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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The Scoop on Resume Software

Have you ever tried doing your resume with some software? I always advise to use a professional resume writer but if you want something basic resume software can do the trick, usually for $50 or less. Most of the resume software out there is easy to use...if you know how to use MS Word you'll be fine with it.

The top resume software packages for sale right now include:

Resume Maker Deluxe Edition 7.0 (Individual Software Inc., $49.95 CD-ROM/$39.95 download)
WinWay Resume 6.0 (WinWay Corp., $39.95 CD-ROM)
Paraben Resume Wizard (Paraben Corp., $19.95 download)
You're Hired! (DataTech Software, $39.95 CD-ROM/$24.95 download)

There's also a new resume maker out called Kinetic Resume. It costs $29.95 right now. Here's a sample of resumes (PDF) it produces. The layouts they offer are pretty basic. I'm not a big fan of the layouts most resume software produces. I like to create untraditional layouts like with 3 columns and stuff to stand out. Check out these untraditional resume examples.

But Kinetic Resume does seem to offer lots of guidance creating those accomplishment statements which are so important to your resume. Features include:

  • Narrated Coaching Sessions walk you through each step of the process.
  • Forms are easy and intuitive. Just type in new text or copy and paste from existing information you may already have.
  • Animated examples show you exactly what to do at each step in the process.
  • Our exclusive Focus and Strength Statements help you tailor your most significant accomplishments in their most prominent place.
  • Drag-and-drop capabilities let you easily position and tailor your accomplishments as evidence of your strengths.
Whatever recruiting software you choose to use just beware. Most of it is canned, unflattering junk. But it can be a good starting point for a solid resume if you continue to refine it for each job you apply to.

1 comment:

Kwidster said...

Thanks for including Kinetic Resume and your comments regarding the guidance we provide. We'd also agree with you that no software product will ever replace a good professional resume writer.

However, we do have to take exception with being included in a group of "canned, unflattering junk" as there is nothing "canned" in Kinetic Resume. No templates, no canned phrases. You actually have to think to use our product. ;-)

Thanks again for the post,
Brian Briggs, Kinetic Resume