Let's improve our résumés & cover letters! (Job hunting advice)

[Liontamer]

UPDATED JANUARY 2023

KyleJCrb, Mae and myself were talking about résumés and how they're an asspain. I wanted to create a space where we can all talk shop about putting our best foot forward with résumés and cover letters, avoiding the pitfalls the fuck most people up, like crappy formatting/typos, not properly qualifying & quantifying accomplishments, and generic cover letters.

Let's share advice and tips, as well as résumés & cover letters people need help with, so that we can help others in the community look their best when applying for jobs.

If you host résumés or cover letters to look at, please take out your address or any other personally identifiable information you're not comfortable sharing. We can talk in vaguer terms as well, but I may be willing to Skype with some folks 1-on-1 to help walk them through improving parts of their resume. I'm not an uber-expert, but interested in helping some peeps.

Feel free to post if you're interested, and we may talk if you have free time.

Otherwise: any advice on job hunting can go here if there's no other forum home for it.

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These resources really helped me when I hadn't done any job hunting in 11 years and was super rusty and out of practice:

https://youtube.com/c/DonGeorgevich - Don Georgevich: Job Interview Tools
https://youtube.com/c/ALifeAfterLayoff - Bryan Creely: A Life After Layoff

What I'd recommend with these two YouTube channels: Just search through the videos for each of these channels for ANY topics that directly interest you the most. It could be about résumé writing, could be about cover letters, it could be about what interviewers are actually looking for when they ask you certain questions, it could be about career changes. There's enough content on both channels that you can just pick and choose what's interesting for you.

So don't feel pressured to "OMG, watch every video", but when you get some breathing room, scan around and dig in.

For all jobs, order the skills/impact bullet points in the order of relevance to the type of job you want, i.e. if you want to manage people, put any managerial experiences first; if you love reviewing contracts and data, list those kind of actions first; if you love solving problems, put the instances of product development, tool creation/metric measurement innovation first or customer service experience. In other words, steer your relevant experience towards what you want going forward, and de-emphasize other stuff.

Include any professional development accolades, e.g. formal trainings, certifications, presentations. If you have anything like that, that’s relevant.

Lists of impactful résumé verbs: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/action-verbs-to-make-your-resume-stand-out
Lists of overused résumé terms: https://www.capstoneresumes.com/remove-25-words-from-resume

Without overhyping yourself or using words you wouldn't normally say when casually speaking, use more of these impact verbs instead of more passive and generic verbs like "provide", "support", “work with”, and “assist”. In other words, stay true to how you communicate, but put yourself in the best possible light with verbs that you like from the big list.

You'll need to add placeholders for numbers you would fill in to help demonstrate impact.
Good résumés convey your IMPACT at your jobs, not just the list of responsibilities.

Your aim is to illustrate:
1) how you left each job better than you found it; and
2) what hard & soft skills you demonstrated to do it.
What specific things did you accomplish? How did you make money or innovate for the company? How did you make things more efficient or effective?

That said:
1) If a number wouldn't be impressive (i.e. typically 10+), then don't include it.
2) NEVER ever overstate a number. Always underestimate while giving your best guess if you don't remember something more specific (e.g. "worked with 300+ customers"). If you overstate, you risk the company contacting an employer and them being told you've embellished/lied.
3) The numbers usually should represent total impact (e.g. if you did customer service at store for 5 years, you should say either a) approximately how many total customers you worked with over the years or b) how many customer, on average, you worked with per year).

8 most requested general skills, in order, according to ZipRecruiter (July 2022) - these are important skill to both say by name (for ATS/computer screenings) and demonstrate by listing related accomplishments:

• Communication skills
• Customer service
• Scheduling
• Time management skills
• Project management
• Analytical thinking
• Ability to work independently
• Flexibility

[kitty]

Here's something I have an issue with: interviews. I feel uncomfortable hyping myself up (i.e. explaining why I'm qualified) without explaining certain weaknesses. I basically feel a need to be "real" and I can't seem to reconcile that with emphasizing strengths and downplaying weaknesses.

On the flip side, I can show my strengths very well on my resume and feel comfortable doing that for some reason.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Perfect timing. I just got news this week that the division I work at is being dissolved, so I'm back in the job market. Need to get something pronto.

