the best way to get past the gorilla screening--was exhausting and near futile. I say this not to discourage you, but to advise you to simply be yourself and follow your instincts, because many of your best efforts to accommodate might get shot down anyway. So following some other model may not be particularly helpful even if it was helpful for the one who used it.

I agree with this. You can overthink things for sure.

[burningyen]

In counterpoint, I will say that letters that convey that the applicant has no knowledge of what my firm does and/or no specific interest or motivation (essentially "please give me a job, any job, in any field") tend to get ignored around here.

[Jimbilly]

Thanks guys! I did an online application a few weeks ago (somewhat involved) sort of to just see what happens, which got me an interview next week. I put together a resume based mostly on the application I did, using a pair of templates I googled that fit my field. It's now been sent over to a friend of my wife's who's in HR who's going to go over it for me.

[blackfbiv]

Since I've had over 100 jobs in my lifetime I've had a bit of practice.

Holy... I think I've worked for 7 companies in total since I was 15! I'm 48 now.

I have never been hired from a resume. In fact, I have never created one.

I just lost my job. Perhaps I should get you to look at my resume... cause I have zero clue about them.