BREWERTON — Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) has found an easy and free resume builder tool from the Onondaga County Public Library’s online resource Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test Prep. Here you’ll find resume templates and resume examples to build your resume from scratch and with no experience. There you can build your resume and craft a cover letter into a format that works for each job application.
A significant hardship of getting back into the job market is knowing you’ll have to update your resume and write a great cover letter. Some of the dread comes from thinking about writing the actual content, but the rest of it comes from trying to develop a suitable layout — one that looks updated and reflective of the field and position. After all, a resume for a creative position might look very different from a legal position.
There are lots of great resume layouts and templates you can find online. However, you have to be careful where you’re downloading from unknown sites because of things like viruses and malware. Then there’s the challenge of file type; some of the templates are for programs like InDesign or Photoshop, which not everyone can access. When you can find a Microsoft Word template, my experience is that editing such a template is exceptionally challenging. Change one thing — the font size or style, the length of sentences, for instance — and the whole document gets skewed. It can be frustrating.
If this sounds all too familiar, let NOPL share a little secret with you — it’s a tool called VisualCV. Why is that a secret? Because the tool is buried inside a library database called Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test Prep. I don’t know about you, but a database that sounds like it focuses on test preparation for students might be the last place I look for resume help. It’s there though, because students preparing for college and/or entering the workforce haven’t had a lot of experience putting together resumes and cover letters.
To get started, log in to the database, and within, you have the option to create a resume, cover letter, or resume website to send to employers digitally. Begin by selecting a template from about two dozen resume templates; then type your information, upload a resume from your computer, or import a resume from LinkedIn to populate the template of your choice. Revise the selected resume template by changing colors or font to meet your needs, plus it will automatically save as you create.
This free resume builder is available with your library card and can be accessed at any time at nopl.org/online-research. If you need help writing your resume NOPL has librarians on staff at each branch to help. To set up an appointment with NOPL’s resume specialist, located at NOPL’s Brewerton Branch, contact Alissa Borelli by calling 315-676-7484.
