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Debra Wheatman, President of Careers Done Write, provides expert insight to the job search process that puts your career in gear with tips for interviewing, networking, job search strategies and how to create a winning resume and cover letter.
Cover Letter Help: Write Clearly Using Plain English
Today’s candidate has painstakingly chosen every word in her cover letter. She wrote to me asking for help. She can’t understand why she has had no response to her cover letter and resume. I had to break it to her. The letter stinks, or as Dara would have written, it is regrettably deficient. Some candidates…
How Much Detail on a Project Manager’s Résumé
Dear Deb: I am a civil engineer with 13 years of experience. My résumé is 5 pages long because of the many projects in my career. In my field it is important to show several details of the project, like budget, type work done, local government involved, and other details. My recruiter said the résumé…
Resume Writing Solutions for a Career Change
Resume writing is a challenge for many. It can be a very frustrating experience if you are planning a major career change. It does not have to be frustrating. With the right approach you can craft a resume that paves a path to your new career. Whether you work with a professional resume writer or write…
Resume Help: Improving Your Profile
Today’s candidate presents a very bland resume. That can easily be corrected with more sophisticated formatting. The biggest improvement that she could make is to revamp the top third of her resume. You guessed it! A new profile would take her from unnoticed to “in demand.” Let’s look at three major updates for this candidate. Objective…
Music Experience on Accountant’s Résumé?
Dear Deb: I was a concert pianist in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I had to start a career in accounting to make ends meet. My husband said that I should omit my musical experience from my résumé. I had ten years in my adult life during which I played in regional concerts with…
Job Search Letter Help: Letter of Recommendation
Today I heard from a college student, Sarah, who is concerned about the letter of recommendation her college professor wrote. Sarah thought that she had a nice rapport with the professor and was surprised the letter was so impersonal and short. Below is the letter that he wrote. She is correct to be concerned. The…
Resume Help: Overcoming Short Term Jobs and Career Gaps
Today’s candidate, Ben, has sent his resume to dozens of firms over the last six weeks and has not had a single response. He asked me to assess his resume. My first reaction was that these were just rough notes and not an actual resume. The multiple short-term jobs and career gaps are one…
Dueling Bosses
Hi Debra, I have recently taken on a dual role within my company; reporting to two different bosses on two different jobs. While everyone was admittedly nervous about this split, it had been working. Until about two weeks ago. The two people I report to are having issues and I feel stuck in the middle;…
Resume Writing is Important; Your Communication is Important Too
If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you probably have an understanding of the importance of a proper appearance for work, presenting an impeccable resume, and maintaining a professional social media presence. The fact that you are reading this tells me that you are dedicated to your career. How much time do you…
Cover Letter Help: Call to Action
We received a cover letter from Carrie. Her letter started with a punch and she included great examples of why she would be successful as a project manager for a construction company. As you can see in a snippet from her letter below, the last paragraph of the cover letter fell short. Carrie’s Closing Paragraph…