Sample
Resume / CV
View
our resume and cv examples and
see for yourself how a
Professional Resume
Writer
can compile a
powerful resume / cv that
will get you to the
interview.
Four sample resumes / cv's have been provided. Two “before” and “after”.
Both were written by professional Resume
Consultants / Writers. You
can judge for yourself the differences in the before and
after formats.
The accompanying dialogue shows how
each resume was prepared for the individual's specific circumstances. Please
read the resumes in context.
Firstly let us clarify the
difference between a resume and a curriculum vitae (cv).
What is a CV?
CV is short
for Curriculum Vitae.
Briefly, the name
curriculum vitae (cv) is of course Latin and was
used solely in the 1960s -1970s in the UK, primarily by students, tertiary
qualified jobseekers, academics, Doctors and Scientists for example. It was a very detailed document of all study areas,
qualifications, job related activities, dissertations and publications. I rarely saw a cv from
any "non tertiary qualified" jobseeker, so I can't comment on when it became
a necessary employment document. I am sure someone will enlighten me.
It is not important.
What is a Resume?
Americans, on the other hand, called their work history document
a résume. A French word meaning
a
short description or a summary. It was extremely brief sometimes
only one or two pages. Resume examples will show they are still fairly
brief. In Australia neither document was used by the majority of jobseekers
in WA at least until at least the late 70's or early 1980's. (personal
observation only after arriving from UK, hardly anyone knew what it was and
I
later conducted training in writing resumes when they were still very new).
Today all occupations, at all levels, require a resume. In the first 6 years
of this company's history, (2001-2006) we quite often received calls from
people bewildered because they told they needed a resume for the first time
in their working lives.
Are they still different
documents?
No not really, although same may
argue they are. In Australia we adopted the word "resume," but not the style. However,
today the name is meaningless, and both are used concurrently for the same
document. But the word "curriculum vitae" is still preferred by
job search firms /staff with British connections. Both are the same
document (in essence). In Australia we prefer a longer version of the
two page resume, but as brief or as long as the work history demands,
(albeit in a technological
age, for a shorter period of time than in the past) as
long as it is concise and meaningful. This of course is a moot point.
For simplicity
purposes
only "resume" will be used on this
page.
Compare our "before" and “after” resumes
Resume
four has been written from scratch for a new migrant
for the Australian marketplace and is outcome based.
All company names and personal details have been changed
to protect clients who have given us permission to use their
resumes as examples on this site.
A script about the clients particular situation has been
provided to allow you to judge how problems can be overcome.
A brief assessment is made of the “before” samples.
You are unique, and what works for someone else may not work
for you. Your resume is completely personalised,
based on the probing questionnaire developed by Pro-Active
human Resource Management. We may followed up by
a personal phone consultation. We choose the most appropriate style and layout that
suits your occupation, industry, personal work experience
and employment goals.
There are different formats for each individual's needs. These are the
only resumes / cv's we have had permission to print. Some of the later
resumes we have written have been for high level professionals and are
extremely powerful. They are understandably reluctant to place them on our
site as sample resumes. Other resumes will be placed on the site from time to time with
alterations.
Over time, employers have come around to outcome based resumes and this is
the preferred style used by Pro-Active Human Resource Management.
Resume Example 1 |
Resume Example 2 |
Resume Example 3 |
Resume Example 4 |
Resume Example 1
This first “before” sample is six pages
long and was compiled for a client with vast experience
in various high level managerial and accounting roles,
which encompassed other disciples such as Human Resource
Management . She did not complete any formal qualifications.
Before writing her resume, we discussed strengths and
career goals. Compare the before and after versions.
Note: Susanne did not want to quantify achievements
in monetary savings or put a dollar value of her portfolio
for confidentiality reasons. She was also a bit
reluctant to have a real power resume.
Brief Resume Critique of Susanne Black’s "Old Resume".
-
You cannot tell her current work skills from the “Professional
Experience”, or experience for any of the other
positions. Employers are only interested in recent
history.
-
No career planning undertaken to focus the resume
into a particular area of accounting/human resources
etc. Client is looking at accountancy positions or
project management for community based organisations,
which will utilise her full range of skills.
-
No measurable outcomes or achievements. Level of
experience and size of company not indicated, as a
result it does not reflect the high level of responsibility
the jobseeker has.
-
At accounting level no need to break down the tasks
that are necessary to perform as an accountant. This
is a list of duties. Handy for client to refer to
but that is all.
-
Information too confusing and many of the “duties”
or tasks performed may be too old to be relevant.
-
No need to go back so far in work history. Looks
as though there is no career goal and completely irrelevant
in today’s workforce due to technological advances.
-
Wasted front page – nothing to capture the
attention of the reader.
-
No indication of
referees connection to any positions Susanne
held? Were they former Supervisors and how would they
be able to giver a work reference to Susan? The employers
wants to know.
-
Format. Apart from problems with the general lay
out justified lines are hard to read.
-
Overall very comprehensive but unfortunately has no relevance
to high level job the client has performed and is
targeting.
New
resume
Note that there are no outcomes written on the front page,
- an outcome based resume is the style preferred by Pro-Active for
a client of this caliber. In this case, the actual
accountabilities from the last job will reflect a wide range of experience
and has impact. If Susanne moves
on again her resume will need to be changed.
More importantly, It
shows that these skills have been utilised recently,
so therefore it has relevance from an employer's
perspective. It also takes the employer's attention
away from lack of qualifications. Another reason an
achievements page was not written, was because
Susanne did not want to use any private information,
as mentioned - $ value outcomes. The first page
is a bit too long, However, the client thought
all the information was necessary for this format,
to show her wide range of skills and the volume of
work she was handling. This was really a job for two
people. So you can see how personalised the resumes
are.
Susan was reluctant to have a real power
resume. The following sentence could be made more
powerful.
Developed new procedure manual and
designed new job descriptions for each of the trust
accounting staff members that facilitated a successful
change management outcome.
Professional resume written by Pro-Active
Human Resource Management
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Resume
Example 2
Anne Hathaway’s resume has been written for a
community based organisation or “not for profit”
organisation.
You will notice
that the format is fairly conservative and outcomes
have been used instead of achievements. The resume is
strong and deviates from the more traditional competency
based resume but not too much. It still uses industry
terminology.
However government agencies are moving to
outcome based resume. i.e. Tax Department (Australia)
have requested outcome based resumes. So in the future
your resume may need to show
outcomes.
Community based organisations are under a lot of pressure
to produce outcomes and are employing PR and marketing
people outside community based field. They will need
to use a number three resume.
Professional resume written by Pro-Active Human
Resource Management
If the picture is not clear,
click on the far left of the document
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Resume
Example 3
This resume is for a sales and marketing person who
has only had one position. No need for a career summary
and no need to point out that there has been a career
progression within the company.
This format will vary depending on the position.
Key strengths are not necessary
Professional resume written by Pro-Active Human
Resource Management
Resume
Example 4
This resume is for a business analyst from
overseas. A personal face to face interview was
conducted. Her role and accountabilities are somewhat long due to the fact that
the jobseeker has two higher degrees and has used both
in her job and produced some high level outcomes. Since
she is a new migrant detail was necessary as the market
in Perth is more limited than the Eastern States.
She did not know the market and had to keep options open. At our
interview we talked about targeting and the application letter
became important. (see section on job applications) When her resume is updated
she can drop any irrelevant accountabilities.
Professional resume written by Pro-Active Human
Resource Management
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