A short first-person essay for a college or scholarship application, built from one real scene. A parable can supply that scene. The activities résumé is the separate facts-only list of roles, awards, and projects. How do you answer a college or scholarship essay?
ATS
Applicant tracking system: software that stores and parses applications. An ATS-friendly resume uses standard headings, a simple layout, and no essential text trapped in images. What is an ATS-friendly resume?
STAR
A way to answer “Tell me about a time…”: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Keep Situation and Task short; spend the time on what you did and what happened. What is the STAR method?
STAR+LAI
STAR plus Lesson, Application, and Impact: what you learned, what you changed next time, and evidence that change helped. Used when you want a story interviewers remember. How do you make a STAR answer memorable?
Past-first communication
Leads with what you’ve done and asks the recipient to infer what you can do for them.
Future-first communication
Leads with the value you can create for the recipient, using your past as supporting evidence.
Da Vinci-style communication
A future-first approach inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s letter to the Duke of Milan: focus on what you can do for the recipient rather than what you’ve already done.
Past-first style resume
A past-first, ATS-oriented resume that leads with what you have done and asks the reader to infer what you can do next. Organized by roles over time with standard headings. Bullets carry accomplishments; each career experience may open with a short role/context summary that must not repeat those bullets. How do you write a Past-first style (chronological) resume?
Past-first experience summary
The short summary at the start of a career experience on a Past-first style resume. Usually describes the role and optionally the organization or circumstances (market, division, mandate). Provides context for the job or activity — not a repeat of the accomplishment bullets. How do you write a Past-first style (chronological) resume?
Da Vinci-style Resume
A future-first resume that leads with the value you can create for an employer. Summaries (overall and per career experience) state generally what you can do for a future or target employer — they should not contain supporting evidence. Proof comes from career-experience bullets (and to a degree from how experiences are described). Should a resume say what you did or what you can do?
Da Vinci-style resume summary
The overall summary: who you are professionally, then generally stated capabilities as the value you can deliver for an employer. Do not pack proof, metrics, or accomplishment anecdotes into this summary — evidence belongs in the experience bullets below. Targeted: capabilities phrased for that recipient. Untargeted: capabilities that could apply to a future employer. Should a resume say what you did or what you can do?
Da Vinci-style experience summary
The short future-first summary at the start of each career experience. States a generally phrased capability (or the value it enables) for a future or target employer. Does not contain the supporting evidence — proof comes from that experience’s bullets. Should a resume say what you did or what you can do?
Skill
A teachable, observable capability (project management, SQL, contract negotiation). What you can do. Not a character trait. Skills vs strengths on a resume?
Strength
An underlying quality or pattern that explains success across contexts (judgment under ambiguity, stamina with incomplete data). Why you are effective. Skills vs strengths on a resume?
CRACAS
A scoring sheet for an interview answer: Credibility, Relevance, Authenticity, Conciseness, Answer quality. Score 1–5 each; rewrite the lowest score first. How should you evaluate your own interview answer?
PRAR
A pattern for questions you ask the interviewer: Provenance (something you researched), Reflection (a callback), Accolade (a specific true compliment), Request (“I would value your advice on…”). What questions should you ask the interviewer?
General vs targeted resume
General is for an unknown or broad reader. Targeted is aimed at a known posting, person, or type of role. Style (Past-first vs Da Vinci-style) and variation (general vs targeted) are independent. How do you write a resume for a career change?
Elevator pitch
A spoken introduction. About 20–30 seconds for a stranger at an event; 60–90 seconds for a meeting. It should sound like talking, not like a bio. How do you introduce yourself professionally?