From the category archives:

resumes

Embrace resume keywords, eschew buzzwords

October 28, 2009

Which words in your resume are selling your skills? Which words are drowning them out? There’s a fine line between keywords, which help recruiters find you and understand your experience and background, and buzzwords, which sound good but often say very little. The problem is that because the buzzwords sound so impressive, we tend to [...]

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Reader Question: How many jobs do I list on my resume?

October 22, 2009

I can blather on and on about effective job search, but where the value comes from is how it applies to your individual situation. You guys send me great questions from time to time, and when I get enough of any one question — well, it’s worth sharing with the group. So here we go. [...]

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5 Keys to a Resume Summary Statement With Punch

October 19, 2009

Does your resume get read? By now you should know that your resume has to make an impact in a hurry in order to have a chance of getting read. If your lead in is a resume summary statement, it has to pack a punch in only 2-3 sentences. How can you write a resume [...]

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Not everything is a job search nail: Effective use of your resume

October 5, 2009

Have you joined the Career Mastermind Network? Jump in for “30 Days to a Powerful LinkedIn Presence.” If you’re trying to fix a hole in the wall, are you going to go after it with a hammer? Every home improvement project has a general work flow and calls for a specific set of tools. To [...]

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Your Cover Letter Sales Pitch – Copyblogger style

October 1, 2009

Yesterday, I was reading a great article from Copyblogger that talks about how to get your audience’s attention beyond the headline and carry them through the reading of the entire article. It struck me that a similar tactic could absolutely be used when writing a cover letter. Why not use your cover letter as a [...]

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The #1 strategy to get your resume read

September 30, 2009

This is the simplified diagram of the hiring process that we used as part of our discussion yesterday on Writing Resumes that Get Read. As the focus was on effective resume writing, the premise of the slide is that you don’t have an “in” at the company, and your resume is doing the work of [...]

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Resume Writing: 7 phrases that kill your resume

September 2, 2009

An excellent article on copyblogger about vampire words that suck the life out of blog posts got me thinking about wishy-washy resume language. Most resumes sound like corporate lorem ipsum.  Like someone dropped buzzwords, lingo and jargon into a blender and hit puree.  What comes out is a mush of language that says something, but [...]

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Back to School Day 4: 3 Ways to Be a Resume Ninja

August 27, 2009

Today’s video in honor of Career Mastermind Week is all about the resume. Watch to find out three things that you can do today to make your resume more targeted, effective and successful.

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Industry-specific resumes: What’s the difference?

August 24, 2009

On Saturday morning, I spent four hours sitting at a round table on a plastic chair, sipping Dunkin Donuts coffee, and reviewing resumes. Although it can be difficult to find time to do volunteer work, I really enjoy these events.  The people that attend are professional and motivated, the discussions are positive and proactive, and [...]

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Sample Cover Letter Template

August 20, 2009

The night hours bring me all kinds of tasks.  Last night, it was helping a friend write a cover letter. Cover letters are not a topic that I write about often.  In many ways, a cover letter is just a standard business letter.  But its specific purpose makes it a little more important than most [...]

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