Resume & job search guides
Practical, no-fluff guides on tailoring your resume, beating ATS keyword filters, and choosing the right resume tools. Each one is written to answer a real question a job seeker asks — not to hit a word count.
ATS Keywords for 150+ Jobs — the complete reference
The hand-curated ATS keywords recruiters and resume parsers look for, for 150+ job titles — grouped by industry and linked to a full guide per role.
Skills in 200+ NZ tech job postings — the data
Which skills, tools and soft-skill terms appeared in 209 New Zealand tech job postings we analysed, how often, and the full method behind the numbers. CSV included, CC BY 4.0.
Latest guides
10 Best Jobscan Alternatives in 2026
Jobscan costs $49.95/month and only scores your resume. These 10 alternatives — free and paid — score, rewrite, and tailor it for less.
How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description
Six-step guide to tailoring a resume to any job description: extract JD keywords, mirror them verbatim, quantify impact, and reorder bullets.
Teal vs Jobscan: Which Resume Tool Is Worth It?
Teal tracks applications and surfaces keywords; Jobscan scores deeply but costs around $50/month. Here's an honest 2026 comparison.
What Is a Good Resume Match Score?
A resume match score of 70–85% is the sweet spot — enough to clear ATS filters without reading as stuffed. Here's how scores work and how to raise yours.
ATS-Friendly Resume Format: What Actually Matters in 2026
ATS-friendly means single column, standard section headers, real text (not images), and a normal font. Here's the format that always parses.
How to Find Resume Keywords in a Job Description
Resume keywords are the hard skills, tools, credentials, and verbs a job description repeats. Here's how to spot them and where to put them.
How Long Should a Resume Be in 2026?
Under ~8 years of experience, keep your resume to one page; senior roles often need two. Here's how to decide resume length by experience level.
Resume Summary Examples That Work in 2026
A strong resume summary follows one formula: title + years → 2 quantified wins → JD-aligned skills. See 8 role-specific examples and how to tailor them.
7 Best Free Resume Checkers in 2026
Most 'free' resume checkers are lead magnets. These 7 give you a real free score — including one that needs no signup, with honest limits.
8 Best Resume.io Alternatives in 2026
Resume.io is fast but the trial-to-~$30/mo renewal catches people off guard. These 8 alternatives — free and paid — build, match, or tailor for less.
Is Jobscan Worth It in 2026?
Jobscan scores deeply but costs around $50/month and never rewrites your resume. Honest take on who it is worth it for, and who should skip it.
Is Teal Worth It in 2026?
Teal's strength is its job tracker and resume library, not rewriting your resume for a JD. Honest take on free vs paid, and who should skip it.
Can Recruiters Tell If You Used AI on Your Resume?
Recruiters spot AI resumes by vague phrasing, JD-cloned sentences, and no numbers, not by detection tools. Here is the safe way to use AI.
Do ATS Really Reject 75% of Resumes?
No verifiable study backs the 75% ATS rejection figure. Here is where it came from, what recruiters report, and what actually gets auto-rejected.
Can ATS Read Headers and Footers?
Greenhouse and parser vendor RChilli document header contact info as a parse risk. What each source says, plus the safest place for your details.
Are Two-Column Resumes Bad for ATS?
Greenhouse lists columned layouts as a parse risk, but no vendor documents auto-rejection. Each source in its own words, and the layout we would send.
ATS File Types and Size Limits by Vendor
What file types and size limits Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo, Workday and SuccessFactors accept — only what vendors document, with gated sources flagged.
NZ and Australian CV Format: Length, Photo, Visa Status
Sourced NZ and Australian CV guidance: Tahatū says 2 pages, no-photo advice is documented for Australia, and no live NZ page covers visa status.
PDF or DOCX for ATS Resumes?
No major ATS vendor tells candidates to prefer PDF or Word. What Greenhouse, Lever, Textkernel and career centres actually say, source by source.
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