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5 ways resume writing is like filing taxes

May 4, 2012

This week’s employment report was blah at best.

The Labor Department today reported that hiring slowed for the second straight month and the U.S. economy added just 115,000 jobs in April.

Overall, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent, down fractionally from 8.2 percent. But that tick downward was because nearly 350,000 people quit looking for work.

Resume_work in progress_PSD via FlickrIn such a sluggish hiring atmosphere, a resume that stands out is key. The proper paperwork could help you nab a new, better and higher-paying job.

The obvious tax/resume connection is that more money also might mean that you move into a higher tax bracket.

But doing taxes and writing an effective resume have some other similarities that most of us have probably never noticed.

Not to worry. Josh Tolan, CEO of Spark Hire, has spotted 5 Ways Preparing Your Resume is Like Doing Taxes.

Tolan elaborates in his post for Mashable Business, but here is a quick preview:

  1. You Must Tell the Truth
  2. It’s Time Consuming 
  3. Organization is Key 
  4. You Must Decide Who Does It 
  5. It’s Not a Lot of Fun

If you’re working on your resume, keep these tips in mind. Also make a note to review them next tax filing season.

And remember that you can count the costs of producing a quality resume — from hiring a professional to help you put it together to printing costs to delivery charges — as part of potentially tax deductible job hunting expenses.

Resume image courtesy psd/Flickr

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The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

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TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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