Do you need a resume makeover?
The résumé makeover
With the improvements that TheLadders needed to make to Jordan's résumé identified, Meredith Spencer, another one of TheLadders' certified professional résumé writers who works with IT executives, undertook the rewrite.
Spencer and Jordan set up a conference call on June 6. Spencer wanted to learn more about Jordan's job search, the kinds of positions he was seeking, and his work experience. In an encouraging, professional manner, Spencer probed Jordan for details on S5Health, the portal he built, specific responsibilities he held in various roles and specific accomplishments. She told Jordan to send her ads for jobs that interested him so that she could tailor his new résumé toward those positions.
On June 10, Spencer sent Jordan a first draft of his revamped résumé. Jordan was delighted with Spencer's work, which only required a few minor changes. In an e-mail to CIO.com Jordan wrote: "They did a great job in branding me and helping me put my best foot forward. My old résumé made me look like a junior executive, rather than the senior-level executive that I am. ...I am sure a lot of your readers have made some of the same mistakes that I made on my résumé. So many CIOs are good at solving problems and innovating, but we have a hard time branding ourselves."
Indeed, taking stock of one's entire career (including all the responsibilities one has held and accomplishments achieved), assessing one's strengths, then taking that necessary step back to identify which points are truly worthy of including on one's résumé is no easy task. In fact, Adriance addressed that very concern in one of her messages to Jordan, when she noted that many candidates have trouble viewing their résumé objectively. Often it takes an outsider to get that objective perspective.
On June 13, Spencer sent the following final version of Jordan's résumé to him.
James Jordan's Resume: After the Makeover
Within two days of submitting his swanky new résumé to employers, Jordan had a job interview scheduled. How's that for results?
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