Free Sample Resumes

By Erin Kennedy

Erin Kennedy has made these sample resumes available to help you see how you might prepare your resume.

Below you will find descriptions of 12 typical situations faced by job seekers.

For each situation, you will find a description of the problems faced and how the job seekers addressed the situation with their resume.

Today, a single version of your resume is not sufficient. For best results, match the requirements in the job description with your qualifications and accomplishments, as you will see in these samples.

Samples for Many Different Situations

Below find sample resumes for special situations (entering or re-entering the job market, making a career change, unemployed, older candidate who wants to look younger, and more) as well as a standard employed job seeker.

Choose and carefully examine the resumes closest to your situation. Also check out the other resumes to see how different experiences are handled by a professional resume writer.

The Sample Resumes

The challenges faced by these job seekers is explained in the article that accompanies the resume and should explain the particular challenges each job seeker faced. The job seekers range from executive to college student and everyone in between.

Each sample resume illustrates how to resolve several issues that the job seeker had.

Do read the explanation of the situation the resume is addressing before you look at the resume samples. That will enable you to see what "problem" the job seeker had that the resume addressses. Without reading the explanation, you will probably not be able to determine the issue being resolved (which is very good!).

Standard Situation:

Average Joe Job Seeker

This "regular guy" -- Eduardo Hortiz (not his real name) -- has been working for several years and is looking for a non-management job in his current field. Learn more about how he stands out without changing who he is.

Typical Challenges:

• Executive Making a Career Change

  This executive job seeker, Joseph J. Monroe (not his real name), wants to change industries from healthcare to technology Learn how he emphasized he accomplishments in technology to make the transition.

• Older Job Seeker Looks Younger

  This older job seeker, Karen Coffey (not her real name) ,competes with much younger job seekers in a "young field." Learn how she made herself look younger to compete successfully.

• Highlighting Education

  In some fields education is very important to employers, so this job seeker, Frank Ford (not his real name), needs to emphasize that aspect of his background. Learn how this management consultant emphasized his education several ways to highlight his qualifications.

• Non-Profit Executive with No Degree

  This successful senior manager, Ryan Meade (not his real name), did not finish his college degree and is now seeking an executive director position, typically requiring a degree. Learn how he managed the missing degree.

Entering or Re-entering the Job Market

• A Mom Returning to Work

  This job seeker, LaDonna Davis (not her real name), faced two big challenges - handling the employment gap when she was home taking care of her family and also changing the direction of her career when she returned to the workforce. Learn more about how she managed each challenge.

• College Student

  Graduating next May, this student, Loretta Perkins (not her real name), is getting a jump start on her post-graduation job search. Read how she combined her experience, both on the job and off, to impress potential employers.

• New Grad

  This new accounting grad, Landon Jones (not his real name), wants to follow up on experience she gained during an internship. Read the issues this job seeker faced and how she handled education.

Unemployed Job Seekers

• Job Seeker with Gaps in Employment

  This job seeker, Anna Gonzalez (not her real name), used her volunteer work to disguise her gaps in employment. Learn more about how she handled employment gaps.

• Older, Laid-Off Worker

  Appropriately presenting all the experience that this older job seeker, James Carpenter (not his real name),, brings to an employer can be challenging. Read how this job seeker resolved three tough issues.

• Just Fired

  A job search after you've been fired can be difficult. Read how this experienced manager, Betsy Charles (not her real name), handled being fired.

• Unemployed with a Chronic Illness

  This job seeker, Sandi Peterson (not her real name), faces two challenges, a chronic illness (MS) and being currently unemployed. Learn how she handles both her chronic illness and being unemployed.

The Bottom Line

Your resume is an extremely important personal marketing document, essential for job search today. Keep that perspective in mind as you create your resume. A resume must be truthful and focused on the employer and opportunity.

More About Resumes

• Effective Resumes Home
• 3 Smart Tips to Beat the ATS Systems
• 7 Deadly Resume Mistakes for New Grads to Avoid
• Why 95% of Resumes Don't Get Read and What You Can Do About It
• Why a General Work-History Resume Doesn't Work Now
• How to Triple the Value of Your Resume