Your resume is the lifeblood of your job search. Many factors influence your success in finding a new job. But the resume is the central point everything radiates from. If you have a great resume, you get noticed. But even more importantly, it represents how well you have thought through what you want and how you can solve the employer’s problem.
Adam, which is more important: the resume or the cover letter? I've read conflicting views on this. In a hiring role, I found resumes useful in screening applicants for meeting minimum requirements, but cover letters were often more revealing (for better or worse) of an applicant's unique qualities.
That's a great question, Bill. I'm actually writing about cover letters for this week. Cover letters have definitely diminished in importance in this ATS/AI era. But my advice is to go hard on the cover letter if there is any possibility of submitting one. Because as you say, it can tap into emotion and be revealing, which can tip the scales - if they read it.
Customizing is so key. I've been on the hiring end, and it's amazing how many candidates don't seem to have read the job description and how clearly you can tell that from both their resumes and their cover letters. I would always toss those!
Apart from that one, the best advice I've gotten is one you also mention, talking about your accomplishments rather than your job responsibilities.
At my advanced age it's been hard to keep the resume to two pages, but I've managed that. I knew someone who took this to extremes and condensed his resume so much that it didn't give a good idea of his accomplishments, but he was an outlier.
Adam, which is more important: the resume or the cover letter? I've read conflicting views on this. In a hiring role, I found resumes useful in screening applicants for meeting minimum requirements, but cover letters were often more revealing (for better or worse) of an applicant's unique qualities.
That's a great question, Bill. I'm actually writing about cover letters for this week. Cover letters have definitely diminished in importance in this ATS/AI era. But my advice is to go hard on the cover letter if there is any possibility of submitting one. Because as you say, it can tap into emotion and be revealing, which can tip the scales - if they read it.
Looking forward to reading your post on this! Thanks.
Customizing is so key. I've been on the hiring end, and it's amazing how many candidates don't seem to have read the job description and how clearly you can tell that from both their resumes and their cover letters. I would always toss those!
Apart from that one, the best advice I've gotten is one you also mention, talking about your accomplishments rather than your job responsibilities.
At my advanced age it's been hard to keep the resume to two pages, but I've managed that. I knew someone who took this to extremes and condensed his resume so much that it didn't give a good idea of his accomplishments, but he was an outlier.