LitPick Review
In Writing Standout Resumes by Neil O’Donnell, the author provides his readers with an abundance of information on the do’s and don’ts of what to include in your professional resume. He mentions that in order to have your resume stick out from all the other applicants, you should present your education and experience in a professional format. Although it sounds common sense to us, it is remarkably surprising that applicants don’t use the right format and supply the proper fitting information so they unfortunately cause their resume to be disqualified by job recruiters or Human Resources departments. By following along with the author’s sound advice, anyone can change a good resume into an astounding one and will increase the likelihood that they may very well be offered a job they are interested in.
Opinion:
There were a few pointers that really stuck out to me while reading Mr. O’Donnell’s book. His first piece of advice is that you really should have some sort of professional resume writer look over your resume to help refine it and make it more marketable to the companies you are applying to. He suggests that if you can’t hire a professional resume writer because of their costly fees, the next best thing you can do is to find an alternative that can fit your budget such as contacting your college’s career center in which an alumni can provide free, if not low-cost, counseling and resume writing assistance. What a valuable piece of advice! I never thought about doing this in the past while I was attending college, and I’m sure others may not even think of the invaluable resources they have right within their college or university settings.
Another thing I would like to bring to the reader’s attention is that a vast number of potential employers are using a system called the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). I learned that these systems filter out resumes using computer algorithms to discard all but the most qualified candidates. If a company does use ATS, it would behoove you to include specific information that the system would notice and bring to the forefront of the employer’s attention. In doing so, you are increasing your odds of having your resume noticed and read by Human Resources, which in turn can significantly increase your odds of being hired.
Although it sounds insignificant, things such as using the right fonts, the right placement of dates of your degrees and job experience, and even including keywords used throughout your resume can significantly increase your hiring odds over others that don’t consider these invaluable pointers. Every little proper inclusion can mean the very difference of being hired or not from the company you are applying to. The author even suggests doing a test run of your resume on specific websites that offer you an analysis of your resume and then they provide feedback on what changes should be made to increase your hiring odds with a company.
Overall, I found Writing Standout Resumes”to be filled with invaluable information any resume writer should take into consideration when applying to a potential company in which you hope to land the desired position you are applying for. This is a book I feel should be added to your library and referred to every time you update your resume. I highly recommend this reference book!
