Career Marketplace Blog

In this article for the Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Garone explains, Updating a Resume for 2011.

Read an excerpt from Garone’s article. Read Full Article

Q: I am a senior executive and haven’t looked for a job in more than 10 years. How can I make my résumé more current by today’s standards?

–Boston, Mass.

A: While the résumé as you know it from 10 years ago is still alive and kicking, there have been a number of modifications to it. No longer do job candidates simply present a Word document of their qualifications. Today, they need to craft a package both online and off to present to a prospective employer. This needs to include both a résumé and an online profile as well as an easy way for a prospective employer or recruiter to move back and forth between the two.

Embrace technology. The biggest change is also the most expected one: a move toward technology. An online networking presence is no longer just an option but a requirement.

In today’s executive search market, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you don’t exist,” says Wendy Enelow, author of “Expert Resumes for Managers and Executives” and “Best Resumes for $100,000+ Jobs.” Ms. Enelow suggests including live email links on your Microsoft Word résumé and live links to your LinkedIn profile. “Make it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to contact you with one click to your email and one click to your LinkedIn profile,” she says.

Read on for more tips

How long should your resume be? About.com Guide Alison Doyle answers this question in her article, Resume Length Tips

Below is an excerpt for Doyle’s article. Read Full Article

Check out this HowCast Video, How to Send a Resume

In her article for Forbes Magazine, Susan Adams writes, Two Myths About Résumés

Below is an excerpt from Adams’ article. Read Full Article

Over eight years as a career coach in New York City,  Win Sheffield has observed the myths his clients tell themselves about the challenge of finding a job.

In this piece, he lays out some facts and some fictions about résumés. (I’ve edited his words a bit.) He writes:

Résumé Myth #1: Putting together my résumé is the most important part of my job search.

The thinking behind this:

Every ad requires a résumé. Everyone who wants to assist me says that they can forward my résumé to HR. To get a job I need to interview and before an interview, interviewers ask me to send my résumé. The only way people will know who I am professionally is by my résumé. It is therefore the most important part of my search.

The appeal – why we want to believe it:

Read On

In this video from CareerStrides, learn how the content of your resume can steer the interview process in your favor.

The Interviewable Resume (Resume Writing Advice)

Yahoo! Contributor Aly Adair shares, First Person: How a New Approach Helped Me Land a Job in This Economy.

Below is an excerpt from Adair’s article. Read Full Article

I spent five years searching for a career job that would last until I retire. Like millions of other Americans in the bad economy from 2006-2010, finding a job was nearly impossible. Despite following all the advice of headhunters, human resource consultants, friends or family members, it was what I term “The AND Factor” job search strategy that finally landed me a job. I am over 50, had a failed business, and an MBA from 1981, when most of my interviewers were not even born! Most human resource professionals looked at me and said, “AND why should I hire you?” Or, “AND what makes you better than these 2,000 other young applicants?”

Many older job seekers share similar backgrounds: we all have some level of college degree; we all have years of supervisory/management experience with a major Fortune 500 company; we have families to feed, we have not had to look for a job in 20 years; we are old-school thinkers when we prepare resumes, go on job interviews, and network. After watching a television show that profiled other older professionals trying to find a job, I realized that we all do a couple of things wrong in our job search.

I decided to try some different strategies to see if I had better results. I call these new job search strategies “The AND Factor” job search strategies. My supervisor told me they received 105 resumes for the management job I applied for at the state agency. How is it they hired me for the job? It is critical to give the hiring manager your “AND factor” – they want to know why you are the best person for the job! “AND what makes you so special?” “AND why should I hire you?” Here are the “AND Factor” job search tips that helped me land a career job against all odds.

Read On

In her U.S. News and World Report On Careers article, How to Tailor Your Resume for an Employer, Miriam Salpeter shows job seekers how they can “appeal to your targeted employer“.

Great tips from Salpeter’s article include (Read Full Article):

• Review LinkedIn profiles with your target job title
• Study Job Descriptions
• Talk to people

Read on for more tips

U.S. News and World Report article, How to Beat 8 Job-Search Time-Wasters, Tim Tyrell-Smith shows you ways to get past common job-search mistakes.

Tips to look for in Tyrell-Smith’ s article are:

• Applying to Everything
• Bugging Recruiters
• Networking Blind
• And more

Read Full Article

The Wall Street Journal’s Elizabeth Garone encourages readers not to exaggerate job responsibilities, titles, or experience on their resume.

Garone gives advice to a job seeker who is nervous about an upcoming job interview because they exaggerated on their resume. Read Her Response.

In her article for U.S. News & World Report, Karen Burns tells job seekers, 50 Buzzwords You Shouldn’t Use on Your Resume.

Below is an excerpt of Burns’ article. Read Full Article & List

You’ve written your resume. You poured a lot of effort into the page that will represent you, and you can’t wait to distribute it far and wide.

Not so fast. Before you send that puppy out, check it for buzzwords. Like “team player.” Or “detail-oriented.” Or “accustomed to fast-paced environments.”

Here’s why you should avoid them: They’re vague. They make your resume look like everyone else’s. They’re probably not among the keywords employers search for. They take up space on your resume that could be used for strong, concrete, specific examples of what you’ve accomplished, the work you’ve produced, and how hiring you would benefit your potential employer. Buzzwords are tired and overused, clichés that have lost their meaning over time.

Read On