I'm still working on updating my resume, and I'm having trouble filling the entire single page properly. Not sure what to include and what not to with regard to past work. Really, my current soon-to-be-eliminated job is my only "actual" experience.

Going to definitely need advice on it soon.

[Modus]

I need help getting media companies interested in me.

I have a resume and demo reel, but my in-person interviews have been going poorly. Sometimes I'm told that I have no enthusiasm (not true, I'm very enthusiastic about my work)

This is for video production and motion graphics by the way, not music. I can confidently edit sound effects and mix audio elements though, that's what I tell them.

[Meteo Xavier]

The art of selling yourself is the art of selling in general, and like all things in life it requires one word said three times for maximum impact.

BALANCE

BALANCE

BALANCE

You need a careful balance of quality product (yourself or your services), confidence, humility and some charming bullshit to sell yourself as an employee. You go too thick and enthusiastic, you'll overwhelm the interview and knock the bar off. You go too thin and the interviewer will barely see you at all. You start off simple, composed, and go with the flow of the interview, looking for chewy spots to bite in. You bite in a few times and not much more.

The thing you need to remember about interviewers is they're not psychologists. They think they are because they keep reading articles on "Red flags to spot during an interview" and that kinda stuff, but they can't really soothsay what 5 years of working with you is going to be like just by seeing how you have your arms folded. It's not complicated, it's just over-complicated. There is a difference there. You just go in, start simple, and go from there. If the interviewer is acting like a criminal profiler, you didn't want that job anyway.

And media companies won't be interested in you until you give them something to be interested in. Upsize the quality of your work and be proud of it during an interview. That's what they pay for (not during the interview, mind you).

[Modus]

Thanks Meteo, balance is a good mantra. Anxiety often tips me too far to the cautious side, and I must give too serious of an impression.

I've started thinking of interviews as courtships, mainly a test of personality. It's become slowly obvious that my actual work is a secondary focus.

[swansdown]

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Edited September 8, 2023 by swansdown

[Palpable]

Since we're talking interviews, one tip I have found very helpful is to go on a bunch of interviews for jobs you don't care about before going for the ones you do (if that is possible). Many people find themselves in the position of needing to do interviews after a long period of working and not doing interviews, so the practice is helpful. Ask questions about anything you're not familiar with because it will make you seem interested, and as a bonus you learn about stuff that may come up in future interviews.

I feel uncomfortable hyping myself up (i.e. explaining why I'm qualified) without explaining certain weaknesses. I basically feel a need to be "real" and I can't seem to reconcile that with emphasizing strengths and downplaying weaknesses.

I feel you here, and I've found that being as objective as possible about what I've accomplished was key. So I don't get into the nitty gritty about how I'm good at this kind of thing and bad at this kind of thing (which I will if tricked into doing so), but that I did this project that needed these skills. I have found it to be a more comfortable, less showy, but still honest way to sell myself. Again, going on lots of interviews helped me learn the right things to say.

[WiFiSunset]

Never mind. I'll PM my question .

P.S. I'm not entirely comfortable posting private stuff, which is why I erased it .

Edited April 23, 2014 by Cosmic Sounds

[Meteo Xavier]

Since we're talking interviews, one tip I have found very helpful is to go on a bunch of interviews for jobs you don't care about before going for the ones you do (if that is possible).

I actually don't recommend this. Not only are you wasting the interviewers time (and really, how would you like it if someone did that to you?), I've heard stories where this kind of thing can really backfire. One scenario is where the jobs you didn't care out are suddenly the only ones left and they won't see you because either you declined or pulled something they don't like, another is where another job turns out to be a sister company and they already know you're probably just faking your way through it.

Never actually experienced them myself, but I know people who have.

[Brandon Strader]

I threw a dead cat into the sewer today. I assume my problem solving skills make me overqualified for most jobs.

[jnWake]

I threw a dead cat into the sewer today. I assume my problem solving skills make me overqualified for most jobs.

You should have eaten it.

[The Coop]

You should have eaten it.

RECYCLE! It shows you're environmentally aware!

A few tips...

- When you make your résumé, make sure you actually spell it "résumé" and not "resume." You'd be surprised how many times that gets overlooked.

