Resumes

By Barbara Safani

Jay Drake spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy. When he retired, he found it difficult to make the transition to the civilian work world.

Drake was hardly noticed as a job candidate by hiring managers, landing only two phone screens and no-face-to face-interviews. "This was surprising to me considering I was bringing more than 17 years of experience in human resources, business management, and financial administration from the military, which I was sure would translate well in the private sector," Drake says.

So, he enlisted the help of a professional to find an encore career.

By Carol Berman

You're among the 15.3 million unemployed in the United States right now. And it stinks. You've sent out 150 résumés, you're trying to stay positive, but your layoff situation is not getting better. Here's a question: how have you addressed your layoff on your resume? We looked to Sarina LaMarche, senior career coach at Austin, TX-based Career Strategists, for advice.

By Lisa Johnson Mandell

I'd just finished talking about the recently released unemployment numbers on Fox Business News, when the makeup artist who made me look far better than I have a right to ran up to me and said, "I need to follow your advice! I should brand myself by starting my own blog and getting business cards. I want to tell everyone that I'm the best makeup artist on the planet. But how do I back that up? Can't anybody say they're the world's best makeup artist?"

By Barbara Safani

In 2009, we witnessed the passing of many great icons in entertainment, art, sports, journalism, and politics. And with their passing comes an opportunity to reflect on their unique career brand and the legacy they left. Walter Cronkite, Michael Jackson, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Swayze, Farrah Fawcett...all had strong brands that conjured up certain images in our minds. But strong career brands are not just for the rich and famous.

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Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

"Out with the old, in with the new," isn't that what they always say? The same thing applies to your résumé. Chances are you applied for hundreds of jobs in 2009, only to be ignored or rejected. That means that something has to change.

Last year, 25 percent of employers said that on average, they received more than 75 résumés for each open position; 42 percent received more than 50 résumés. In addition, 38 percent of employers last year said they spent one to two minutes reviewing a new résumé and 17 percent spent less than one minute, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.