[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":2594},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-tag-examples":3},[4,200,412,694,817,1006,1137,1361,1495,1672,2043,2197,2313],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"date":185,"description":186,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":190,"navigation":191,"path":192,"seo":193,"stem":194,"tags":195,"__hash__":199},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fresume-examples.md","Resume Examples — Before and After, Side by Side",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":176},"minimark",[10,19,22,27,35,38,41,45,52,55,58,62,69,72,75,79,86,89,92,95,99,102,111,114,167,170],[11,12,13,14,18],"p",{},"You will learn more about resumes from one honest before\u002Fafter than from a gallery of polished exemplars. The polished resume tells you what the finished product looks like. The before\u002Fafter tells you ",[15,16,17],"em",{},"what the writer changed",", which is the only thing you can act on.",[11,20,21],{},"This article walks through four pairs. In each one, it is the same candidate, the same role, the same dates and employers. The only thing that moves between the two sides is the writing. The contrast is the lesson.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"_1-a-summary-that-says-something","1. A summary that says something",[28,29],"blog-resume-compare",{"lesson":30,"strong-caption":31,"strong-src":32,"weak-caption":33,"weak-src":34},"Summary that says something","Concrete scope, outcome-focused bullets","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fsummary-strong.svg","Vague aspiration, responsibility-focused bullets","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fsummary-weak.svg",[11,36,37],{},"The weak summary could belong to any engineer on any team in any decade. \"Passionate,\" \"proven track record,\" \"excited to contribute\" — each phrase is free. The strong version names systems, scale, and a decision the candidate drove: a monolith-to-services migration, the latency numbers before and after, the SLOs they own now. Every bullet below follows the same move — say what was shipped and what changed.",[11,39,40],{},"If your first line does not disqualify half the job postings in your inbox as not-a-fit, it is too generic.",[23,42,44],{"id":43},"_2-skills-curated","2. Skills, curated",[28,46],{"lesson":47,"strong-caption":48,"strong-src":49,"weak-caption":50,"weak-src":51},"Skills, curated","Four categories, role-relevant only","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fskills-strong.svg","Single wall of 40+ keywords, no grouping","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fskills-weak.svg",[11,53,54],{},"The weak skills list is a panic response to \"what if the ATS is looking for this?\" So everything goes in — clinical skills mixed with software, soft skills mixed with certifications, Spanish (basic) sitting next to Fall prevention. A recruiter reading this list learns nothing about which of these the candidate is actually good at.",[11,56,57],{},"The strong version groups skills by the category a hiring nurse manager would scan for: Clinical, Certifications, Systems, Languages. It also cuts the filler — \"Detail-oriented,\" \"Teamwork,\" \"Problem solving\" — that every candidate claims and no reader believes. What remains is a tighter signal: the candidate knows their EMR, they hold the right licenses, they have the clinical skills the role requires.",[23,59,61],{"id":60},"_3-cut-the-ancient-history","3. Cut the ancient history",[28,63],{"lesson":64,"strong-caption":65,"strong-src":66,"weak-caption":67,"weak-src":68},"Cut the ancient history","3 relevant roles + one \"Earlier roles\" line; reframes teaching for ops","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fhistory-strong.svg","10 jobs back to a paper route; buries the pivot","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Fhistory-weak.svg",[11,70,71],{},"A career-changer's resume has to do two things at once: establish that the candidate has real professional experience, and reframe that experience for the role they actually want. The weak version does neither. It inflates a teaching career with high school retail jobs, and the bullets describe the work as a teacher rather than as operations.",[11,73,74],{},"The strong version keeps the three most relevant roles and collapses the earlier jobs into a single \"Earlier roles\" line — honest about the timeline without wasting space on a paper route from 2008. Just as important: the remaining bullets reframe teaching in operations terms. Curriculum review becomes process design. Classroom management becomes stakeholder coordination. Same work, read through the lens of the next job.",[23,76,78],{"id":77},"_4-one-pm-tailored-for-fintech","4. One PM, tailored for fintech",[28,80],{"lesson":81,"strong-caption":82,"strong-src":83,"weak-caption":84,"weak-src":85},"One PM, tailored for fintech","Same candidate, bullets pulled toward regulated fintech","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Ftailoring-strong.svg","Generic \"cross-functional\" PM applying everywhere","\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Ftailoring-weak.svg",[11,87,88],{},"This pair is the same person on both sides. Same employers, same dates, same titles — and the same underlying work. The difference is which parts of that work show up in the resume.",[11,90,91],{},"The weak version is a generic product-manager resume. \"Led cross-functional teams.\" \"Managed product lifecycle.\" It would be equivalent if the candidate were applying at a fintech, a gaming studio, or a recipe app. The strong version surfaces the specific fintech experience that was always there: SOC 2, KYC, BSA\u002FAML, payment rails, chargeback reduction, OCC chartering. Nothing was fabricated — the candidate simply refused to bury the parts that matter to the hiring team.",[11,93,94],{},"Tailoring is not about rewriting your history. It is about which parts of your history you let the reader see first.",[23,96,98],{"id":97},"layout-sins-to-avoid","Layout sins to avoid",[11,100,101],{},"Those four pairs are all about writing. Format matters too — and the wrong format can get a strong resume thrown out before anyone reads it.",[11,103,104],{},[105,106],"img",{"alt":107,"height":108,"src":109,"width":110},"A resume with many layout anti-patterns — two-column layout, profile photo, skill bar graphs, emoji headers, clashing colors, and a table for work history",1056,"\u002Fimages\u002Fexamples\u002Flayout-sins.png",816,[11,112,113],{},"A brief tour of what to avoid, and why:",[115,116,117,125,131,137,143,149,155,161],"ul",{},[118,119,120,124],"li",{},[121,122,123],"strong",{},"A profile photo."," US employers are trained to avoid photos on resumes — they create discrimination risk. Many will discard the resume rather than read it.",[118,126,127,130],{},[121,128,129],{},"Two-column layouts with a sidebar."," Most ATS parsers read left-to-right across the whole page. Columns get scrambled. Your skills end up interleaved with your work history.",[118,132,133,136],{},[121,134,135],{},"Tables for work experience."," Same problem — parsers often extract tables as a single cell or skip them entirely. Use plain text rows.",[118,138,139,142],{},[121,140,141],{},"Emoji section headers."," ATS systems strip non-ASCII characters. \"🚀 Skills\" becomes \" Skills\" in the parsed output. More importantly, recruiters read them as unserious.",[118,144,145,148],{},[121,146,147],{},"Skill bar graphs."," A 95% bar next to \"Leadership\" is not information — it is a design flourish that the recruiter will mentally discount and the parser will ignore entirely.",[118,150,151,154],{},[121,152,153],{},"Decorative fonts."," Comic Sans or a handwritten font in one section wrecks the credibility of the whole document. Stay with one professional serif or sans.",[118,156,157,160],{},[121,158,159],{},"Clashing color blocks."," Teal header, purple sidebar, yellow highlights. Even setting aside readability, it signals that the candidate spent their energy on visual design instead of writing. Recruiters notice.",[118,162,163,166],{},[121,164,165],{},"Invisible keyword stuffing."," White text at 1px in the header, trying to game ATS keyword matching. Modern ATS systems flag it. Recruiters can see it if they paste the resume into any text editor. It is the resume equivalent of hiding something under your seat at the interview.",[11,168,169],{},"The resumes in the four pairs above work because they get out of the way — single column, clean section headings, plain text, consistent type. Every decision on the page is in service of making the writing easy to read.",[171,172],"blog-cta",{":glow":173,"body":174,"heading":175},"true","Build a resume that reads like the 'after' versions above. Resume Notebook handles the formatting — you focus on the writing.","Your turn.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":179},"",2,[180,181,182,183,184],{"id":25,"depth":178,"text":26},{"id":43,"depth":178,"text":44},{"id":60,"depth":178,"text":61},{"id":77,"depth":178,"text":78},{"id":97,"depth":178,"text":98},"2026-04-14","Four before\u002Fafter resume pairs showing what separates a weak resume from a strong one, plus a quick tour of layout sins to avoid.",false,"md",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fresume-examples",{"title":6,"description":186},"blog\u002Fresume-examples",[196,197,198],"resume-tips","formatting","examples","ZFzQDvgLgNKudL1a8p1cQJ2fRFt0653NMBDKKq6mx6g",{"id":201,"title":202,"body":203,"date":402,"description":403,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":404,"navigation":191,"path":405,"seo":406,"stem":407,"tags":408,"__hash__":411},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fai-resume-tips.md","AI Resume Tips — How to Use AI to Improve Your Resume",{"type":8,"value":204,"toc":384},[205,208,212,217,220,226,232,235,239,242,245,249,252,256,259,263,267,270,273,277,280,283,287,290,294,297,300,304,307,334,338,370,374,377,380],[11,206,207],{},"AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can genuinely help you write a better resume. They can also produce generic, overwritten nonsense that hiring managers spot immediately. The difference is in how you use them.",[23,209,211],{"id":210},"what-ai-is-good-at","What AI Is Good At",[213,214,216],"h3",{"id":215},"rewriting-weak-bullet-points","Rewriting Weak Bullet Points",[11,218,219],{},"This is the highest-value use. Take a bullet point that describes a responsibility and ask AI to rewrite it as an accomplishment.",[11,221,222,225],{},[121,223,224],{},"Your draft:"," \"Responsible for onboarding new team members.\"",[11,227,228,231],{},[121,229,230],{},"AI-assisted rewrite:"," \"Designed and ran the onboarding program for 12 new hires, reducing ramp-up time from 8 weeks to 5.