Erin Kennedy, Professional Resume Services, Inc.

“Be relevant! Your resume must 'speak the language' of your target audience and show them that you have done the exact things (or possess the exact skills) they are asking for in the job description.”

Vicki Aubin, The Rockin' Career Coach

“Let your objective drive the entire writing and formatting process since it’s all about positioning yourself for your next opportunity and not just rehashing the past! Note: This does NOT mean you have to include an objective statement on your resume and, in fact, I prefer you start with a summary section that showcases your core qualifications as they relate to your job search goal.”

Wendy Enelow, Author, Modernize Your Resume: Get Noticed … Get Hired

“To be effective in winning interviews, your resume must be a persuasive, branded marketing document that is results-focused and tailored to the position you are seeking. Generic, one-size-fits-all documents with misspellings, poor grammar and lack of focus get circular filed.”

Louise Garver, Career Directions International

"Don't let your resume get out of date. You never know when the opportunity for your dream job will present itself. When you have the attention of a hiring manager or recruiter, you want to be able to send them your information ASAP, not next week."

Donna Svei, Avid Careerist

“Be clear about communicating your value proposition—what you can deliver—with proof of performance in a way that will distinguish you from others competing for the same position. This is best accomplished in the branded profile at the top of the resume (be specific and include concise examples), then backed up with a few salient details in the brief Challenge-Action-Result stories in the experience section.”

Jan Melnik, Absolute Advantage



Vocabulary:
possess (the exact skills) = have, own

objective = purpose, goal. aim

rehash - to arrange ideas, pieces of writing or pieces of film into a new form but without any great change or improvement

core (qualifications) = fundamental, essential, basic

persuasive = convincing - good at making people do what you want

tailored (to) - made for a particular person or purpose

ASAP - as soon as possible

back up (with) - ​to provide support for somebody/something

salient = relevant, important

Source: https://advice.j2c.com/career-experts-share-top-resume-tips/

Tomas Ondrejka, Kickresume.com

“Never misrepresent yourself on your resume. Resume lies—even small ones—can result in a job offer being pulled, or can come back to bite you months or even years later. It's not worth it. Represent your skills and experience in a way that appeals to a prospective employer, but do so accurately and honestly.”

Luke Roney, JobHero

“Recruiters aren’t interested in dry and boring job descriptions with lists of duties or even lists of responsibilities; focus instead on your actual achievements in each role you have undertaken—and do try to quantify them with figures, percentages, etc. where at all possible so as to add both weight and credibility.”

James Innes, The Resume Center

“Ask yourself: Can a recruiter or hiring manager easily identify your unique selling point on your resume? A recruiter or hiring manager needs to be able to identify your unique selling point easily.  Beyond the requirements for the role, what do you uniquely bring to the position? Make sure that trait/characteristic/skill/experience is highlighted.”

Amy Wolfgang, Wolfgang Career Coaching

“My piece of advice for job seekers would be to make their resume mobile-friendly. Long gone are the days of including graphics and fancy elements on a printed resume. With a large majority of hiring managers and recruiters viewing resumes on mobile, it is important for a resume to be easily readable on all mobile devices. " 

Caileen Kehayas, Proven

"Tailor each resume (yes, a different resume for each company) to the company and position you are interviewing for...meaning you want to focus on the skills and abilities that the company puts a lot of value in (not just the things you are proficient at) and present them in detail on your resume."

Mike Simpson, TheInterviewGuys.com


Vocabulary:
scrap - to cancel or get rid of something that is no longer practical or useful

come back to bite somebody - to become a bigger problem in the future because you have not dealt with it:

worth - important, good or pleasant enough to make somebody feel satisfied, especially when difficulty or effort is involved

appeal (to) - to attract or interest somebody

credibility - the quality that somebody/something has that makes people believe or trust them

selling point - a feature of something that makes people want to buy or use it

highlight = underline, emphasize, stress, accentuate

fancy - unusually complicated, often in an unnecessary way; intended to impress other people

tailor - to make or adapt something for a particular purpose, a particular person, etc.

proficient (in/at) - able to do something well because of training and practice

Source: https://advice.j2c.com/career-experts-share-top-resume-tips/

Irene McConnell, Arielle Careers

“Demonstrate your value by illustrating your accomplishments. Companies want to know what you can do for them and the only way they will know is if you have done it for someone else, i.e., saved company money, helped increase sales, improved processes, etc.”

