Category: Improving

Productive Ways to Fill Resume Gaps

No matter if you’re in a career transition or between jobs, it’s vital you continue to build skills and successes you can show on your resume.  You will be viewed much more positively if you demonstrate recent achievements and continued growth than if you present a resume representing no new skill development or career growth over the last several months.  You will also have interesting things to talk about when asked what you have been doing recently.

Spending time productively sounds much more impressive than simply saying you’ve been looking for a job. Here are four excellent avenues for productivity during a job search: Read More

Should I Put Volunteer Work on My Resume?

Volunteer work is a great way to get involved and help make your community a better place.  It might also help land you your next job.  Many people don’t think to put volunteer work on their resume because it’s not a “regular” paying job.   When writing your resume, include any skills or experience that will help demonstrate that you are the right match for the job.  Take advantage of volunteer work by doing the following: Read More

What Does Your Resume Convey in 6 Seconds?

Today our guest blogger is Matt Youngquist. Matt is the President of Career Horizons, serving Northwest individuals and organizations dealing with the unique challenges of job hunting and employment transition.  Matt is a recognized expert in the field of career coaching, job hunting, and professional employment counseling.  You can follow him on Twitter @mattyoungquist.

Resume angst.  It’s a very real thing and the majority of job hunters I meet seem to suffer from it.  There just aren’t many people you’ll meet who will stand behind their resume 100% and say “I think my resume is terrific, sums up my qualifications beautifully, and is a piece I’m highly confident in sending out to potential employers.” Read More

Resume Make-over: Returning to the Workforce

Karen had an amazing resume with a lot of significant professional experience. The problem is, all of her experience is from over 15 years ago.  Like many women, Karen had a robust and successful career before taking time off to raise kids.  With her children in her teens, she is ready to return to the professional workforce.

An initial look at her resume revealed these issues: Read More

Why Years of Experience Don’t Matter

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Years of experience do not get people hired. Why? Because experience does not equal success or future value. For example, I can claim 30+ years experience as a runner. Does that make me a candidate for the next Olympics? Could I be a track coach? Am I even a good runner?  No. Just because I have been doing something for a long time does not mean I am good at it.

Which is more impressive: Read More