Okay, maybe it isn’t really magic. But it does make an unfocused resume really impressive.

The Problem

The average resume’s professional experience section isn’t very focused. Certainly, you want to write about the organization you worked for, what your role was and what you accomplished. The question is, when you do this, does the result really demonstrate what you can do? If you answered “no,” read on.

The Solution

It is actually very simple in concept. Where possible, describe the jobs you have h…

One area that most resumes could use some work on is the traditional objective statement at the top of the first page.

The most common problems are:

• The objective isn’t specific and targeted enough to be appealing.

• The objective is too soft and generic. Stating that you want a “challenging and rewarding job that will utilize your skills” will do nothing for your candidacy.

• The objective is written as a statement of what you want vs. what you offer. Generally, employers aren’t as interested in what y…

How to edit your resume for the next level

When you are aiming for a promotion in your current field, the ideal resume is one that shows achievement in your current and past roles, a track record of successfully taking on increasing responsibilities, evidence of leadership at a level appropriate for the more senior role, involvement in areas that are directly related to the more senior role you are applying for, and through all of this, evidence of the appropriate skills.

Your resume needs to achi…

You should absolutely include any relevant in-progress education or specialized training. The only time when you might not want to do it is when you have literally just started, or when the training itself is only a few days or weeks long and you have just started. You should wait in these instances.

Otherwise, truly “in-progress” education and training is a positive thing.

It is important to convey how much you have completed and/or how close you are to completing the requirements. Here are some …

How to edit your resume for certain industries

You didn’t ask me to clear up all of the confusion, thank goodness, so I will address your specific question on industry or profession-specific styles. My short answer is yes there are industry styles, and yes, they can be a good idea.

However, my first caveat is that your goal should be a professional resume that does a great job of explaining what you’ve done and what you offer.

The second caveat is that certain life stages require special attention.…

It is very unfortunate when we make the decision to join a company and it doesn’t work out. The reasons can be numerous; a bad boss, job misrepresented, poor colleague fit, and of course, some candidates sell themselves into situations that they shouldn’t be in. The reality is that it happens.

Do you represent jobs on your resume that were short and didn’t work out? And if so, how do you do so?

My advice, and most experts agree, is that you need to include all formal work experiences on your resum…