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In all likelihood you’ve seen the Amazing Resume Creator advertised on other sites (as I have) and while people are endorsing it… too few can give you insight into the actual program and tell you whether it is worth purchasing or not… in fact, many aren’t qualified to review it because they are selling it and have never even seen the main program’s interface.

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So I will tell you this now and you can quote me:

I became interested in the Amazing Resume Creator. I purchased it. I use it.

With that said I want to give you an honest review of it (pros and some cons)… I want to give you the reasons why I find it useful… and then you can make your own decision.

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By now if you’ve read any of my previous comments about the A.R.C you know that I think the official site is atrocious… the talking man animation, the salesman-ish feel of it… all horrible. I don’t hide my distaste for it… …but there is one good thing on there.

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The writing.

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If you start reading the copy on the site you’ll begin to discover what makes the program (and its several facets) great.

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I have theories that Sweeney “outsourced” the site creation to a third party company but created the copy on the site himself… it’s this writing that sold me, because even before purchasing the A.R.C it’s how I geared my personal resumes and those I’ve worked on for a long time now.

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So even though we disagree on website taste… for resume creation: Sweeney speaks truth.

Fortunately the software components aren’t anything like the site design. At all. Fortunately.

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First let’s get out of the way what the A.R.C won’t do for you:

1. It won’t create your resume without your participation.
2. It won’t hand-feed you prompt boxes and then spit it all out on a generic, weak-looking template.
3. And though it claims you can put a resume together in ten minutes, you’ll be wasting time and money on this product if you start submitting covers/resumes that you don’t put a least a little commitment into.

What this means is that you’re going to still have to create your own resume.
It will be more organic and less likely to be perceived as a template (a good thing!).
And refining your personal resume is going to require some time and study.

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There’s no easy, super-fix-it method to become a power player in the game of Resume Objectives… but the A.R.C. gets you dangerously close.

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Here’s what the A.R.C. will do for you:

1. It will eliminate a lot of the time spent formatting your resume.
2. It will eliminate many of the logical mistakes you’d make along the way. Mistakes that may or may not be fixed before handing your packet to a potential employer.
3. It will show you the proper amount of information and wording needed to maximize your resume’s potency. This one in particular has benefited me… I have a tendency to overload my resume… when less information would produce better results.
4. It will give you plenty of options, examples, and content that pertain to unique granular levels of resume creation.
5. It will give you the same insight on creating powerful cover letters if you purchase this option (I highly recommend it).

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So what flaws does the program have?

What you purchase… the application and several components… aren’t meshed together in a single program. Though they are billed as free gifts, in essence you’re purchasing the entire package… and it consists of the A.R.C. master program (excellent), three tutorial-based exes (resumes, covers, interviews), two more pdfs, and three word docs (the Cover Letter Content Winners, excellent too by the way).

It’s all there and all quality but you’ll end up with an Amazing Resume Creator folder instead of just a shortcut. You’ll find you want to reference or further read something and have to dig through a few files before you find your place again. That’s the most annoying aspect but it’s forgivable.

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I can vouch that none of the advice and strategies are fluff… everything is concise, to the point, and directed towards active positive input into your resume.

If you’re like me you’ll find things that’ll make your jaw drop. Why didn’t I think of that?! Resumes are supposed to be written so real people can read them… and the little gold nuggets you’ll find work a lot on this “human being” principal… a lot like the concepts I approach in How To Make A Resume Great. So many people twist up their resumes because they believe that complicated “looks better.”

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They are wrong. Sweeney’s found simple and effective methods meant to zero-in on getting you the interview… all by marketing yourself in very logical and uncommonly practical ways.

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In my opinion it is worth the purchase price. It includes lifetime free upgrades and you’re also subscribed to Sweeney’s mailing list that continues to deliver good little concepts to your inbox.

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It’s worth mentioning that the A.R.C. comes with a money-back guarantee up to eight weeks after you purchase it too. The guarantee helped me buy it because I was really concerned (BEFORE I purchased it) about how artificial the site comes off (It does!). No one wants to get duped. Read about the guarantee near the bottom of the site.

