Indesignhobbiest wrote: <snip>…to configure my workflow for creating my resume…

For your resume, absolutely content first! Resumes are one case where what you say is much more important than how it looks.

For most other projects, content first for all the reasons at @Eugene Tyson mentioned. Sometimes my clients won't have finalized content ready but will request that I start design anyway. Depending on the client and project, I might be able to direct the content to some extent, as in “Headline no more than 6 words; body copy up to 30 words.” Sometimes it works out, sometimes it's a disaster and requires a full redesign once final content is ready.

Check to see if you have any “text inset.”

Object>>Text Frame Options>>Inset Spacing

You may also want to adjust

Type>>Story>>Optical Margin Alignment

Hope this helps!

Myth: 2: converting text to outlines changes the appearance of the text due to loss of kerning, hinting

Really, a myth? What has changed that lets fonts keep hinting when outlined? Does that apply only to new fonts (such as open type) or is it a function of the type engine in CS4 or what? Sometimes it would be great to outline text but I'm concerned that the quality of small type not change.