The Most Common Question I Get Asked as a Certified Professional Resume Writer
I can wholeheartedly say that I love what I do. I love creating organized, polished documents from chaos and helping people present the best versions of themselves. I feel that people often sell themselves short. Having a third party look over your resume and help you craft the best one you possibly can is one way to make sure that you get the attention you deserve out there in the talent...
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The 30 Companies That Hire the Most Freelancers
Whether you're an established freelancer or trying to get your self-employed career off the ground, chances are you're always on the lookout for new work opportunities. FlexJobs, a job board dedicated to flexible work opportunities, is here to make your life a little easier with its list of the top 30 companies hiring freelancers. The list, which is based on the number of open freelance jobs...
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6 Simple Things You Can Do to Improve the Success of Your Job Search
As a recruiter, I've looked at plenty of job candidate profiles, conducted extensive amounts of recruitment research, and experienced firsthand some of the best (and worst) applicant interviews throughout every phase of the hiring process and at all levels of employment. From the way in which candidates appear on LinkedIn, to how they have handled the unfortunate news that they weren't hired,...
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Hot Trends and Tips for Candidates: Highlights From Trustly's Open Forum on Recruiting
On November 11, 2015, we at Trustly hosted "Ask Us Anything," a sold-out recruiting panel, at our new office space in Silicon Valley. The panel featured guest speakers from Uber, Dropbox, and Intuit -- all of whom were game to answer questions about hot topics in recruiting and hiring. Here are some of the most interesting answers from that evening, directly from today's power players in...
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The Most Important Thing to Keep in Mind on the Job Hunt
Making a career change can bring up a lot of negative emotions. Most of us are not excited about looking for a new job, even when we know it's the best move for our careers and our sanity. When I was acting, every audition was like an interview for a new job, and I had to get used to a lot of rejection. The job market can be an unfriendly place, filled with rejection and waiting. I've had...
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Lessons From the Field: a Conversation With Networking Expert Van Allen
When you are a networker, you meet a lot of other networkers. If you meet enough networkers, you tend to meet some that do it well -- and these people can definitely teach you a thing or two. If you're lucky, some of those connections will turn out to be more than just Rolodex fodder. Such is the case for me with Van Allen. I've known Van for well over a decade. He's a consummate networker --...
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Want to Be a Teacher? Here Are the Top 25 Best Places for Educators in the U.S. [Infographic]
Before I started my illustrious career as a recruitment/hiring blogger, I was a teacher in Hartford, CT. (Full disclosure: I was not a very good teacher, hence why I didn't last long.) According to a new analysis from personal finance tech company SmartAssest, I was lucky enough to be teaching in the ninth-best metro area in the nation, where the average salary for a K-12 teacher is $70,786....
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10 Probing Questions Candidates Should Ask Their Interviewers, Part 2
For job seekers, interviews can be nerve-wracking. The employer has something that you desperately want -- your dream job -- and you can't force them to give it to you. All you can do is gently persuade them you are the perfect candidate. It's no wonder you're nervous. The problem is that these nerves can send you into your shell. This is a flawed self-preservation strategy, especially in the...
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Explanations Go a Long Way on Resumes
Leaving off pertinent information is why so many resumes go in the trash. It's difficult to balance out the amount of information presented in a resume. With the shorter attention spans today, it's important to get to the point. You don't want to bog the reader down with reams of useless information -- but you also need to make sure you include vital information that demonstrates why you are...
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Embrace Interview Stress
The sweaty hands, the racing heart, the knots in your stomach -- and lets not forget the lightheadedness and blabbering. People report many physical symptoms of interview stress. Interview anxiety has become such an accepted phenomenon that there is almost an expectation that you will experience it. In fact, people who don't experience interview anxiety often say they feel like freaks -- like...
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The Difference Between Resumes and CVs
Most people believe that the terms "resume" and "CV" are interchangeable, but that is far from correct. Unfortunately, these crucial documents aren't discussed very often in school, so as we make our way out into the workforce, we are forced to do some research and figure it out on our own. Resumes and CVs are both documents that elaborate on your career path, but there are major differences...
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The Top 10 States for Telecommuters
There's never been a better time to work from home. Half of all workers in the U.S. have jobs that could be accomplished via telecommuting, and the number of employees who telecommute has grown by 103 percent since 2005. "Telecommuting is popular because it alleviates or eliminates many of the pain points people associate with work," says Kristin Thomas, director of employer outreach at...