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I suggest you try it out and give your resume/cover an edge over competing packets. You can read more about it from the ugly website located here.

Oh, and click on the talking dude at the top to shut him up.

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‘Til Next Time,

Joshua L. Morrison

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Hop over to:

Cover Letter For Resume

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Here’s where we’ll dive into Cover Letter ninjitsu… all the concise insights and practices for the other half of your resume package. Bookmark and/or RSS.

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Thanks,

Joshua L. Morrison

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I believe there are three outcomes:

1) no objective statement, your resume loses a chance to stand out (-1)

2) poor objective statement, hire-person sees your resume has quality issues (-2)

3) good objective statement, your resume stands out (+1)

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A lot of people avoid these statements because they fear that poor objectives will hurt them. They will. But not using an objective hurts too. So include it… but do it well.

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Read the following (very wordy) excerpt from Bradleycvs.co.uk about what a Resume Objective should be.

Firstly it should be a concise and powerful statement that shows the employer you understand their need and conveys how you can add value to their business. It should relate to the particular role in question, rather than listing in a general way everything you want in a new role. And it should be designed to lead the employer in positively to the rest of your resume and to whet their appetite for the information provided there.

The info is good… but with all due respect to Bradleycvs.co.uk let’s give it the ol’ Resume Objectives trim and twist.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you:

The 3 R.O.P.s (er… Resume Objective Principals)

1) Use concise and powerful statements; convey your knowledge and value

2) Include the specific job title posted

3) Make it lead in well to the rest of your resume

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Bradleycvs.co.uk goes on to say that the following examples are good objective statements (beware).

“A persuasive and commercially minded business studies graduate with sales and marketing internship experience, seeking a successful career in sales management with a market-leading organization.”

“Human resources professional with rounded two-year induction in market-leading organization seeks to employ first rate technical knowledge and exceptional interpersonal skills in first managerial position.”

“Experienced business professional with highly developed training, motivational and presentation skills seeks to develop successful new teaching career in forward-looking secondary school environment.”

Have trouble reading those? I did. I think a hire-manager will too.

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Did they use concise and powerful statements to convey knowledge and value?

No, they were wordy, cliché, and the value appeared to be fluff…

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Did they mention a particular role?

No. I suggest this when you are targeting a “released” job description because being specific is strong and it gives those hiring for multiple positions clarity. If you want to review for multiple jobs at a company submit a resume for each.

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Did they lead in well to the rest of the resume?

No, reading those would make me dread weeding through the rest of the resume…

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The Amazing Resume Creator has great Resume Objectives. I was knocked flat by how concise they are, how direct and simple. They follow the three R.O.P.s and are heaps better than those wordy examples.

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But we can still learn what NOT to do from them. We’ll discuss them a bit more in part 2… cut the fat off ‘em like nice hearty rib-eyes. I’ll also drum up a couple of R.O.P. originals, a small hint at all the great stuff you’ll find in the A.R.C.

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‘Til Then,

Joshua L. Morrison

Some of you may have come from my resume co-site: howtomakearesumegreat.tumblr.com …while others are entirely new. Either way welcome to the Resume Objectives.

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What you’ll find here will differ from what’s on the Tumblr above.

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I created Resume Objectives to handle and discuss resume writing and resume formatting strategies in more focus…

…while How to Make a Resume Great will now be geared towards the more unorthodox, non-writing aspects to get your resume noticed. (Looking forward to a lot of this stuff.)

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Please bookmark (and RSS feed) them both.

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Successful resume writing is a powerful skill. I can think of very few other areas where you have such direct control over gaining immediate, graspable benefits with your career.

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When you submit a resume package it stands as the primary (and often times, only) connection to getting interviewed and closing in on the target job. What goes into that package either sinks or swims.

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To be successful… to swim… you must learn how to market yourself well and stand out from the competition… this is what I want to guide you through.

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On a sidenote… I just want to point out that the brick wall up there looks a whole lot better than the first version I made. I still like the first version… it just reminds me a bit of spoiled cheese. HAHA

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Anyway stay tuned and we’ll get your resume head and shoulders above the competition in no time.

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‘Til Then,

Joshua L. Morrison

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