Sure, sure. You see us carp and complain about how horrible want ads are. Constantly describing the role instead of the problem that needs to be solved.
Well, you know, in all fairness, want ads are only part of the problem.
I mean, want ads suck. But, let’s face it. By and large, resumes suck, too.
And when it comes to resumes, you’re as guilty as the next person.
You see, running out and printing your resume on heavy, heather-gray stock at the local FedEx Kinko’s isn’t really helping the problem.
So here’s our latest news flash. Resumes? They’re actually meant to communicate something: information on the skills you possess.
Shocking, I know.
What’s more? They’re meant to communicate how those skills you possess have helped the people for whom you have worked.
Oh my! Is there no end to the secrets we’re revealing?
Yes, yes. You’re one smart cookie. And none of these insights comes as a shock to you.
So why haven’t you fixed your resume format?
I mean, seriously. You’re so much better than that.
Now, I have a little resume format that Toby and I have held close to the vest for about five years now.
And we keep getting really good feedback about it. But we’ve only shared it with a few folks. And, honestly, we’re not really looking for jobs now, so it seems to be a bit of waste to hide it. And common sense tells us it’s better to share an idea than conceal an idea. And… well there are a thousand reasons.
So here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to go all open source with our resume format.
That’s right.
We’re going to quit complaining and we’re actually going to do something.
So, here’s a resume format that we–and the folks with whom we have shared it–have used to get quite a few jobs over the years.
And now, we’re sharing it with you.
Now, it’s pre-populated with my information so you can see how it works. But, I’m not really looking to have you hire me, so don’t get all friendly.
Consider this resume format deemed “share and share alike” under Creative Commons license.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Your new resume format
Think you can come up with something better? We’d love to see it (and promote it).
Feel free to comment.
