Now, let's see how resume examples can help you find answers to some of your own writing problems. 

Each and every sample is a finished and polished resume that has already had a "makeover".   All of the original resume blemishes or "mistakes" have been "fixed".  Any negative or "RED FLAG" item that might have turned off recruiters has also been downplayed or disguised or shifted to Page 2 or even removed entirely.  (Unfortunately, in the case of all "perfect" samples you CAN'T even guess at all of the changes that were made by a professional writer.  Since many samples are not "real", almost anything might have been done to make them look "normal" or "better" for publication on a Website, in an article or book!) 

Eye appeal is not everything and constructing an effective resume involves much, much more than making a resume look good. It has to "sell" you BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the interview! Too many nice-looking resumes are very weak as MARKETING documents and won't "sell" you to recruiters.

Choosing a suitable style or design or template to present your CAN DO's and make a good first impression is not easy. Let's face it. The design chosen by another party may NOT work for you because your own facts may be entirely different. You may also have a shortcoming or two or "something to hide". Will looking at a "perfect" sample or template show you what to do in your own resume? Not likely.

Can a "Perfect" Resume Example Help to Make Yours Perfect? No!

To construct a really good resume for 2012 will require professional help. You see, many resume templates DON'T show you how and where to add your own "sell". The rigid cell structure and formatting makes it difficult to do this. As a result, you'll be "UNDERSELLING" yourself which is a fatal resume mistake.

You also need to be careful when adapting a JOB OBJECTIVE .  Many sample resumes include a sentence about "seeking a challenging opportunity in a progressive company or firm that will utilize all of my skills … and offer opportunities for professional growth and advancement."  In 2012, that will be a BIG turnoff!  Only God knows what all of your skills might be!  (Paper mills tend to write like this.)  Even worse, it is all "me", "me" instead of what the employer wants to read – what you are offering to do for him or her.  

I often come across a SUMMARY or PROFILE that is worded in the language of literature and full of adjectives or superlatives.  The near-hysterical words "extremely" and  "superb", "stellar" and "unsurpassed" have become fashionable.   This is NOT what employers want to read.  They need to know what VALUE you will bring to their companies.  Your strengths and skills and accomplishments are that value.  Adjectives won’t "sell" you but "SELLING POINTS" that are expressed in the language of business, will knock their socks off. 

(Note: In a well-written resume, dates of employment will usually be given in years only and not in months and years.  The time period in each job will therefore seem longer and any gaps in employment will also be closed.  Using this clever strategy results in pure resume magic because you can leave out one or two or three short-term positions.  This is okay because "resume" means "summary".  It is NOT a page from True Confessions or a Police rap sheet!) 

Will a "perfect" resume example or template show you how to deal with the problem of not having a 4-YEAR DEGREE when so many job ads expect you to offer this?  Many sample resumes have been "doctored" or "adjusted" to show that all degrees have been completed!  This WON'T help you to deal with the problem of having "TOO LITTLE EDUCATION".  (In fact, there's a lot that can be done to "improve" your education and training!)

Finally, whenever I see too many black dots in any resume, I know that the writer was very inexperienced.  Why did he or she need to use 20 to 50 black dots or BULLETS that will NOT impress anyone?  Instead, only 5 to 10 bullets or arrows are required to draw attention to your most valuable skills and/or accomplishments -- the items you want to be noticed.  (Attention getters should NEVER be used to decorate a resume.  They have an important functional and strategic role to play – to draw attention to only a FEW of your "selling points".) 

Some services offer you a FREE RESUME EVALUATION.  Please take advantage of this because any mistakes you make in writing your own resume may cost you dearly in lost job opportunities and income.  A single resume mistake could actually cost you thousands of dollars! 

Do Resume Examples Help ?

Have you managed to find a good resume example that fits your own career history and current job objective perfectly?  Probably not , even if you purchased all the resume books in every bookstore.  The reason is that  job seekers are NOT clones!

Many people believe that a good example or two or three will help them write the kind of focused resume that is required to succeed today.  Sadly, the vast majority will be disappointed.  They will also lose valuable TIME and job opportunities.

"Resume example" is a very popular search term.  Thousands of people try to find examples that are  well-designed, properly constructed, and written to impress the reader. But only FIVE (5) PERCENT will later succeed in creating a dazzling resume of their own.  Why?  Because what has worked for someone else, may NOT work for you.  And because developing your resume  requires many skills that the other writer may have had but not you!

After all, how much can you really adapt from a resume that was written by or created for someone else?  Your work histories, skills, and "selling points" may be very different!  Your own job objective may also be different.  In short, it would be like trying to fit into someone else's clothes or worse – taking someone else's medicine!

In 2012, even the best example in any resume book  will seldom give you ALL of the answers you need. People have different goals, skills, abilities, achievements, education, training, and work histories.  In addition, everyone is short of something or has items to play down or "hide".  Will you be able to copy or adapt more than a few bits and pieces from a resume  that was written by a professional writer?

Unfortunately, a good example  WON'T reveal it's construction secrets to you. What decisions were made in creating that resume?  Why was a particular type of presentation selected? What information was included for special emphasis?  What was omitted or downplayed or "cleaned up" – and why?  (What to leave out may be as crucial as what to include!)

What you fail to include or emphasize or fail to leave out can easily ruin your chances.  But the resume examples of others will seldom help you make these important decisions because they are finished products – like cakes that have already been baked and decorated.  They won't reveal any mixing or baking secrets to you.

Thus, copying a design and a little content from any resume will often backfire.  You see, unless you know the reasons why and the "how-to" involved, you'll produce a half-baked resume or worse – you'll sell yourself short.  95 PERCENT of such efforts WON'T be able to compete against the well-written presentations of skilled writers.

An example of a resume that may look good at first glance, may actually be NEGATIVE ! Why? Because it may lack the crucial 10 to 15-line marketing "top" which has to sell you to the reader. Second, many a resume example does not mention any achievements or accomplishments. (To a typical recruiter, that means you have NONE because you would have included anything you were proud of.  That's a very big NEGATIVE!)  Third, any resume that is "bullet-ridden" with 25 to 50 pretty black dots or arrows will NOT draw attention to the items that need to be highlighted.

Let's face it.  The main reason why people  search for attractive-looking resumes is to save a few dollars. They believe that their own writing skills will be adequate.  I must disagree.  What about presentation skills, marketing skills, and selling skills?  And what about the ability to focus or target their resume or resumes to address the needs of different audiences?

Do you also try to prepare your own tax return?  Writing a focused resume that will work for you today may be far more challenging than that!

The cost of a self-written resume that does NOT work is very high because it may cost you job opportunities and THOUSANDS of dollars in income – far more than the cost of any professional resume.

Consider hiring the services of a professional writer in 2012 -- someone who has more experience and skills in this highly specialized area.  He or she has already developed or improved hundreds of successful resumes for clients. In most cases, the cost will be fully justified as an investment in your own career.