Resume Maker Deluxe v10

Reviewed by: Jeff Matthews, send e-mail Published by: Individual Software, go to the web site Requires: Pentium class PC or higher, Microsoft Windows XP/Me/2000/NT/98/95 CD-ROM drive, sound card and speakers, Internet connection, 60MB of hard disk space (additional 12MB for Career Planner), fax software MSRP: $39.99 Do you want a professional looking resume that is presentable to employers? Do you need help writing your resume? Individual Software's Resume Maker Deluxe does the trick. At only $39.99, it blows the competition out of the water. It lets you create resumes with ease and offers a vast array of other options that will help you get a job. The software comes with one CD-ROM, a registration card and Individual Software was nice enough to include a huge manual. Resume Maker includes features such as wizards that will greatly reduce the amount of time needed to write your resume. Even if you have no experience writing a resume you'll be surprised at the output it can produce. Simply click on text entry areas and phrase lists will popup with a range of professional sentences to choose from. The software also includes a salary finder to show salaries for different job fields, a virtual interviewer which goes over a model interview using voice and video. This can prepare you for the day you go in for the real interview! It asks questions commonly used by employers.

Just out of college? Don't worry because Individual Software didn't forget you. Even without prior work experience, Resume Maker can enhance your resume by listing awards you may have earned, articles written, internships and other part-time or casual jobs you may have held.

Did you already write your resume in a word processor before you bought Resume Maker? That doesn't seem to be a problem either because ResumeMaker allows you to import other documents and choose from over 30 styles. It also allows you to submit your resume to the most popular resume databases.

As a college student I would give ResumeMaker a 10/10 rating. It requires less thinking and helps you write a professional resume with ease. There are no other resume making software applications out there that can beat the features it offers. I think ResumeMaker did a great job cramming features into a fairly priced package. At $39.99 this product should make its way off of the shelf fast.

(Ed. Note: Obviously, Jeff really likes Resume Maker. However, some of us older business folks who have to swim through enormous mounds of resumes whenever we're hiring, take exception to the cookie cutter effect imposed by dozens - sometimes hundreds - of job applicants who are all using Resume Maker and applying for the same job listing. The inherent similarities from resume to resume are not quite identical but nonetheless don't contribute any individuality to a resume. We think that everyone who uses resume software of any kind should make sure they individualize their resume by avoiding many of the stock phrases supplied by software. It's a dead giveaway - we know you didn't write it. Although the ghost writing may be professional, it doesn't tell a prospective employer anything about you. That's not the greatest way to begin a relationship. The nicest thing about Resume Maker is that it can take an incoherent mess of details and, with a bit of help from you, format them into something legible and readable).

Letters to the Editor are welcome and occasionally abused in public. Send e-mail to: whine@kickstartnews.com