Blog
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.
Resume Help: Quick Clean Up Tips
In the spirit of spring / summer cleaning, let’s help Remi clean up her resume. Like most of our readers, Remi has accomplished a lot in her career. However, her resume has caused a stall in her job search. My first reaction to Remi’s resume was that it was a big wall of words that…
Resume Help: Don’t Shoot Yourself in the Foot
Judy, Judy, Judy! Judy’s resume example is one for the records. I have never seen a resume with a “My Weak Points” category. Judy, who is a highly- knowledgeable and experienced program manager, is shooting herself in the foot by hyping her top weakness at the very top of the resume. She is scaring away…
Resume Help: Your Resume Is a Skills Test
Benjamin is a seasoned sales professional with a history of success. He’s hoping his resume will open doors to interviews. The critical thing that Benjamin fails to do is to sell himself. Yes, the seasoned sales pro does not use his resume to sell himself. The hiring employer is reviewing resumes of dozens of sales…
Resume Help: Better to Anticipate Than to Assume
When you are on the hunt for a new job, it is always better to anticipate than to assume. The ability to anticipate needs, industry shifts, problems, and when it is time to instigate change is an excellent quality. On the flipside, the habit of making assumptions can cost you a job. This applies to…
Resume Help: The Wrong Way to Handle a Career Break
Marlo is quite self-conscious about her eight-year career break. Like many parents, especially mothers, she took a hiatus to raise her two children. When her children were of school age, she decided to return to work. She is so worried about showing that she was filling her time with worthy pursuits (other than raising her…
Resume Help: Stick to the Facts
Today’s candidate, Harold, presented a five-page, long-winded resume that was so full of fluff that one could hardly discern the value he offers. The resume is loaded with errors and language that makes little sense. Suppose we remove all the errors and then edit that language so that one could read the document with greater…
Resume Help: Results Sell!
Today we are examining the resume of an accomplished technical project manager. He has led multi-million dollar software implementations for the Department of Defense and led the development of a back-end system that processes two to three million financial transactions daily. He’s the kind of manager that would be an asset to any employer. However,…
Resume Help: Don’t Be Dense When It Comes to Your Resume
This week we received a resume from a very bright and accomplished senior technology project manager. The problem is Chad has presented a dense block of words with not so much as a bullet or space. The only thing separating one thought from another is a hyphen interspersed between some of the sentences. A reader…
Resume Help: Resumes that Repel Interviews
As a writer, career coach, and former human resources director, I have seen many resumes. It is surprising when a candidate submits a resume like the example below. Clara is an excellent salesperson. She has the gift of interacting with others and closing the sale. She has sold multi-million-dollar beachfront homes. She launched a logistics…
Resume Help: Don’t Let a Font Reveal Your Age
Take a look at Dr. McFarland’s resume (CV is the more accurate term for this type of resume.) She used a front from the Courier family, the likes of which were used on early typewriters. When one sees this one is reminded of telegraphs from the early 1900s and documents typed on typewriters by…