From the category archives:

resumes

Please STOP reviewing your friends’ resumes

August 31, 2010

A few weeks ago I received a distraught call from a client who had recently received his newly minted professional resume.
At the conclusion of the resume writing process, this smart, capable professional felt equipped, empowered to proactively tackle his job search. But just days later, he was feeling defeated and unsure.
You see, he had sent [...]

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10 Career Questions You Were Afraid to Ask

March 30, 2010

Today’s post is a guest post from Nikki Ruth, a fellow employment expert who specializes in writing CVs. She shares some great insight on some tough career questions, and the answers you’ll need to succeed. Enjoy!

Career Question Category 1: Job Hunting
1. I have a degree but no work experience. What’s the best thing to do? [...]

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Trust and Networking: 3 Keys to a Business Network that Works

March 11, 2010

Networking for your job search is critical, because people hire people, not resumes.
More than that, they hire people that they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.

The problem is that most of what we learn about networking for job search focuses on the KNOW.

We’re taught to go out and meet people, exchange business cards, and then…. what?

“Well, you [...]

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The Curriculum Vitae (CV): Writing beyond the resume

January 27, 2010

Your standard resume may not cut it.
Professors and other educators, researchers, scientists, and those applying for jobs in Europe and Asia may need to use a Curriculum Vitae (also called CV or Vita) to make the right impression.
CVs are not-so-subtly different than resumes. Although brevity and powerful language is still of value, a CV may [...]

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Your 5 Step Recipe for a Memorable Job Search Message

January 25, 2010

A chef makes a name by creating a unique dining experience.
Any cook worth their toque can pull off a fettucine. Just another fettucine won’t get you a write-up in the local paper, or create the kind of buzz that brings in new customers by the dozens. But a fettucine that fills the dining room, now [...]

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Key Skills Resume Section: How to Highlight Relevant Experience

November 25, 2009

Are you switching industries? Returning to work after some time away? Not sure your experience really shows off what you can offer? Do you have a generalist background with a wide variety of skill sets?
All of these situations can make it difficult to concisely describe what you can do for a potential employer. While a [...]

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Improve your resume today: Play up what you want

November 24, 2009

Lillian* has worked in IT for ten years, most recently managing a team. As her next step, she’d like to step away from management and return to the role of an individual contributor. Her resume starts something like this:
Results oriented IT manager…
Hold up.
Besides my feelings on the use of the words “results oriented,” Lillian has [...]

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Improve your resume today: Using active voice

November 23, 2009

Nothing makes you look more qualified than a resume that shows how you sat around waiting for things to happen to you.
Doesn’t sound right? Yeah, didn’t think so.
A good resume shows what you did, not what was done to you. Hence, a cardinal rule of resume writing: use active voice.
What is active voice?
Active voice and [...]

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Use transferable job skills for your job search

November 13, 2009

Today’s post is a guest post by Scot Herrick, one of my favorite fellow career bloggers. Give it a look – it’s great stuff!
When people know I write about jobs and careers on the web, it is natural to get asked at social events about all things job related. So when a friend sat down [...]

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Personal Branding: Sell the benefits

November 5, 2009

Are you selling your features or your benefits?
In his article LinkedIn Summary: Features vs. Benefits, Jason Alba tackles the distinction.
A feature is like your own set of technical specifications.
In the computer world, you might see that a computer has a Core 2 Quad processor. That’s a feature. What’s the benefit? Great speeds when gaming.
A running [...]

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