Resume Tips And Advice

When we get anxious about looking for a new job, we tend to overlook obvious details in our resumes. Example: A man who'd been working overseas had a great resume, but forgot to update his contact information when he returned to the States. That meant every potential employer got an overseas mailing address and phone number. You might think you'd never make such an obvious mistake, but it happens all the time, especially if you haven't glanced at your resume in several years. So here are the top 10 careless mistakes to avoid when you update your own resume.  More »

It's International Update Your Resume Month and we're giving away free Pongo services each week in September. In fact, the first prize package will be announced on Twitter today! So while we're all about honoring this important month, we believe you should update your resume throughout the year, and Pongo makes it easy to do that.  More »

What's the most important part of your resume? Take it from a former newspaper editor: Page one, above the fold. That's how a resume is like the front page of a newspaper, and one of several reasons why writing a resume comes easily to me.  More »

Resumes are such important documents. Your future livelihood may depend on the words you use to communicate your qualifications. So it's only natural that job seekers are tempted to use longer, fancier, more formal words, rather than the simplest, most direct forms. But it's a temptation you should resist. Too often, the result is a document that sounds ridiculously proper, and fails to achieve its goal of quickly communicating your value to the employer.  More »

English is a funny language. There are different words that mean the same thing, single words that have different meanings, and words that are prone to mispronunciation, such as nook-you-ler when it's really nook-lee-er , and Feb-you-erry instead of Feb-roo-erry. Then there are words that sound alike. Here are five confusing word pairs and how you should use them properly on your resume and cover letters.  More »

The overall look and feel of your resume may seem trivial compared to what your resume says, but it's not. Visual elements such as font type, size, and style, along with margins and indents, make a difference for first impressions. Here are a few guidelines for creating a resume that's readable and inviting.  More »

Using resume buzzwords and phrases without offering proof is like me claiming to look like Julianne Moore. Saying it doesn't make it true. Here's how you can strengthen your resume by backing up buzzword-y claims with solid evidence from your work experience.  More »

When it's time to write a resume, some job seekers have a hard time figuring out which elements to emphasize in order to land an interview. But what's the most important aspect of a resume that hiring managers look for? A recent survey posed that question to 85 hiring managers in Orange County, CA.  More »

I was invited to a dinner party with some old friends this weekend. There were two dessert options: a tray of individual pastries and a delicious-looking chocolate cake. One of those desserts never got touched, for the same reason some really good resumes never get read.  More »

Buzzword Bingo has been around for years, but we've created a new version - Resume Buzzword Bingo. This bingo card has squares filled with the all-too-common expressions HR people, recruiters, and hiring managers see over and over on job candidates' resumes. How many appear on your resume?  More »