How long does it take you to make a resume?

Any resume I’ve typed up has taken me perhaps an hour of gathering pertinent information and then 30 minutes of typing.

Here’s a pretty good explanation why. It will take a while to read, though.

I will have to look for a job this fall, for the first time in 22 years. I work in an intensely competitive field, and I’ll be looking for a job in a city swarming with applicants. A resume is one way that I can, hopefully, make myself stand out.

I build upon the old. I have stored several variants for different jobs—editing vs. design, print vs. web, all-in-one, etc. The appropriate one gets updated [if necessary] and tweaked for the specific job. Task can range from 10 min to 10 hours. A job totally out of my previous sphere [such as managing a dog-walking/cat-sitting/etc. business from home] gets a whole new treatment [not necessarily a resume], emphasizing different occupational virtues.

I just did mine a few weeks ago, and it took about 2 evenings, or a total of about 6 hours. Since I hadn’t done one in awhile, it took some time to get the date information correct for the work history. Writing about what I did in a way that made it relevant to what I’m currently doing took some work, because there is a thread, even though the work was different. Next, I had to summarize the projects I work on with the measurable results attached to them. Finally, I had to relate my work history to the summary of experience. Then I had to go back and make the whole thing fit on two pages.

Resumes should be tailored for the career, job, industry, company with which you will be interviewing. The more experience you have, the longer it will take to finish your resume. I have spent as much as five days working on mine. I have been on the other side of the table many times, interviewing, or just sorting through resumes, and believe me, once you throw out the obviously bogus ones, you pay VERY close attention to the details.

@CaptainHarley I know that one. When we were in the hiring process, we got like 60 resumes. Out of them, widdled it down to 6. 5 accepted an interview, 4 showed up when scheduled, and just one was qualified. We hired her later that day and been with us for like 3 years. Most were not qualified and should have known it, like them early auditioners on American Idol.

I have to agree with @CaptainHarley. When I’ve interviewed candidates, it’s frustrating when all they hand you is a list of where they’ve worked for the last 20 years, with no details about what they did, and how that work experience could be relevant to me and the position I’m trying to fill. A resume is different than a job application, where all they ask for is work history. Figuring out the value add of what you did to that organization at the time, and how that can be built upon going forward.

It’s particularily important if you are trying to transition into a different type of industry or field to highlight how that transition can be made from your work history. And if the role being sought includes leadership ability, that needs to be highlighted in a different way than the actual work done. If I’m applying for job requiring the ability to work with IT teams, I’m going to highlight different aspects of my work experience than if I’m looking for a position with an ad agency.

I much prefer the “functional” resume, where you list the jobs you’ve had which bear on the one for which you’re applying, and give two or three examples of things you did on each job that would be relevant to the one for which you are applying. Most companies expect you to complete an application, which is where you can list all your jobs in chronological order. The more experience you have, the greater the value of this approach.

If you are truly SERIOUS about finding a job, find a copy of What Color is Your Parachute, and follow its instructions. I can virtually guarantee you’ll find a job, one that you will like!

Each resume is tailored to emphasize the skills I have that match up with what that employer claims to be looking for. Most times, it takes about 30–45 minutes, including thinking about what’s adaptable from previous jobs.

It took me at least six hours, probably more, to update my resume for my recent job search. I made a list of all my value-added accomplishments in the new position and put the most eye-popping ones at the top. I edited several times to make it as concise as possible while still thoroughly detailing the high points of my work experience. I looked at things like word choice, sentence structure, and format to make it as readable and effective as possible, then I sought input from two of my professional contacts and edited some more. I have different versions of the resume depending on the job I’m seeking. In the end it’s well worth the effort, because your resume represents you and you want to put the best foot forward.

2 hours 52 minutes 46 seconds

When I first produced it (my resume) quite a while (can’t remember exactly how long but a few hours) and I adapt it to the job I am going for. However, most of the jobs I go for also require me to respond to selection criteria and that can take a long time. So the whole application for a job will take hours. I almost always get an interview though and have been very successful in getting jobs.

I just go to the welfare office and have them do it for me. XD

But nah, takes me about half a day, give or take. Usually over a weekend, but if I calculate the time I work on it and alla that, it’s about four to six hours, most of those used looking for documentation on past jobs, dates and phone numbers lol.

It is obvious when someone takes 10 minutes to do their resume. It is also obvious when someone takes 6 hours to do theirs. The people who work to make their resume as professional as possible will get job interviews. Those who do not, do not. ;)

It took me 3 days to make mine, but that’s because I didn’t do it consistently. I worked on it for a few hours, then a little bit the next day. I made a lot of changes. I wanted it to look as professional as possible, so I took my time in looking for examples,templates, etc. I’m really happy with what I have now :)

I find looking at it the next day also gave me a better eye, rather than sitting at the computer for hours hurting my eyes. I’m happy with the finished product.