What Are the Pros and Cons of Using a Resume Template?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Here, I’m going to provide you with the pros and cons of using a resume template and what my opinion is.
00:00 Introduction
00:39 The positives
01:19 The negatives
02:01 The Big Negative
02:46 Instead of using a template
03:17 Outro
Should I Indicate My Availability in My Resume?
Hi. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for no BS job search advice and coaching globally, because I make the process so much easier for people.
Resume templates.
I’ve got to say, resume templates can be helpful tools for Job Hunters. However, it’s important to use them in a smart way, and customize them for your specific needs. The positives are I want to be clear, I’m going to talk about the pros and cons and then offer my opinion about them.
The positives are they remove the guesswork about what you should be including, they save you time, they help you utilize space well, they can give your resume a professional look, help you apply to more jobs more quickly because your resume is ready. You have the potential of impressing prospective employers.
They’ll help you through just the process of q&a, help you learn to organize your credentials in a professional looking manner. And they’ll also help you follow up with the format of your own copy.
Unfortunately, there are negatives to this. And the negatives are a lot of resumes look alike. And thus, if particularly for those of you who have very little experience, you’re not really going to be all that helpful. HR managers are often turned off when they see tons of resumes and the same template downloaded from different websites. They might not work for someone else with different skills and experiences. That’s not a particularly important one. And for those of you who are in creative fields, you can lose some of your creativity because you’re complying with a format.
To me, the biggest one, and this is the big issue with templates is that if you’re applying for jobs use their systems, often the systems don’t like templates because of the frames that are part of the Microsoft Word version of resume templates. Thus, the resume doesn’t parse well on their site, which can cause the wrong information to wind up in the wrong fields on their system on their side when they’re looking at your resume and cause your resume to get bounced because it never actually gets to a human. The system isn’t recognizing the data that’s been put into the wrong areas of the system.
But what you can do, and this is what I always recommend to people, you can mimic what a template looks like and make it your own without the frames and the boxes and the what have you. And by doing that, you wind up eliminating that issue with applicant tracking systems where they wind up getting bounced, your resume gets rejected, not because you don’t have the skills but because it didn’t parse correctly in their system. And that’s your fault, not the systems.
Hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us. Go to the blog and go exploring. There’s a lot there to help you plus find out about my video courses, books and guides. There’s a lot there to help.
And if you’re interested in getting my advice, I want to encourage you, ask me questions through Trusted Advisor Services which you can schedule at the site, as well as if you’re interested in my coaching you, you can schedule time for coaching with me, too.
Also connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter I hope you have a terrific day and be great!
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ career easier. Those things
can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2600 episodes.
Website: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Books and Guides: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/books
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
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