Contributed by Lindsay Shugerman, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Your resume. It’s the first thing an employer will see of you. It’s all of your experience, skills, education and career plans distilled into a couple of pages.

And it’s scary as heck to write.

Having good resume samples can make the job easier, but so many resume sample sites are just link farms or thinly veiled ads for companies hoping to sell you career advice. But there are some good ones out there.

Here are some that offer real samples that could help you transform your resume from so-so to wow.

10. About.com

About.com is known for their extensive information and their sample resume page is no exception. Lots of resume advice, and some good, reliable samples, too.

9. ResumeSampleResource.com

Skip the questionaire in the middle of the page; it leads to an ad. Click on a job title in the right nav for the actual samples. Yes, this site buries their resume samples amid lots of ads, but the templates are there, and they are good, so it may be worth the effort.

8. ResumeSamples.info

A simple to use resume template site that’s more about the content than the formatting. Use this site for ideas on what to include, and how to work experience, education and goals into your resume for a variety of jobs.

7. FreeResumeSamples.org

Like some of the other top 10 sites, Free Resume Samples is more about the content than the formatting. But they have a big plus in their great mix of detailed resumes and solid career and job hunting advice.

6. Resume-Resource.com

This site is a mix of quality resume examples and templates, and links to other resources including resume writers and career advisors. Of special note are their excellent CV (Curriculum Vitae) samples for academic job hunters.

5. JobWeb.com

Students who are trying to construct a resume for that first job, or first job in a new career field, will find the answers they need in this template site. Pick the template by major for the best advice for your situation.

4. WorkBloom.com

Excellent sample resumes, plus sample cover letters and job hunting advice make this a top choice for career resume advice.

3. DistinctiveWeb.com

This is a great resume sample site for executive and senior level management resumes, a category often missing from other resume sites.

2. BestSampleResume.com

You would be hard pressed to find a kind of job or job situation Best Sample Resume’s site does NOT have as a sample. Easy to navigate, no frills site.

1. Microsoft.com

I rated Microsoft’s resume sample page number one for a couple of reasons. Yes, they have a lot of great samples for a variety of job categories. But even more valuable is the fact that every one of them is already formated for Microsoft Word. That means when you download one, it will work. No trying to recreate spacing or formatting – a big time and paper saver.