Ok, I admit it. I’ve fantasized about being a judge on one of the many reality TV competition-style shows like Project Runway or Top Chef and I’ve thought about how cool it would be to say “You’re out!” in my best Heidi Klum voice. I may never get a chance to judge something on national TV, but I’m happy to say that this year I was selected as a judge for the TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) awards competition hosted by Career Directors International. Resume writers from all over the world compete for the coveted first, second, and third place spots in a handful of resume categories. I’ve won 6 TORIs and I am very proud of them. So it’s an honor to now be selected as a judge.
And like the judging process for some of the TV competitions we watch, this is no cakewalk. The competition is fierce with hundreds of entries…one weak summary statement, a formatting error or design flow, or (gasp) a typo and you are told to pack your bags and leave. Well not exactly, but you get the gist.
The entries this year were incredible. Selecting the best was quite difficult. All the nominees deserve high praise. You can learn about the “awesomeness” of some of the competition’s past resume writing divas on the Career Directors International site. The winners of the 2010 competition will be announced at the Career Directors International annual conference next month and the winning resumes will be posted soon after. But as far as I’m concerned, all the contestants are winners. A good writer is one who tries to get better every day. And that’s what a competition like the TORIs allows professionals in my industry to do.