Resume Critique

So I signed up for TheLadders.com, "The Most $100k+ Jobs". Figured it couldn't hurt to see whats posted, not that I really expect my dream job to show up on a web site, but you never know. One of the "freebies" they give is a critique of your resume. Free is something that every unemployed person can use, so I submitted my resume..

Now I say freebies in quotes because there is almost always a catch. In this case, the goal is to hook you with the free critique, and then reel you in to their professional resume writing service. Now I haven't really used my resume to get a job for over 9 years (joined Cablevision in 2000, didn't really need a resume to join Discovery), so I know the resume was rusty.

Put all this together and I was imagining that I would get some negatives from the resume critique, but I thought it wouldn't be all that bad. After all, I have senior level, significant experience at top notch companies, so how bad can what I put down on paper really be?

Here are some quotes from the person who did the critique:

"Before I begin the critique, I would like to warn you about my style because my comments can seem frank. But the reality is that the job market is very competitive now, so I find it beneficial to help you develop your resume by being direct."

Ok, anyone familiar with my style knows I am direct, and like folks who deal in a similar fashion, so give it to me straight. Sounds good.

"First things first, lose the objective heading! This comes across as too low level! This is a bad marketing tactic plus an OLD resume technique that is not used today. Objectives aren't used anymore because they don't speak to the needs of the employer but rather to your needs. It’s a weak marketing message."

That's fine, this resume was made up 10+ years ago, probably just using a dated technique.

"Your job descriptions are much too BLAND and unexciting as an executive-level candidate."

"Another problem with this resume is its’ structure. Employers are looking for a specific format when they pick up a resume, and this one does not follow suit. Unfortunately, you have EVERYTHING bulleted - resulting in NOTHING standing out to the eye of the reader. Nothing CAN stand out in your resume because everything is formatted the same. Too many bullets and you lose the IMPACT that bullets were meant to achieve."

"While on the topic, some of your bullet points are simply too long to be effective."

"Way too long, and this isn’t even the worst one!"

"I would strongly recommend a more attractive or reader-friendly design to the document to provide a better first impression and better readability."

"Considering your career experience and target jobs, your resume is definitely not marketing you at ALL. It does not convince the reader of your qualifications, instead merely having faith the reader will make assumptions about your performance and read between the lines – definitely NOT what you want."

WOW.. and there are about 3 pages in total, just tearing my resume into shreds..

And you know what.. they are absolutely correct. I went back and critically looked at the resume, after doing some research on the web and reading a book or two, and they are spot on. My resume doesn't position me for where I want to be, and with things as difficult and tight as they are in the job market, I can't afford not to have a professional spend time with me and make this document more reflective of where I am. And more importantly, relate how I can be a unique and significant resource to a prospective employer.

For anyone looking for some help, I can honestly say that TheLadders.com did a fine job of taking a look at my resume, understanding where I want to position myself, and giving me free advice on how to better market myself. And they certainly weren't afraid of telling me all the gory details either.

Now I just need to go heal my bruised ego and get some help re-writing this!