A resume is really a composition that needs to be a masterpiece if you expect to get the jobs that you want. One could compare it to a musical composition in that it will change throughout your life in tone, and content, and also that it is based on the music (or in this case sample resumes) that have influenced and shaped that way you view life and music (or resumes).

Most of the learning that we do in this life is by way of imitation. We learn to walk faster if we have older children walking around us. We learn to play basketball better if we are playing with people that possess more skills than us. We learn by imitation and that is because it takes a very special person to have the ability to form new thoughts and ideas about something and in general it takes too long. This is why there are things like a sample resume that help us to find the basic form, structure, and objective which we will use to compose our own.

The analogy breaks down because resumes are not expected to be original in form, content, or organization of the information contained therein. You are expected to be able to give the potential employer a quick, concise, but very accurate representation of who you are. So it is not the information that you get help with in a sample resume but rather it is the form that is to be similar.

So where do you find a sample resume? Well lots of people find them online and there are certainly quality examples to be found there. The problem with finding them on the internet is that there are so many and a large majority lack the quality that is necessary to avoid being weeded out of an application pool. Let me suggest an alternative source, and that is anyone that you may know that is an employer with experience in hiring employees. This may be a family member, or a friend, or a former employer, it doesn’t matter as long as you trust their judgment and skill in this area. What you do is you ask them for copies of resumes that they will have in their files (with names appropriately removed, of course) that they feel did a good job in the sense that they have good information in a logical and easy to read format.

A sample resume gained in this way will be invaluable as you craft the document that composes your life story including your ambition and portfolio of skills.