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How to Find a Low-Stress Career
We live in an era that's much more sympathetic to work-life balance than previous years, and that means it's a good time to step back and take a holistic view of your career. You don't need to settle for being a life-long slave to the corporate machine -- you can hop from career to career, depending on your tastes, whims, and lifestyle. Sure, you still need to earn money, but you have much...
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6 Ways to Stay Motivated When the Job Search Gets Tough
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter Q&A! This Week's Question: The job search can be terribly demotivating. After months and months of firing off resumes and maybe even landing some...
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Making Education Count: the Best Career Prospects for the Next 10 Years
Thanks to both the Great Recession and the rapidly changing career environment, lots of young people find themselves underemployed or going back to school to train for different careers. Add to this the cost of post-secondary education today and the fact that there will be very few careers available to those who only hold high school diplomas, and today's students have to get very savvy. They...
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One Size Does Not Fit All: Pro Tips From a Resume Writer
When it comes to resumes, you've probably read it all. There's great advice out there about student resumes for internships. You have guides to help decide if one or two pages is sufficient space for all the amazing things you've accomplished. You've likely heard that it is best to make sure you are constantly updating your resume. But what about that resume that you need to update all the...
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Now That's a Beautiful Resume [Infographic]
Loyal readers of Recruiter.com may have noticed a sharp uptick in the amount of resume-related content in recent days. There's a good reason for this: Resumes are tricky! We know how frustrating it can be to write a perfect resume -- and we know how infuriating it is to realize that there's really no such thing as a "perfect" resume -- just a resume that works best for you. We hope the...
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The State of Millennial Employment Today
There's no official definition of what a millennial, is but most source say it is someone born between 1980 and 2000. There are currently 48.7 million adults between the ages of 18 and 30 in the U.S. These people account for 22 percent of the total adult population in the country. There are, roughly speaking, twice as many millennials as there are senior citizens in the...
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How One Company Is Helping GED Students Find the Jobs They Want
According to the GED Testing Service, 65 percent of those who pass the GED took the test to "further their education." The problem, however, is that only 43 percent of these students actually go on to enroll in postsecondary education programs, and a scant 12 percent actually complete those postsecondary programs. Aaron Michel, cofounder and CEO of career navigation and education software...
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Formatting Your Resume: the Best Ways to Group Your Work Experiences
If your resume is not skimmable, it is basically worthless. Almost no one will sit and read every word of a long, dense resume or CV, so it is important to highlight what you want recruiters and hiring managers to see immediately. There are a lot of different ways to format and arrange your resume. The key is to find the one that makes sure recruiters see exactly what you want them to see --...
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Want to Make the Most of an Event Like HR Tech? It's All About Branding
I was not at this year's HR Technology Conference, but I think that makes what I'm about to say all the more powerful: If you want to make the most of an event like HR Tech, your branding has to be on point. If you play the branding game right, you can reach way beyond the conference space and into the hearts and minds of people who weren't even there. Let me explain: My favorite story to come...
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5 Tricky Interview Questions All Job Seekers Should Watch Out For
It's happened to us all: You're in a middle of a job interview and things are going great. The tone is conversational and upbeat. You've been able to answer every question with ease. And then, suddenly, you loose your footing. The interviewer hits you with an especially tough question, and you don't have an immediate answer. You hear yourself stammering and fumbling over your words. You feebly...
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Good News for People Who Like Things That Go 'Boom': 2015's Top 10 Jobs
Late last month, SmartAsset released its list of the "Top 10 Jobs for Salary and Growth in 2015" -- and it's kind of a weird one. The list is the result of a lengthy analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. SmartAsset looked at "every job with total U.S. employment of at least 5,000" -- 700 jobs overall. For each job, SmartAsset wanted to know: - the current average salary; - the...
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6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career
For many years now, we've watched a culture of almost continuous restructuring and contingency work displace the job-for-life. Rather than staying at a single company for most of our careers, today we have an average job length of just over four years. It's not just individual jobs that have come under threat, but entire career paths. We live in an era where entire professions are being...
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The Student's Guide to Resume Writing
At ClickTime, we evaluate more than 600 student resumes every year for our internships and full-time entry-level positions. As a result, we know what a good student resume should look like. Here are some words of wisdom to help you rise above your competition in the job and internship market: The Basics Length: One page. (No, seriously). Font: CAPS, Bold, Italics, or...
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Two Words That Keep Your Resume From Being Read
Long ago, resumes used to be written in a much different format. They began with a statement outlining what the job seeker wanted, followed by an "experience" section that detailed the job seeker's current job, and they ended with the statement "References available upon request." But the times have changed. It became a buyer's market in the realm of hiring, and resumes written in the older...
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4 Common LinkedIn Mistakes — and How to Fix Them
LinkedIn is the No. 1 social networking platform for professionals, but simply creating a LinkedIn profile isn't enough to reap the benefits of the site. You have to maintain an active presence! Recruiters will often check a candidate's LinkedIn profile before even considering them, and if it looks like the user hasn't been active in a while, there's a good chance the recruiter will move on...
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One Page or More: How Long Should Your Resume Be?
To go over a page, or no to go over a page? That is the question. Well, the truth is, it depends. My general rule of thumb is that if you find yourself with 1/3 of a page or less on the second page of your resume, try to make it all fit on one page by searching for and eliminating "fluff" words, extra spacing, etc. If you have more than 1/3 of a page and all of it is important content about...
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The 3 Keys to Finding a Satisfying Job
If you're in search of a better work environment, there are a few factors you need to keep in mind during your hunt. First, begin with your personal values. For example, if you are someone who values the ability to work creatively and independently, you'll want to ask your interviewer about how the company promotes (or doesn't promote) those values. But personal values are only the start....
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The Top 25 Cities for Medical Sales Professionals [Infographic]
Whether you've already established yourself in the medical sales field or you're looking for a new career opportunity altogether, the latest infographic from MedReps.com can help. Considering factors like job-to-candidate ratios, the number of open positions, average pay levels, and cost of living, MedReps.com surveyed the country and found the top 25 cities for medical sales...
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The Top 4 Soft Skills That Candidates Need Right Now
When we speak about skills shortages, we're often focused on the hard, industry-specific sorts of technical skills. However, soft skills are also crucial for employee success in today's day and age. This newfound appreciation for the value of soft skills is reflected in many studies, including one from Adecco, which found that 44 percent of senior executive respondents believe that Americans...
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Today Is the Day to Update Your Resume
A recent survey from LinkedIn found that 45 percent of people quit their jobs because they didn't have room to grow. Other reasons people cited for leaving their jobs included: - poor leadership (41 percent); - looking for a better work culture and more challenging work (36 percent); - and the desire for better pay at work (34 percent). The most intriguing aspect of this survey is...
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Looking for Work-Life Balance? Here Are the Top Jobs for You [Infographic]
According to a recent publication straight from the White House, nine out of 10 Americans don't feel their jobs allow them the flexibility to cater to their families. These employees also feel that, if their employers were to allow them more flexibility in their jobs, they would perform better at work. Unless you are that lucky one in 10 who does feel they have enough flexibility, you, too,...
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The Importance of Continually Updating Your Resume
Have you ever stumbled upon a job opportunity too great to pass up, only to find out that you needed to apply for it yesterday? I often have clients scrambling to get their resumes done within extremely short timelines thanks to this exact situation. It isn't too much of a problem if you simply need to add a few skills and a bit of work experience, but when your resume is completely outdated,...
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12 Ways to Make Sure Your Resume Gets Seen
As a job seeker, your resume is often your best and only chance at getting your foot in the door with your dream employer. Sure, social recruiting is on the rise, and a lot of recruiters are spending more and more time surfing social media platforms for top-tier talent, but we all know that the resume is still king. Unless your resume warrants a second look, an employer is likely to pass right...
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Be Your Own Brand Ambassador: How to Use Social Media Wisely on the Job Hunt
Your words are no longer your own -- especially if you tweet them, post them on Facebook, or share them on Tumblr -- and you must be especially aware of this fact if you are actively seeking employment. Today's employers have the means and the motivation to search the Internet for as much information about you as they can. The old excuse of, "It's my personal account," is no longer a valid...
