Writing
Resume advice that checks its sources.
Most of what you read about resumes traces back to a sales pitch from 2012. These are plain answers about how your file is actually read, what breaks it, and what to write instead.
Start here
Does software really reject 75% of resumes?
You have read the statistic a hundred times. Nobody who repeats it can tell you where it came from, because the company that invented it went out of business in 2013.
Read it →6 min
How it actually works
What happens to your resume between the apply button and a person reading it.
- What an ATS actually is, and what an ATS resume meansMost explanations of this describe a robot judging you. The real thing is duller, and knowing which it is changes what you should do.6 min
- What actually happens to your resume after you click applyFive things happen between the button and a human. Most advice aims at the wrong one.7 min
- Does a company's system remember the last time you applied?Yes, and people are more surprised by this than they should be. Here is what is actually stored, and the one case where it matters.6 min
- Can an ATS tell your resume was written by AI?The software is not looking. A human is, and they can usually tell, which is a different problem with a different fix.6 min
- How to check your resume reads properly, in five minutesThe worst resume problem is invisible from your side, because your copy keeps looking perfect while the parsed version falls apart. Here is how to see the other version.5 min
The document itself
The layout choices that decide whether your words survive the trip.
- How to format a resume so the software can read itFour layout choices cause most parsing damage. None of them look wrong on your screen, which is exactly the problem.8 min
- Why a two column resume can lose your skills sectionThe column that holds your skills is usually the one that gets mangled, and your copy looks perfect while it happens.5 min
- PDF or Word: which one should you actually send?The old advice was right once. Here is what changed, and the one test that settles it for your file.5 min
What to write
The words, and why most resumes describe a job rather than a person.
- Resume keywords, without the stuffingThe reason to use the words in the job posting is duller than you have been told, and it tells you exactly how far to take it.6 min
- Your resume looks fine and you are still not getting interviewsSix reasons, roughly in the order they are likely to be yours. Most people start fixing the last one.7 min
- How to put numbers on your work when you think you have noneThe advice is always quantify your impact, which is useless if your job never came with a dashboard. Here is where the numbers actually hide.7 min
- Action verbs, and why a longer list will not help youEvery list of 200 power verbs makes the same mistake. The verb was never the problem; the missing object of the sentence was.6 min
- Writing your first resume for campus placementsEverybody in the queue has the same degree and the same empty experience section. What separates the shortlist is what you did with your own time.7 min
Choosing a tool
What the paid ones do, and when free is genuinely enough.
- Resume checkers compared: what you get free, and what you pay forThe useful question is not which tool is best. It is whether you are buying a one off check or a job hunting system, because those are different products at very different prices.7 min
- Are ATS scores accurate? What the number can and cannot knowWritten by a tool that gives you a score, which is exactly why it is worth saying plainly what a score is not.6 min
Or just have yours read
Thirty seconds, no account, and you see the text a parser pulls out of your file along with what a recruiter notices first.
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