We like to check to see what kind of career advice is circulating ‘out there’ and found this sample resume on Monster.ca. We decided to provide a critique on the resume. Does it pass our test? Find out ….

Overall impression

We would give this resume a passing mark of C+ (needs improvement). It covers some important items, but fell short in a few categories and we listed these below.

Style and organization

Resumes should look organized and easy to read. Recruiters/HR have limited time to review a resume, so making it look readable is important. This resume should have updated headings, a chart to contain the skills and should list the occupation first as priority, instead of the employer. The position is much more important.

Too wordy?

The resume has too much to read and does not touch on the important items, such as condensing the years of experience at the forefront of the document. The summary should omit words like “interpersonal skills”. If the resume cannot covey these items using solid examples, then they should be removed. This resume is padded with fluffy stuff. Get to the point, summarize only key items and wait for the interview call.

Experience section

This section is quite lengthy. We recommend removing the opening paragraph  and use condensed sentences to demonstrate value. A good example of a high-impact sentence should be written like this:

• Administered various potent medications, particular cardiac (bisoprolol, furosemide, metoprolol), antipsychotics and sedatives (lorazepam, haloperidol), and pain and palliative drugs (morphine, scopolamine).

You can see the impact and value of adding specific examples.

Some positive points to consider

We liked the the technical skills listed, but we would need to see the job this candidate is applying to. Where is her focus?  Medicine, ER, Paediatrics? Her job title demonstrates her current job, but we would like to know exactly the position she’s applying to, as one would cater to that role and omit the general information.

What’s missing

The biggest mistake of this resume is it lacks clarity and focus. Remove the stuff that does not contribute and focus on the stuff that does matter. Fortunately the healthcare industry is always looking for talent, so this person would probably succeed in securing a position. In the case where competition is tights, this resume may not be successful.

Overall, we think the resume is decent for this industry and the competition level, but would recommend fixing some items. Do you know someone who is looking to change occupations or secure a job, share this article by clicking on one of the fun buttons below (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and or all).