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How to Write the Perfect Resume: Stand Out, Land Interviews, and Get the Job You Want
To get the job you want, you don’t just need a great resume—you need an outstanding resume, one that puts you in the top 1 percent of candidates for the job. That means ditching the same old advice you’ve been following with little results and adopting a tried-and-true process for getting your resume noticed in even the most competitive situations.
In this book, Dan Clay breaks down the exact method he’s carefully developed over a period of 10 years and provides a precise step-by-step set of instructions for crafting the perfect resume, down to the last period.
Plus, you’ll also gain access to a free companion website containing fully editable resume templates, a perfect resume checklist, and other bonus materials to give you everything you need to create a stunning resume that will get you noticed and land you interviews.
Whether you’re a new graduate looking for your first job, a career veteran angling for your next move, a recent victim of a layoff, or someone looking to dip their toes back into the workplace after taking a few years off, this comprehensive guide aims to be the best—and last—resume writing book you’ll ever need for your career.
In this book, Dan Clay breaks down the exact method he’s carefully developed over a period of 10 years and provides a precise step-by-step set of instructions for crafting the perfect resume, down to the last period.
Plus, you’ll also gain access to a free companion website containing fully editable resume templates, a perfect resume checklist, and other bonus materials to give you everything you need to create a stunning resume that will get you noticed and land you interviews.
Whether you’re a new graduate looking for your first job, a career veteran angling for your next move, a recent victim of a layoff, or someone looking to dip their toes back into the workplace after taking a few years off, this comprehensive guide aims to be the best—and last—resume writing book you’ll ever need for your career.
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Published August 12, 2022
477 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Dan Clay
4 booksDan Clay is a writer, corporate professional, and founder of the Conscious Career blog at www.danclay.com.
Throughout his career, Dan has held stints at elite companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Gartner, and grew his income by 6x in just under four years. Through his blog platform, danclay.com, he advises smart, ambitious high performers on how to build amazing careers by offering his expertise on topics such as interviewing, resume writing, salary negotiation, productivity, and more.
Dan currently lives in San Francisco and was born and raised in Michigan, where he attended Michigan State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. In his free time, he enjoys reading, strength training, cooking, and exercising his flying skills as a certified private pilot.
Throughout his career, Dan has held stints at elite companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Gartner, and grew his income by 6x in just under four years. Through his blog platform, danclay.com, he advises smart, ambitious high performers on how to build amazing careers by offering his expertise on topics such as interviewing, resume writing, salary negotiation, productivity, and more.
Dan currently lives in San Francisco and was born and raised in Michigan, where he attended Michigan State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. In his free time, he enjoys reading, strength training, cooking, and exercising his flying skills as a certified private pilot.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 25, 2020
This book provides excellent guidance on building a quality resume. A company may receive over 200 resumes for one job opening, and most of those resumes fail to meet the minimum bar for professionalism. If there are typos, errors, inconsistent formatting, or any other sloppy items on your resume, it is going into the rejection bin. This book contains detailed steps on how to produce a crisp, concise, and visually appealing resume. You can also download the resume templates and examples for additional help.
May 5, 2020
Well, I read a lot about this topic on many different websites but this book contains the most important information in one place. I've spent a lot time doing research on this topic and you get a lot of different views. This book contains concrete information and you can get some high-quality materials from Dan's website.
February 2, 2020
Review from a professional resume writer
There's a lot to like in this book. The author is very perceptive and has some solid advice. I would recommend this as a companion to another book that covers formatting and has more examples of before and afters. There are a few things the author and I disagree on. The book states that cover letters are unnecessary in most cases because most of the time they don't get read anyway. It is true that a lot of times they don't get read but do you really want to look like you are unprepared or doing the bare minimum? Cover letters are also where you address employment gaps and relocation. The book also says one page for most resumes and it's a pretty controversial topic almost everyone disagrees on what page length but two pages is the industry standard. Also, I don't know any resume writers that get paid by the page but plenty of ghostwriters do. For personal safety only include your city and state on your resume, no street address. After 5 years you shouldn't include your graduation date to prevent "screen outs". The author talks a bit about this and it's good advice to avoid discrimination but 15 years is way too long. The only other area is the highlighted skills/competencies section. Why in the world do you not like an easy to read section highlighting your most valuable skills for easy human reading and extra keywords to boot? Agree to disagree I suppose. I do recommend this book and I think it could be very helpful to job seekers when used with other references specializing in formatting with more examples.
