Using Resume Samples to Boost Your Job Search

job seekers using resume templates Most job seekers and possibly you as well dream of writing a real quick and at the same time 100% winning resume and jump right to the process of applying. That’s when people do a little cheating and have recourse to professional resume samples and templates: after all, what could be easier than finding a nice-looking Internet sample, making slight changes in its content, and getting it ready in another hour or even less?

While it seems like a perfect plan, the actual problem is evident: your document will look the same as everyone else’s, so there’s hardly a chance to complete your job search successfully.

How to Do It Right

According to a principal of Best Impression Career Services and herewith a career consultant Louise Kursmark, “The great issue with using resume samples is the fact that it doesn’t showcase your personal style and uniqueness.”

Using a resume template isn’t taboo – if you don’t copy it word by word, templates would only work for your own benefit. Both Kursmark and Rose assume that a resume template is a good guideline for polishing your own one.

One of the resume writing experts Teena Rose can’t help agreeing, “There exist no same resumes; obviously, all of them are distinctive because of the content, formatting, and design.”

Do Not Copy

resume templates correct usageAs mentioned, do not simply copy the template verbatim: use it as an idea generator and then give freedom to your own imagination. At least, do it that way: when reviewing several resume samples, there’d probably be something you liked the most in each of the examples. So, you may simply combine those things all together and create a truly genuine resume. Select templates solely from your job field.

You need to make sure that the samples you have chosen match examples of qualifications, terms, and titles that you might be using as well. This advice is especially important for inexperienced job seekers and recent college graduates who try to prepare for the working world.

Be Moderately Creative

Look at several examples of statements to understand their general concepts and write your own modeled accordingly to the ones from the templates. If you’re a fan of more innovative ways of presenting your content, then consider samples with strong visuals, namely charts or tables. Nevertheless, make sure those are appropriate.

Looking for samples of proper writing style? Templates would come just in handy. With their help, you can get clear examples of compelling language, necessary vocabulary, and sentence structure to use in your document. Search for not-so-evident and not-so-common samples and avoid Microsoft Word templates!

Just spend another 5 minutes going over the first page of the Google search engine to find good and less-used templates. Also, make sure you are familiar with resume writing tricks that help job seekers get noticed.

Make It Personalized

writing resume templates creativelyHeard of resume builders before? You use templates and fill in personal information. But you should realize that resume is not an ordinary application form, and if you are not good at writing it is better to apply to services like Resume Writing Lab that offer to create unique content of the document.

Sometimes people who use templates to make their resumes sound better, tend to exaggerate the written info and thereby create the wrong impression about who they actually are, even if they didn’t mean to.

Therefore, analyze the whole document and think critically about whether each of your statements is credible and supported with backup information. Say no to copy-pasting. Seriously, you don’t want to steal someone’s ideas – the whole secret is in coming up with your own unique content.

Make sure the resume has a good visual image. It happens that people often come up with a total mess instead of a persuasive and good-looking document. Pay attention to the visual look of the resume you have combined from different sources.