I survived a resume massacre!

I have survived many critiques and most recently I had one of my worst.

It started quite innocently. A tweet on twitter looking for job seekers’ and the next thing I know I am on a radio program. This is not just any program. It is the ‘Ex Recruiter Extreme Candidate Makeover Show’. I was very excited for the opportunity.

Here I was 8 months without work and I had the good fortune to be “made over” by some of the leading experts. I was over the moon!

Two days before I sat down to write out some questions for the panel. I wanted my questions to be good as I have been doing this “job seeking” for sometime so I felt I needed to ask quality questions that would offer value to myself as well as the audience. I also practiced with my husband on taking criticism on a body of work that I was proud of. I wanted to be open to the critique knowing that on the other side I would received the benefit of the expert’s knowledge.

When the day arrived I was ready. I had index cards written out with my questions, a cup of tea, a glass of water, my resume and pen and paper. I started to get nervous when I realized that no one on the panel had called me as I was told could be the case. I told myself it was okay and I started to dial the phone number.

The panel of experts were introduced as @resumestrategy @Execjobcoach @jobsearchcoach and we were on our way! They started with the candidate I was sharing the show with, @CMannis1. I was very focused while they went through her resume as I did not want to miss a thing!

Then it was my turn.  Karen, @resumestrategy, went first. She spoke so quickly that I was struggling to keep up and I use shorthand! She gave me some good thoughts but I was sure I was missing some key points! Next went Janice, @Execjobcoach. This I was not prepared for. For the next 5 minutes she went on about font size and the fact that my resume, which has boxes, made her schizophrenic. After she was done I asked what was a good font size. The answer I received was that she should be able to read it without her glasses.  Quite honestly the rest was a blur of statements. From the fact that Janice liked everything above the comments on my resume (that would be my name and my headers). Then she took apart  my headers with such statements as the word “visionary” was from the 90′s. I was also told I did not have any keywords yet when I asked for some keywords my question was sidestepped. I listened the best I could struggling to stay open because the suggestions of improving my resume were just around the corner. @jobsearchcoach, Jeremy went next. I knew Jeremy from twitter so I was hoping for some great job search advice as that is his specialty. That did not happen.

Now for my disclaimer. I do not want to alienate the community that I have worked very hard to be a part of. This is my opinion and my story and if that offends then so be it but this is not written with malice. In fact it has taken me 10 days before I could sit down and write about this.

I was expecting a “makeover” and my definition of that is after my resume is critiqued it would be built back up. That would include solid advice that would have specific changes so in the end I would be “made over” and ready to take on my job search once again. I was not asked about my pain points. In fact I was not asked questions.

I do feel that the criticism went over board when I was told my reference’s comments on my resume could have come from my neighbor and even though I referenced that all of these were from LinkedIn it still fell into the “not believing” pile. I was also told that my “soft skills” were not important as everyone has them and anyone can manage people.

I was numb for the rest of the day. I felt like how could I have been handing out this piece of crap to people. How did I even get interviews when my resume caused such mayhem.

Then my husband stepped in. He knows the work and the research I have done. He know that I have 12 different version of my resume to hand out according to the job I am applying for. He knows that I have had many people read my resume and I have tweaked it accordingly.  He said, “How can that many people be wrong and these 3 people be so right?” He was right.

My resume is a living document and there is many ways I can improve it but it is not possible for it to be so wrong. I have had compliments and suggestions. I have been told that I was called just because they like the way I wrote my resume. That doesn’t mean I won’t take the suggestions that were given to me on the show but it does mean that I will take it with a grain of salt or perhaps a pound of salt!

I want to leave with a suggestion to @paris22, the host of the show. Please change the name. It is not a “makeover” show. It is a resume critique show.