\"",[11,233,234],{},"The AI did not invent the numbers or the outcome — you provided those. It restructured the sentence to lead with impact. That is the right way to use it.",[213,236,238],{"id":237},"matching-keywords-to-a-job-description","Matching Keywords to a Job Description",[11,240,241],{},"Paste your resume and the job description into an AI tool and ask it to identify keywords you are missing. This is tedious to do manually and AI handles it well. It will catch terms like \"cross-functional collaboration\" or \"stakeholder management\" that you might have described differently.",[11,243,244],{},"Do not blindly add every keyword it suggests. Only include terms that honestly describe your experience.",[213,246,248],{"id":247},"tightening-verbose-writing","Tightening Verbose Writing",[11,250,251],{},"If your bullet points run long, AI is good at compressing them without losing meaning. Ask it to shorten a three-line bullet to one line while keeping the key details. It will usually find the right cut.",[213,253,255],{"id":254},"generating-first-drafts","Generating First Drafts",[11,257,258],{},"Staring at a blank page is the hardest part of resume writing. Giving AI your job title, company, and a few notes about what you did can produce a rough draft that is easier to edit than nothing. Treat the output as raw material, not a finished product.",[23,260,262],{"id":261},"what-ai-is-bad-at","What AI Is Bad At",[213,264,266],{"id":265},"writing-your-resume-from-scratch","Writing Your Resume From Scratch",[11,268,269],{},"If you paste a job description and ask AI to write a resume for it, you will get a resume that reads like a job description. It will be full of the right keywords and completely devoid of specifics. Recruiters recognize this pattern instantly.",[11,271,272],{},"AI does not know what you actually did. It can only guess based on the job title and industry. The result is generic language that could describe anyone — and that is the opposite of what a resume should do.",[213,274,276],{"id":275},"quantifying-your-work","Quantifying Your Work",[11,278,279],{},"AI will often insert fake metrics to make bullet points sound stronger. \"Increased revenue by 35%\" means nothing if you did not actually increase revenue by 35%. Fabricated numbers are a fireable offense if caught during a reference check or interview.",[11,281,282],{},"Always supply your own numbers. If you do not have exact figures, use honest approximations — \"roughly doubled,\" \"reduced by about half.\" AI cannot fact-check your career for you.",[213,284,286],{"id":285},"judging-what-to-include","Judging What to Include",[11,288,289],{},"AI does not know which of your experiences matter most for a specific role. It will include everything or make arbitrary cuts. The editorial judgment — what stays, what goes, what gets top billing — has to come from you.",[213,291,293],{"id":292},"writing-in-your-voice","Writing in Your Voice",[11,295,296],{},"AI-generated resume language has a distinct sound: slightly formal, overly polished, and interchangeable with every other AI-written resume. Phrases like \"spearheaded cross-functional initiatives to drive strategic alignment\" are a tell.",[11,298,299],{},"Your resume should sound like a sharper version of you, not like a language model. Edit the output until it reads the way you would actually describe your work to a colleague.",[23,301,303],{"id":302},"the-ai-resume-smell-test","The AI Resume Smell Test",[11,305,306],{},"After using AI to help with your resume, read every bullet point and ask:",[308,309,310,316,322,328],"ol",{},[118,311,312,315],{},[121,313,314],{},"Is this true?"," If you could not defend it in an interview, cut it.",[118,317,318,321],{},[121,319,320],{},"Is this specific to me?"," If it could appear on anyone's resume with the same job title, rewrite it with your actual details.",[118,323,324,327],{},[121,325,326],{},"Does this sound like me?"," If it sounds like a press release, tone it down.",[118,329,330,333],{},[121,331,332],{},"Did I add the numbers, or did the AI?"," If the AI generated a metric, replace it with a real one or remove it.",[23,335,337],{"id":336},"a-good-workflow","A Good Workflow",[308,339,340,346,352,358,364],{},[118,341,342,345],{},[121,343,344],{},"Write a rough draft yourself."," Even if it is bad, start with your own words and your own details.",[118,347,348,351],{},[121,349,350],{},"Use AI to improve specific bullet points."," One at a time, not the whole resume. Give it context about what you actually did and ask it to make the language stronger.",[118,353,354,357],{},[121,355,356],{},"Use AI to check keyword alignment."," Paste your draft and the job description. Ask what is missing.",[118,359,360,363],{},[121,361,362],{},"Edit everything the AI produces."," Read it out loud. Cut the jargon. Add your specific numbers. Make it sound like you.",[118,365,366,369],{},[121,367,368],{},"Never submit AI output without editing it."," Unedited AI text is obvious to anyone who reads resumes regularly.",[23,371,373],{"id":372},"the-bottom-line","The Bottom Line",[11,375,376],{},"AI is a writing tool, not a writing replacement. It is best at improving your words — restructuring sentences, tightening language, catching gaps. It is worst at replacing your judgment about what matters and what is true.",[11,378,379],{},"Use it like a sharp editor, not a ghostwriter.",[171,381],{"body":382,"heading":383},"Resume Notebook helps you build and tailor resumes with AI suggestions you can accept, edit, or ignore.","AI-assisted. Human-controlled.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":385},[386,393,399,400,401],{"id":210,"depth":178,"text":211,"children":387},[388,390,391,392],{"id":215,"depth":389,"text":216},3,{"id":237,"depth":389,"text":238},{"id":247,"depth":389,"text":248},{"id":254,"depth":389,"text":255},{"id":261,"depth":178,"text":262,"children":394},[395,396,397,398],{"id":265,"depth":389,"text":266},{"id":275,"depth":389,"text":276},{"id":285,"depth":389,"text":286},{"id":292,"depth":389,"text":293},{"id":302,"depth":178,"text":303},{"id":336,"depth":178,"text":337},{"id":372,"depth":178,"text":373},"2026-03-20","AI can help you write a better resume, but only if you use it correctly. Here is what works, what does not, and how to avoid the mistakes that get resumes rejected.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fai-resume-tips",{"title":202,"description":403},"blog\u002Fai-resume-tips",[196,409,410],"ai","job-search","I67zSRjXMmWbI6x6YG3h0rsO9hLATU5f6nyYxl0GJEk",{"id":413,"title":414,"body":415,"date":685,"description":686,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":687,"navigation":191,"path":688,"seo":689,"stem":690,"tags":691,"__hash__":693},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fharvard-resume-template.md","The Harvard Resume Template — What It Is and Why It Works",{"type":8,"value":416,"toc":672},[417,426,430,433,471,474,478,481,484,488,492,495,499,502,506,509,513,516,520,619,622,626,652,656,659,665,668],[11,418,419,420,425],{},"The Harvard resume template comes from the Harvard Office of Career Services, which publishes resume guides and sample formats for students and alumni. Over the years, the template leaked far beyond Cambridge and became one of the most widely recommended resume formats on the internet — right alongside ",[421,422,424],"a",{"href":423},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjakes-resume-template","Jake's Resume",".",[23,427,429],{"id":428},"what-it-looks-like","What It Looks Like",[11,431,432],{},"The Harvard template is deliberately conservative:",[115,434,435,441,447,453,459,465],{},[118,436,437,440],{},[121,438,439],{},"Single column"," — no sidebars, no two-column layouts",[118,442,443,446],{},[121,444,445],{},"Bold section headings"," — typically underlined or separated by a horizontal rule",[118,448,449,452],{},[121,450,451],{},"Name and contact info centered at the top"," — clean and prominent",[118,454,455,458],{},[121,456,457],{},"Reverse chronological order"," — most recent experience first",[118,460,461,464],{},[121,462,463],{},"Standard sections"," — Education, Experience, Leadership & Activities, Skills & Interests",[118,466,467,470],{},[121,468,469],{},"No colors, no icons, no graphics"," — black text on white paper",[11,472,473],{},"It looks like what most people picture when they think \"professional resume.\" That is by design.",[23,475,477],{"id":476},"where-it-came-from","Where It Came From",[11,479,480],{},"Harvard's Office of Career Services has published resume guidance for decades. The template itself is a Word document that gets updated periodically and distributed through their career counseling programs. Students pass it around, alumni share it in professional networks, and career coaches recommend it to clients who have no connection to Harvard.",[11,482,483],{},"The template's authority comes partly from the name — \"Harvard resume template\" carries implicit credibility — but mostly from the fact that it follows every best practice that recruiters and ATS systems expect.",[23,485,487],{"id":486},"why-it-works","Why It Works",[213,489,491],{"id":490},"recruiters-already-know-the-layout","Recruiters Already Know the Layout",[11,493,494],{},"The Harvard template uses the exact format that recruiters are trained to scan. Job title, company, dates on the right, bullet points below. There is no learning curve for the reader. They know where everything is before they start reading.",[213,496,498],{"id":497},"ats-systems-parse-it-perfectly","ATS Systems Parse It Perfectly",[11,500,501],{},"Single column, standard headings, no tables, no text boxes, no headers or footers with hidden content. Every major ATS — Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Taleo — can read this format without errors.",[213,503,505],{"id":504},"it-forces-good-editing","It Forces Good Editing",[11,507,508],{},"The template does not give you room to hide behind design. There are no colored sidebars to fill with soft skills, no icon grids to pad out thin experience. If your content is weak, it shows. That sounds like a downside, but it is actually the template's greatest strength — it forces you to write a resume that stands on substance.",[213,510,512],{"id":511},"it-works-across-industries","It Works Across Industries",[11,514,515],{},"Unlike Jake's Resume, which is optimized for tech with its Projects and Technical Skills sections, the Harvard template uses generic section headings that work in finance, consulting, healthcare, law, nonprofits, and everything else. Swap \"Leadership & Activities\" for \"Volunteer Experience\" or \"Publications\" and the format still