I have often ranted about the complete uselessness of electronic grammar checkers and mentioned the need for manual proofreading, rather than relying on electronic spellcheckers, but I am also against proofreading a resume on the computer instead of printing it out. Here are my top five reasons for advocating manual proofreading, with paper in your hand: No matter how carefully you look, onscreen you are going to miss the t...

I have a friend in marketing who often counsels companies that their brochures and websites are their “resumes to the world,” letting customers know how great the company is.By the same token, you should view your resume as your brochure to the world, or at least that part of the world consisting of recruiters and hiring managers. Think about a brochure, maybe for that car or home you always wanted, that really drew your at...

We all like potential employers to be aware of our intelligence and education, especially in scientific, technical, and academic fields. However, a resume is not and should not be a vocabulary test. Your goal as a job applicant is to communicate clearly and succinctly. That goal can be undermined by using four and five syllable words inappropriately or by loading the resume with multi-syllable words that are not actually ne...

An IT professional responded to one of my blog posts by stating that he contributes so much to his company that his experience bursts the bounds of a resume. He was not overqualified so much as over-experienced. He offered too much value to an employer.Someone who brings too much value to a company usually falls into one or more of the following categories. First, while their job title has not changed, they have taken on mo...

Many individuals who lost their jobs during the Great Recession became self-employed consultants in their field, performing the same work for companies but without the benefits of full-time employment. Some of those individuals smoothly transitioned from consultant to full-time employee as the economy improved. If you are experiencing difficulty in that transition, here are three questions to ask yourself:Do I really want t...

Last week’s blog addressed four common content mistakes that you should avoid. This week, I focus on format mistakes. You probably already know to avoid elaborate formatting which wastes space and also confuses electronic applicant tracking systems. Here are four additional format mistakes that are often overlooked: Resume Mistake #1. Creating a second or third page that has only one or two lines of content. A multi-page re...

I’m sure you have heard about resume mistakes like misspellings and poor grammar, or missing contact information. But in this blog and next week’s blog, I will address a few mistakes that are just as critical but less likely to be mentioned. Here are four common content mistakes to avoid: Resume mistake #1: Overdoing the adjectives and adverbs. You should definitely mention that one of your projects led to increased profits...

Having worked for many years as a senior chemical engineer and computer simulation applications engineer, with a degree from MIT, I know employers want potential hires with advanced technical skills and a demonstrated ability to increase those skills. However, employers today are not only interested in technical skills; they are also interested in “soft” or nontechnical skills such as: Ability to communicate clearly and at...

A client called me recently for an update on his resume. In the past, he had worked as a second-in-command in Human Relations at various colleges and now he was eager to transition into a higher level job with a company outside the educational sector. He wondered if his resume could be honestly updated to give him a better chance of a corporate interview.When your resume lags behind your career goals, recruiters and hiring...

If your resume is not getting the interviews you expected, now is the time to review it and follow through on these New Year resolutions:Resolution 1: Believe in yourself. You have hard and soft skills, experience, and accomplishments that will bring value to future employers. Let your resume focus on you, not on “creative” formats, half-truths, and wishful thinking.Resolution 2: Lose the deadweight. Read through the job po...