Martin Weitzman, Gilbert Resumes

“Shifting to an achievement-based resume is ideal because this relays to hiring companies that you’re someone who has produced results for current and past employers…and as we know, past performance offers reassurance for repeat positive performance.”

Teena Rose, Resume to Referral, LLC

"Write your resume to show you’re the perfect fit for the position you’re targeting. Your fit for the role can be substantiated in many different ways—from your branding statement, to the accomplishments you share, to the culture of the company. Include how you are the solution to the company’s problem. Create your branding statement around it, use examples of how you’ve resolved identical problems/needs before and how you positively impacted your client or employer. Employers are looking for specialists (experts) not for generalists or jack-of-all-trades."

Jessica Hernandez, Great Resumes Fast

"When describing the roles you have held, succinctly list the successes you achieved not just your responsibilities"

Kimberley Hubble, Hudson RPO

“When writing your resume make sure you use the SAR format:

S: What was the situation or project in which you were involved?

A: What action did you take to address an issue, overcome an obstacle, or drive change?

R: What was the result of your actions?

If job seekers use that formula on their resume, the document will be results focused and highlight the key points that provide for a compelling, achievement-based resume.”

Debra Wheatman, Careers Done Write

Vocabulary:
when it comes to = concerning, in terms of, as for

accomplishment = achievement - an impressive thing that is done or achieved after a lot of work

shift (to) - to change from one state, position, etc. to another

relay (to) - to receive and send on information, news, etc. to somebody

substantiate (claims, accusations) - to provide information or evidence to prove that something is true

jack-of-all-trades - a person who can do many different types of work, but who perhaps does not do them very well

succinctly = concisely - using only a few words that state something clearly

address (an issue) - to think about a problem or a situation and decide how you are going to deal with it

overcome (an obstacle) - to succeed in dealing with or controlling a problem that has been preventing you from achieving something

obstacle = problem, issue. complication, hindrance

drive (change, growth) - to influence something or cause it to make progress

compelling = exciting, intriguing, fascinating, intriguing, gripping

Source: https://advice.j2c.com/career-experts-share-top-resume-tips/

Beth Colley, Chesapeake Career Management Services

“Focus more on unique and novel accomplishments, and less on typical day-to-day responsibilities. You don’t need to tell us in 10 different ways that you made coffee if your job title is Barista—we know what a Barista does. Focus instead on something you did that wasn’t something we could easily guess.”

Dave Fecak, Resume Raiders

“The only way for hiring authorities to predict future performance is to assess past performance. When including accomplishments in the resume, be sure to use the CAR formula (challenge, action, results). For every achievement bullet point be sure to begin the bullet with the result/impact and follow it up with the action.”

Lisa Chapman, Chapman Services Group, LLC

“Make sure your resume is perfect. Spell check, grammar check, proofread it and then give it to a friend to proofread. Read it out loud or, if you have trouble catching your own mistakes, print it and proof it again.” 

Malki Ehrlich, GingerSoftware.com

"Be CLEAR about the job you want (‘your target’). Think of your resume as a product. It's a box. Without a job title or clear cut indication of the type of job you want, it's unclear if you are a box of cereal or a box of laundry detergent. Don't give recruiters the unnecessary power to jump to conclusions about who you want to be and what type of role you want to land: spell it out for them by writing a bold title right across the top!!"

Laura M. Labovich, The Career Strategy Group

"Think of your resume in the same way you would your outfit for an interview—don’t make it too cute or decorative; keep it professional, honest, concise and informative but allow your personality to come through."

Jennifer Gefsky, Après


Vocabulary:
keep it current = keep it up to date - having or including the most recent information

novel (feature, concept, idea) - different from anything known before; new, interesting and often seeming slightly strange

bullet point - an item in a list in a document, that is printed with a square, diamond or circle in front of it in order to show that it is important. The square, etc. is also called a bullet point.

proofread - to read and correct a piece of written or printed work

clear-cut - definite and easy to see or identify

jump to conclusions - to make a decision about somebody/something too quickly, before you know or have thought about all the facts

bold - brave and confident; not afraid to say what you feel or to take risks

concise = brief, succinct - giving only the information that is necessary and important, using few words

Source: https://advice.j2c.com/career-experts-share-top-resume-tips/

Interviewers like to hear stories about candidates. Make sure your story has a great beginning, a riveting middle, and an end that makes the interviewer root for you to win the job. Talk about a relevant incident that made you keen on the profession you are pursuing and follow up by discussing your education. In the story, weave together how your academic training and your passion for the subject or industry the company specializes in, combined with your work experience, make you a great fit for the job. 

