stop putting your salary history on your resume by Alison Green on April 17, 2015 A reader writes: I was very curious to see what you thought of this document that I found off of a job listing on usajobs.org entitled Resume Tips. I find it very odd that they recommend to have salary and hours listed for every job performed. The specific job I ended up applying for required […] Read the full article →
should I take the University of Phoenix off my resume? by Alison Green on March 30, 2015 A reader writes: I’ve got an MBA from University of Phoenix and at first I was really proud of it. I’d worked really hard to get through the corporate finance classes. Marketing, management, human resources…it all seemed pretty standard stuff for an MBA, only with no PowerPoint presentations since everything was online. I thought I […] Read the full article →
yet another reason to stay far away from resume-writing companies by Alison Green on February 23, 2015 A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone who told me that she had purchased a professionally written resume and cover letter from a resume-writing company … and then had realized that the cover letter was nearly word-for-word the same as the one from a reader that I posted here last year. That set off […] Read the full article →
what verb tense should I use on my resume? by Alison Green on February 16, 2015 A reader writes: I was updating my resume today and was wondering about what tense to use. For my current job, do I use present tense and the rest of the resume past tense? Or should it all match, like all past tense or all present tense? The simple rule is that you should use […] Read the full article →
should you list a fun but fake fact on your resume to intrigue an employer? by Alison Green on February 4, 2015 A reader writes: I am currently job searching and have heard that sometimes people put one fun thing on their resume that normally wouldn’t belong, which might seem to make them more interesting to a job recruiter who would want to know the rest of the story. One such suggestion was to list that you […] Read the full article →
how do I sell myself on my resume when I don’t feel like a great candidate? by Alison Green on February 2, 2015 A reader writes: I’m not looking for a job, but I want to update my resume, which is really out of date. But I’m really not sure where to start. How do you write a resume selling yourself and your skills when you suffer from Impostor Syndrome? I had my annual review recently which went […] Read the full article →
resume “tricks” that will backfire on you by Alison Green on January 26, 2015 When you’re putting together a resume, you might find yourself looking for ways to disguise a spotty job history, get around resume-screening software, or even avoid showing your age. And if you go looking for help, you might be encourage to employ some resume “tricks” to bypass these challenges. The problem? Hiring managers can see […] Read the full article →
should I use wording from the job ad in my resume or cover letter? by Alison Green on October 17, 2014 A reader writes: I am a recent graduate and have a question concerning tailoring your resume/cover letter to the job. I read online that hiring managers dismiss candidates who copy large amounts of wording from the job posting into their resume or cover letter, and I wonder if I have been falling into this pitfall. […] Read the full article →
5 signs that your resume is holding you back by Alison Green on September 29, 2014 When you’re searching for a job, nothing is more frustrating than sending out scores of resumes for jobs you know you’re qualified for but not getting any interviews. If that’s happening to you, the explanation might be your resume is holding you back in some way. Of course, in a tight job market like this […] Read the full article →
how can my resume demonstrate initiative, problem-solving, work ethic, and other qualities? by Alison Green on September 23, 2014 A reader writes: I’m currently a college student studying engineering. I keep on reading lists with titles like “Top 10 Skills and Qualities Employers Seek in College Grads.” All of the skills listed there are fairly subjective. For instance, a list might include words like teamwork, leadership, written communication, problem-solving, work ethic, initiative, and other […] Read the full article →