210 articles on resumes, interviews, and job search
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"To Whom It May Concern" is a formal greeting for letters with no known reader. When it still fits, how to capitalize and punctuate it, and the better alternatives for cover letters, emails and reference letters.
Every resume needs contact details, a summary or objective, work experience, education and skills. The optional sections that help, the order to use, and what to leave off — with a checklist.
Use 10 to 12 point for resume body text, 12 to 14 point for section headings and 14 to 20 point for your name. A size table, how sizes differ between fonts, and what to fix before you shrink the text.
You don't need your full street address on a resume — city and state (and ZIP if you like) are enough. When a full address still makes sense, how to show a planned move, and what a clean contact header looks like.
List each certification with its full name, the organization that issued it and the date you earned it. Where the section goes, how to show certifications in progress, licenses and expired credentials, with examples by field.
A resume is a short, targeted summary of your experience; a CV (curriculum vitae) is a complete record of your academic and professional history. The differences in a table, how the terms change by country, and which document to send.
Keep a cover letter under one page: roughly 250 to 400 words in three or four short paragraphs. Length by situation, the word count for emails and online forms, and what to cut when you run long.
End a cover letter with a short closing paragraph that restates your fit, asks for the next step and thanks the reader — then a professional sign-off and your name. Closing lines to copy, sign-offs to use and avoid, and common mistakes.
Put your GPA on your resume if you are a student or recent graduate and it is 3.0 or higher — or if the employer asks. How to format it, when to use major GPA instead, rounding, Latin honors, and when to take it off.
Address your cover letter to the hiring manager by name when you can, and use “Dear Hiring Manager” when you can't. Which salutations to use and avoid, how to find the name, and how to handle unknown gender, titles and committees.
List each language with an honest proficiency level — Native, Fluent, Professional working, Conversational or Basic — or a formal scale such as CEFR (A1–C2). Where the section goes, how to describe levels, and examples.
In the US, UK, Canada, Ireland and Australia, leave the photo off your resume. Why employers there prefer no picture, the countries and jobs where a photo is still common, and how to choose a photo when you do need one.
Hobbies and interests belong on a resume when you have little experience, when they relate to the job, or when the employer values culture fit. Which ones help, which to leave off, how to phrase them, and 30 examples.
For most people, a resume should cover the last 10 to 15 years of work. When older jobs still belong, how to compress them into one line, and whether to keep graduation dates.
Relevant coursework shows employers what you've learned when you don't have much work experience yet. When to include it, how many courses to list, formats that work, and examples by major.
Twenty resume objective examples grouped by situation — students, entry level, internships, career changers, people returning to work and specific jobs — plus a three-part formula and the cases where a summary works better.
Soft skills are the interpersonal and work-habit skills — communication, teamwork, problem-solving — that employers screen for. Forty examples by type, which ones to pick, and bullet-point wording that proves them.
A resume headline — also called a resume title — is a single line under your name that says who you are professionally and why you fit the job. How to write one in four steps, how it differs from a summary, and 30 examples by job and career stage.
Learn how to create a compelling CV tailored for remote work, especially for digital nomads. Boost your chances in remote interviews with these tips.
Three to five bullets for recent, relevant jobs; one or two for older ones. A guide by career level and recency, how long each bullet should be, and examples for an entry-level, mid-career and senior role.