We all want an easy way to get things done, and resume-building websites promise an easy way to put together a résumé for your job hunt. Unfortunately, using them does you a disservice by making you think that formatting is what matters, and helping you create bland, uninteresting résumés that won’t grab any reader’s attention.  You cannot create a good résumé by filling in a few blanks off the top of your head.

I read a job-related message board where a new job seeker was pointed to a website called cvmaker that claims to let you “create beautiful, professional résumés in minutes, FREE.” It isn’t possible. Sure, you can create a document in minutes, but a résumé that a hiring manager will find compelling takes hours at the minimum.

cvmaker would have you believe that what matters most is formatting and visual presentation. I assure you it is not. Visual presentation is important, but without having something to say, it’s all just pretty fluff.  You must put real time and energy into creating your first resume, considering what value you bring to an employer. It is about how you tell your story, not whether it is beautifully formatted.

cvmaker is comically bad.  It suggests that you fill in a section on “Interests”. Your interests do NOT belong on a resume unless they specifically relate to the job for which you’re applying. For instance, you can mention your love of running in marathons if you’re applying to work at a sporting goods company, for example.  If it doesn’t relate, leave it out.

cvmaker gives you a section to put references, but references do not belong on a resume. It suggests a default of “References available upon request”, but putting that on your resume is a space-filler and makes you look stupid.

The capper of cvmaker’s awfulness is where it lets you fill out your work history.  All the emphasis is on dates and company names.  A text area for each position has the ludicrous caption “Optional details such as job responsibilities, achievements etc.” Those details are not optional. Those details are where you explain to the reader what you have done in the past that makes you worth bringing in for an interview. They aren’t noise. They are the very reason you write the damn resume!

If you’re a job seeker and you’re struggling with how to create your basic resume, stop looking at resume websites, right now. Instead, go to your local public library, or your college library, and check out some books on job hunting. Martin Yates’ Knock ‘Em Dead books are a fine place to start.  If you’re a techie, I’ll point out that my book Land the Tech Job You Love is aimed specifically at you.  Chapters 3 and 4 cover the details of résumé creation.  You can ask the librarian or your career counselor for suggestions as well.  There are many books out there that provide far more and better examples from which to draw inspiration, and you will not be surfing random web pages of questionable value.

You want a good book on job hunting to give you the concentrated learning about how to think about what you want to put in the résumé, and why you want it there.  I guarantee that if you throw together a résumé in an hour, you will create a résumé that no one will be interested in.

(And don’t think that you can create a good résumé just by filling in a few fields in the Microsoft Word résumé templates.  When we hiring managers see those come in, we groan and figure you can’t think for yourself.)

Please, don’t sell yourself short by taking a cookie-cutter approach to your résumé.  It takes hard work to do it right. Don’t let any résumé-building websites or templates lead you astray.