Lessons Learned from a Job Fair Resume Consultant
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Earlier in November, I volunteered to organize the resume consulting services offered at a Job Fair held in the suburbs of Philadelphia. It was sometimes fun and consistently challenging to meet so many people. Within a six-hour period, I must have spoken with 40-50 curious candidates; each one presented a unique story and a somewhat fragile sense of themselves. I ended the day wondering if these brief encounters would have a lasting impact on the job search campaigns of the candidates. Let me share my driving-home thoughts with you:

  • If I could have collected $10 from every candidate whose resume included an amorphous "Objective," I would have more than $500!

  • Then add another $10 for repeated use of each of the following:

    • small fonts;
    • densely packed paragraphs of text;
    • descriptions of job duties rather than accomplishments; and,
    • repeated use of the dreaded phrase, "responsible for..."

  • Oh, the places I could go with the funds I could have collected!
A carefully branded and well-written resume serves as a powerful marketing tool that reflects on previous success stories. Properly designed, it navigates a path to where you want to be - in the future. The people I spoke with wanted to be doing something else, but their resumes kept them neatly tied-into their past. Some of Bob Dylan's lyrics played in my head, "no direction home...like a rolling stone..."

Please click here to review an article that appeared in the Jobs section of more than 10 Sunday newspapers; I posted it again to share some timeless tips to "avoid the round file." It is important to create and update an effective resume, but remember that resumes are not the only tool you'll need to launch an effective job search campaign and maintain your career health.

Yes, this is a great time to make a resolution to revise your resume to achieve your goals in the coming year. It is also a great time to implement a plan to achieve career acceleration and change. Remember that a plan takes time to unfold: your job search is a process that requires your investment.