Peer Review

Resume secrets exposed

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Reviewed:: Dec 30, 2014 by Business

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Overview:: This is a free e-book that provides information and guidance on how to write a resume. This also includes an international perspective on resumes which can be very helpful for individuals working for or seeking employment with multinational corporations or anyone working or seeking work as an ex-patriot. Resume writing is an art form and in order to find a new job you must first be able to write a compelling resume that will stand you out from the competition. While there is no exact science to writing the perfect resume, this eBook will provide you with as much information on what to include in the resume as well as avoiding the major resume mistakes that commonly lead to having your resume deleted.
Type of Material:: ebook
Recommended Uses:: This would be an excellent resource for employees in any organization, particularly those who work or seek to work in other countries. This could be included with HR orientations in organizations; for supervisors to share with employees and for anyone seeking to update a resume. It could also serve as a supplemental text for a hands on assignment or as reference material in an HR course or career-oriented course.
Technical Requirements:: This review was conducted with Internet Explorer version 11, Firefox version 5, and Java version 7, update 45, and a current version of PDF reader.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: • The student will be able to write a resume • The student will be able to identify common resume mistakes • The student will be able to write a cover letter • The student will be able to identify common cover letter mistakes
Target Student Population:: • College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None

Content Quality

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Strengths:: • Provides background information explaining the intent and purpose of the resume. • Gives the reader specific details regarding important details needed in a resume • Gives examples of information to include or not include in a resume • Gives the reader specific details regarding important details needed in a cover letter • Gives specific sentence guidance when creating a cover letter
Concerns:: • Lack of examples of resumes that got the applicant an interview and resumes that didn’t secure interviews leaves the reader with questions as to format and style of resumes • Because this is an e-book, updates are not possible without reissuing the book. Those who use this information should be aware that some of the information could be dated or may not be providing enough information necessary for current expectations.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

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Strengths:: • The ebook gives the reader specific details regarding what is important and what a person should not do when crafting a resume. • It is helpful to have building the resume into distinct steps • Important aspects of building a resume are given, such as, page 25 gives a list of 15 question your resume should answer and page 28 gives the top 100 action oriented words to use in a resume • The narrative in the book gives specific examples of how to make a resume stand out. • The section on "resume killers" was also a good idea because common mistakes are identified.
Concerns:: • Lack of examples of resumes hampers the reader from understanding resumes which lead to an applicant receiving an interview and resumes that didn’t secure interviews. • The ads can be somewhat distracting, but since this is a free download, advertising was expected.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

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Strengths:: • The ebook is easy to navigate through using the table of contents or scrolling through the book. • The instructions are clear. • Examples are provided throughout the e-book, including information on how to write a cover letter and make it appropriate, noticeable and effective.
Concerns:: • The ebook lacks any images which apply to the subject matter. • The ebook is very text focused, and could benefit from images supporting ideas in the text.

Other Issues and Comments:: Great general information on the creation of a resume and a cover letter for the target population of workforce development, high school or first job out of college. The only issue was identified earlier, that some of this information may not reflect current practices.
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