Resume and cover letter guides

Short, practical guides to getting past applicant tracking systems and in front of a recruiter.

• How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description in 15 Minutes

  A practical 15-minute method to tailor your resume to any job description: find the real requirements, mirror the language, rewrite your top bullets, and cut what doesn't fit.

  8 min read

• How ATS Software Reads Your Resume (and How to Make Sure It Reads Yours Correctly)

  Applicant tracking systems turn your resume into plain text before anyone reads it. Here is what they parse, what breaks them, and a simple checklist for an ATS-friendly resume.

  7 min read

• How to Write a Cover Letter Recruiters Actually Read (Structure, Action Verbs and Examples)

  A simple four-part cover letter structure, the openings and cliches to avoid, a list of strong action verbs, and a before-and-after example you can adapt.

  8 min read

• The One-Page Resume: What to Keep, What to Cut, and When Two Pages Is Fine

  How to fit your resume on one page without tiny fonts. A clear order for cutting content, word budgets that work, and when a two-page resume is the better choice.

  6 min read

• How to Name Your Resume and Cover Letter Files (So Recruiters Can Find Them)

  Resume.pdf gets lost among hundreds of others. A simple file naming pattern for resumes and cover letters, with examples and the mistakes to avoid.

  4 min read