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The One Thing That Will Make Resume-Writing 88 Percent Easier
Raise your hand if you've put off updating your resume for months. Nod your head if you use the word "hate" to describe the resume-writing process. Turns out, you're not alone. Resume-writing is difficult for a number of reasons, but one common complaint is that it's tough to write about yourself. Most of us are uncomfortable bragging, and most of us aren't sure how to view ourselves...
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Reverse Cultural Fit? How to Find a Company With Values That Match Your Own
Tom Borgerding, CEO of college-marketing agency Campus Media Group and creator and founder of college-recruiting database Mytasca, was recently speaking with a college student who was baffled by her experiences working with a well-known company. The student told Borgerding she was confused. This was supposed to be a great company to work for. Its reputation and employer brand are both...
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5 Reasons You Need LinkedIn
Some experts say that if you aren't on LinkedIn, you don't exist. This could be true, but it does seem a little extreme. My existence as a professional is void because I don't have a LinkedIn account? As it turns out, there are many reasons why career experts and hiring authorities speak so highly of LinkedIn. Here are the top five reasons why maintaining a strong LinkedIn presence is so...
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Forget What You Know: Recruiting Talent in Emerging Markets
Uncontroversial statement: We live in a globalized economy, and as a result, the war for talent is a global phenomenon. Thanks to the rise of telecommuting technology, even smaller companies are beginning to hire talent from around the world. Controversial statement: People everywhere are not the same. Now, don't misunderstand us. We're not talking about fundamental differences in human...
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3 Tips to Help You Rebound From a Disastrous Interview
If you take time to prepare and choose your potential employers well, you should perform competently or even exceptionally at an interview. But, we are humans, not machines. Every now and again, something will go wrong, and you'll underperform -- or perhaps totally bomb -- at an interview. After such a catastrophic showing, it may seem to you like you've blown all your chances of landing...
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How to Seal the Deal After a Job Interview
The interview is over, and you are experiencing a mishmosh of emotions. You think you did well, but you can never really tell, can you? You feel like they loved you, but you aren't quite sure. You know you aced that dreaded "Tell me about yourself" question, but you think you may have bombed that other one about your weakness... Not to worry -- even if you did make a few mistakes, there is...
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5 Common Mistakes That Desperate Job Seekers Make
Often, when we're looking for jobs, we make a lot of mistakes. Unemployed job seekers especially may feel some mild panic as they search for employment, which can lead to rushed applications, which beget mistakes and ultimately compromise one's job-seeking strategy. Even the passive, currently employed job seeker may be prone to job-hunting mistakes. These mistakes often arise from being...
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4 Ways to Efficiently Find a New Job When You're Working Full-Time
Finding a new job when you're already employed full-time is much easier to do than you think -- and a lot less conventional than you might imagine. I typically have most of my clients start off by dedicating only one or two hours to their job searches per week. Some people -- still deeply entrenched in the belief that searching for a job requires numerous hours of research, applications, and...
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Is a Standard Resume Enough to Get You an Interview Anymore?
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about the death of, the traditional resume in the face of LinkedIn, Facebook, and various other social media platforms. But contrary to the hype, you will likely find that most -- if not all -- job openings still ask for candidates to apply by submitting their resumes. It's quite clear, then, that the resume isn't exactly dead. But...
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Maybe Employers Don't Actually Care Whether or Not You're Unemployed
At Recruiter.com, we've written pretty extensively about the discrimination that unemployed job seekers face. Heck, in my very early days with the company, I wrote a righteous screed all about how our fetish for passive candidates unfairly puts unemployed candidates at a disadvantage, and it's still one of my most popular articles. Problem is, new evidence is beginning to suggest that maybe...
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Top 5 Reasons Why HR Pros Disqualify Candidates
In a recent survey of HR professionals conducted by Beyond, HR pros revealed that it is harder to find qualified candidates today than it was six months ago. Is it harder to find candidates because it's now a candidate's market, or is it because employers are being too picky, disqualifying great candidates too early in the hiring process for committing forgivable mistakes? According to...
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4 Tips on Writing a Resume That Sells Your Skills
In today's talent market, your resume is no longer a simply summary of your work history or an exhaustive list of job duties. In order to be successful in your job hunt, you need to create a resume that utilizes career-marketing tactics to sell your skills and prove your value above competing job candidates. A resume that leads to better job opportunities must contain the right keywords,...
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