Let’s talk resumes
The dreaded resume. There is so much information about what you should or shouldn’t do on your resume. After working in career services for two years, helping college level students find jobs, internships, and opportunities for graduate school, here’s what I’ve learned.
Resume Tips:
Keep your resume to 1 page if possible — when you’re applying for a position, think about your MOST RELEVANT skills and experiences that pertain to the current job you’re applying for. Keep a longer personal version of your resume where you can easily make a copy and take out the less relevant positions to get you to 1 page.
If you are struggling to fit everything on 1 page, edit your margins to be .5 inch at top, bottom, left, and right.
Your font size can go down to 10 point at the smallest.
Ensure your line spacing is single.
Use bullet points — employers and recruiters tend to skim down the left side of your resume. If you use the bullet point method to describe your skills and experiences, you have a lot more control over what the employer will find out about you. When you use the paragraph method, you can’t control where one sentence ends and the next one starts.
Include classes and unpaid experiences on your resume if they relate to the job — many people think they can only include paid positions on their resume. This is not true! If you have taken a course, especially a college level one, that directly relates to the job you are applying for include it! If you are self-taught on a skill, like coding, include it! If you volunteer for an organization with a similar mission to the job, include it!
Resume Pitfalls:
Don’t assume that an employer will be able to infer you have a skill — When submitting your resume for a position, you need to be sure that you are hitting all the skills and experiences that you have in relation to the job posting. You can assume the employer will infer you have great communication skills or teamwork skills if you do not write a bullet point that directly relates to those skills.
Don’t assume that an employer will read your entire resume in depth — Employers are skimming resumes to identify that a candidate has the minimum qualifications for a position in the first review. Make sure your resume has easy to read formatting and highlights the skills you have in relation to each position.
Don’t wait to update your resume — I’m guilty of this and I wish I was better about it. You never know when a great opportunity is going to pop up. Don’t wait until you’re job searching to update your resume. As soon as you are settled into a new role, go back to your resume and update it with the current position. You will write better, more detailed bullet points. And your resume will be ready for the unexpected!
Resume Example:
