Make Your Resume Talk
This book contains all the guidelines needed to help you write an advertisement resume that will get you interviews and a job. It promotes writing results work statements rather than task and responsibility statements. Key features include how to write
1. your heading in relation to space available,
2. targeted objectives,
3. work statements that use key words and still describe how good you are,
4. skill sections that show your level of ability, and
5. activities that show your chemistry.
Make Your Resume Talk is written in sections to help you build or re-write your resume and help you tailor your resume to specific jobs. Many “before and after” resumes with individual critiques on different occupations are included to show how to write statements that get attention of potential employers. Helpful tips are provided throughout the book to highlight critical information for writing a resume that will talk for you.
Chapters are provided to cover all aspects of the resume plus special chapters on electronic resumes, help for high school/college students, and the physical attributes of resumes. Effective cover letter guidelines with examples are provided as a bonus. Personal testimonials are scattered through the book to show you how the guidelines helped other users.
The success of his approach is shown by this quote from a Senior Corporate Recruiter from Red Hat which stated, “As a corporate recruiter, I view hundreds of resumes daily filed with buzz words, tasks and objectives that don’t meet the candidate’s background. These resumes are quickly eliminated. The resumes that follow the guidelines outlined in Dick Hart’s book that show the depth of the candidate’s ability and how well the buzz words apply to their accomplishments are the ones we seriously consider. Diligent applicants need to follow his advice and list solid achievements from past/current performance.”
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A Fresh Perspective on Resumes
Dick Hart’s seminars on resumes were recommended to me by a recruiter after she looked at my resume. I checked out his website and discovered that he had this book, so I decided to go for the book, which would be cheaper and more immediate. And although one-on-one or direct help would probably have been better, I think the book more than stands on its own. It’s a very opinionated book, but everything Hart recommends you do, he gives some kind of justification for. And you’ll find yourself agreeing with him. He goes against the standard advice in some ways, for instance by recommending you always include a small ‘interests’ section. This actually came listed as a big resume no-no in an email I got from [..] yesterday. But I find myself agreeing with Hart: the point is not that that section is useful in most cases, but in some cases (where the reviewer has something specific and unusual in common with you), it will make you stand out from the rest and might just land you the interview. And if it’s small you haven’t detracted from the overall professionalism of the resume. Basically, with anything he recommends, use your common sense. If it goes against conventional wisdom, maybe you don’t want to do it. But at least think about it.
So I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to give their resume a fresh look. It is a remarkable book and will definitely help you make your resume stick out from the rest, and do exactly what you want it to do–make you look worth hiring. I sent out a batch of 7 resumes after revamping it with the book’s help, and I got 5 interviews.
5 Stars I no longer have an “obituary resume”
I now have a resume that I’m proud of, thanks to the insight gained by reading this book and applying its principles. Buy this book for an “out-of-the-box” view on advertising yourself, while remaining professional. Resume books are not all the same. This is brilliantly different.
5 Stars This book changed my way of thinking when applying for a job
I had the priviledge to sit in a classroom and be instructed by Mr. Hart regarding my resume. I am happy to say that he used my resume as an example of what not to do! I was traditional, boring, and dead…hence the term “obituary style” resume. Since, I have revamped my old dusty Word file into the style Mr. Hart instructs in his book. I resubmitted my resume to several of the “We received your resume, and will let you know” emails; low-and-behold I got interviews scheduled with in a few hours of transmitting the Word doc to the hiring managers. That tells me ONE THING - This Style Works!
5 Stars Now my resume sings!
Richard Hart’s “Make Your resume Talk” is a must for anyone writing or updating their resume. It walks you through every aspect of the resume writing process and explains very simply the “whys” and “hows” of each resume section. His tips give valuable information that you are not likely to hear anywhere else. You will learn how the resume review process has changed over the years and how to make sure your’s doesn’t get filtered out of the on line process. This is especially helpful for those who are less internet savvy or are job hunting for the first time in many years. This book made the dreaded task of resume writing as simple and easy as possible. With the help of this book I have turned my monotoned resume into one that sings! I highly recommend it to all job seekers. It will be the only resume writing book you’ll ever need!
Filed under: Resume Writing Book Reviews