Always include name, address and an e-mail at the top. If you want to include two addresses for the home and college, put one on the right side and the other on the left side.
A profile with fragments instead of sentences gives the potential employer a quick overview of your skills. “A younger person might include personal attributes, such as hard worker, detail oriented or analytical thinker,” says Bonne Phoenix, a senior recruiting consultant for The Opportunities Group, a job placement company based in Chicago.
Instead of a profile, job applicants can describe their career goal. “An objective is primarily for people who know what they want, and their work history or work experience doesn’t exactly say it clearly,” says Arlene Hirsch, private career counselor in Chicago.
Some career advisers suggest including a different objective and resume for each job application. “If you know the title [of the job you’re applying for], throw it in there. A lot of companies say it does catch their eye,” says Jamie Velasquez, assistant director for the office of career services at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Stick to the action verbs. “Any time you see responsible for, immediately switch to ‘designed,'” or other action verbs, Hirsch says. Verbs such as “created” and “initiated” create a sense of action.
“What really stands out to hiring managers is bullet points. They want to see a highlighted synopsis of your ability,” Phoenix says. She adds that electronic database systems often screen resumes by searching for action verbs.
“Every year some students say, ‘I have nothing to offer.’ But you can include volunteer experience, student organizations, and interests–anything that lets an employer know you can socialize,” Velasquez says. But go easy on the religious and political organizations: “Avoid names of senators. There are ways of highlighting accomplishments without making it clear which side you worked for,” Velasquez adds.
“Call them ‘interests,'” as opposed to hobbies, says Edward Childs, the assistant director of the DePaul University Career Center.
“A lot of young people might make up for a lack of experience with things like, ‘I like to rollerblade.’ That’s not as important as extracurricular activities like president of debate club,” Phoenix says. She recommends saving interests unrelated to job skills for the interview.
Education belongs above experience if you have earned a new degree in the last few years, Hirsch says.
“Never include anything personal,” Hirsch says. And if you’re running out of space, she says to cut this section out.
Top five tips
1) Know what you want: “I’ve seen people at age 25 miserable with their careers because they did not take the time in college to assess how their values and interests related to potential careers,” says Edward Childs, the assistant director of the DePaul University Career Center.
2) Check your grammar: “You would be amazed at how many grammatical errors people have, or bullets that are offline,” says Bonne Phoenix, a senior recruiting consultant for Chicago-based The Opportunities Group.
3) Go easy on the creativity: Phoenix worked with one director of recruiting at an international company who received a resume designed written along the long side of the paper like a landscape. He said it was “weird,” Phoenix says. She also recommends sticking to simple verbs such as “spearheaded, supervised or targeted,” as opposed to flashier words.
4) Don’t overuse the Internet when looking for jobs: “All students should use this strategy, but not as the only means since the success rate ranges somewhere from 10 percent to 20 percent overall,” Childs says.
5) Bigger is not better: “In the first few years, your resume should be on one page,” says Arlene Hirsch, private career counselor in Chicago and author of “How To Be Happy At Work.”