- If you make a PDF that features layers (perhaps you did some graphic design work to its background in Photoshop), save a copy of it and flatten the image. It doesn't happen every time, but sometimes, the text layer gets lost or messed up in the exporting process, and won't be there on some views (or it loads late, and the page looks blank until then). Flattening the image gets rid of this.

- Find out who's actually doing the hiring at that company. Maybe it's the owner, or that branch's manager, or even just some lower ranking employee that they stuck in charge of the task because no one else could do it. Never put "To whomever is in charge," or some random semi-important looking name. Your cover letter will come off much better if it's addressed to a specific, and the correct, person.

- Don't be too repetitious with the wording in your résumé. YOu shouldn't keep saying "skilled in" or "experienced in." Find new ways to say the same thing. "Skilled" and "Experienced" are fine to use a couple of times, but if they start nearly every line, you might not make the best initial impression. Consider phrases like "Specializes in" for the things you're really good at, or "_____ years of work using _____," and so forth. Don't go apeshit and make every single line different, just vary it up.

[timaeus222]

Since we're talking interviews, one tip I have found very helpful is to go on a bunch of interviews for jobs you don't care about before going for the ones you do (if that is possible). Many people find themselves in the position of needing to do interviews after a long period of working and not doing interviews, so the practice is helpful. Ask questions about anything you're not familiar with because it will make you seem interested, and as a bonus you learn about stuff that may come up in future interviews.

I technically agree with the heart of this, but I would rather take every interview seriously than take it as mere experience, then nicely decline any extra jobs that I prefer less if more than one happen to go well.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

One thing that no one should ever and I mean EVER do is say this:

"References available upon request".

Where I work, we get a shitload of resumes every day and any that have this on it (and there always are) go straight to the garbage. There are few things less professional that you can say on a resume than this.

[Palpable]

- When you make your résumé, make sure you actually spell it "résumé" and not "resume." You'd be surprised how many times that gets overlooked.

In the US, "resume" is the more common spelling by far, and a correct spelling. I don't think this makes a difference one way or the other, as long as you don't use "resumé".

I technically agree with the heart of this, but I would rather take every interview seriously than take it as mere experience, then nicely decline any extra jobs that I prefer less if more than one happen to go well.

Yeah let me rephrase, "don't care about" was too strong. My first interview after a long break is usually pretty rusty, and I'd prefer that interview to not be the one for the job I want the most. I always take interviews seriously, try to give them my best, and don't waste my time with any where I know 100% I will not take the job. But I err on the side of doing the interview if I'm not sure whether I want the job. The experience is extremely useful and you learn the most about the job during the interview, which can really impact your thoughts on the job. I have had interviews where my opinion of the team and the job completely switched.

[XPRTNovice]

One thing that no one should ever and I mean EVER do is say this:

"References available upon request".

Where I work, we get a shitload of resumes every day and any that have this on it (and there always are) go straight to the garbage. There are few things less professional that you can say on a resume than this.

Erm, not to react, but this seems kind of unnecessarily harsh. If you're going to complain (not that you have, I am being hypothetical) that resumes are more than 1 page, but then also complain that a candidate doesn't want to waste space typing out names of people...I dunno. This seems like a really silly reason to throw out an application.

EDIT: Further, you give no reason why this is the most unprofessional thing ever. I would think like, profanity in a resume might be better qualified . But really, what makes this so unprofessional?

Edited April 23, 2014 by XPRTNovice

[Brandon Strader]

Listing people and their number and address or whatever ludicrous amount of info they ask for these days seems really wrong to me. Like, privacy-wise

[Meteo Xavier]

Further, you give no reason why this is the most unprofessional thing ever. I would think like, profanity in a resume might be better qualified . But really, what makes this so unprofessional?

Because references are a pretty damn important part of what makes an employer choose a candidate for employment. References are what give a resume's claims some weight from other witnesses who have nothing to gain by verifying. If you've got good references, why wouldn't you put them on there? It's annoying at best, and shady at worst.

It's like saying "real name of applicant available upon request" or "actual resume available upon request".

[XPRTNovice]

If you've got good references, why wouldn't you put them on there? It's annoying at best, and shady at worst.

