Written by Tony Beshara and featuring an introduction by Dr. Phil McGraw, this resume how-to guide is filled with important and timely information that will help job hunters immediately increase the number of job interviews that they are called about.
Beshara is a placement and recruitment specialist, so he spends the majority of his work day looking at resumes. This made him the perfect choice to address the issue of why so many people are continuously sending out resumes that receive little to no response.
Based on both the best and worst resumes that have ever crossed his desk, Beshara has developed a resume building system that he guarantees will capture a hiring manager’s attention.
Aside from the useful content itself, the best aspect of this book is the way that it is formatted. Beshara took the biggest components of writing a successful resume, such as how to handle common resume problems and how to increase the chances that your emailed resume will be read, and turned each of them into its own chapter.
Not only does this make the book easier to read, but it also makes it much more user-friendly down the line when it becomes necessary to review a specific point.
Unlike many similar resume writing books, Beshara freely admits on page 14 that a resume itself will not get you hired. Instead, his intention is to teach readers how to make the most of their resume so that they can land the job of their dreams during the interview.
By acknowledging so early on that there is no such thing as a magic resume or a secret tip that will guarantee someone a job, Beshara builds his credibility and encourages readers to feel less skeptical about the content of his book.
Instead of simply telling readers how to build a solid resume, Beshara explains why he is making each of his suggestions. For example, he points out the reasons why most hiring managers are unimpressed by the so-called functional resume style.
He also takes the time to explain the reality behind an employee search, and how important it is to have an eye-catching cover letter and resume. Beshara estimates that most open job postings will result in a minimum of 200 resumes, and the vast majority of those resumes will be looked at for approximately 10 seconds.
Perhaps the most useful portion of “Unbeatable Resumes: America’s Top Recruiter Reveals What REALLY Gets You Hired” is chapters five through seven. Although these chapters do not deal as much with Beshara’s specialized tips, they do give full examples of resumes that will not be successful.
Showing readers exactly what to avoid is the best way to ensure that their resumes will turn out much better. Even if a job hunter has no interest in reading through this entire book, it would be wise of them to take the time to compare the samples of what not to do to their own resume.
In addition to showing readers how to tweak their resumes for better results, Beshara also touches on the importance of networking. LinkedIn should definitely be the social networking website of choice for job hunters, and he provides some insight into how to turn this networking tool into a job opportunity.
Although networking is one of the best ways to find a new job, Beshara mentions it so many times throughout this book that it does begin to slightly undermine the importance that he also places on creating the right resume.
Beshara was clearly cognizant of the fact that job hunters come from all backgrounds; the book is written in a clear and simple manner, making it accessible to a wide audience. He did not write in a tone that would turn off a highly educated individual, but he was also able to toe the line well enough to make the text inviting to those who generally prefer not to spend their time reading.
Overall, the content of this book is solid, and it is likely to help people during their job hunting efforts. If addition to which, it also provides readers with valuable insight into the minds of hiring managers and those who look at resumes for a living.