“I come from a small town, where opportunities were limited. Since good schools were a rarity, I started using online learning to stay up to date with the best. That’s where I learned to code and then I went on to get my certification as a computer programmer. After I got my first job as a front-end coder, I continued to invest time in mastering both front- and back-end languages, tools, and frameworks.”

“I grew up in rural Montana as the oldest of five kids. I had to lead and take care of others from a young age, which is something that’s helped me throughout life. Second, growing up in rural Montana, I spent a lot of time in the outdoors, which is why I chose to study environmental studies in college. My recent experience with [Company X] has really allowed that passion to flourish. Now I’m looking forward to taking my skills to a larger stage — which is why I’m here talking to you today.”

Employers ask this question to gauge how you interact with various stakeholders or colleagues of differing opinions. Do you hold down the fort or crumble under pressure? They want to make sure that you won’t have a meltdown when the pressure becomes intense and deadlines are looming. Share an instance when you remained calm despite the turmoil. For this question, consider sticking to the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result or learning.

“I realize stressful situation are always going to come up, and I definitely have had to learn how to navigate them throughout my career. I think I get better at it with every new experience. While working on a new product launch at my last company, for example, things were not going according to plan with my team. Instead of pointing fingers, my first reaction was to take a step back and figure out some strategies around how we could we solve the problem at hand. Previously, I may have defaulted to panicking in that situation, so being calm and collected was definitely a step forward and helped me approach the situation with more clarity.”

“I was working as a project manager on an IT project, and one technician was constantly late finishing tasks. When I approached him about it, he got defensive, so I kept calm and acknowledged that the deadlines were challenging and asked how I could help him meet expectations. He told me that he had been pulled into another project so I met with the other project manager and we came to a resolution that lightened the technician’s workload. For the remainder of the project, the technician delivered great work. I learned that you don’t always know what others are experiencing and by keeping that in mind, you can better navigate conflict and be a more helpful and supportive colleague.”

Candidates answering this question should be positive and underscore what they learned in that role that sets them apart, as well as how a new role fits into their career path, according to Sethi.

Be honest, frame your experience positively and talk about how the new job is a better fit and what you hope to learn.

“I learned so much about leadership from my time at [Company X], I felt that working for [Company Y] would be the next logical step for my career path.”

“The last job wasn’t a good fit, which helped me to seriously examine my strengths and weaknesses and what I want to learn in my next job. That’s what led me to this job today.”

In your answer to this question, share your most relevant technical and soft skills. While it may feel uncomfortable to speak highly of yourself, remember that this is your opportunity to tell your interviewers what makes you a great candidate. To answer, follow the formula below:

1. Share one to a few positive qualities and personal attributes: "I’ve always been a natural leader...”

2. Back them up with examples: "...I’ve exceeded my KPIs every quarter and have been promoted twice in the past five years. I look back at those successes and know that I wouldn’t have reached them if I hadn’t built and led teams composed of highly skilled and diverse individuals. I’m proud of my ability to get cross-functional groups on the same page...”

3. Relate them back to the role for which you’re interviewing: "...I’ve also regularly honed my management skills through 360 reviews and candid sessions with my team, and I know continuing to build my leadership skills is something I want from my next role.”

It can feel awkward to discuss your weaknesses in an environment where you’re expected to focus on your accomplishments. However, when answered correctly, sharing your weaknesses shows that you are self-aware with an interest in continued growth and learning—traits that are extremely attractive to many employers. Consider using this formula for your response:

1. Select an actual weakness (not a strength) that's honest but professionally relevant: "I’m naturally shy...”

2. Add context: "...From high school and into my early professional interactions, it sometimes prevented me from speaking up...”

3. Provide a specific example:" ...After being a part of a workgroup that didn’t meet our strategic goals two quarters in a row, I knew I owed it to my team and myself to confidently share my ideas...”

4. Explain how you overcame or are working to overcome it: "...I joined an improv acting class. It’s fun and has really helped me overcome my shyness. I learned practical skills around leading discussions and sharing diverse perspectives. Now, in group settings, I always start conversations with the quieter folks. I know exactly how they feel, and people can be amazing once they start communicating.”

It’s easy to get hung up on figuring out your single most impressive accomplishment. Instead, think of a few achievements that showcase your work ethic and values. If you can, pick examples that also tie back to the job you’re applying for. The STAR method is a great tool to ensure you highlight the most relevant parts of your story.

