Resume Writing Your resume needs to be extremely effective and appealing in order to stand out from the crowd: Guidelines to Follow

Guidelines Use verbs that indicate action and continued growth e.g. achieved, enriched, demonstrated etc. Use adjectives such as creative, motivated, enthusiastic etc. Spell out words in full. For example, use street instead of st. Avoid using the word “I” if possible. Include enough relevant information to clearly demonstrate your skills and abilities without being wordy.

Guidelines(Con’t) Present yourself in a positive way. Emphasize how your past experiences will benefit other employees. Ensure there are no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors. Create a page with a professional, “clean” appearance. Avoid highlighting, underlining, and italics as they are distracting. Make sure that your address and phone number is clear and prominently placed.

Employer’s Pet Peeves About Resumes More than two pages long Colored paper Handwritten corrections Old jobs that do not mean anything Repetition Attempts to inflate responsibilities Fancy graphics, unless the person is applying for a graphics position Poor quality paper A photocopy of a photocopy Insufficient information included to contact former employers.

Resume Checklist Is the resume clear? Does it provide a “picture” of the writer’s qualifications? Is all personal information relevant to the job? Is all the necessary information included? Does the resume include positive self-evaluation? Is the language clear and understandable? Does the resume emphasize benefits for a potential employer. Does the resume make the reader want to continue to read it?

Resume Checklist(Con’t) Is the layout appealing? Do strong points stand out? Do the sentences begin with action words? Is the resume brief, to the point and neat? Is the length appropriate? Is the resume free of spelling and grammatical errors? If you were a potential employer, would you grant an interview based on this resume?