Sample Resumes

Sample Job Resumes

Why Their Usefulness is Limited

Examples of good resumes can certainly give you an idea of job search documents that have proved effective for other individuals in the past. As long as you don’t make the mistake of thinking they can serve as a precise template for your own resume, there’s no harm in reviewing one or more sample job resumes to see what you can learn from them.

I have provided a few sample resumes on this site for that reason. However, I can almost guarantee they will not work for you, if you basically copy them and put your own contact information at the top!

What can you learn from an example of a good resume?

If you look at enough samples, one of the things you’ll notice is that certain elements keep showing up, such as education and experience sections. On the other hand, some resumes might include a separate section of accomplishment highlights to emphasize a particular job seeker’s contributions to employers, while others will integrate accomplishments into the experience section. The choice of what to include in your resume, as well as where and how, plays an important part in the overall presentation of your value to prospective employers.

Look also for elements you do not see in the sample resumes, such as the old ending, “References available upon request,” or the generally useless phrase, “responsible for” (which only tells people what you were supposed to do, not whether you did it well—if at all).

Sample Resumes

Sales Management resume
International Sales Executive resume
Business Development resume
Global Operations Executive resume
Chief Financial Officer resume
Information Technology Executive resume

Important note: To protect client confidentiality, each sample resume is fictionalized and used with client permission. You may find additional sample resumes in these published books: Executive’s Pocket Guide to ROI Resumes and Job Search and Resume Magic.