“In my last role, I managed all of the company's social media content. I noticed other brands were experimenting with videos and seeing great engagement from their customers, so I asked my boss if we could do a low-budget test. She agreed, so I produced a video cheaply in-house that drove double the engagement we normally saw on our social channels. It also drove conversions with 30% of viewers visiting our website within a week of seeing the video.”

Stories of failure can reveal important insights about an applicant’s maturity, resilience, temperament, openness to learning, and ability to receive critical feedback. What the recruiter ultimately wants — and they may even state this explicitly — is not so much your story of failure but what you learned from it and how you turned that insight into a productive approach. 

When speaking about learning: Learned / Gleaned / Gained insight / Realized / Understood

When speaking about overcoming a challenge: Overcame / Improved / Elevated / Corrected

When speaking about reimagining a challenge: Recalibrated / Adjusted

Last year, my team introduced a new cloud-based internal filing system to the company and launched it as quickly as possible. But when the staff reported errors and frustrations using it, we realized that we hadn’t taken their learning curve into consideration. So, we met and worked with our internal communications team to develop a company-wide education campaign. I regret we didn’t make this part of our roll-out plan, but we worked very hard to learn from what happened and now prioritize user education with all product roll outs.
 

Be sure to do your homework on the organization and its culture before the interview. Your preferred environment should closely align to the company’s workplace culture (and if it doesn’t, it may not be the right fit for you). For example, you may find on the company’s website that they have a flat organizational structure or that they prioritize collaboration and autonomy. Those are key words you can mention in your answer to this question.

If the interviewer tells you something about the company that you didn’t uncover in your research, like, “Our culture appears buttoned-up from the outside, but in reality, it’s a really laid-back community with little competition among employees,” try to describe an experience you’ve had that dovetails with that. 

“That sounds great to me. I like fast-paced work environments because they make me feel like I’m always learning and growing, but I really thrive when I’m collaborating with team members and helping people reach a collective goal as opposed to competing.”

Your answer should be informed by the research you’ve done on the company culture and the job in question. Nevertheless, you should expect that most work environments will have some team aspect.

Many positions require you to work collaboratively with other people on a daily basis, while some roles require you to work on your own. When you answer this question, highlight the best traits of your personality and how they fit the job requirements. It could also be in your interest to answer this question by highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both situations.

 “I enjoy a blend of the two. I like having a team to strategize with, get diverse opinions from, and reach out to for feedback. But I am also comfortable taking on assignments that require me to work independently. I find I do some of my best work when I can focus alone in a quiet space, but I really value collaborating with my teammates to come up with the best ideas.”

Employers want to understand how you use your time and energy to stay productive and efficient. They’re also looking to understand if you have your own system for staying on track with the work beyond the company’s schedules and workflow plans. Be sure to emphasize that you adhere to deadlines and take them seriously.

Discuss a specific instance when you stayed on track. Talk about the importance and urgency of the projects you were working on and how you allocated your time accordingly. Explain how you remain organized and focused on the job in front of you.

“I’m used to juggling projects at my current job where I’m often moving between coding one software program to another. I use the timeboxing technique to make sure they’re all on track, allocating time on my calendar for certain tasks. I’ve found it really helps me prioritize what needs to get done first, and it holds me accountable for the more repetitive day-to-day tasks I’m responsible for.”

This can be an infuriating question, says Welch. After all, she says, it’s hard to predict the future and most employers expect you to see yourself at their company. While you should stress that you see yourself at the company for the long haul, set yourself apart, Welch says. Show you understand how the company will change and how you will evolve with it.

"Some of my future goals for the next few years include leading a design team in a formal capacity. I’m also excited about the prospect of working with product and event teams on developing streamlined processes—this is a natural fit with my project management background.”

“I would like to continue developing my marketing expertise over the next several years. One of the reasons I’m interested in working for a fast-growing startup company is that I’ll have the ability to wear many hats and collaborate with many different departments. I believe this experience will serve me well in achieving my ultimate goal of someday leading a marketing department.”

Employers will always ask this question because every position is budgeted, and they want to ensure your expectations are consistent with that budget before moving forward. Remember that it’s often better to discuss a salary range rather than a specific number during the interview and leaving room for negotiation. It’s also better to err on the side of caution and quote a slightly higher number as it’s easier to negotiate downward than upward. As a general rule of thumb, I advise not bringing up the questions about salary until your interviewer does or bringing it up too early in the process.

