Folks, in some ways I'm in a situation not too different from yours. While I'm not looking to leave TheLadders.com -- heck no, I love this job too much and helping get the leaders of the country into their next great role in life is too rewarding an avocation -- I am looking to get my name out in front of organizations that I'd like to join. And while sending my bio to civic groups and industry organizations is fine as a first step, for the later, more serious steps in the admissions process, my "PR" bio seemed a little, well... thin.

So I had the bright idea of re-doing my resume. Like many of you, I hadn't updated that old thing in about seven years! And it was in awful shape. You can see just how awful for yourself.

And as I wanted to practice what I preach, I decided to get my resume professionally re-written.

Now over the years, we've seen a lot of... unfortunate resumes at TheLadders.com. Resumes that, with a little effort on the part of the viewer reveal a competent, capable, dynamic executive, but that taken at face value in 20 seconds really don't communicate the strengths of the person behind it. And the trouble is, most resumes get only 20 seconds (or less) to state their case -- to state your case -- to a recruiter or hiring manager.

So back in 2004, we interviewed dozens of resume writers, looked at their output, and selected a handful to recommend. Over the years, we have professionalized TheLadders.com Resume Writer program and have even launched internet-based tools to make the resume critique and re-writing process go more smoothly for you. And thanks to your feedback and these tools, we've been able to understand which resume writers are doing the best job for you, and have removed writers whose efforts were not up to snuff.

So when it came time for me to get my resume re-written, I turned to resume guru, Alesia Benedict. Alesia took that old rag of a resume that I had floating around and worked her magic on it.

Here is Alesia's re-write of my resume.

So let's have Alesia walk us through why she changed what she did and what makes it an all-around superior effort to my own draft....

"The new, two page version of Marc's resume provides the reader with a more comprehensive look at his experience, which is imperative to getting Marc noticed within the competitive business levels and environments he's targeting. Providing the reader with sufficient information to make an educated decision about Marc's potential is critical in achieving the difficult task of reaching the interviewing level. Executive resumes at this level should typically be 2-3 pages long. Marc's old resume was too much of a 'skeleton' approach.

Let's look at the resume from beginning to end. First, the "Objective" summary is much too low-level, and was replaced with a "Summary" section that introduces the reader to the many ways Marc is equipped to generate great results within dynamic business environments. Marc's original objective line focused more on Marc's wants and needs as opposed to what he can offer an organization. Taking a "this is what I want from the company" stance is not a good marketing message, because the company is (of course), interested in what you can offer and do for them.

Next, a list of "Core Competencies" is the key to getting the reader's attention. It provides an organized look at Marc's areas of expertise and it is a great tool for presenting industry terms and keywords.

Instead of bulleting all information under each position, the bulleted format was reserved for highlighting accomplishments. This ensures that this information jumps out at the reader and facilitates the reader's ability to see the ways Marc has impacted organizations' performances and growth.

Resumes need to detail about 10 - 15 years of someone's career. Earlier experience, or lesser weight experience (as in the case of Marc's Summer Associate position) can be summed up in a Career Note vs. giving it prime real estate on a resume. The scholastic activities were removed from Marc's resume. Again, this information pulled down the 'weight' of his resume as those details are best for new grads.

Dates for the education were removed. Readers use the dates to determine the age of the job seeker. This can be tricky in many ways. Marc is younger than some executives, and that could be seen as a negative by a reader who has 10 - 15 years on him. The opposite is true in other circumstances, where the job seeker is perceived as being too old. Age discrimination can take the form of many shapes. Why risk it? What is important is that Marc has earned those degrees, not the years he graduated!"

Wow! Thanks, Alesia. So, Readers, I took my own medicine, and I have to say I'm very pleased with how it turned out. To visit learn more about our resume writers, and get your own free critique, please visit TheLadders.com Resume Writers today.

OK, Readers, here's wishing you the best with putting your best foot forward this week!