holds.",[23,517,519],{"id":518},"how-it-compares-to-jakes-resume","How It Compares to Jake's Resume",[521,522,523,537],"table",{},[524,525,526],"thead",{},[527,528,529,532,535],"tr",{},[530,531],"th",{},[530,533,534],{},"Harvard",[530,536,424],{},[538,539,540,554,567,580,593,606],"tbody",{},[527,541,542,548,551],{},[543,544,545],"td",{},[121,546,547],{},"Format",[543,549,550],{},"Word document",[543,552,553],{},"LaTeX",[527,555,556,561,564],{},[543,557,558],{},[121,559,560],{},"Audience",[543,562,563],{},"All industries",[543,565,566],{},"Tech \u002F engineering",[527,568,569,574,577],{},[543,570,571],{},[121,572,573],{},"Spacing",[543,575,576],{},"Generous",[543,578,579],{},"Compact",[527,581,582,587,590],{},[543,583,584],{},[121,585,586],{},"Default sections",[543,588,589],{},"Education, Experience, Leadership, Skills",[543,591,592],{},"Education, Experience, Projects, Technical Skills",[527,594,595,600,603],{},[543,596,597],{},[121,598,599],{},"Ease of editing",[543,601,602],{},"Easy (Word\u002FDocs)",[543,604,605],{},"Requires LaTeX knowledge",[527,607,608,613,616],{},[543,609,610],{},[121,611,612],{},"Visual style",[543,614,615],{},"Traditional professional",[543,617,618],{},"Minimal academic",[11,620,621],{},"Both templates succeed for the same reason: they get out of the way and let your experience speak.",[23,623,625],{"id":624},"the-downsides","The Downsides",[115,627,628,634,640,646],{},[118,629,630,633],{},[121,631,632],{},"It is generic."," The template works everywhere, which also means it does not feel tailored anywhere. You need strong content to compensate for the lack of visual personality.",[118,635,636,639],{},[121,637,638],{},"Everyone uses a version of it."," Recruiters see this layout constantly. That is not necessarily a problem — they prefer familiar formats — but your content has to do the differentiating.",[118,641,642,645],{},[121,643,644],{},"The Word format can drift."," Small edits in Word can break alignment, shift spacing, or push content onto a second page unexpectedly. PDF export helps, but formatting fragility is a real annoyance.",[118,647,648,651],{},[121,649,650],{},"The \"Skills & Interests\" section invites filler."," People list hobbies and soft skills here because the section exists. If you cannot fill it with hard skills or genuinely relevant interests, cut it.",[23,653,655],{"id":654},"should-you-use-it","Should You Use It?",[11,657,658],{},"If you are not in tech, the Harvard template is probably the safest choice. It is clean, universally recognized, and impossible to get wrong structurally. The format will never be the reason your resume gets rejected.",[11,660,661,662,664],{},"If you are in tech, ",[421,663,424],{"href":423}," is more common in your space and has better defaults for technical roles. But the Harvard template works fine there too — just adjust the section headings.",[11,666,667],{},"Either way, the template is not the hard part. The hard part is writing bullet points that show impact, tailoring to each job description, and editing ruthlessly. The best template in the world cannot fix weak content.",[171,669],{"body":670,"heading":671},"Resume Notebook gives you clean, ATS-friendly formatting so you can spend your time on what actually matters — your experience.","The layout handled. Focus on the content.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":673},[674,675,676,682,683,684],{"id":428,"depth":178,"text":429},{"id":476,"depth":178,"text":477},{"id":486,"depth":178,"text":487,"children":677},[678,679,680,681],{"id":490,"depth":389,"text":491},{"id":497,"depth":389,"text":498},{"id":504,"depth":389,"text":505},{"id":511,"depth":389,"text":512},{"id":518,"depth":178,"text":519},{"id":624,"depth":178,"text":625},{"id":654,"depth":178,"text":655},"2026-03-18","The Harvard Office of Career Services resume template is one of the most recommended formats online. Here is what makes it effective and who it is best for.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fharvard-resume-template",{"title":414,"description":686},"blog\u002Fharvard-resume-template",[196,197,692],"templates","mypyGU2rjYJMF36F2zXp8CLZjNwiq6s-_2RIE9_Kr3s",{"id":695,"title":696,"body":697,"date":810,"description":811,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":812,"navigation":191,"path":423,"seo":813,"stem":814,"tags":815,"__hash__":816},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fjakes-resume-template.md","Jake's Resume Template — Why It Took Over the Internet",{"type":8,"value":698,"toc":803},[699,702,704,707,710,712,720,723,747,750,752,755,781,785,788,791,793,796,799],[11,700,701],{},"If you have ever searched for a resume template on Reddit, GitHub, or Overleaf, you have almost certainly seen Jake's Resume. It is a single-column, no-frills template that has become the default starting point for engineers, computer science students, and anyone who wants a clean resume without the noise.",[23,703,477],{"id":476},[11,705,706],{},"The template was created by Jake, a software engineer who open-sourced it on GitHub and Overleaf around 2018. It was designed as a simple, ATS-friendly alternative to the overly designed templates that dominate sites like Canva and Google Docs.",[11,708,709],{},"It spread through Reddit's r\u002Fcscareerquestions and r\u002Fresumes communities, where it quickly became the most recommended template. When someone posts \"what template should I use?\" the top answer is almost always Jake's Resume or something directly based on it.",[23,711,429],{"id":428},[11,713,714],{},[105,715],{"alt":716,"height":717,"src":718,"width":719},"Example resume using the Jake's Resume template",792,"\u002Fimages\u002Fshowcase\u002Fjakes.svg",612,[11,721,722],{},"The template is deliberately plain:",[115,724,725,730,736,742],{},[118,726,727,729],{},[121,728,439],{}," — no sidebars, no multi-column layouts",[118,731,732,735],{},[121,733,734],{},"Clear section headings"," — Education, Experience, Projects, Technical Skills",[118,737,738,741],{},[121,739,740],{},"Compact spacing"," — fits a lot of content on one page without feeling cramped",[118,743,744,746],{},[121,745,469],{}," — pure text with minimal horizontal rules",[11,748,749],{},"It looks like a document, not a design project. That is the point.",[23,751,487],{"id":486},[11,753,754],{},"Jake's Resume works because it gets out of the way:",[115,756,757,763,769,775],{},[118,758,759,762],{},[121,760,761],{},"ATS-friendly"," — no columns, tables, or graphics that break parsing. Every ATS on the market can read it correctly.",[118,764,765,768],{},[121,766,767],{},"Recruiter-friendly"," — the layout is instantly familiar. Recruiters know where to look for job titles, dates, and bullet points without hunting.",[118,770,771,774],{},[121,772,773],{},"Content-first"," — there is nothing to distract from what you actually did. The template forces you to lead with substance.",[118,776,777,780],{},[121,778,779],{},"One page by default"," — the compact spacing makes it easy to fit a full early-career or mid-career resume on a single page.",[23,782,784],{"id":783},"the-harvard-template","The Harvard Template",[11,786,787],{},"The other template you will see recommended constantly is the Harvard Office of Career Services resume template. It follows a similar philosophy — single column, clean headings, no graphics — but comes as a Word document and is aimed at a broader professional audience.",[11,789,790],{},"Both templates succeed for the same reason: they prioritize readability and ATS compatibility over visual flair.",[23,792,655],{"id":654},[11,794,795],{},"If you are in tech and want a resume that works, Jake's Resume is a solid choice. It is battle-tested, ATS-safe, and gets you 90% of the way there with zero design decisions.",[11,797,798],{},"The principles behind Jake's Resume — clean layout, single column, clear headings, no distractions — can be applied in any tool.",[171,800],{":glow":173,"body":801,"heading":802},"Resume Notebook gives you clean, ATS-friendly resume formatting without touching a line of markup.","Jake's layout. Ready to use.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":804},[805,806,807,808,809],{"id":476,"depth":178,"text":477},{"id":428,"depth":178,"text":429},{"id":486,"depth":178,"text":487},{"id":783,"depth":178,"text":784},{"id":654,"depth":178,"text":655},"2026-03-16","Jake's Resume is one of the most popular resume templates on the internet. Here is where it came from, what makes it work, and whether you should use it.",{},{"title":696,"description":811},"blog\u002Fjakes-resume-template",[196,197,692],"wd1eTENgtUdck-eS8zLSJkgevGXPTb9OMZwaVFM5zkQ",{"id":818,"title":819,"body":820,"date":997,"description":998,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":999,"navigation":191,"path":1000,"seo":1001,"stem":1002,"tags":1003,"__hash__":1005},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-upload-resume-to-linkedin.md","How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn",{"type":8,"value":821,"toc":989},[822,825,829,832,856,859,862,866,869,897,900,904,907,931,934,938,954,958,978,982,985],[11,823,824],{},"LinkedIn has multiple places where you can upload or attach a resume. Which one you use depends on what you are trying to do.",[23,826,828],{"id":827},"_1-easy-apply-applications","1. Easy Apply Applications",[11,830,831],{},"This is the most common use. When you apply to a job through LinkedIn's \"Easy Apply\" button:",[308,833,834,841,844,850,853],{},[118,835,836,837,840],{},"Click ",[121,838,839],{},"Easy Apply"," on the job listing",[118,842,843],{},"Review your contact information",[118,845,836,846,849],{},[121,847,848],{},"Upload resume"," when prompted",[118,851,852],{},"Select your PDF or Word file",[118,854,855],{},"Complete the remaining questions and submit",[11,857,858],{},"LinkedIn may pre-fill some fields from your uploaded resume. Double-check these — the parsing is not always accurate.",[11,860,861],{},"Each Easy Apply submission lets you attach a different resume, so you can tailor per application.",[23,863,865],{"id":864},"_2-your-profiles-featured-section","2. Your Profile's Featured Section",[11,867,868],{},"You can pin your resume to your profile so recruiters and hiring managers can download it directly:",[308,870,871,874,881,891,894],{},[118,872,873],{},"Go to your profile",[118,875,876,877,880],{},"Scroll to the ",[121,878,879],{},"Featured"," section (add it if you do not have one)",[118,882,883,884,887,888],{},"Click the ",[121,885,886],{},"+"," button and select ",[121,889,890],{},"Add media",[118,892,893],{},"Upload your resume file",[118,895,896],{},"Add a title like \"Resume — March 2026\"",[11,898,899],{},"This is useful if you are actively job searching and want to make it easy for recruiters. Remove it when you are