A Work in Progress

Someone told you to fix up your resume. You haven’t looked at it in months. So, you spend hours revising it – you shift items around, fight with your computer for space, and try to keep your eyes from crossing. You proofread it and have someone else look over it. There are no errors. It looks clean. You’re done. Don’t have to do anything with it for another year or two. Right?

Wrong.

A resume is a work in progress. It is a living and breathing textual representation of your experience and capabilities, both of which are constantly evolving. It’s best to come to terms with the fact that you will always be tweaking and adjusting your resume.

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Judging a Book by its Cover: How to Write a Cover Letter

If your life were an autobiography, what would the dust jacket say about you? The cover letter is the dust jacket of your resume, and the recruiter’s first introduction to your voice.

Most cover letters are read last. But, before you stop reading this article, remember that any materials that make it as far as a “hold” pile will be read, from cover letter to references. It is then that cover letters matter most, as they have the power to distinguish intriguing possibilities from average, everyday candidates. Laura Gassner Otting suggests the following:

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The Use of Objectives on a Resume

Incorporating an objective into a resume can sometimes limit job opportunities for several reasons. An employer may view an objective statement as inflexibility within a potential employee. It may also be that the company has several job openings in various areas and the objective limits the individual to just one of the positions. Although an objective is a great goal to keep in mind and work towards, it is not always necessary to put it on a resume.