Notes for the case you're making
A small library on drafting, tailoring, and finishing one application at a time. Read the one that fits where you are.
01 · Protecting
8 min read
ATS resume keywords: what they are, what they aren't
Resume keywords for ATS are the words a recruiter searches a stored resume database with. They aren't a hidden score, and stuffing them doesn't help.
02 · Proving
7 min read
How long should a resume be?
One page for most candidates; two when the second page is genuinely full. The rule is selection, not years of experience. Here's how to decide for your record.
03 · Pivoting
10 min read
How to tailor a resume to a job description
Tailoring a resume is selecting and reframing the record you already have so the case for one specific role is unmistakable. Here is the method.
04 · Pivoting
4 min read
A pivot reads as fit when the work points the right way
Career changes don't get easier by hiding the change. They get easier by writing the resume so the through-line is unmistakable, and the new role looks like the obvious next step instead of a leap.
05 · Pivoting
6 min read
Reading the job description like an editor
Pull the two or three things a role is actually asking for. A short method for cutting boilerplate before you tailor a resume.
06 · Protecting
5 min read
Refining a senior record without redoing it
Twenty years of work doesn't fit on a page, and shouldn't. The job at staff, principal, or director level is selection, choosing what to leave on the page so what stays carries weight.
07 · Proving
6 min read
The weeks a real application is worth
A working schedule for a single application (research, drafting, tailoring, follow-up) paced across weeks instead of minutes.
08 · Pivoting
7 min read
What tailoring changes, what it leaves alone
Same record, two roles, side by side. See which lines move and which stay, and why most of the resume should not change.
09 · Proving
5 min read
Making the case from work you have, not work you wish you had
A first real role rarely shows up with a stocked resume to match. Here's how to write a strong draft from coursework, side projects, and the early months of a job, without faking experience you don't have.