Edgar's resume Case Study

The challenge

Edgar has had a lengthy career in construction. He had not needed to apply online to jobs very much, and found applying online didn't get him as many interviews as applying with a paper resume used to.

How Vincent, a TopResume writer, helped Edgar

There are a lot of ways the job application process has changed since Edgar started working. For example, his specific skills were worded in long phrases and sentences and not into keyword couples like "Hazard Prevention" or "Accident Investigation" that are smoother to read and better to feed sorting computers these days. And, it seems counterintuitive, but recommendations and people's names are now usually reserved for the interview stage of the application and can actually hamper a resume's effectiveness. I went through all the new trends with him and tidied up his problems.

Secondly, his resume was way too long and not easy on the eyes at all (apologies, Edgar!). His old resume required a lot of reading to learn what Edgar was all about, and failed the 6-second test -- that's the time you get to impress that HR rep. I worked from the top down on the layout and content, starting with a crystal clear header and everything you need to know about Edgar in the first half of the first page. Nicely formatted and impressive career bullet points filled out the rest. The result was a clear narrative that was both interesting to read and also very complimentary of Edgar's skillset.

In his own words

I think the resume writer did a fantastic job of converting a story outlining my career into a concise and effective marketing tool. Well done!

Package details

Edgar bought the Mid-Level package. This package includes a resume, cover letter, and two revisions:

• Specially designed package to present your management skills and promote you as a leader!
• Personal Engagement - In-depth understanding of your managerial skills and experience.
• Executive keywords - The right keywords to highlight your expertise and decision making abilities.
• Executive layout - Formatting that will highlight your managerial skills.
• Three revisions - We will incorporate your comments on the rewritten versions.
• 60-day interview guarantee - We re-write your resume again if you do not get an interview within 60 days.