MODERNIZE YOUR RESUME WRITING CONTEST

We created the Modernize Your Resume Contest to showcase the very best work of professional resume writers worldwide. We want to see how you’ve incorporated modern principles into the resumes that you create.

In our book, Modernize Your Resume: Get Noticed … Get Hired, we shared 18 key principles for how to modernize resume writing, format, and design. To be considered for the contest, you must incorporate as many of these principles as appropriate for the particular resume that you’re submitting. 

For a listing of all 18 resume principles, see below.

There will be only 1 winner for each contest. However, contests will be held repeatedly, so you’ll have numerous opportunities to participate.

Each contest is open to resumes for all industries, all professions, all levels, and all client challenges and circumstances. 

Benefits to You

Your winning resume will be showcased on the Emerald Career Publishing website for both your colleagues and prospective clients to see. Remaining on the website for a full year (or longer) in our “Winning Resumes Portfolio,” your resume will be posted with your name, credentials, company name, website URL, email address, and phone number (optional).

Contest winners will also be shared via our social media messages on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Submission Guidelines

1. Submit 1 resume in pdf format.
2. Your submission may NOT be a resume that has been previously published—in Modernize Your Resume or in any other publication or forum other than your own website.
3. You do NOT need to take the time to fictionalize your submission. We'll ask the winner to do that after we've made our selection. 
4. Include a statement (up to 1 page) that identifies which modernize principles you’ve used and how you’ve used them, including specific examples. (This information will also be posted on the Emerald Career Publishing website.)
5. Send your submission to wendy@wendyenelow.com AND louise@louisekursmark.com.
6. By submitting your work, you grant us permission to publish it on our Emerald Career Publishing website, with attribution and after disguising/fictionalizing client details. Winners may NOT revoke this permission. BECAUSE THIS IS A PUBLIC FORUM, be certain that you have the client's permission and/or you have carefully and thoroughly fictionalized the document.

The winner will be notified via email within 2 weeks of the deadline.

Modernize Your Resume—18 Key Principles

• Start with the Wow!
• Put Your Objective in the Driver’s Seat
• Write with Meaning & Power
• Write Tight, Lean & Clean
• Leave the Muscle, Lose the Fat
• Integrate Your Critical Keywords

• Showcase Your Career with the Right Resume Structure
• Pop Your Contact Information
• Follow the Rules of Good Formatting
• Improve Readability & Skimmability
• Choose a Font that Fits
• Prepare for the Complexities of Online Search

• Capture Attention in a Flash
• Follow the Practices of Good Page Design
• Match Design Elements to Your Industry & Profession
• Match Design Elements to Your Career Story
• Be Distinctive
• Embrace Color & Graphics