There's a lot to like in this book. The author is very perceptive and has some solid advice. I would recommend this as a companion to another book that covers formatting and has more examples of before and afters. There are a few things the author and I disagree on. The book states that cover letters are unnecessary in most cases because most of the time they don't get read anyway. It is true that a lot of times they don't get read but do you really want to look like you are unprepared or doing the bare minimum? Cover letters are also where you address employment gaps and relocation. The book also says one page for most resumes and it's a pretty controversial topic almost everyone disagrees on what page length but two pages is the industry standard. Also, I don't know any resume writers that get paid by the page but plenty of ghostwriters do. For personal safety only include your city and state on your resume, no street address. After 5 years you shouldn't include your graduation date to prevent "screen outs". The author talks a bit about this and it's good advice to avoid discrimination but 15 years is way too long. The only other area is the highlighted skills/competencies section. Why in the world do you not like an easy to read section highlighting your most valuable skills for easy human reading and extra keywords to boot? Agree to disagree I suppose. I do recommend this book and I think it could be very helpful to job seekers when used with other references specializing in formatting with more examples.
September 15, 2022
Links to author website not working
Good, practical tips. The fact that the author 's WordPress website is down is a shame and that many of the examples and bonus materials he promises makes one quite annoyed. Overall quick read and quite helpful.
Good, practical tips. The fact that the author 's WordPress website is down is a shame and that many of the examples and bonus materials he promises makes one quite annoyed. Overall quick read and quite helpful.
June 27, 2024
Quick, Informative, and Helpful
I picked up this book because I wanted to rehash my resume. I've been scrolling through the web, reading different tactics and recommendations but nothing really stuck, so I thought I'd give this a whirl. My wife saw me reading it and said, "Don't you already know how to do all that stuff?"
I thought I did, but after reading this book I realized I had made some mistakes in the process. It also helped answer questions like how I should list my skills or multiple degrees. Most importantly though, it helped me understand that I have been writing a resume from the completely wrong perspective. I was always taught to write a resume by listing responsibilities. Dan reminded me that the purpose of the resume is to convince the company why they should hire you, not rattle off what you did at your last job. Considering I've rewritten that thing a few times in the last month, I probably should have read this book first and saved myself some time.
I picked up this book because I wanted to rehash my resume. I've been scrolling through the web, reading different tactics and recommendations but nothing really stuck, so I thought I'd give this a whirl. My wife saw me reading it and said, "Don't you already know how to do all that stuff?"
I thought I did, but after reading this book I realized I had made some mistakes in the process. It also helped answer questions like how I should list my skills or multiple degrees. Most importantly though, it helped me understand that I have been writing a resume from the completely wrong perspective. I was always taught to write a resume by listing responsibilities. Dan reminded me that the purpose of the resume is to convince the company why they should hire you, not rattle off what you did at your last job. Considering I've rewritten that thing a few times in the last month, I probably should have read this book first and saved myself some time.
October 1, 2021
Very helpful
Before I had been struggling to write my resume for a week because I felt it was not standind out and I believed that my resume would not gonna get me my dream job.
So I started to find some technique via online materials and thank to this book.
The suggestion and guildline from this book is very helpful to maelke me see it clearly how to build the outstanding resume.
Before I had been struggling to write my resume for a week because I felt it was not standind out and I believed that my resume would not gonna get me my dream job.
So I started to find some technique via online materials and thank to this book.
The suggestion and guildline from this book is very helpful to maelke me see it clearly how to build the outstanding resume.
September 10, 2022
Good Pointers
The book is concise and has good guidance for various scenarios with appropriate justification for understanding.
It is a definite starter for starting your journey to create a great resume or transition the existing resume to greatness.
I would suggest this to anyone who needs to create a resume or improve an existing one.
The free resources are good quality usable resources and acclerate the resume creation process.
The book is concise and has good guidance for various scenarios with appropriate justification for understanding.
It is a definite starter for starting your journey to create a great resume or transition the existing resume to greatness.
