Resume Tips And Advice

'No spelling errors' is one of the first rules of resume writing. Yet the English language, with its non-standard spellings and exceptions to every rule, seems cruelly designed to thwart our efforts. Take for instance the words Loose, Lose, Choose, and Chose. Despite their similar spellings, loose doesn't rhyme with choose, and lose doesn't rhyme with chose. But that's just one example. Take this quiz to identify 12 more commonly misused and/or misspelled resume words.  More »

We have a guy named Barack in the White House, so name discrimination must be history, right? Sure, tell that to the woman who wrote a post on Tuesday describing her experience as a highly qualified job candidate who couldn't get an interview until she began using her middle name (Danielle) instead of her first name (Danisha) on her resume. Would you have done the same? Let us know in the poll at the end of this post.  More »

There are rules for resume writing that are pretty standard and widely accepted by professional resume writers and hiring managers. But what about resume format and style? Can employers really be so picky about appearance that they ignore how well-written and on target your experience and qualifications are?  More »

Imagine yourself in this situation: You're an experienced professional in your late 50s whose background includes high-level managerial positions over the last 10 years. One day, you find yourself laid off. In spite of this, you realize you may need to take a step or two down the career ladder. Your solution is to downplay your high-level experience, or dumb down your resume. Can it really improve your chances?  More »

You've probably noticed that resume is sometimes spelled with no accents, sometimes with one, and often with two. Since this blog resides on a web site called Pongo Resume (no accents) you may have astutely gathered that the no-accent option is perfectly acceptable. It is, of course. But is it the, ahem, proper way?  More »

As someone who has spent just about all of his professional life working with words, I admire any piece of writing that employs a more vivid word or phrase in place of something wimpier. But there are things I call cupcake words that provide no mental nutrients to the reader and can sink your chance at landing a job interview. This post offers five examples.  More »

I've been hearing a lot lately about people who have taken time off work to be full-time caregivers for ailing parents, spouses, or other loved ones. And now, they're faced with a significant employment gap to explain on their resumes. Not fair! To make matters worse, the standard advice for explaining any resume gap (be brief, be factual, and leave out the emotion) is pretty tough to practice when the gap stems from such a significant and painful phase of your life. If you're battling this dilemma, here are some tips to help.  More »

Getting a job can be hard for anyone, even a highly experienced professional who has successfully navigated several job changes. But it can be particularly challenging if you have no experience in the field you want to work in. If this describes you, this post provides you with resume tips and hope.  More »

Last week I wrote a guest blog post over at What Would Dad Say, talking about how older job seekers might need to think like 13-year-olds to succeed in job interviews today. But over the past couple days, I started thinking about all the ways we should NOT repeat behaviors from times gone by. Specifically, we need to ditch at least 10 of the old-school resume and cover letter rules that were popular back in the '70s, '80s, and even into the '90s.  More »

If you happened to catch Good Morning America on Wednesday, you know that hundreds of job seekers braved the bone-chilling cold of a pre-dawn New England winter morning to attend GMA's Great American Job Fair and Career Camp in Boston. After critiquing several resumes at the show, I came away with three lessons about resumes.  More »