You want feedback on your new resume before starting your job search. But who gives the best resume advice? Who among your family, friends or colleagues should you turn to to get constructive feedback? Probably none of them. Occasionally when I’m working with a client, they report feedback from “my brother-in-law,” “my manager,” or “the…
Your resume isn’t an autobiography of your career. Resumes are marketing tools intended to take job candidates to the next step in the hiring process, which is to get interviewed by the hiring manager. To market yourself strategically requires presenting potential employers with a value proposition that aligns with the position they need to fill.…
Stop thinking of your resume as a history of everything you’ve done in the workforce and turn your resume into a marketing tool by using the strategies that successful marketers employ to sell their products. Get your head around the concept that you are the product and potential employers are the buyers. Marketers understand that…
The global pandemic has wreaked havoc on several industries, notably retail and hospitality, while others are considering changing careers during this period of uncertainty and fear. The good news is that companies are hiring, but the bad news is that competition is considerably stiffer. And if you are changing careers – also known as a…
Have you seen resumes with the candidate’s academic or professional credentials as part of the person’s name? We don’t think twice about referring to medical doctors as Latisha Jones, MD, but what if Latisha earned a Master’s in neuroscience? Should she refer to herself as Latisha Jones, M.S.? This is a squirrelly issue, as people…
Would that I had a nickel for every client who asked me to include in the resume that they are a “fast learner,” or a “diligent worker,” or my all time fave, a “proven leader.” But I don’t, or I wouldn’t be writing a blog post about it. Here’s the thing: everyone says stuff…
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now: your GPA doesn’t belong on your resume. Recent graduates mention their GPAs, which I understand. They’re just exiting an environment where their grades mattered, and if they’re applying to graduate school, they still matter. That doesn’t mean that GPAs add value to resumes, and I’ll explain…
You already know that employment gaps in your resume will cause some recruiters and hiring managers to reject your resume. That’s unfair, but it’s a reality, so let’s discuss some ways to hide or explain the gap in such a way as to avoid rejection. The reason for the employment gap determines how to handle…