Customer Reviews

Competency-Based Resumes: How to Bring Your Resume to the Top of the Pile

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a current Career Development instructor for a propriety school, I have been searching for a book that better describes the changing environment in the job hunting process of today. Competency Based Resumes gives a thorough overview of the current corporate hiring process and teaches the reader how competency based resumes are the best way to get the interview. I have used several books on how to write resumes in my Career Development classes but have recently started ordering this book for my students. This is the most up to date comprehensive text on writing resumes for the current economy. 5 Stars!

I love this book because it gives before-and-after samples of real resumes. This book doesn't just talk about how to write a successful resume. It shows how by giving specific examples.

There are resumes for many types of jobs. It's easy to copy the parts that apply to my experience and there are many unique ideas. Writing a resume based on competencies - what I'm good at - makes sense. I'm in the over-50 group where competition for jobs is intense. When changing jobs over the years, I talked in interviews about things I've done well but didn't describe them in my resume. Recently, I wasn't getting interviewed. But after switching to a competency-based resume, I am now.

I was offered a high level government job using this technique. I didn't accept it because it wasn't what I wanted. Writing down what I've accomplished gave me the confidence to continue to look for a job that will be more fulfilling and give me more opportunities to help people.

This is a truly helpful book, written by people who obviously have extensive experience in helping people find jobs. I want to thank them for helping me.

The competency based approach has been common overseas but is now becoming more common here in the U.S. Fortunately, wise recruiters realize that instead of focusing on standardized test scores, schools that folks have attended, or whether or not a candidate has ever stepped foot in China or India, it is much more important to consider what a candidate CAN ACTUALLY DO - AND DO WELL. I have been fortunate to hear Robin present her framework live and in person and I believe that she has done an excellent job assembling this valuable resource. The examples in the book are excellent and provide very clear guidance on "how to do it". Highly recommended.

This book helped me in reshaping my resume for a specific job I wanted to get, in getting me an interview, and finally in getting the job. And I was coming back to the job market after an entrepreneurial adventure. Do I need to say more? It is very well written and wonderfully organized in relevant sections. My advice: BUY IT, if you are looking for a job and want your competencies to get noticed.

I bought this book largely due to the high ratings, and I am really disappointed. The book spends three or so chapters talking about why "Competency-Based Resumes" are the greatest thing ever, showing examples of "Competency-Based Resumes," telling you why they are better than the old-fashioned kind, listing companies that use this system, and basically talking all about "Competency-Based Resumes." The actual "how-to" of creating one is largely implied. The best part of the book is a list of action verbs to use in your resume, which is probably available for free from any of a number of career websites. I think I was handed a similar list in high school, with the same advice of leaving out "I" and beginning lists of skills and experiences with action verbs.

Also, I admit I'm very picky, but this book is terribly written and organized. Chapters 1,2, and 3 are repetitive - they tell you the same information in only slightly different ways several times. I know writers of how-to books like to repeat themselves in order to get their point across, but it felt like this book was trying to cleverly hide that it didn't actually have enough content to fill its 185 pages.

The way these chapters are organized confused me. Each chapter went from why to use this resume form, to who uses it, to how to use it, and back to why again -- but not always in that order. Both chapters one and two could have been condensed and made into an introduction. And I'd like to strangle the copyeditor for the bulleted lists of incomplete sentences with periods after each item. To my knowledge, that has never been acceptable punctuation. You can use periods for complete sentences, or you can use commas for a list of items with a period after the last, but not periods after each word. Ever hear of Chicago Manual of Style?

I would give it fewer stars, but I think there is *some* value for a person who loves to learn by example and wants to basically copycat the example resumes. Also, important to note that this book is really for sales professionals, human resource managers, and people in medical fields, other than physicians. The authors highlight these types of professions and don't really talk much about any others. And it would probably only really help you if you worked for a company that actually uses the competency-based resume system.

After all my bashing, I do need to admit that I did not make it through the entire book (how could I, with grammar like "...and companies who..." throughout?), and only read about the first 4 chapters. I couldn't bear it. It's not so much "excellent" as the other reviewers said as it is "circularly logical" and "cleverly ambiguous," leaving the reader "nonplussed."

If you want a good resume book, get Resume Magic -- it gives good advice and great examples in clear, logical language. Plus, the author is encouraging, which is great when you just want to find a better job.

Finally a tool that actually focuses on preparing you to sell yourself. After just a few quick reference points I was able to update my current resume and clearly explain my Skills, Competencies and Career Summary. This book gave several great examples to help me add material that quantified my expertise and accomplishments. I was amazed how user friendly and carefully laid out this book was for developing new strategies in the job market.
Want to make an positive impression and get noticed? Get this book!

It's about time someone wrote a book packed with great ideas and a usable process to help those of us seeking new positions. If you use this book faithfully to tweak and retool your resume, you will be almost assured of more call-backs and interviews while jobseeking in the corporate world. I found the book full of advice to help me fine-tune my own story and zero in on what would be of the greatest interest to my prospective employer. It helped me get a fresh perspective on my accomplishments and where I want to be in my next position. I highly recommend this book for people who are serious about their careers.

I felt that this book gave excellent advice and guidelines in preparing resumes.

Competency Based Resumes is an awesome resource guide for anyone putting together their resume from mid-life professionals desiring a new career to recent college graduates heading out into the corporate world. The book covers the importance of competency based resumes and provides great before-and-after examples of standard style resumes then ones transformed to competency based resumes. The book is easy to read and offers other great tips. Competency Based Resumes has allowed me to put down on paper my own competencies and professional accomplishments appropriate for my career search. Kudos to the authors of this comprehensive resume guide!

I regularly use this book in my career coaching and recommend it without hesitation to my clients - invaluable guide for job seekers and well worth the investment! If you follow the guidelines in this and 'Competency Based Interviews' you will get results!