Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton, explains “What Straight-A Students Get Wrong” and the crux of his argument is that grades are not a predictor of career success. He cites research that shows “the correlation between grades and job performance is modest in the first year after college and trivial within a handful of…
Are resumes still relevant? They’re traditional, and they’re still the norm, but increasingly people are asking if they remain relevant. As a professional resume writer, I obviously think resumes are still relevant and will remain so for the unforeseeable future. The alternatives? Videos in which candidates discuss their qualifications are great (if the production values…
Clients often ask me if I’ve included the “right” keywords in the resume, but while I once thought keywords mattered a great deal, I no longer do. Keywords in the resume aren’t intended for human eyes; they exist mostly for the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software which itself only exists for the overwhelmed (or lazy)…
“I am leader, and I can prove it?” Is that what job candidates and some resume writers (the not so good ones) mean when they include”proven leader” as part of your value proposition? Pretty silly, isn’t it? And I’ll bet that the phrase, “results driven” follows close behind – another phrase that doesn’t really mean…
“Do you have data on your clients’ resume success?” I am surprised that I don’t get asked this question more often, but in fact, it’s rare and I’m glad because if such data did exist, it would be fairly meaningless. Here’s why: you could have the best resume in the world, and it might take…
Last week, I met two new clients, both of whom had graduated in 2016, but neither of whom knew how to write a resume – and the result was a bad post-graduate year in which neither had found employment in his or her profession. Things should change for both of them quickly now that they…
“I’d like you to write me a kind of generic resume so I can apply for a variety of jobs.” I hear this request at least once a week, which means the job seeker is stuck listening to me rant for 15 minutes about why a generic resume is a complete and total waste of…
You want feedback on your resume, so who should you ask? Who will give you the best resume advice? Many people solicit feedback on their resumes from well-intentioned people who nevertheless are unqualified to weigh in. I recognize that it’s more than a bit self-serving since I’m clearly suggesting that I am qualified, but stay…