“Based on my skills and experience and on the current industry rates, I’m looking at a salary around $____” (then fill in with your desired salary range and rationale).

Why should we hire you?Why do you want to work at this company? 

To truly answer this question, you need to know the company well, says Sethi. Do your research about the company in advance, studying both their pain points and their goals. 

Interviewers often ask this question to determine whether or not you took the time to research the company and think critically about whether you’re a good fit. The best way to prepare for this question is to do your homework and learn about the products, services, mission, history and culture of this workplace.

This question serves as an interview’s finale, says Welch, and it can make or break your chances.

Use your answer to show you’ve been listening to your interviewer and focus on an aspect of the job that you both discussed in your talk. She also suggests you show that you can think expansively by asking about the industry and this company’s competition.

 

2.      “Come on everyone – let’s work together as teamwork makes the dream work.”

 

3.      “We’re all going to have to work together to hit the deadline, but many hands make light work (the more people are involved, the easier the job is.).”

4.      “No one appreciates me here even though I work like a dog (to work hard).”

 

5.      “Gosh you really are going to work your fingers to the bone (to work hard) if you carry on like this.”

 

6.      “The only way I’ll get this promotion is if I work my socks off (to work very hard).”

7.      “I’m not sure how long Susie can keep working like this. She’s first in and the last out every day. Burning the candle at both ends (working too hard, normally from early in the morning to late at night) isn’t good for her.”

 

8.      “I love the new guy in the team. He always goes the extra mile (do extra work, more than is expected) to make sure we get the job done.”

9.      “That’s a great idea and we should discuss it later, so let’s put a pin in it (to move on or change a discussion topic and pick it up later) for now.”

2.      “I don’t want to be part of Tim’s team as he never pulls his weight (do what is required of him)!”

 

3.      “We’ve been working together for a month and the team is starting to gel (have good relationships with each other and work well together).”

4.      “I’ve thought about what the poster should look like but can’t make up my mind. Can we meet up so I can bounce some ideas off you (to share an idea with someone and get their opinion on whether it is good or bad)?”

 

5.      “Right, that’s my break over, I had better get back to the grindstone (to return to/start a hard, tedious task).”

6.      “We signed up two new clients last week and 4 new clients this week, with 3 more in the pipeline. We are on a roll (experiencing a period of success or good luck).”

7.      “I don’t understand why he continues to bend over backwards (to work extra hard to help someone or to make them happy) for Julia, she doesn’t appreciate it.”

 

8.      “We spent 15 years building this business, it took blood, sweat, and tears (a hard thing to do and requires a lot of effort) to make it what it is today.”

9.      “If you all knuckle down (to focus and work diligently on a task or problem) and do your revision between now and the exams then you will pass with flying colours.”

 

2.      “Trust me, I will move mountains (make every possible effort) to make sure that you are satisfied with your new branding.”

3.      “The athletes are complaining about having to train on a Sunday, but no pain no gain (suffering is necessary in order to achieve something).”

 

4.      “I’ve asked him several times but he ignores me.  I must take the bull by the horns (to deal decisively with a difficult or dangerous situation) and tell my landlord that I am moving out unless he fixes the central heating.”

5.      “We have a new team member starting this week. Can everyone help him get up to speed (to be familiar with current information) on our accounts?”

 

6.      “The client rejected our original concept, so it’s back to the drawing board (to start again after a plan or idea was not successful).”

 

7.      “Our manager is burning the midnight oil (to consistently work beyond normal business hours) to meet every deadline.”

8.      “Stop looking at past examples and think outside the box (to go beyond a normal idea).”

9.      “Let’s all communicate constantly so we are on the same page (to have a shared understanding with others).”

2.      “My boss and I don’t always see eye to eye (to agree) on reporting techniques.”
 

3.      “It may be a good idea, but the bottom line (the most important part) is that it’s not profitable.”

 

4.      “Ultimately, it’s the client’s choice since they call the shots (to make the major decisions).”

 

5.      “Don’t expect a promotion if you’re constantly slacking off (to work lazily).”

 

6.      “I can’t think of any ideas off the top of my head (to know immediately); I’ll have to do more research.”

 

7.      “The company fired the CEO for not doing things by the book (to do something by law or rule).”

 

8.      “If you don’t’ know the exact cost, just give a ballpark figure (a rough estimate).”

 

9.      “We need a thought shower (to come up with a bunch of ideas) to come up with new ideas.”