Dear J.T.,
Thanks for this opportunity to assess my professional credibility. Attached are the photo used on my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, a sample cover letter and a generic version of my resume. Below is my LinkedIn and Facebook information.
LinkedInFacebookTwitter
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Loren,
Wow! I am very impressed with your commitment to your career and your involvement in the associations within your field. You've done a great job on your personal brand and I have to say you are a 4.5 right out of the gate! Here's what I think is really working for you:
Your LinkedIn profile is very strong. You've got 12 recommendations, a nice clean summary of your background, and you maximize each section in a concise way. One glance down the page and it's clear you are a professional. Well done!
Also, your cover letter is short, clear, and well-stated. I especially love how the very first sentence says, "I'm a fan of your company..." - a super way to grab attention. Another sentence or two after that explaining specific reasons for why you are a fan would be ideal. Don't just leave them guessing, tell them why their great and they'll appreciate the compliment even more.
RE Resume: This is the one item I have a concern with. In my opinion, it's too long and far too text intensive. It doesn't match the professional I see in your LinkedIn account or cover letter. It is clear you are very involved and extremely accomplished. However, resume design falls in the 'less is more' category. If you must use 2 pages for a resume, then formatting and creating lots of white space becomes vital. A few suggestions:
1) Choose a clean line font that is easier to read. With that much to take in, the hiring manager needs to be ale to read fast. Curly fonts slow them down.
2) Take all of the things you currently have in your resume, strip them out, and then assign them to one of three categories:
Experience Summary - a list of major skill sets, degrees earned, and knowledge of technologies
Work History - job titles, company name and only 2-3 bullet points of quantifiable accomplshments.
Additional Information - awards won, volunteering, participation in organizations, certifications completed, etc.
Format the resume with only these three categories and in that order.
The goal is to edit and re-edit until you have a document that can be read in 10 seconds and give the right impression. Right now, your resume makes the reader say, "Ohh, that's a long one, I'll put it in the 'later' pile." I'd much rather see you create an eye-popping resume that says, "Wow, she's got just what we need, let's bring her in."
3) Pull off any unnecessary information. You don't need to put an Objective Statement or say "Excellent References Available Upon Request." These items are assumed and don't need to be stated. you can put the URL for the LinkedIn profile up with your contact information as well - no need for it to take up an extra line in the body of your resume - besides, it gets lost way down there at the bottom!
Good luck (although I don't think you need it!) and thanks for participating in 'Am I Money?' program. Your willingness to share helps all those out there wondering how to create a solid personal brand. You are a great example of someone doing it right!
Sincerely,
J.T.Dear J.T.,
Thanks for this opportunity to assess my professional credibility. Attached are the photo used on my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, a sample cover letter and a generic version of my resume. Below is my LinkedIn and Facebook information.
LinkedInFacebookTwitter
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Loren,
Wow! I am very impressed with your commitment to your career and your involvement in the associations within your field. You've done a great job on your personal brand and I have to say you are a 4.5 right out of the gate! Here's what I think is really working for you:
Your LinkedIn profile is very strong. You've got 12 recommendations, a nice clean summary of your background, and you maximize each section in a concise way. One glance down the page and it's clear you are a professional. Well done!
Also, your cover letter is short, clear, and well-stated. I especially love how the very first sentence says, "I'm a fan of your company..." - a super way to grab attention. Another sentence or two after that explaining specific reasons for why you are a fan would be ideal. Don't just leave them guessing, tell them why their great and they'll appreciate the compliment even more.
RE Resume: This is the one item I have a concern with. In my opinion, it's too long and far too text intensive. It doesn't match the professional I see in your LinkedIn account or cover letter. It is clear you are very involved and extremely accomplished. However, resume design falls in the 'less is more' category. If you must use 2 pages for a resume, then formatting and creating lots of white space becomes vital. A few suggestions:
1) Choose a clean line font that is easier to read. With that much to take in, the hiring manager needs to be ale to read fast. Curly fonts slow them down.
2) Take all of the things you currently have in your resume, strip them out, and then assign them to one of three categories:
Experience Summary - a list of major skill sets, degrees earned, and knowledge of technologies
Work History - job titles, company name and only 2-3 bullet points of quantifiable accomplshments.
Additional Information - awards won, volunteering, participation in organizations, certifications completed, etc.
Format the resume with only these three categories and in that order.
The goal is to edit and re-edit until you have a document that can be read in 10 seconds and give the right impression. Right now, your resume makes the reader say, "Ohh, that's a long one, I'll put it in the 'later' pile." I'd much rather see you create an eye-popping resume that says, "Wow, she's got just what we need, let's bring her in."
3) Pull off any unnecessary information. You don't need to put an Objective Statement or say "Excellent References Available Upon Request." These items are assumed and don't need to be stated. you can put the URL for the LinkedIn profile up with your contact information as well - no need for it to take up an extra line in the body of your resume - besides, it gets lost way down there at the bottom!
Good luck (although I don't think you need it!) and thanks for participating in 'Am I Money?' program. Your willingness to share helps all those out there wondering how to create a solid personal brand. You are a great example of someone doing it right!
Sincerely,
J.T.
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