There's this debate over whether a résumé should be one page or two pages. What candidates fail to think about is all the other stuff hiring managers have to read. Make your résumé easy to read. Make it easy to follow, and if it takes two pages to give your pertinent experience, then take two pages.

We have a portal called Workplace Alaska where people input their experience. I'll sometimes get Workplace Alaska information from candidates that says they are applying for a different job in some other part of state government. They don't tailor their application or cover letter to one of my specific openings. If I have enough applicants, I'll set that one aside because obviously they are just looking for a job. They are not really looking to work . I want somebody to really want to work here.

A cover letter to me says, "I'm really interested in this job. I care enough to try to summarize my experience for you in a cover letter rather than just giving you a mass produced résumé that I may have given to 1,500 other people."