Resume Help Blog

A job posting is all about tomorrow, and the resume is all about yesterday. Make your resume future-focused  Ask how you can honestly, ethically, and professionally marry yourself up with what your employer is looking for.

Paul Mathews

Read the job description and use the same words. If the ad specifies ‘instructor,’ don’t write trainer. 

Anita Attridge

Don’t use buzz-words like a good team member, problem solver, self motivated. You are not telling me anything. Be specific. Describe your accomplishments, not your duties. Quantify your experience. 

Michael Worthington

Exerpts From: Powering Up Your Resume

When to Hire a Career Coach

“Being laid off is a fact of business today,” says Elaine Varelas of Keystone Partners. “It’s not personal.” But that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a shock. Career coaches can help you navigate almost everything: handling emotions, defining skills and goals, and even adapting to a new workplace.

When you’re competing with top talent, the old saying is even more important: You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. “That’s why it’s important to have your act together,” says Bettina Seidman. “A career coach can help you do it right the first time.” That includes working with you to hone your two-minute pitch so you can quickly and effectively describe yourself and your accomplishments, prepping you for the interview, and proofreading your resume to catch the typos that can torpedo your chances.

“You can get a lot of information on the Web or in books,” says Cheryl Lynch Simpson. “But a coach can help you apply that information to your situation and work with you to create your unique ‘brand.’ ”

Before you sign on with a coach, ask for his or her credentials and check the bio and client information, advises Anita Attridge. Also, “ask to contact previous clients.”

There is no governing body that certifies coaches. The Career Management Alliance and Career Directors International (careerdirectors.com) have directories, but the best way to find someone is through word of mouth, says Simpson. And experience is more important than certification. Some coaches charge up-front fees that range from $5,000 to $20,000. Hourly fees run between $100 and $500. Clients looking to change jobs may need four to six hours; to change careers, 10 to 14 hours; to get performance coaching, three to six months. “Make sure the coach doesn’t insist you start from scratch if you have already done some of the footwork,” Attridge says.

Career coach Elaine Varelas has a simple “so what?” test that she thinks every line of a resume should pass: “If you say, ‘I managed six people,’ ask yourself, ‘So what?’ But saying ‘I managed six people with no turnover’ does answer the question. Resumes are all about results.”

You’ll also want to use strong, specific action verbs to highlight your results. “Worked, for instance, is a weak and overused word,” says Randall Hansen. “Use collaborated or led.” Here are a few more verbs that can help put the action back into your job search:

• accelerated
• accomplished
• collaborated
• constructed
• created
• designed
• developed
• devised
• drafted
• established
• expanded
• formulated
• generated
• implemented
• improved
• initiated 
• launched
• managed
• negotiated
• operated
• presented
• produced
• streamlined
• supervised
• tracked
• wrote