not looking — a public resume on your profile signals availability.",[23,901,903],{"id":902},"_3-job-application-settings","3. Job Application Settings",[11,905,906],{},"LinkedIn stores a default resume for Quick Apply:",[308,908,909,915,925],{},[118,910,911,912],{},"Go to ",[121,913,914],{},"Settings & Privacy",[118,916,917,918,921,922],{},"Under ",[121,919,920],{},"Data privacy",", find ",[121,923,924],{},"Job seeking preferences",[118,926,927,928],{},"Upload a default resume under ",[121,929,930],{},"Job application settings",[11,932,933],{},"This is the resume LinkedIn will auto-attach when you use Quick Apply without manually uploading one. Keep it current if you use this feature — an outdated default resume is worse than none at all.",[23,935,937],{"id":936},"what-format-to-use","What Format to Use",[11,939,940,941,944,945,949,950,953],{},"Upload as ",[121,942,943],{},"PDF"," unless the application specifically asks for Word. PDF preserves your formatting exactly. LinkedIn accepts both ",[946,947,948],"code",{},".pdf"," and ",[946,951,952],{},".docx"," files, with a 5 MB size limit.",[23,955,957],{"id":956},"watch-out-for","Watch Out For",[115,959,960,966,972],{},[118,961,962,965],{},[121,963,964],{},"Your profile and your resume can tell different stories."," Recruiters will see both. Make sure your job titles, dates, and company names match. Discrepancies raise red flags.",[118,967,968,971],{},[121,969,970],{},"LinkedIn parses your resume to suggest profile updates."," Review what it suggests before accepting — it may misinterpret your formatting.",[118,973,974,977],{},[121,975,976],{},"Your uploaded resume is visible to employers you apply to."," Do not include your home address, and make sure there is nothing on it you would not want a stranger to read.",[23,979,981],{"id":980},"keep-your-resume-ready","Keep Your Resume Ready",[11,983,984],{},"The best time to update your resume is before you need it. Keep a current version on hand so you can apply quickly when the right role appears.",[171,986],{"body":987,"heading":988},"Resume Notebook keeps your career data in one place so you can export a tailored resume whenever you need one.","Always have a resume ready.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":990},[991,992,993,994,995,996],{"id":827,"depth":178,"text":828},{"id":864,"depth":178,"text":865},{"id":902,"depth":178,"text":903},{"id":936,"depth":178,"text":937},{"id":956,"depth":178,"text":957},{"id":980,"depth":178,"text":981},"2026-03-13","LinkedIn lets you upload your resume in several places, each serving a different purpose. Here is where to put it and what to watch out for.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-upload-resume-to-linkedin",{"title":819,"description":998},"blog\u002Fhow-to-upload-resume-to-linkedin",[1004,410,196],"linkedin","sc210anR79L8inhftgyTY2fwga4chGXlC-JBxGOVEc0",{"id":1007,"title":1008,"body":1009,"date":1129,"description":1130,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":1131,"navigation":191,"path":1132,"seo":1133,"stem":1134,"tags":1135,"__hash__":1136},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-far-back-should-a-resume-go.md","How Far Back Should a Resume Go?",{"type":8,"value":1010,"toc":1121},[1011,1014,1018,1021,1024,1028,1031,1051,1054,1058,1061,1087,1091,1094,1098,1101,1107,1110,1114,1117],[11,1012,1013],{},"The short answer: ten to fifteen years. But the real answer depends on what those years contain and what you are applying for.",[23,1015,1017],{"id":1016},"the-1015-year-rule","The 10–15 Year Rule",[11,1019,1020],{},"For most professionals, the last ten to fifteen years of work history is the sweet spot. This typically covers three to five roles — enough to show a career trajectory without burying the reader in ancient history.",[11,1022,1023],{},"Recruiters care most about what you have done recently. A role from 2008 is unlikely to be the thing that gets you an interview in 2026.",[23,1025,1027],{"id":1026},"when-to-go-further-back","When to Go Further Back",[11,1029,1030],{},"There are exceptions:",[115,1032,1033,1039,1045],{},[118,1034,1035,1038],{},[121,1036,1037],{},"The older role is directly relevant."," If you spent three years at a company in the same industry as the one you are applying to, that matters — even if it was eighteen years ago. List it, but keep the detail light.",[118,1040,1041,1044],{},[121,1042,1043],{},"You held a senior title early."," Director-level experience from fifteen years ago still carries weight, especially if it shows leadership progression.",[118,1046,1047,1050],{},[121,1048,1049],{},"You worked at a well-known company."," Brand recognition counts. A one-line mention of a household name from early in your career can add credibility without taking up space.",[11,1052,1053],{},"In these cases, include the role with just the title, company, and dates — no bullet points.",[23,1055,1057],{"id":1056},"when-to-cut-it","When to Cut It",[11,1059,1060],{},"Remove older roles when:",[115,1062,1063,1069,1075,1081],{},[118,1064,1065,1068],{},[121,1066,1067],{},"They are not relevant to the job."," Your college retail job does not help your case for a senior engineering role.",[118,1070,1071,1074],{},[121,1072,1073],{},"The skills are outdated."," Listing technologies or tools that no longer exist does not help. It dates you.",[118,1076,1077,1080],{},[121,1078,1079],{},"You have enough recent experience."," If your last three roles make a strong case on their own, older roles are just noise.",[118,1082,1083,1086],{},[121,1084,1085],{},"The role duplicates what you already show."," If you did similar work at three different companies, the most recent one or two tell the story.",[23,1088,1090],{"id":1089},"what-about-career-changers","What About Career Changers?",[11,1092,1093],{},"If you are switching fields, your old career is context — not the headline. Include one or two older roles that demonstrate transferable skills, and frame the bullet points around what carries over. Cut anything that only makes sense in the old context.",[23,1095,1097],{"id":1096},"the-compromise-a-brief-earlier-career-section","The Compromise: A Brief Earlier Career Section",[11,1099,1100],{},"If you want to acknowledge older experience without giving it full billing, add a one-line section at the bottom:",[11,1102,1103,1106],{},[121,1104,1105],{},"Earlier experience:"," Product Analyst at Acme Corp (2010–2013), Junior Analyst at Beta Inc (2008–2010)",[11,1108,1109],{},"No bullet points, no descriptions. Just enough to show continuity without taking up space.",[23,1111,1113],{"id":1112},"the-principle","The Principle",[11,1115,1116],{},"Every line on your resume should earn its place by being relevant to the job you are applying for right now. If an older role does not do that, cut it — regardless of how proud you are of the work.",[171,1118],{"body":1119,"heading":1120},"Resume Notebook lets you pick which roles to include in each resume — so older experience is there when you need it and hidden when you don't.","One career profile. Only show what fits.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":1122},[1123,1124,1125,1126,1127,1128],{"id":1016,"depth":178,"text":1017},{"id":1026,"depth":178,"text":1027},{"id":1056,"depth":178,"text":1057},{"id":1089,"depth":178,"text":1090},{"id":1096,"depth":178,"text":1097},{"id":1112,"depth":178,"text":1113},"2026-03-10","Should you include that job from 2009? Probably not. Here is how to decide what stays and what gets cut based on your experience level and the role.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-far-back-should-a-resume-go",{"title":1008,"description":1130},"blog\u002Fhow-far-back-should-a-resume-go",[196,197],"hM6dzv8Pa_Tnvl50lq3GvDhIrxZi5NPrOsDJ_GBvAbc",{"id":1138,"title":1139,"body":1140,"date":1353,"description":1354,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":1355,"navigation":191,"path":1356,"seo":1357,"stem":1358,"tags":1359,"__hash__":1360},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-resume-stand-out.md","How to Make a Resume Stand Out",{"type":8,"value":1141,"toc":1343},[1142,1145,1149,1152,1158,1164,1167,1170,1174,1177,1203,1206,1210,1213,1237,1240,1244,1247,1253,1259,1262,1266,1269,1272,1275,1279,1282,1299,1302,1306,1332,1336,1339],[11,1143,1144],{},"Most advice about making a resume \"stand out\" focuses on the wrong things — fancy templates, creative layouts, infographics. That stuff gets noticed, but not in the way you want. What actually makes a recruiter pause is content that is specific, relevant, and clearly written.",[23,1146,1148],{"id":1147},"lead-with-results-not-duties","Lead With Results, Not Duties",[11,1150,1151],{},"This is the single biggest differentiator. Most resumes describe what someone was supposed to do. The ones that stand out describe what actually happened.",[11,1153,1154,1157],{},[121,1155,1156],{},"Forgettable:"," \"Managed email marketing campaigns for the product team.\"",[11,1159,1160,1163],{},[121,1161,1162],{},"Memorable:"," \"Redesigned the onboarding email sequence, increasing trial-to-paid conversion by 22% over three months.\"",[11,1165,1166],{},"The second one tells a story in one line: what you did, why it mattered, and how much it moved the needle.",[11,1168,1169],{},"You will not have hard metrics for everything. That is fine. Even directional language helps — \"significantly reduced,\" \"doubled,\" \"cut in half.\" The point is to show impact, not just activity.",[23,1171,1173],{"id":1172},"tailor-to-the-job-description","Tailor to the Job Description",[11,1175,1176],{},"A resume that could be sent to any company is a resume that speaks to none of them. Tailoring means:",[115,1178,1179,1185,1191,1197],{},[118,1180,1181,1184],{},[121,1182,1183],{},"Reordering your bullet points"," so the most relevant ones appear first",[118,1186,1187,1190],{},[121,1188,1189],{},"Matching keywords"," from the job posting — if they say \"cross-functional collaboration,\" use that phrase, not a synonym",[118,1192,1193,1196],{},[121,1194,1195],{},"Adjusting your skills section"," to lead with what the role asks for",[118,1198,1199,1202],{},[121,1200,1201],{},"Dropping irrelevant experience"," that dilutes the overall message",[11,1204,1205],{},"This does not take as long as people think. Most of your resume stays the same. You are adjusting emphasis, not rewriting from scratch.",[23,1207,1209],{"id":1208},"use-a-clean-scannable-format","Use a Clean, Scannable Format",[11,1211,1212],{},"Recruiters spend six to eight seconds on an initial scan. They are not reading — they are pattern-matching. Make it easy:",[115,1214,1215,1220,1226,1232],{},[118,1216,1217,1219],{},[121,1218,734],{}," — Work Experience, Education, Skills",[118,1221,1222,1225],{},[121,1223,1224],{},"Consistent formatting"," — same font, same date style, same bullet treatment throughout",[118,1227,1228,1231],{},[121,1229,1230],{},"White space"," — do not cram text to the margins to fit more in",[118,1233,1234,1236],{},[121,1235,457],{}," — most recent role first",[11,1238,1239],{},"The resume that stands out is often the one that is easiest to read, not the most visually creative.",[23,1241,1243],{"id":1242},"write-a-sharp-opening-line","Write a Sharp Opening Line",[11,1245,1246],{},"If you include a professional summary, make it count. Two to three lines that frame who you are and what you bring — tailored to the role.",[11,1248,1249,1252],{},[121,1250,1251],{},"Generic:"," \"Experienced marketing professional with a passion for growth and a track record of delivering results.