Resume Templates: A Smart Idea or a Huge Mistake?

If you have ever been stuck and held back by writer's block while trying to develop your resume, you know how tempting it is to use a resume template. Using a resume template, you may reason, will lead you in including all the important data in your career background. Further, a resume template will help you in creating a resume that is appropriately formatted and designed, and looks professional. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth than these assumptions.

Resume templates are inflexible, one-size-fits-all formats. You, on the other hand, are a one-of-a-kind individual with differentiating experience and value to bring to your next employer. Resume templates compel you to present your experience in an unbending format that makes every candidate look just like every other candidate. Is that your goal in a job search? Or is it better to market yourself and your professional capabilities in a way that helps you to stand out to hiring managers as a job seeker who has distinguishing abilities and will produce benefits for the hiring company in a way that all your competitors in the job market will not.

The job market is fierce, after all. Many candidates for your target job openings will have experience and qualifications that are similar to yours. Using a template to write your resume will simply accentuate this same-ness. Creating a custom resume format that is tailored to showcase your past achievements and your unique selling points will get attention from recruiters, and will ensure that your resume is pulled from the pile of hundreds as you'll be recognized as an exceptional candidate worthy of bringing in for an interview.

So, without using a resume template, how will you overcome your writers's block and create a dynamic resume that generates excellent results in the job market? One potential source of inspiration is examples of other distinctively written, custom-formatted resumes, particularly before and after example resumes. Of course, you should never, never copy wording or duplicate a design and format idea without giving it some unique twist to make it your own. But, example resumes are still great resources to show you the unique design and formatting techniques that have been successful for other job seekers.

If you are really stuck, professional resume writers are experts in developing creative, tailored resumes that will accentuate your top selling points while downplaying any potential negatives. While having your resume professionally written is an investment, it is one that will often pay large returns by helping you get attention in a crowded job market and land a new job faster, many times at a salary that is higher than anticipated.

However you proceed, remember that your goal is to stand out, generate interviews, and win job offers. Writing a resume can be challenging, but there are many resources available to help you. Just be certain to avoid the use of resume templates. Even though they may save you some time and effort at the start, using them will almost always backfire and result in a longer, more difficult, and more costly job search.

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