Throughout your life, you will experience numerous changes: moving from one city to another, meeting new people, and transitioning from one job to the next. Whether you are becoming complacent in your current job or entering the workforce for the first time, one of the most important elements for the job search is a résumé. In order to land an interview with your dream company, you must submit a polished résumé, which is a small example of your fine characteristics. Let’s take a look at some of the tedious details of writing a résumé to, hopefully, help you in your journey full of transitions.
First, most recruiters only look at your one-page résumé for approximately 5-20 seconds, so it is crucial to make a quick strong impression. The number one rule for résumés is this: ensure there are no grammatical errors. If a recruiter picks up a résumé and notices multiple misspellings or typos, it does not look good for you. Although this might seem like a shameless promo, I will still say it: you should consider sitting down with one of the consultants at your university’s writing center in order to work through your résumé. If you are no longer a college student, then you should contact some friends or family members who have strong grammatical skills.
Now, what about the layout of the résumé? In a world full of different templates and guides for résumés, the possibilities are endless. In my Business Communications class, my professor, Dr. Justin Gandy, told us that one of his past students went to job interviews with two different résumés. One résumé had a more modern layout and the other was more traditional. Interestingly, the response seemed to vary depending upon the interviewer’s particular preference. Learn about the company and job for which you are applying to enhance and strengthen your résumé. If it is a more modern and hip company, then maybe you could earn an interview with a more modern résumé. One tip in this area: do not place a photo on your résumé in order to avoid discrimination.
Once you have picked a layout, start analyzing the minute details. At the beginning of the résumé, write your name in a bold, large font in order to draw attention. Underneath your name, place your phone number, email address, and LinkedIn account. Some people believe that if you place your phone number first, then you have a higher likelihood of receiving the position. I cannot claim this to be true; however, I still place it first just in case that’s true.
Beneath your contact information, you can create a job summary section. Now, this section is highly debated. Some people believe it is unnecessary while others believe it is. Ultimately, this is your résumé, so it is up to you, but I will briefly describe this section. You have an option of writing complete sentences or you can simply create strong phrases. Within this section, highlight the specific qualifications that make you the perfect person for this position. In fact, some companies put the papers through a digital evaluation, which highlights key words that are crucial to the particular position. Because of this, evaluate the job description and ensure you match your characteristics to the position you want. As you may realize, this section will change depending on the job for which you are applying; however, key concepts will still be included.
Finally, for your work experience, you should start with the most recent position and work your way backward. In this section, it is imperative to create strong bullet points to describe your responsibilities and duties at particular jobs you’ve held. In fact, in Business Communications, the professor told the class to ponder ways in which you exceeded expectations. Rather than simply listing the responsibilities at your previous jobs, think about how you excelled and outshone most employees. It is also important to use strong action verbs for each bullet point and ensure parallelism throughout. For example, if your résumé includes the verbs achieved, calculated, and guided, then you would not want the last verb to be leading because it does not match the other verb tenses. For more information about parallelism and a list of action verbs, follow these links: Parallel Constructions and Action Words.
Once you have completed this section, create a new area dedicated to your education. Within this, place your major, minor, university, and graduation year. Many people like to place their GPA here, but it is not recommended to do so if your GPA is lower than a 4.0. My professor in Business Communications also told us to write a short summary of an impactful experience from a class or college memory that applies to your characteristics. For example, if you mention your ability to work well within a team, then mention in this summary a time in which you worked with a group to complete a project. By doing this, you might just shine brighter than other applicants, especially if it is an internship.
Exhausted yet? No worries because we are at the end of my tips. If you have room within the one-page résumé to place a section for your achievements or volunteer work, then ensure each item corresponds directly to the characteristics mentioned above. Never write more than one page; think about your statements thoroughly to ensure they are completely necessary. Overall, there are different ways to complete résumés; however, these are some of my simple tips to create a successful application. By enacting some of these tips, you may just change your life forever.
For more information on how to write a résumé, check out our General Résumé Development handout on the Quick Reference Flyer page of our website!
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