\"",[11,1254,1255,1258],{},[121,1256,1257],{},"Sharp:"," \"Growth marketer with five years in B2B SaaS. Built the demand gen function at a Series A startup from zero to 4,000 MQLs per quarter.\"",[11,1260,1261],{},"If you cannot write a summary that adds information beyond what your experience section already shows, skip it entirely. A bad summary is worse than none.",[23,1263,1265],{"id":1264},"include-the-right-skills","Include the Right Skills",[11,1267,1268],{},"Hard skills stand out. Soft skills do not.",[11,1270,1271],{},"\"Python, SQL, dbt, Looker, A\u002FB testing\" tells a recruiter exactly what you can do. \"Leadership, communication, problem-solving\" tells them nothing they cannot assume about every other applicant.",[11,1273,1274],{},"List tools, technologies, frameworks, methodologies, and certifications. Show soft skills through your bullet points instead of listing them.",[23,1276,1278],{"id":1277},"cut-the-filler","Cut the Filler",[11,1280,1281],{},"Every line that does not strengthen your application weakens it by taking space from something that could. Remove:",[115,1283,1284,1287,1290,1293,1296],{},[118,1285,1286],{},"Objective statements",[118,1288,1289],{},"\"References available upon request\"",[118,1291,1292],{},"Obvious skills like \"Microsoft Office\" or \"email\"",[118,1294,1295],{},"Roles from more than fifteen years ago that are not relevant",[118,1297,1298],{},"Bullet points that describe table-stakes responsibilities",[11,1300,1301],{},"A tighter resume is a stronger resume.",[23,1303,1305],{"id":1304},"what-does-not-help","What Does Not Help",[115,1307,1308,1314,1320,1326],{},[118,1309,1310,1313],{},[121,1311,1312],{},"Creative templates"," — they confuse ATS parsers and distract human readers",[118,1315,1316,1319],{},[121,1317,1318],{},"Photos or headshots"," — standard in some countries, but a red flag in the US",[118,1321,1322,1325],{},[121,1323,1324],{},"Personal interests"," — unless directly relevant, they take space from things that matter",[118,1327,1328,1331],{},[121,1329,1330],{},"Multiple fonts or colors"," — one font, one accent color at most",[23,1333,1335],{"id":1334},"the-real-secret","The Real Secret",[11,1337,1338],{},"The resumes that stand out are the ones that make it easy for a recruiter to answer one question: \"Can this person do the job I am hiring for?\" Everything on the page should point toward yes.",[171,1340],{"body":1341,"heading":1342},"Resume Notebook lets you tailor a resume for every application — so the right experience is always front and center.","Make every version count.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":1344},[1345,1346,1347,1348,1349,1350,1351,1352],{"id":1147,"depth":178,"text":1148},{"id":1172,"depth":178,"text":1173},{"id":1208,"depth":178,"text":1209},{"id":1242,"depth":178,"text":1243},{"id":1264,"depth":178,"text":1265},{"id":1277,"depth":178,"text":1278},{"id":1304,"depth":178,"text":1305},{"id":1334,"depth":178,"text":1335},"2026-03-05","Standing out does not mean being flashy. It means being specific, relevant, and easy to read. Here is what actually gets a recruiter to stop scrolling.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-resume-stand-out",{"title":1139,"description":1354},"blog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-resume-stand-out",[196,410],"XvuWS2vAcaYp8tlPATEbZQuh_GbjF7uc3XDRpfJEozM",{"id":1362,"title":1363,"body":1364,"date":1486,"description":1487,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":1488,"navigation":191,"path":1489,"seo":1490,"stem":1491,"tags":1492,"__hash__":1494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgetting-past-the-ats.md","How to Get Your Resume Past the ATS",{"type":8,"value":1365,"toc":1474},[1366,1369,1373,1376,1379,1383,1386,1417,1421,1425,1428,1432,1435,1439,1442,1446,1449,1453,1459,1461,1464,1472],[11,1367,1368],{},"Most large companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to screen resumes before a recruiter ever sees them. Understanding how these systems work is the first step to getting more interviews.",[23,1370,1372],{"id":1371},"what-is-an-ats","What Is an ATS?",[11,1374,1375],{},"An ATS is software that companies use to manage job applications. It parses your resume into structured data — name, contact info, work history, skills — and scores how well you match the job description.",[11,1377,1378],{},"If your resume doesn't parse correctly, or if it doesn't contain enough matching keywords, it may be filtered out automatically.",[23,1380,1382],{"id":1381},"why-resumes-get-rejected","Why Resumes Get Rejected",[11,1384,1385],{},"The most common reasons resumes fail ATS screening:",[115,1387,1388,1394,1400,1411],{},[118,1389,1390,1393],{},[121,1391,1392],{},"Fancy formatting"," — columns, tables, headers\u002Ffooters, and text boxes confuse parsers",[118,1395,1396,1399],{},[121,1397,1398],{},"Missing keywords"," — the ATS looks for specific terms from the job description",[118,1401,1402,1405,1406,1408,1409],{},[121,1403,1404],{},"Wrong file format"," — some systems struggle with anything other than ",[946,1407,952],{}," or ",[946,1410,948],{},[118,1412,1413,1416],{},[121,1414,1415],{},"Inconsistent dates"," — gaps or unusual date formats can flag your application",[23,1418,1420],{"id":1419},"how-to-optimize-your-resume","How to Optimize Your Resume",[213,1422,1424],{"id":1423},"_1-use-a-clean-single-column-layout","1. Use a Clean, Single-Column Layout",[11,1426,1427],{},"Stick to a simple format with clear section headings. Avoid graphics, icons, and multi-column layouts. The ATS needs to read your resume linearly.",[213,1429,1431],{"id":1430},"_2-mirror-the-job-description","2. Mirror the Job Description",[11,1433,1434],{},"Read the job posting carefully and incorporate relevant keywords naturally. If the posting says \"project management,\" use that exact phrase — not just \"managed projects.\"",[213,1436,1438],{"id":1437},"_3-use-standard-section-headings","3. Use Standard Section Headings",[11,1440,1441],{},"Stick with conventional headings like \"Work Experience,\" \"Education,\" and \"Skills.\" Creative headings like \"Where I've Made an Impact\" won't be recognized.",[213,1443,1445],{"id":1444},"_4-include-hard-skills","4. Include Hard Skills",[11,1447,1448],{},"ATS systems weight specific, measurable skills heavily. \"Python,\" \"SQL,\" \"Agile,\" and \"Figma\" are more valuable to the parser than \"team player\" or \"detail-oriented.\"",[213,1450,1452],{"id":1451},"_5-save-as-pdf","5. Save as PDF",[11,1454,1455,1456,1458],{},"PDF preserves formatting consistently across systems. Unless the job posting specifically asks for ",[946,1457,952],{},", PDF is the safest choice.",[23,1460,373],{"id":372},[11,1462,1463],{},"Beating the ATS isn't about gaming the system — it's about presenting your qualifications clearly so the software can do its job. A well-structured resume that matches the job description will get through to a human reviewer.",[11,1465,1466,1467,1471],{},"Use ",[421,1468,1470],{"href":1469},"\u002Fats-checker","Resume Notebook's ATS Checker"," to see how your resume scores before you submit.",[171,1473],{},{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":1475},[1476,1477,1478,1485],{"id":1371,"depth":178,"text":1372},{"id":1381,"depth":178,"text":1382},{"id":1419,"depth":178,"text":1420,"children":1479},[1480,1481,1482,1483,1484],{"id":1423,"depth":389,"text":1424},{"id":1430,"depth":389,"text":1431},{"id":1437,"depth":389,"text":1438},{"id":1444,"depth":389,"text":1445},{"id":1451,"depth":389,"text":1452},{"id":372,"depth":178,"text":373},"2026-03-03","Most resumes are rejected before a human ever sees them. Learn how applicant tracking systems work and what you can do to make sure yours gets through.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgetting-past-the-ats",{"title":1363,"description":1487},"blog\u002Fgetting-past-the-ats",[1493,196,410],"ats","A-ODKJeSWvU-301PdFFb9g8BDQ7liEDGQs3eyQCa0Yc",{"id":1496,"title":1497,"body":1498,"date":1663,"description":1664,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":1665,"navigation":191,"path":1666,"seo":1667,"stem":1668,"tags":1669,"__hash__":1671},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-cover-letter.md","How Do I Write a Cover Letter?",{"type":8,"value":1499,"toc":1653},[1500,1503,1506,1510,1513,1516,1530,1533,1544,1548,1551,1555,1558,1564,1570,1573,1577,1580,1583,1586,1590,1593,1598,1603,1607,1639,1643,1646,1649],[11,1501,1502],{},"Most cover letters are bad. They restate the resume, open with \"I am writing to express my interest,\" and close with nothing memorable. Hiring managers skim them or skip them entirely.",[11,1504,1505],{},"But a good cover letter does something a resume cannot: it tells a story. It connects who you are to what the company needs, in your own voice. That is worth doing well.",[23,1507,1509],{"id":1508},"do-you-even-need-one","Do You Even Need One?",[11,1511,1512],{},"Sometimes no. If the application does not ask for one, you can usually skip it. If the posting says \"optional,\" treat it as optional — a weak cover letter is worse than none at all.",[11,1514,1515],{},"Write one when:",[115,1517,1518,1521,1524,1527],{},[118,1519,1520],{},"The posting specifically asks for it",[118,1522,1523],{},"You are making a career change and need to explain the pivot",[118,1525,1526],{},"You have a connection to the company or role that is not obvious from your resume",[118,1528,1529],{},"The role is competitive and you want every edge",[11,1531,1532],{},"Skip it when:",[115,1534,1535,1538,1541],{},[118,1536,1537],{},"The application has no place to upload one",[118,1539,1540],{},"You are applying through a quick-apply system that does not support attachments",[118,1542,1543],{},"You have nothing specific to say beyond what is already on your resume",[23,1545,1547],{"id":1546},"the-structure-that-works","The Structure That Works",[11,1549,1550],{},"A cover letter is three to four paragraphs. It should fit on one page with generous margins. No one wants to read a full page of dense text from a stranger.",[213,1552,1554],{"id":1553},"opening-why-this-role","Opening: Why This Role",[11,1556,1557],{},"Skip the generic opener. Instead, lead with something specific about the role or company that caught your attention — and connect it to your experience.",[11,1559,1560,1563],{},[121,1561,1562],{},"Weak:"," \"I am writing to apply for the Marketing Manager position at Acme Corp.