Great Resumes

A great resume gives a great first impression. XPastor has some outstanding examples. When a church receives 200 resumes for a position, these are the kind of resumes that get “a closer look.” Learn from the great resumes.

Chris Calvert

Before and After Resume
and Resume Website

See Chris Calvert’s Original Resume in PDF

See Chris Calvert’s Revised Resume in PDF

Chris started with a good resume and made it even better. He wrote:

Fletch suggested that I shorten my resume (along the lines of the samples on the XPastor Great Resumes page) and pair it with a web page. And, so I did.

The resume is now easy to read with pertinent information on the first page.

Resume websites are excellent ways to help churches quickly get to know you. Chris Calvert’s site is an excellent example. It is clean, crisp and informative. It is a tremendous way of putting together lots of pertinent information. If a church wants to go deeper, they can do so at so many points of interest.

Chris says: “Wix” ended up being the simplest platform for a non-techie like me with tons of templates and easy navigation. I kept the designer’s copyright on the bottom of my Wix page as I built it off a template they have for that purpose. I had an amazing editor who designed the resume and made sure that the website and resume complemented each other.

More Before and After Resumes

Great Resumes

Click on an image to see the full resume. Resumes are listed chronologically order as received.

Kirk Morgan
Executive Pastor

Walter Guillaume
Executive Pastor

Zack Thompson
Family Pastor

Kenny Smith
XP Website Resume

Rob Bollinger
Executive Pastor

How to Write a Ministry Resume

by David Lyons

The art of job seeking and resume writing is constantly changing. After reviewing thousands of resumes at MinisterSearch, I’ve come up with 10 things to consider when writing a resume:

  1. Be as concise, to the point, and easy to read as possible. Don’t write a novel.
  2. The experience section is by far the most important section of the resume. Use action-oriented and descriptive bullet points to show how you can do the job for which you are applying.
  3. Stating the Objective is no longer cool. Your objective is the job. Don’t waste the real estate.
  4. Dates should be on the right. Years only, no months.
  5. In general, go back only 15 years unless there are significant achievements before then.
  6. Don’t list run-of-the-mill skills, i.e. PowerPoint, Excel, MS Word. Doing so makes you look like you’re behind the times.
  7. List references on a separate sheet, but wait to send them until you’re asked.
  8. Don’t list phone numbers, fax numbers or your address. Only your cell number and email address should be given.
  9. When you save your resume, name it so someone else understands what it is. Example: David Lyons Resume.pdf
  10. Consider what are the things you believe should or shouldn’t be in included.

Check out this youtube video about writing a ministry resume