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Writing a Great Resume - An Interview with Sam Blum of Razume

We all have written a resume to get a job. Some of us believe we have really well written, concise and compelling resumes. But do we? Most likely, we all could use some type of improvement to make our resumes better. Don’t take it personally. You don’t suck at writing. Besides, wouldn’t you want a better looking resume to help you get that interview?

Enter Razumé. Razumé is a web company that helps you get the advice and feedback you need and when the resume looks good, allows you to be able to contribute it to the community for people to see as an example of a good resume. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Sam Blum, CEO of Razumé to discuss his approach to this always necessary business service. Here is the transcript of that interview:

Steve: You and your team have been building Razumé for a while now. There are many resume review services available to people. What is the overall goal of Razumé?
Sam: Razumé provides job seekers a community platform for resume review. We know a solid resume is one’s passport to securing interviews and job offers. Heeding the call of frustrated job seekers, Razume has launched an innovative resume review community that provides job seekers an interactive resource for improving their resumes. Our goal is to create the largest community of job seeker resumes and resume review experts.

Steve: Everyone these days needs a resume, what is the value to a person to post their resume up online for review?
Sam: Through Razumé, job seekers can anonymously tap the community for feedback and browse our library of ranked and reviewed resumes. The Razumé platform allows critiques to be given as general comments, highlights, text bubbles and ratings based on 6 specific criteria. In addition to community experts, we encourage job seekers to collect feedback from other members of the community, knowledgeable peers and those currently employed in their career field. As resume writing is more art than science, well-rounded feedback provides job seekers needed perspective throughout their job search.

Steve: This is a great service for people but as all businesses need to make money, what is your business model?
Sam: We have a number of strategies for revenue generation that include: premium services, white-label portal licensing, candidate search for recruiters, advertising and lead generation for professional resume writers. For white-label portal licensing, we will be launching our first custom-branded resume review portal for the F. David Fowler Career Center at the George Washington University School of Business in the next few months.

Steve: How do you guys deal with privacy issues?
Sam: Privacy is a major concern for job seekers and we have taken many innovative steps to create a platform that’s secure, yet flexible. When resumes are uploaded, Razumé provides job seekers the option of blocking their contact information and any other personally identifiable information they’re not comfortable showing to the community. Hiding information is simple–job seekers use drawing tools to block any portion of their resumes they choose.

Steve: What have you found in building this type of service has been the biggest obstacle to overcome?
Sam: The largest obstacle for Razumé has been generating significant traction with willing and skilled resume writers. We are still determining the best way to incentivize resume review and are always open to suggestions from those with a background in career centers. We’re also considering a number of partnerships to bring our resume review tools to larger and more established online career services providers.

Steve: To close our interview I would like to get a “Top 5” from you. Since we are facing some tough economic times ahead for possibly the next 12-18 months, many people will be tuning up their resumes to find a new job. What are the Top 5 things you would recommend to people that are creating a new or reworking their existing resume?
Sam:
1: Be flexible, but don’t compromise your long-term goals
In this challenging job market, one may need to consider additional positions or career fields. When considering these additional positions, make sure they fit within your overall career plans. The economy will pick up eventually, so it’s important you next job does not derail your long-term career goals.
2: Network and ask for feedback from current professionals
When preparing your resume, make sure to incorporate feedback from professionals in your career field. Not only can current professionals help polish your resume, but they can also make key introductions or referrals. Referrals give you instant credibility with employers, so make sure you do everything you can to get an edge in this market.
3: Focus on hard skills and job descriptions
Most employers receive hundreds of resumes for a single open position. Initial resume piles are often whittled down by keyword searches. Make sure you optimize your resume for each position while focusing on the hard skills required in each job description.
4: Search early, search often
Job searching can take months, especially in a down economy. Make sure you get started as early as possible and continue putting in search time often. Resume preparation is an important step, but time must be devoted to all elements of your job search.
5: Lastly, be patient and keep trying
Patience is a virtue in this job market. Try not to get discouraged and stay as positive as possible by staying in touch with professional contacts and recruiters. Before you know it, you’ll land the perfect job, but give yourself time to survive the downturn.

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