\"",[11,1565,1566,1569],{},[121,1567,1568],{},"Strong:"," \"Acme's rebrand last quarter was the sharpest repositioning I have seen in B2B SaaS this year. I have spent the last four years doing exactly that kind of work at two mid-stage startups, and I would like to do it at your scale.\"",[11,1571,1572],{},"The difference: the strong version shows you have done your homework and immediately establishes relevance.",[213,1574,1576],{"id":1575},"middle-why-you","Middle: Why You",[11,1578,1579],{},"This is where you make your case. Pick one or two accomplishments that are directly relevant to the role and expand on them with context your resume cannot provide.",[11,1581,1582],{},"Do not summarize your entire work history. The resume does that. Instead, go deeper on the things that matter most for this specific job. Explain the situation, what you did, and what happened — in two to three sentences, not a full STAR response.",[11,1584,1585],{},"If you are changing careers, this is where you draw the connection between what you have done and what the role requires. Be explicit about the transferable skills.",[213,1587,1589],{"id":1588},"closing-the-ask","Closing: The Ask",[11,1591,1592],{},"End with a clear, confident close. Restate your interest, mention that your resume is attached, and say you would welcome a conversation. Do not grovel or oversell.",[11,1594,1595,1597],{},[121,1596,1562],{}," \"I believe I would be a great fit and hope you will consider my application.\"",[11,1599,1600,1602],{},[121,1601,1568],{}," \"I would welcome the chance to talk about how I could contribute to your growth team. My resume has the details — I am happy to dig into any of them.\"",[23,1604,1606],{"id":1605},"what-to-avoid","What to Avoid",[115,1608,1609,1615,1621,1627,1633],{},[118,1610,1611,1614],{},[121,1612,1613],{},"Do not restate your resume."," The cover letter is a companion, not a summary.",[118,1616,1617,1620],{},[121,1618,1619],{},"Do not use filler phrases."," \"I am a highly motivated self-starter with a passion for excellence\" says nothing. Cut it.",[118,1622,1623,1626],{},[121,1624,1625],{},"Do not write more than one page."," If you cannot make your case in four paragraphs, you are not being selective enough about what to include.",[118,1628,1629,1632],{},[121,1630,1631],{},"Do not use a template without rewriting it."," Hiring managers can spot a form letter instantly.",[118,1634,1635,1638],{},[121,1636,1637],{},"Do not apologize for what you lack."," \"Although I don't have experience in X\" draws attention to a gap. Focus on what you bring instead.",[23,1640,1642],{"id":1641},"one-letter-per-application","One Letter Per Application",[11,1644,1645],{},"This is the part people skip, and it is the part that matters most. A cover letter that could be sent to any company is a cover letter that says nothing.",[11,1647,1648],{},"Mention the company by name. Reference the specific role. Connect your experience to their needs. If you cannot do that, you either need to research the company more or reconsider whether the role is a good fit.",[171,1650],{"body":1651,"heading":1652},"A cover letter tells the story. The resume provides the proof. Resume Notebook builds both from one career profile.","Pair it with a tailored resume.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":1654},[1655,1656,1661,1662],{"id":1508,"depth":178,"text":1509},{"id":1546,"depth":178,"text":1547,"children":1657},[1658,1659,1660],{"id":1553,"depth":389,"text":1554},{"id":1575,"depth":389,"text":1576},{"id":1588,"depth":389,"text":1589},{"id":1605,"depth":178,"text":1606},{"id":1641,"depth":178,"text":1642},"2026-02-28","Cover letters are not dead — but most of them should be. Learn how to write one that actually gets read and makes a case for why you are the right hire.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-cover-letter",{"title":1497,"description":1664},"blog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-cover-letter",[1670,410,196],"cover-letter","kHNaYyFfqtCsecn4skGIlbNBhIOpQ-FPQw68amJLmJQ",{"id":1673,"title":1674,"body":1675,"date":2034,"description":2035,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":2036,"navigation":191,"path":2037,"seo":2038,"stem":2039,"tags":2040,"__hash__":2042},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fresume-skills.md","What Skills to Put on a Resume (By Industry)",{"type":8,"value":1676,"toc":2017},[1677,1680,1684,1689,1692,1696,1722,1726,1730,1736,1742,1748,1754,1760,1764,1769,1775,1781,1787,1792,1796,1801,1807,1813,1818,1822,1828,1833,1838,1844,1848,1853,1858,1864,1869,1873,1878,1883,1889,1894,1898,1904,1909,1914,1920,1924,1929,1935,1940,1945,1949,1954,1959,1964,1970,1974,2006,2010,2013],[11,1678,1679],{},"The skills section is one of the most misused parts of a resume. It should be a scannable list of hard skills that tell a recruiter or ATS exactly what you can do. Instead, most people fill it with soft skills that say nothing.",[23,1681,1683],{"id":1682},"the-rule","The Rule",[11,1685,1686],{},[121,1687,1688],{},"List hard skills. Show soft skills through your bullet points.",[11,1690,1691],{},"\"Project management\" is a hard skill. \"Strong communicator\" is not. \"SQL\" is a hard skill. \"Detail-oriented\" is not. If a skill can be tested or verified, it belongs in the section. If it is a personality trait, demonstrate it through your accomplishments instead.",[23,1693,1695],{"id":1694},"how-to-choose-your-skills","How to Choose Your Skills",[308,1697,1698,1704,1710,1716],{},[118,1699,1700,1703],{},[121,1701,1702],{},"Read the job description."," The posting tells you exactly what they want. Mirror those terms.",[118,1705,1706,1709],{},[121,1707,1708],{},"Only list skills you can actually use."," If you took one Python course three years ago and have not touched it since, leave it off. You may be tested on anything you list.",[118,1711,1712,1715],{},[121,1713,1714],{},"Prioritize by relevance."," Put the most important skills for the role first. Recruiters scan left to right, top to bottom.",[118,1717,1718,1721],{},[121,1719,1720],{},"Group related skills."," Categories like \"Languages,\" \"Tools,\" \"Frameworks,\" or \"Certifications\" make the section easier to read.",[23,1723,1725],{"id":1724},"skills-by-industry","Skills by Industry",[213,1727,1729],{"id":1728},"software-engineering","Software Engineering",[11,1731,1732,1735],{},[121,1733,1734],{},"Languages:"," Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, Rust, C++, SQL",[11,1737,1738,1741],{},[121,1739,1740],{},"Frameworks:"," React, Next.js, Vue, Django, Spring Boot, Rails, Node.js, Express",[11,1743,1744,1747],{},[121,1745,1746],{},"Infrastructure:"," AWS, GCP, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI\u002FCD",[11,1749,1750,1753],{},[121,1751,1752],{},"Data:"," PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, Elasticsearch",[11,1755,1756,1759],{},[121,1757,1758],{},"Practices:"," Git, Agile, Scrum, TDD, Code Review, System Design",[213,1761,1763],{"id":1762},"data-science-analytics","Data Science & Analytics",[11,1765,1766,1768],{},[121,1767,1734],{}," Python, R, SQL",[11,1770,1771,1774],{},[121,1772,1773],{},"Tools:"," Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Spark",[11,1776,1777,1780],{},[121,1778,1779],{},"Visualization:"," Tableau, Looker, Power BI, Matplotlib, D3.js",[11,1782,1783,1786],{},[121,1784,1785],{},"Databases:"," Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, PostgreSQL",[11,1788,1789,1791],{},[121,1790,1758],{}," A\u002FB Testing, Statistical Modeling, ETL, Data Pipelines, Feature Engineering",[213,1793,1795],{"id":1794},"product-management","Product Management",[11,1797,1798,1800],{},[121,1799,1773],{}," JIRA, Asana, Linear, Confluence, Figma, Amplitude, Mixpanel",[11,1802,1803,1806],{},[121,1804,1805],{},"Skills:"," Roadmap Planning, User Research, A\u002FB Testing, Sprint Planning, PRD Writing",[11,1808,1809,1812],{},[121,1810,1811],{},"Technical:"," SQL, Basic Python, API Concepts, Data Analysis",[11,1814,1815,1817],{},[121,1816,1740],{}," Agile, Scrum, OKRs, Jobs-to-Be-Done, Design Thinking",[213,1819,1821],{"id":1820},"marketing","Marketing",[11,1823,1824,1827],{},[121,1825,1826],{},"Channels:"," SEO, SEM, Email Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing, Paid Media",[11,1829,1830,1832],{},[121,1831,1773],{}," Google Analytics, Google Ads, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Semrush, Ahrefs",[11,1834,1835,1837],{},[121,1836,1805],{}," Copywriting, Campaign Management, Marketing Automation, Lead Generation",[11,1839,1840,1843],{},[121,1841,1842],{},"Analytics:"," Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, Excel, SQL",[213,1845,1847],{"id":1846},"design-uxui","Design (UX\u002FUI)",[11,1849,1850,1852],{},[121,1851,1773],{}," Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects",[11,1854,1855,1857],{},[121,1856,1805],{}," Wireframing, Prototyping, User Research, Usability Testing, Information Architecture",[11,1859,1860,1863],{},[121,1861,1862],{},"Front-end:"," HTML, CSS, Basic JavaScript, Responsive Design, Design Systems",[11,1865,1866,1868],{},[121,1867,1758],{}," Accessibility (WCAG), Design Thinking, User Journey Mapping",[213,1870,1872],{"id":1871},"finance-accounting","Finance & Accounting",[11,1874,1875,1877],{},[121,1876,1773],{}," Excel (Advanced), Bloomberg Terminal, SAP, QuickBooks, NetSuite",[11,1879,1880,1882],{},[121,1881,1805],{}," Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Budgeting, Variance Analysis, Reconciliation",[11,1884,1885,1888],{},[121,1886,1887],{},"Certifications:"," CPA, CFA, FMVA, Series 7, Series 63",[11,1890,1891,1893],{},[121,1892,1811],{}," SQL, VBA, Power BI, Tableau, Python (for quant roles)",[213,1895,1897],{"id":1896},"healthcare","Healthcare",[11,1899,1900,1903],{},[121,1901,1902],{},"Clinical:"," EMR\u002FEHR Systems (Epic, Cerner), HIPAA Compliance, Patient Assessment, Care Planning",[11,1905,1906,1908],{},[121,1907,1887],{}," BLS, ACLS, RN, NP, CNA (list only what you hold)",[11,1910,1911,1913],{},[121,1912,1811],{}," Medical Coding (ICD-10, CPT), Clinical Documentation, Lab Procedures",[11,1915,1916,1919],{},[121,1917,1918],{},"Administrative:"," Insurance Verification, Scheduling Systems, Patient Intake",[213,1921,1923],{"id":1922},"project-management","Project