Ask a Manager

A reader writes: As resume advice continues to evolve with the times (e.g., not including your street address on your resume), I’m wondering how important the location of each job is. Do employers really care if I worked in San Francisco, California, or in Dayton, Ohio? Would it be better to include in-person, hybrid, or […]

A reader writes: My husband is a blue collar worker, and he’s very experienced in his field. A little less than a year ago, he decided to switch jobs. He went from doing residential work in people’s homes to commercial work on big buildings. He had over two decades of experience doing the residential side […]

A reader writes: I teach a course for adult learners on how to prepare for a job search, and I’d like to get your take on including addresses on resumes. Personally, I think it is unnecessary, particularly in our modern world of remote and hybrid jobs, and just introduces a potential safety issue. You had […]

No offense, but your résumé is probably a mess. It’s not that you aren’t skilled or accomplished, but most people’s résumés are middling at best. It’s understandable — unless you work in HR, you probably haven’t devoted much time to reading or crafting them, and most of us feel weird about trying to sell ourselves. […]

Here’s an exchange I had with a reader recently which I thought might be helpful to other people. Reader: I have a question regarding resume writing. As an autistic person, this process is like pulling teeth for me. I understand all of the concepts behind how to write a good resume, but I deeply struggle […]

A reader writes: I am going to school for a master’s degree for a health adjacent profession (think psychologist, clinical social worker etc) and I have a question about the best way to format my resume. Most of the things on my resume take up maybe half of the space on a line. For example: […]

A reader writes: Like many people, I am desperately applying for jobs right now. I have also been frequenting job-seeker forums to get advice and tips. One thing I keep seeing is tips on how to embellish your resume and then “cheat” the background check. For example, imagine your actual job title was “administrative assistant,” […]