It was a good day to visit. They both welcomed me excitedly. We had not seen each other for months. The Muslim holiday presented me a perfect opportunity to keep the promise I’d made to visit them eons ago (after they moved to their new house).
Hakeem teased me about my timing, since they were just getting ready for lunch. We all laughed, as Sheri – his wife – left us to set the table. Later, as we ate, Hakeem asked about my new CV writing service (now discontinued). He was a seasoned HR professional, and few weeks back had pointed out an unattended niche market that he felt badly needed the service.
I replied that my checks on the “untapped” market showed the prospects were good. And that was why I put my plans on hold: To re-write my copy to accommodate prospects from there.
Someone needs a CV/resume “makeover”…
Just then Sheri said they had a friend’s son who was looking to get a better job. He’d graduated four years earlier and had since worked in two different companies. She picked up an envelope from the side board next to the dining table, and slid it across to me.
In it was a two page resume. She explained that it was for the young man, and that Hakeem would be helping him submit an application in response to a large company’s advert closing in 3 days time.
After looking through the resume however, they’d both told him that it needed to be completely re-worked. It was therefore interesting that by some strange coincidence, I had chosen that day to visit!
I scanned the document, and immediately saw they were right. This one certainly could do with a makeover. So many things were not right. I would have to re-write the resume, within the next 48 hours.
But he’s unavailable to provide critical details…!
Now, this would not have been a big deal if the job seeker (and owner of the resume to be worked on!) had been within reach. Unfortunately, I was told he was away on an urgent trip and would not be back before the submission deadline.
1. Reaching him via e-mail or phone was not a viable option because he was at a retreat in a remote area, where connectivity was poor.
2. To make matters worse, neither Hakeem nor his wife had details I wanted – for the standard questionnaire I would normally administer to a client I’m preparing a resume or CV for!
3. Another problem was that I did not know what specific job or position he was applying for. All they could tell me was that it was in the area of Information Technology, which he had acquired multiple Microsoft level certifications in, but which he did not study in the university.
The real question that therefore tugged at my mind was whether I could deliver anything close to satisfactory – the goal being to WIN an interview invitation – if I could not get any input from him.
Getting no answer to my silent question, I realized that I was, in effect, on my own. Not being one to back away from a challenge – and really wanting to do my bit to help – I agreed to do the re-write. It was the least I could do for my friends.
Less than 48 hours later, I dropped off a printout of the “pimped” resume at their place. My work schedule since our last meeting had been tight. But I had eventually managed to spend about 4 hours working on it. They both looked through it and said it “read” much better.
I told them to keep me abreast of the job application progress. I’m thinking it would be interesting to see how this “blind” job I did turns out. I’ll be sharing whatever news they send me as soon as I get it.
Below: Screenshot of the resume BEFORE the re-write…
Below: Screenshot of the resume AFTER the re-write…
Your Comments: I know there’s not much to see, but if you’re keen, post your comments about the differences you can see between both resumes shown above. Let me know which one you feel would command more attention from the decision maker looking to shortlist interview candidates. And share your other thoughts on the subject.
GET THE FULL RESUME IN PDF: If you want to see a comparison I’ve done of the BEFORE and AFTER versions of the CV, fill and submit the form here and I’ll send it to you.
But for now, here’s a potentially serious issue thrown up by this incident…
Why don’t schools teach resume writing, if it’s so important to “job-hunting” success?
Getting back home, I could not help thinking about how so many young people finish from school and have to endure this CV/Resume writing ordeal.
Proper preparation of this document is so crucially important to job search success.
Yet our schools do not include it in their curriculum. What is that so?
Is it wrong to expect society will run schools that equip its young to emerge as COMPETENT adults, capable of meeting society’s requirements to compete effectively?
That question needs to be answered not just by educators, policy makers and administrators, but also by PARENTS.
The young man who had the CV problem already had internationally recognized IT certifications. Yet, when it came to creating an instrument with which to sell himself, he failed – due to no fault of his.
From nursery classes till we complete higher education, many life skills and competencies we need, are not formally taught in most institutions of learning. That’s why so many young people find themselves at a loss as to why their schooling seems not to be enough to do well in certain areas of life.
Some school leavers/graduates are lucky to have relatives who know enough to help them fill in the gaps. Others are forced to find out by painful trial and error.
But should we let this happen? I say NO. Is it not possible to do it better? I say YES!
I believe education via formal schooling can be made more complete and rounded. Some societies and institutions already do this or are working towards it. Some already do – but many more parents need to realize the importance of getting involved.
Not everyone will choose (or be able to afford) the option of paying for a writing service.
And even when you use such a service, knowing what makes a good CV or resume can help you in assessing the quality of work done for you by a CV/Resume writing service provider!
Your Comments: Post your comments about the differences you can see between both resumes shown above. Let me know which one you feel would command more attention from the decision maker looking to shortlist interview candidates. And share your other thoughts on the subject.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: What you have just read is based on a true story. However, I must state here that I have made very deliberate efforts to disguise the identity of the young man whose CV is the subject of this story, in order to protect his privacy.
For instance, I’ve employed creative dislocation of REAL events in terms of their period and sequence of occurrence. Indeed, I went as far as weaving narratives involving people from a totally different social event into the story, for effect.
One FACT however remains intact: I was requested by certain “people” to help re-write a CV for a young man, towards a mass recruitment of some sort, they got news was being planned by a large organisation.
And I agreed. No lies have been told. The message being passed in the post about for schools not teaching basic resume writing remains valid. And I look forward to your feed back in the comments – if any 
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