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July 04, 2005

No Cribbing!

I don't know how many people copy someone else's resume, but I can tell you that the percentage is quite high. If you have ever thought about taking someone else's resume and just inserting your own information - DON'T!

A resume is a marketing document. Imagine taking an Apple iPod TV advertisement and then substituting a box of cereal for the iPod. It wouldn't work and neither does 'borrowing' someone else's resume.

I recently received an email from a potential resume rewrite client. He had been referred by a former client and wanted a price quote for "touching up this resume." When I opened the resume, I saw that he had taken my client's resume and replaced her career details with his own. The problem was that her resume was designed to maximize her strengths while minimizing some glaring weak spots in her background. Since she and he were different people with completely different work experiences, her resume didn't work for him.

This is not to say that you shouldn't look at other resumes to get ideas - you should and you must. But then you must choose a structure and page layout that highlights what is unique and saleable about you - not someone else.

To learn more about writing a great resume, feel free to download my free resume writing guide.

Posted by Louise at July 4, 2005 09:09 AM