Peer Review of Resumes

  1. Using the "Resume peer editing" tag display, take a look through the resumes everyone posted to their weblog. Choose two to comment upon. In choosing two, try to pick ones that have not received any responses.
  2. Then, compose a detailed response for each that carefully addresses all of the questions below and tries also to address the writer's concerns. If you have additional suggestions for response not covered by the questions below, the writer would certainly appreciate the feedback; however, you are still responsible for addressing all of the listed questions.
  3. When finished, post each response as a comment to the weblog posts you are responding to.

In composing your response, you might find it easier to first just to go through and address all the questions on a sheet of paper or in a document file. Your tone should be informal but professional and not overly casual. A friendly voice in feedback is good; many writer's are more comfortable at accepting cricitism of their work when it come from a good-natured, sympathetic responder.

Also, when talking about specific areas of the author's text, be sure to include specific quotations within your feedback. Take advantage of the fact that you can easily copy and paste to point directly to what you are referring to from the draft. (Try using Firefox or Safari's "tabbed browsing" to keep multiple windows easily available during this type of peer review.).

Questions for Response

  1. What can the writer do to make the resume better tailored to the specific job being applied for?
  2. Is the layout and design pleasing to the eye? Make at least one suggestion for improving it.
  3. Does the resume fit comfortably within the page (as opposed to being squished in or stretched out)? What can the writer do to improve it?
  4. Is it easily readable (no confusing fonts, clearly marked sections)? What improvements can be made?
  5. Does it use typography (including headers and bold and italics) appropriately and effectively?
  6. Is the most important information located on the left side of the page and near the top whenever possible? Identify at least one part that could be better placed.
  7. Does the content of the resume support the objective (if there is one)? Explain.
  8. Is the resume too short? Where can it elaborate? Job skills? Responsibilities? Education?
  9. Is material sequenced in order of importance and relevance?
  10. Do bulleted items begin with action verbs? Are list items ordered in terms of importance?
  11. Does the resume avoid generalities and focus on specific information and professional terminology?
  12. Does the resume pass the Quadrant, Column, Squint, and Distance tests? Explain how the author might make improvements based on your test results.
  13. What other observations can you make about the resume?