Communicating achievements is cited as one of the key issues jobseekers consider a real challenge. Some people are reluctant to be frank about what they do well; they feel squeamish about recounting tales of how they distinguished themselves against their peers and consider it bragging (and we all know that nobody likes an show-off!) As [...]
There are two ways to stand out in a crowd as far as resumes are concerned. There’s the good way: This is the resume that is perfectly formatted in a contemporary, sharp, sophisticated design that showcases your skills and experience as an unbeatable candidate who blitzes the competition and begs to be snapped up. Then [...]
Some time ago, a client shared her story while we were developing her resume. She told me about her life at the hands of her abusive spouse and how, after years of suffering, she fled the family home to a shelter leaving behind all their possessions and with her children in tow. Years later, she [...]
No resume is ever read and no one ever gets interviewed or hired, unless the employer is trying to solve a problem or a series of problems. Sales may be declining in a key territory, or the manager could be bogged down by routine administration; staff may be leaving in droves, productivity and morale is [...]
Cutting and pasting your current job description into the experience section of your resume speaks volumes about your slap dash, throw-it-all-together-in-a-minute approach and attitude. Is that really the impression you want to give? The key problem with job descriptions (apart from the fact they are mind-numbingly boring to read and full of fluffy, nonsensical business-speak) [...]
It’s a rare day that goes by where someone doesn’t ask me to critique his or her resume. To be brutally honest, most resumes are not up to par. From the spelling errors to the lousy formatting, from the boring, never-ending laundry lists of duties, to the straight copy-and-paste job descriptions full of fluffy business-speak, [...]
I created my business slogan “Unleashing your career with the power of words” many years ago as it resonated with me. Words have always had power. They can hurt someone’s feelings, they can wield power by inspiring decision makers to act. Politicians, spin doctors, advertising professionals and product marketeers have known the secret for decades: [...]
This week’s top question came from “Jon” who asked: “You always say that in a resume the last job should have the most information and to progressively decrease the amount of info for each job back in time. I understand why you would do that, but what do you do if your “show stopper” career [...]
Your prospective employer, a recruiter, or hiring manager is not your best buddy and not your confidant. Yes, these people want to know about you, your background and your achievements, but they don’t need to know all about it! Many people writing their own resumes think everything needs to be explored, without knowing that every [...]
A fun site that makes a word “cloud” of oft-used words and phrases is wordle.net. However unexpected opportunities present themselves with Wordle that will allow you to see the ‘big picture’ of your resume development. From your existing resume, highlight the entire document and click on “Edit” and “Copy”. Now make your way to the [...]