Resume Writing Tips
Career Services
The purpose of a resume is to sell or market yourself to an organization and secure an interview. It communicates your relevant skills, education, experience and interests to a potential employer and assists the employer in assessing your ability to do the job. There is no one right resume, however the following is a set of tips to keep in mind as you begin to write.
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• • Keep your resume short and concise – recommended to be no more than two pages long Make sure your resume is on good quality paper, neatly typed or reproduced on a quality printer, with no handwritten corrections or white out Label each section of your resume clearly Use point form as much as possible; this will make your resume easier to read and will minimize wordiness Make effective use of white space so your resume is eye catching and easy to read; don't try to cram too much information on one page Font should be easy to read and a minimum size of 10, average size of 12
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Content
Take some time for self-evaluation and reflection, and then make sure your resume does justice to your skills and abilities. Create a document that really sells your strengths!
• • • • Use action verbs such as "supervised", "directed", "developed", "organized" and "planned", etc. to describe your skills and accomplishments Does your resume highlight qualities or skills which are unique to you or in which you excelled? Don't include irrelevant information such as age, gender, health or marital status; for more details on your employment rights, see http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/esaguide Be honest and accurate about your accomplishments - don't undersell yourself, but don't exaggerate information either - it could come back to haunt you in an interview or after being hired Make sure the content of your resume includes your education, employment history, awards, community involvement, and volunteer positions; if you include a personal interest section be sure that it is relevant to the job you are seeking Make sure prospective employers and School Districts can find you; at the top of the document, include your name, telephone number, email address, complete address personal website if applicable. It is recommended to include your name and contact info in the header or footer of the document as well Have your name appear on every page
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Resume Writing Tips
Targeting the Employer
Consider your audience and customize your resume for each employer and each job opening. Are your points clearly related to what the employer is looking for?
• • • Will the employer be able to visualize what you really did or what makes you who you are? (Test it on a friend or get some feedback from a career advisor or peer educator.) Can you quantify what you did? How much, how long, what was the importance of the project you worked on? Employers want to see concrete examples of past performance Stress your accomplishments, achievements and instances where you took the initiative and show how the skills you used and the knowledge you gained would benefit the employer
The Nitty-Gritty
Once you've written your resume, take time to review it meticulously for any mistakes and to fine-tune your writing style.
• • • • • • CHECK FOR ERRORS!! Have someone proof read your resume to check for typographical errors like spelling, grammar and punctuation Pronouns (I, me, my) should be avoided Use a consistent format and the same grammatical tense throughout your resume or at least throughout the section Avoid using jargon or include examples that clarify what your jargon words mean Use a variety of words to describe yourself (i.e. are you using "excellent" or "very" in every second statement?) Vary the structure of your sentences