Name of Candidate: John Twentyman

Problems: The candidate was in the job market for 3 months when he first approached Engineering Jobs in Australia.  He was extremely frustrated and thinking about going back to his country.

Solution: The candidates resume was completely rewritten.  Apart from including the candidates personal profile and values in his resume, we included his personal values and also listed 5 key competencies writing a paragraph on each.  In addition, we identified and recorded the candidates achievements.

The outcome: Within 4 weeks after we had completed his resume, the candidate received 6 interviews.  He found a job and is still working in this role now.  

Name of Candidate: Alex
Challenge: To create a resume for Alex, an Exterpreneur who had run his own business for years, highlighting his extensive engineering background working on various projects and his lack of formal education. Many of the organisations where Alex will be applying place a high emphasis on formal education. Whilst Alex has participated in a number of courses and also has a Diploma, he does not have a formal degree.

Background: I have known Alex for several years.  He worked for a number of years as an Electrical Engineer.  These were years when formal qualifications were not required.  Alex then left to start his business in Electrical Engineering.  Lately, his business has not done so well and he wants to get back to work for someone. Because of his lack of education, Alex felt that he did not have much to add to his resume.  He was aware that most of the recent jobs asked for formal qualifications. Once we started talking, I convinced him that there was a lot to write in his resume.

Strategy: I explained to Alex that my strategy would involve focusing attention on the various projects he had handled and the various aspects of business he had managed, he started to understand how his resume could attract attention. I began by talking to him and picking his brain on the various things he had done. At this point, the resume started to write itself and the format I used was unique and personal to Alex.  I used a cross graphic through his resume. In the summary area, I created a highlighted area mentioning the experiences he had and the courses he had undertaken.  This kept a positive focus on his education. This section included his current career goals. In this way I spoke about his education only in the last section, having already created the positive impression about his skills and abilities. This case highlights that resume strategy is critical to the success of resumes.