It's like saying "real name of applicant available upon request" or "actual resume available upon request".

As for them being important, I've never gotten a job where I had references on my resume, and almost nobody has ever asked me for any, so they can't be THAT important. Anecdotal logical fallacy, etc, I know. But still.

But I'll quote the old wives tale about resumes being a page long, and people (again, I think sort of harshly) throwing out resumes if they go halfway to a second page in this sort of huff. What does a list of names tell you about that candidate that is so much more important than their education, work experience, accolades, certifications, etc? Obscuring the reason for leaving a job is shady; saying "I have amplifying information for you if the rest of this interests you" is not.

[Meteo Xavier]

I don't know anything on the length of resumes, but I do know that lacking references on the page is lacking quality content employers are going to care about more than the length (unless you have a ridiculously long resume in the first place). It still doesn't answer the question why you'd bother to leave them out at all. Anyone can claim anything on paper by itself, and we've seen more than enough precedents to call it common wisdom that your education and academic awards and such on their own merit will not mean you're a good fit for this company. References help verify your claims, because it's just simple human nature to be more enthusiastic to hire someone on a recommendation made by another human, than what it says on paper by itself.

Think of it this way - I need to hire someone and I got two resumes here. Both make the same claims of employee godhood, one has references printed right on there, the other doesn't. One applicant provides me with what I need to verify his quality, the other wants me to chase him down, THEN chase down his references and I'm running out of time to hire someone. Which one do you think I'm going to go with first?

You can get a job without references, that's true, but that doesn't mean references aren't important, they just weren't important to that employer at the time. I once got hired for a job just because I walked through the DOOR. I wasn't even there to get a job either. Should that make you think the process of interviewing and applying isn't important? Nope! It's just an unusual story that got more and more unusual as days went on...

[XPRTNovice]

While we're having a bit of a side discussion on throwing out resumes for debatable etiquette violations, I thought I'd also get to the heart of this post and offer some advice.

Literally two weeks ago I was involved in hiring my own replacement (it's a weird situation) so I was basically the person who recruited, reviewed all the resumes, and conducted the interview for this position. While I'm not HR or authorized to hire anyone myself, everyone in the chain took my recommendations without question. So take this with a grain of salt.

Here are some things I noticed.

- Look counts. Not in FANCINESS, but in READABILITY. If your resume looks like it came from a Notepad document, it's hard for me to digest the information and makes me wonder when you say you are proficient in Microsoft Office if you are blowing smoke. But flower patterns are annoying, so find a balance (like Meteo said, balance is key)

- Read the job posting. I had over 50% of the people who were applying for a job that they were barely tangentially qualified for. It was clear they had dispatched a generic resume to every job in that field, and they were easy kills for me.

[Meteo Xavier]

Flower patterns and other graphic frames aren't always bad ideas, they DO actually add some idea of what kind of personality you're giving people out. Flower patterns might tell your interviewer you have a sunny personality that they could really use around the office or as a cleaning lady they bring in 3 times a week, but those are only really good for specific situations and should definitely not be overused.

[XPRTNovice]

Flower patterns and other graphic frames aren't always bad ideas, they DO actually add some idea of what kind of personality you're giving people out. Flower patterns might tell your interviewer you have a sunny personality that they could really use around the office or as a cleaning lady they bring in 3 times a week, but those are only really good for specific situations and should definitely not be overused.

Yes, absolutely. I forget that not everyone is in super-serious government jobs.

[The Coop]

In the US, "resume" is the more common spelling by far, and a correct spelling. I don't think this makes a difference one way or the other, as long as you don't use "resumé".

Laziness on the part of many in the U.S. doesn't make it the correct word, though. I believe there is a difference that should be taken into account, considering the word "resume" (ree-zoom) exists.

Not being a grammar nazi or anything, but it is something I've seen come up with other people, and heard bosses joke about. So unless people want to hand in something that they're going take up again after being interrupted, as opposed to a list of their skills and accomplishments, I'd suggest spelling it right. You want to be someone that gets their attention thanks to your résumé, not for your inability to hit "Alt + 0233" on your keyboard.

Yeah, some bosses don't care, but others do. So why chance it?