Resume Tips

Resume Tips

Hi, everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. As promised in my last post, here are some tips to make your resume stand out. Writing my resume was something I always dreaded, it was very hard for me to get started. For all those graduate/undergraduate students who are reading this who are not graduating this semester and think this blog post isn’t for you… START YOUR RESUME NOW!  Avoid waiting until your last semester, as it can be very time consuming and exhausting. Learn from my mistake J

1.       Brainstorm: Before getting into the formatting of your resume, make a rough draft. What do you want your resume to include? List everything that you can think of!

2.       Be organized: Make some categories to help with organization. Mine included: education, clinical experience, related experience, training/certifications, volunteer groups/activities, awards/achievements, and additional work experiences.

3.       Be specific, but don’t ramble: This can be difficult because you want to showcase how amazing you are- and you should! Describe each experience in a “short and sweet” way- explain what you did without it getting too lengthy.

4.       Choose your words: Wording is everything! Avoid using the same words over and over again. Only use a verb ONCE- and choose wisely! Try using a thesaurus to spice up a word. For example, instead of using the word “created”, you can say “developed”, “generated”, or “carried out”.

5.       Formatting: Make your headers bold and a slightly larger font. If you are including the dates of when each experience occurred (which I highly recommend you doing!), type these in italics.

6.       Pick the perfect font: Many resumes are typed in Times New Roman. However, many employers have said that picking a different (yet still legible!) font can help your resume stand out. Some suggestions are: Arial, Tahoma, Georgie, and Bell MT.

7.       Get resume paper: You’ll want to use a thicker weight paper when printing your resume. This looks more professional!

8.       Have someone look it over: The Career Center will gladly review your resume! Every Monday through Wednesday from 11:00am-12:30pm, they hold “RESUME RUSH” in front of the Career Center- Suite 104 in the Campus Center. It’s a first-come, first-served basis, so get there early!

These are just a few tips that were helpful for me when I made my resume. There are also plenty of websites with examples on how to get started. I hope this was helpful!

                                                                                                                                                                ~Laura