I would suggest this to anyone who needs to create a resume or improve an existing one.
The free resources are good quality usable resources and acclerate the resume creation process.
December 4, 2018
Wow
Thought I was hot chips. This read humbled me and gave me amazing insight into improving my candidacy for jobs. I applied immediately the authors tips and tricks. My resume looks very legit now and I feel like I will get a plethora of interviews and offers now. This may be the most useful and important book in my life outside the Bible.
Thought I was hot chips. This read humbled me and gave me amazing insight into improving my candidacy for jobs. I applied immediately the authors tips and tricks. My resume looks very legit now and I feel like I will get a plethora of interviews and offers now. This may be the most useful and important book in my life outside the Bible.
January 18, 2019
Lots of helpful tips, including insights into some major things I've been doing wrong. I really hate writing resumes, so I have a tendency to be a bit sloppy. This book laid out everything I needed to know in crisp, succinct prose, and the bonus content added significant value to the already-low ebook price of $4.
January 6, 2019
Useful and concise
Very helpful to recent graduates
Listed 10 golden rules to help write your own resume and provided examples for each rules
Except for not providing guidelines to prepare the cover letter, you need to do extra reading for that
Very helpful to recent graduates
Listed 10 golden rules to help write your own resume and provided examples for each rules
Except for not providing guidelines to prepare the cover letter, you need to do extra reading for that
September 9, 2019
Easy to follow, valuable information
Just what I needed to get started on my resume as a recent graduate looking for my first real job. Short handbook with clear, up to date information.
Just what I needed to get started on my resume as a recent graduate looking for my first real job. Short handbook with clear, up to date information.
February 26, 2023
Good Read with Good Information
I like the layout of the book as well as the content of the book. It provides a wealth of knowledge that will help me going forward in writing a résumé. I am hoping this information helps land me a job. Definitely worth the read.
I like the layout of the book as well as the content of the book. It provides a wealth of knowledge that will help me going forward in writing a résumé. I am hoping this information helps land me a job. Definitely worth the read.
June 20, 2025
Good writing, informative and useful. However there were no examples on resumes and what one looks like to land a job first time. I also tried to go on to the Author's website where he says he has examples of resumes but cannot find anything.
November 13, 2019
Clear concise reference for updating existing, creating from scratch or just guy checking your current resume.
January 18, 2020
Great!
This book is a very good guideline in creating or updating your resume. Very thorough and straight to the point.
This book is a very good guideline in creating or updating your resume. Very thorough and straight to the point.
March 21, 2020
Good
This book has some good basic advice about resume writing. I recommend it along with other books like What Color is Your Parachute?
This book has some good basic advice about resume writing. I recommend it along with other books like What Color is Your Parachute?
June 28, 2021
very helpful in the sense that it almost covered all areas and have the comparison examples and supporting materials. Best luck on the job hunting!!
July 14, 2021
It's a comprehensive book, telling exactly how to make your resume.
February 10, 2023
Looks promising, need to check the applied details.
September 21, 2024
Great book. Easy to read and very informative.
August 16, 2021
You can be rookie in a certain industry, but if you have skills, wish to work and great opportunities you should have pro resume. It's not concept "resume for beginners", wrong idea. Your resume must describe your skills, pros and cons. And if you're not confident in your resume, use https://resumeservicescan.com/monster-review special services for writing and checking CV.
October 7, 2020
Good advice. The content can be organized more logically for an easier read.
October 5, 2019
Great Advice!
This book is full of really useful information on how to build your resume. Having worked with both jobseekers and employers in Government contracted recruitment for 16 years as an employment consultant and manager, writing/updating/reformatting resumes is a daily occurrence. Resumes can be tricky to nail and there is a lot of conflicting information and common misperceptions on what you should or shouldn’t include this book breaks down each section by explaining the ‘why’ backed up by statistics and research.
This book is full of really useful information on how to build your resume. Having worked with both jobseekers and employers in Government contracted recruitment for 16 years as an employment consultant and manager, writing/updating/reformatting resumes is a daily occurrence. Resumes can be tricky to nail and there is a lot of conflicting information and common misperceptions on what you should or shouldn’t include this book breaks down each section by explaining the ‘why’ backed up by statistics and research.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews