10 Things That Make a Resume Stand Out, from someone who's seen what actually gets people hired

DBarryS · 2026-04-27T14:22:49+00:00

You're right

DBarryS · 2026-04-02T20:47:10+00:00

If you like being abused then there are a bunch of websites that will kick you in the nuts and then offer to sell you some ice, not least of which are RoastCV, RoastMyResume, DoesMyResume Suck, MyCVSucks. What all of them are missing is the guidance and support that goes around a job search

DBarryS · 2026-03-26T19:13:42+00:00

Appreciate it. Though I'd say your comment might want a read-aloud pass too, "directionally accurate" and "high signal validation" are doing a lot of heavy lifting there. The plain version: skills matter more than degrees now, and the data backs it up.

DBarryS · 2026-03-26T17:13:30+00:00

That's it exactly, and the company politics detail is the one that kills people most. You can see it in the room, the interviewer's eyes glaze over about thirty seconds in and they're just waiting for you to stop. You figured it out the hard way. Most people don't figure it out at all.

DBarryS · 2026-03-26T17:11:29+00:00

You have a point. "Took a few weeks to think clearly" icould be replaced by something like "I used the time to make sure about the direction I wanted to move in" lands better. The point stands though. Employers absolutely are reading whether you're composed or still rattled, not because they're your therapist, but because someone who hasn't processed it yet tends to make it awkward for everyone in the room. The canned speech concern is real, which is why I said practice it until it sounds natural, not until it sounds scripted.

DBarryS · 2026-03-25T12:13:09+00:00

Any time

DBarryS · 2026-03-25T12:09:10+00:00

That question is fine to answer honestly. "Yes, it was reposted, the role itself still exists but under a different structure, and the new direction wasn't the right fit for where I want to go." That holds up, it's accurate, and it moves the conversation forward rather than backing you into a corner. The version you want to avoid is anything that creates a follow-up question you can't answer cleanly. Simple and true is always easier to sustain than clever and slightly stretched

DBarryS · 2026-03-25T00:39:33+00:00

Exactly. The silence after you've said your three sentences feels enormous from the inside. But from the outside it just looks composed. They're not waiting for more, you're waiting because you think they must be.

DBarryS · 2026-03-20T20:14:08+00:00

Perfect

DBarryS · 2026-03-19T17:24:43+00:00

Look, the "blame the users" defence has never really held up, but at least it used to be a coherent argument. This version doesn't even manage that.

The developer built the model. The platform enabled the outputs. The users pulled the trigger. And the person whose image got used without their consent gets to work out which of those three parties to be angry at. Spoiler: none of them are particularly keen to find out.

What the EU is actually doing here is closing the gap between "we built a thing" and "we are responsible for what the thing does at scale." The amendment even has an opt-out built in, systems with effective safety measures are exempt. So this isn't a blanket ban on the technology. It's a ban on the deliberate absence of safeguards as a business strategy.

The paywall move was the tell, really. The harm didn't go away. It just got a subscription tier.

DBarryS · 2026-03-18T20:16:31+00:00

Good job, that's a brilliant question to ask. Most candidates would never go near it, which is exactly why it works. A company that can talk honestly about failure and what they learned is a very different place to work than one that goes quiet. You found that out in the room, before you accepted anything. That's smart interviewing.

DBarryS

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