Management",[11,1925,1926,1928],{},[121,1927,1773],{}," JIRA, Asana, Monday.com, MS Project, Smartsheet, Confluence",[11,1930,1931,1934],{},[121,1932,1933],{},"Methodologies:"," Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, Lean, Six Sigma",[11,1936,1937,1939],{},[121,1938,1887],{}," PMP, CSM, PRINCE2, Lean Six Sigma (Green\u002FBlack Belt)",[11,1941,1942,1944],{},[121,1943,1805],{}," Risk Assessment, Resource Planning, Stakeholder Management, Budgeting",[213,1946,1948],{"id":1947},"sales","Sales",[11,1950,1951,1953],{},[121,1952,1773],{}," Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Outreach, Gong, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo",[11,1955,1956,1958],{},[121,1957,1805],{}," Pipeline Management, Cold Outreach, Negotiation, Account Management, Forecasting",[11,1960,1961,1963],{},[121,1962,1933],{}," MEDDIC, SPIN Selling, Challenger Sale, Solution Selling",[11,1965,1966,1969],{},[121,1967,1968],{},"Metrics:"," Quota Attainment, ARR\u002FMRR, Win Rate, Average Deal Size",[23,1971,1973],{"id":1972},"what-not-to-include","What Not to Include",[115,1975,1976,1982,1988,1994,2000],{},[118,1977,1978,1981],{},[121,1979,1980],{},"Microsoft Office"," — it is assumed. Listing it takes space from actual differentiators. The exception is advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, macros) for roles where that matters.",[118,1983,1984,1987],{},[121,1985,1986],{},"Soft skills"," — communication, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving. Everyone lists these. No one is convinced by them.",[118,1989,1990,1993],{},[121,1991,1992],{},"Obvious skills for your role"," — a software engineer listing \"coding\" or a writer listing \"writing\" adds no information.",[118,1995,1996,1999],{},[121,1997,1998],{},"Skills you used once"," — if you cannot hold a conversation about it in an interview, do not list it.",[118,2001,2002,2005],{},[121,2003,2004],{},"Expired certifications"," — only list certifications that are current.",[23,2007,2009],{"id":2008},"how-many-skills-to-list","How Many Skills to List",[11,2011,2012],{},"Aim for ten to twenty, grouped into two to four categories. Fewer than ten looks thin. More than twenty starts to feel like you are listing everything you have ever heard of. Quality over quantity — every skill should be something you could demonstrate if asked.",[171,2014],{"body":2015,"heading":2016},"Resume Notebook stores your full skills list and lets you pick which ones to feature in each resume — so every application shows exactly what the role needs.","Your skills. Always up to date.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":2018},[2019,2020,2021,2032,2033],{"id":1682,"depth":178,"text":1683},{"id":1694,"depth":178,"text":1695},{"id":1724,"depth":178,"text":1725,"children":2022},[2023,2024,2025,2026,2027,2028,2029,2030,2031],{"id":1728,"depth":389,"text":1729},{"id":1762,"depth":389,"text":1763},{"id":1794,"depth":389,"text":1795},{"id":1820,"depth":389,"text":1821},{"id":1846,"depth":389,"text":1847},{"id":1871,"depth":389,"text":1872},{"id":1896,"depth":389,"text":1897},{"id":1922,"depth":389,"text":1923},{"id":1947,"depth":389,"text":1948},{"id":1972,"depth":178,"text":1973},{"id":2008,"depth":178,"text":2009},"2026-02-25","Your skills section should list hard skills that are relevant to the role, not generic soft skills. Here is what to include based on your industry.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fresume-skills",{"title":1674,"description":2035},"blog\u002Fresume-skills",[196,2041,410],"skills","vi5Bz5AMa7dSGuqX8I6hmW0aHn4qywWqGfrvMeoyHIc",{"id":2044,"title":2045,"body":2046,"date":2189,"description":2190,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":2191,"navigation":191,"path":2192,"seo":2193,"stem":2194,"tags":2195,"__hash__":2196},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-long-should-a-resume-be.md","How Long Should a Resume Be?",{"type":8,"value":2047,"toc":2183},[2048,2051,2054,2058,2061,2081,2084,2088,2091,2117,2128,2132,2135,2138,2169,2173,2176,2179],[11,2049,2050],{},"It depends. But probably one page.",[11,2052,2053],{},"The one-page resume is not an arbitrary rule — it is a forcing function. It makes you cut the filler, lead with your strongest work, and respect the reader's time. Recruiters spend six to eight seconds on an initial scan. A tighter resume gets more of those seconds spent on things that matter.",[23,2055,2057],{"id":2056},"when-one-page-is-right","When One Page Is Right",[11,2059,2060],{},"If you have fewer than ten years of experience, one page is almost always the right call. This includes:",[115,2062,2063,2069,2075],{},[118,2064,2065,2068],{},[121,2066,2067],{},"Early-career professionals"," — you do not have enough relevant experience to justify two pages, and padding with coursework or soft skills weakens the overall impression",[118,2070,2071,2074],{},[121,2072,2073],{},"Career changers"," — focus on transferable skills and relevant accomplishments, not everything you have ever done",[118,2076,2077,2080],{},[121,2078,2079],{},"Most individual contributors"," — even with seven or eight years of experience, a well-edited single page is stronger than a sprawling two-pager",[11,2082,2083],{},"The constraint is the point. If you are struggling to fit everything, that is the editing process working. Cut the oldest roles, merge similar bullet points, and drop anything that does not support the job you are applying for.",[23,2085,2087],{"id":2086},"when-two-pages-make-sense","When Two Pages Make Sense",[11,2089,2090],{},"Two pages are justified when you have substantial, relevant experience that would be genuinely lost on one page:",[115,2092,2093,2099,2105,2111],{},[118,2094,2095,2098],{},[121,2096,2097],{},"Senior professionals (10+ years)"," with progressively responsible roles",[118,2100,2101,2104],{},[121,2102,2103],{},"Technical specialists"," with extensive project work, publications, or certifications that are relevant to the role",[118,2106,2107,2110],{},[121,2108,2109],{},"Managers and directors"," who need to show both individual contributions and leadership scope",[118,2112,2113,2116],{},[121,2114,2115],{},"Academics and researchers"," applying within academia (CVs, not resumes, can run much longer)",[11,2118,2119,2120,2123,2124,2127],{},"The key word is ",[15,2121,2122],{},"relevant",". Ten years of experience does not automatically mean two pages. Ten years of experience ",[15,2125,2126],{},"that matters for this specific role"," might.",[23,2129,2131],{"id":2130},"when-length-hurts-you","When Length Hurts You",[11,2133,2134],{},"A resume that is too long signals one of two things to a recruiter: you cannot prioritize, or you did not bother to tailor. Neither is a good look.",[11,2136,2137],{},"Common padding that should be cut:",[115,2139,2140,2145,2151,2157,2163],{},[118,2141,2142,2144],{},[121,2143,1286],{}," — outdated and generic",[118,2146,2147,2150],{},[121,2148,2149],{},"References available upon request"," — assumed and unnecessary",[118,2152,2153,2156],{},[121,2154,2155],{},"Every job you have ever held"," — roles from fifteen years ago rarely need more than a one-line mention, if that",[118,2158,2159,2162],{},[121,2160,2161],{},"Soft skills lists"," — \"team player,\" \"detail-oriented,\" and \"strong communicator\" take up space without adding information",[118,2164,2165,2168],{},[121,2166,2167],{},"Full street addresses"," — city and state are sufficient",[23,2170,2172],{"id":2171},"the-real-question","The Real Question",[11,2174,2175],{},"The question is not \"how long should my resume be?\" It is \"does every line on this resume earn its place?\"",[11,2177,2178],{},"If you can make a compelling case for yourself in one page, do it. If cutting to one page means dropping accomplishments that are directly relevant to the role, use two. But never three.",[171,2180],{"body":2181,"heading":2182},"Resume Notebook lets you build a one-page version for startups and a two-page version for enterprise — from the same data.","One career profile. Any length you need.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":2184},[2185,2186,2187,2188],{"id":2056,"depth":178,"text":2057},{"id":2086,"depth":178,"text":2087},{"id":2130,"depth":178,"text":2131},{"id":2171,"depth":178,"text":2172},"2026-02-22","One page or two? The answer depends on your experience level, your industry, and what you are actually applying for. Here is how to decide.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-long-should-a-resume-be",{"title":2045,"description":2190},"blog\u002Fhow-long-should-a-resume-be",[196,197,410],"iY4nSGAIYrNeIdfQkFlvaHXpshqDQmis1YiO-aaGKuU",{"id":2198,"title":2199,"body":2200,"date":2304,"description":2305,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":2306,"navigation":191,"path":2307,"seo":2308,"stem":2309,"tags":2310,"__hash__":2312},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-cv.md","What Is a CV?",{"type":8,"value":2201,"toc":2298},[2202,2205,2209,2220,2223,2227,2230,2234,2287,2291,2294],[11,2203,2204],{},"CV stands for curriculum vitae — Latin for \"course of life.\" In practice, what it means depends on where you are.",[23,2206,2208],{"id":2207},"in-the-us-and-canada","In the US and Canada",[11,2210,2211,2212,2215,2216,2219],{},"A ",[121,2213,2214],{},"resume"," is a one- to two-page summary of your relevant experience, tailored for a specific job. A ",[121,2217,2218],{},"CV"," is a comprehensive document that lists your entire academic and professional history — publications, research, teaching experience, grants, conferences, and more. CVs have no page limit and are used primarily in academia, research, and medicine.",[11,2221,2222],{},"If you are applying to a corporate job in North America and the posting asks for a \"CV,\" they almost certainly mean a resume.",[23,2224,2226],{"id":2225},"outside-the-us","Outside the US",[11,2228,2229],{},"In most of Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and much of Asia, \"CV\" is simply the word people use for what Americans call a resume. It is the same document — a concise, tailored summary of your experience. No one expects a ten-page academic history.",[23,2231,2233],{"id":2232},"which-one-do-you-need","Which One Do You Need?",[521,2235,2236,2246],{},[524,2237,2238],{},[527,2239,2240,2243],{},[530,2241,2242],{},"Situation",[530,2244,2245],{},"Document",[538,2247,2248,2256,2264,2272,2279],{},[527,2249,2250,2253],{},[543,2251,2252],{},"Corporate job in the US or Canada",[543,2254,2255],{},"Resume",[527,2257,2258,2261],{},[543,2259,2260],{},"Academic or research position anywhere",[543,2262,2263],{},"CV (full academic history)",[527,2265,2266,2269],{},[543,2267,2268],{},"Job application in Europe, UK, or Australia",[543,2270,2271],{},"CV (but it is really a resume)",[527,2273,2274,2277],{},[543,2275,2276],{},"Fellowship, grant, or postdoc application",[543,2278,2263],{},[527,2280,2281,2284],{},[543,2282,2283],{},"Not sure what they are asking for",[543,2285,2286],{},"Check the country and industry — when in doubt, send a tailored resume",[23,2288,2290],{"id":2289},"the-short-version","The Short Version",[11,2292,2293],{},"If you are not in academia, you need a resume — regardless of what the posting calls it. Keep it concise, keep it relevant, and tailor it to the role.",[171,2295],{"body":2296,"heading":2297},"Resume Notebook builds tailored resumes from one career profile. No page-count anxiety.","Resume, CV — whatever you call it.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":2299},[2300,2301,2302,2303],{"id":2207,"depth":178,"text":2208},{"id":2225,"depth":178,"text":2226},{"id":2232,"depth":178,"text":2233},{"id":2289,"depth":178,"text":2290},"2026-02-19","CV and resume are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Here is what each one actually means and when to use which.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-cv",{"title":2199,"description":2305},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-cv",[196,2311],"cv","203grkBbd3Q8jFC0IsxwJcEawTezzDyf4RVWriuYOSk",{"id":2314,"title":2315,"body":2316,"date":2586,"description":2587,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":2588,"navigation":191,"path":2589,"seo":2590,"stem":2591,"tags":2592,"__hash__":2593},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-resume.md","How Do I Write a Resume?",{"type":8,"value":2317,"toc":2573},[2318,2321,2325,2328,2354,2357,2361,2364,2390,2394,2397,2402,2407,2414,2417,2421,2424,2428,2431,2437,2443,2446,2450,2453,2459,2465,2470,2475,2479,2482,2485,2488,2492,2495,2506,2509,2513,2562,2566,2569],[11,2319,2320],{},"Writing a resume feels harder than it should. You know your own experience, but turning it into a document that gets interviews is a different skill entirely. Here is how to do it well.",[23,2322,2324],{"id":2323},"start-with-the-basics","Start With the Basics",[11,2326,2327],{},"Every resume needs these sections at minimum:",[115,2329,2330,2336,2342,2348],{},[118,2331,2332,2335],{},[121,2333,2334],{},"Contact information"," — name, email, phone, city and state, LinkedIn URL",[118,2337,2338,2341],{},[121,2339,2340],{},"Work experience"," — job titles, companies, dates, and bullet points describing what you did",[118,2343,2344,2347],{},[121,2345,2346],{},"Education"," — degree, school, graduation year",[118,2349,2350,2353],{},[121,2351,2352],{},"Skills"," — technical skills, tools, languages, certifications",[11,2355,2356],{},"That is it. Everything else — summary, projects, volunteer work, publications — is optional and should only appear if it strengthens your application for the specific role.",[23,2358,2360],{"id":2359},"write-your-work-experience-first","Write Your Work Experience First",[11,2362,2363],{},"This is the section that matters most. For each role, include:",[115,2365,2366,2372,2378,2384],{},[118,2367,2368,2371],{},[121,2369,2370],{},"Job title"," — use the title you actually held",[118,2373,2374,2377],{},[121,2375,2376],{},"Company name and location"," — city and state is enough",[118,2379,2380,2383],{},[121,2381,2382],{},"Dates"," — month and year for start and end",[118,2385,2386,2389],{},[121,2387,2388],{},"Bullet points"," — three to five per role, describing what you accomplished",[213,2391,2393],{"id":2392},"how-to-write-good-bullet-points","How to Write Good Bullet Points",[11,2395,2396],{},"The biggest mistake people make is describing responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Your bullet points should answer \"what did I do and what happened because of it?\" not \"what was I supposed to do?\"",[11,2398,2399,2401],{},[121,2400,1562],{}," \"Responsible for managing social media accounts.\"",[11,2403,2404,2406],{},[121,2405,1568],{}," \"Grew Instagram following from 2K to 18K in eight months through a content strategy focused on behind-the-scenes product development.\"",[11,2408,2409,2410,2413],{},"The formula is simple: ",[121,2411,2412],{},"action verb + what you did + measurable result",". You will not have metrics for everything, and that is fine. But wherever you can quantify, do it.",[11,2415,2416],{},"Good action verbs to start with: built, launched, reduced, increased, designed, led, automated, negotiated, implemented, migrated, streamlined.",[213,2418,2420],{"id":2419},"how-far-back-to-go","How Far Back to Go",[11,2422,2423],{},"Generally ten to fifteen years. For most people, that means three to five roles. Older positions can be listed with just the title, company, and dates — no bullet points needed. If a role from twenty years ago is not relevant, leave it off entirely.",[23,2425,2427],{"id":2426},"write-a-skills-section-that-adds-information","Write a Skills Section That Adds Information",[11,2429,2430],{},"List hard skills — tools, technologies, methodologies, languages, certifications. These are the keywords that ATS systems scan for and that recruiters use to quickly assess fit.",[11,2432,2433,2436],{},[121,2434,2435],{},"Good skills section:"," Python, SQL, Tableau, Google Analytics, A\u002FB Testing, Agile, JIRA",[11,2438,2439,2442],{},[121,2440,2441],{},"Bad skills section:"," Communication, Leadership, Problem Solving, Detail-Oriented, Team Player",[11,2444,2445],{},"Soft skills do not belong in the skills section. They are too generic to differentiate you and impossible to verify at a glance. Show them through your bullet points instead.",[23,2447,2449],{"id":2448},"add-a-summary-only-if-it-earns-its-space","Add a Summary Only If It Earns Its Space",[11,2451,2452],{},"A professional summary is two to three lines at the top of your resume. It is optional. A good summary quickly frames who you are and what you bring. A bad summary wastes prime real estate on vague adjectives.",[11,2454,2455,2458],{},[121,2456,2457],{},"Skip the summary if"," you are early in your career or applying to a role that is a natural next step — your experience section will speak for itself.",[11,2460,2461,2464],{},[121,2462,2463],{},"Include a summary if"," you are changing careers, have a non-obvious background, or want to frame your experience around a specific strength.",[11,2466,2467,2469],{},[121,2468,1562],{}," \"Results-driven professional with a proven track record of success in fast-paced environments seeking to leverage my skills in a challenging new role.\"",[11,2471,2472,2474],{},[121,2473,1568],{}," \"Data analyst with five years in e-commerce, specializing in customer retention modeling. Built the churn prediction system at Acme that reduced annual attrition by 14%.\"",[23,2476,2478],{"id":2477},"choose-a-clean-format","Choose a Clean Format",[11,2480,2481],{},"Use a single-column layout with clear section headings. Reverse-chronological order — most recent role first. Standard fonts. No graphics, no icons, no headshots, no color blocks.",[11,2483,2484],{},"This is not about being boring. It is about being readable — by humans scanning quickly and by ATS software parsing your resume into structured fields. A resume that looks creative but confuses the parser is a resume that never gets seen.",[11,2486,2487],{},"Save as PDF unless the posting specifically requests Word.",[23,2489,2491],{"id":2490},"tailor-every-time","Tailor Every Time",[11,2493,2494],{},"A generic resume is a weak resume. Before you send it, compare your resume to the job description:",[115,2496,2497,2500,2503],{},[118,2498,2499],{},"Do the keywords match? If the posting says \"project management\" and your resume says \"managed projects,\" adjust the phrasing",[118,2501,2502],{},"Are your most relevant experiences at the top of each section?",[118,2504,2505],{},"Does anything on your resume have nothing to do with this role? Cut it",[11,2507,2508],{},"This does not mean lying or fabricating experience. It means selecting and emphasizing the parts of your real background that are most relevant to this specific job.",[23,2510,2512],{"id":2511},"the-checklist-before-you-send","The Checklist Before You Send",[115,2514,2517,2526,2532,2538,2544,2550,2556],{"className":2515},[2516],"contains-task-list",[118,2518,2521,2525],{"className":2519},[2520],"task-list-item",[2522,2523],"input",{"disabled":191,"type":2524},"checkbox"," One page (two if you have 10+ years of relevant experience)",[118,2527,2529,2531],{"className":2528},[2520],[2522,2530],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," No typos or grammatical errors",[118,2533,2535,2537],{"className":2534},[2520],[2522,2536],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," Consistent formatting — same font, same date format, same bullet style throughout",[118,2539,2541,2543],{"className":2540},[2520],[2522,2542],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," Every bullet point starts with an action verb",[118,2545,2547,2549],{"className":2546},[2520],[2522,2548],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," Contact information is current and professional",[118,2551,2553,2555],{"className":2552},[2520],[2522,2554],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," Saved as PDF with a clear filename like \"Jane-Smith-Resume.pdf\"",[118,2557,2559,2561],{"className":2558},[2520],[2522,2560],{"disabled":191,"type":2524}," No personal information that does not belong — no age, no photo, no marital status",[23,2563,2565],{"id":2564},"start-building","Start Building",[11,2567,2568],{},"The hardest part is getting started. Open a blank document, list your last three jobs, and write three bullet points for each one. You will edit them later. The first draft does not need to be perfect — it needs to exist.",[171,2570],{"body":2571,"heading":2572},"Resume Notebook lets you enter your career data once and build tailored resumes from it — so you spend your time on the content, not the formatting.","Skip the blank document.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":2574},[2575,2576,2580,2581,2582,2583,2584,2585],{"id":2323,"depth":178,"text":2324},{"id":2359,"depth":178,"text":2360,"children":2577},[2578,2579],{"id":2392,"depth":389,"text":2393},{"id":2419,"depth":389,"text":2420},{"id":2426,"depth":178,"text":2427},{"id":2448,"depth":178,"text":2449},{"id":2477,"depth":178,"text":2478},{"id":2490,"depth":178,"text":2491},{"id":2511,"depth":178,"text":2512},{"id":2564,"depth":178,"text":2565},"2026-02-17","A practical, no-nonsense guide to writing a resume from scratch. What to include, what to leave out, and how to structure it so recruiters actually read it.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-resume",{"title":2315,"description":2587},"blog\u002Fhow-to-write-a-resume",[196,197,410],"3g-ydSVnAygvQP4EXq7HhUldJTyWGuR-dHUtNRzp1ic",1776210899812]