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The Way, The Truth, The Key to an InterviewApr 21 '00 (Updated May 14 '00) Write an essay on this topic.Never in your life will one sheet a paper hold as much importance and power as the one that your résumé is printed on. A successful résumé is a sometimes-elusive creature. However, if you have the tools to create one, you too can have that power. Now, that may sound somewhat over-dramatic, but résumés are a potential employer's first impression of you. What do you want that impression to be? The keys to writing a good résumé are organization, time, and patience. With an abundance of these, a good résumé will soon be at hand. And, if you don't have a lot of any of these, drink coffee -- a rush of caffeine is the way most of the great writers came by their inspiration (except for Hemingway, but I wouldn't recommend dousing yourself in bourbon). 1) Hold Everything Doesn't Have an Organizer for This One: Your History Before you go shopping for that perfect paper or start deciding whether Times New Roman or Garamond is more you, you have to put together your job and activity history. Sit down and write out every job, volunteer experience, campus activity that you have participated in from college onward. Separate this history into the three categories that I mentioned in the previous sentence. Then, organize them chronologically, putting the most recent one in each category first and going backward in time from that point. 2) Free Your Résumé: Removing the Excess I have heard the adage that every job, no matter how small or menial, teaches you something. Well, that's great for your personal or intellectual fulfillment. However, for your résumé, not some much. So, you have to make your résumé a lean one and you do this by getting rid of the "excess" jobs. How do you do this? Well, use this test: If you were behind a cash register, it goes; if you were behind a desk, it stays. Now, this may sound elitist and I would agree with you. However, your potential employers do not see it this way. Give them what they want and they may reward you with what you want: a job. 3) Selling Yourself: Your History This portion of the process is one of the most important because a résumé is about the impression that it gives to those who are reading your résumé. Again, sit down and go through each job and activity that you have participated in. What were your responsibilities? Do you participate in any major or important projects at your place of employment? Were you responsible for any initiatives (new filing system, cut costs in your department, etc)? For activities, did you hold an office? Were you involved in putting together a campus or community event? When describing each entry on your résumé, do not use the word "I". Instead begin each description (no more than 4 per activity/job) with an action verb. For example, instead of saying: I answered customer telephone questions, say: Responded to customer telephone inquiries. Because you want to place the best possible emphasis on your responsibilities, have a thesaurus and your patience at hand. However, there is a difference between highlighting your achievements and embellishing them. Don't lie. Don't lie. Don't lie. Employers have seen it all. Just don't let them see it on your résumé. 4) Getting Yourself Together: Organizing the Résumé. Now that you have gotten through the more difficult portions of this task, it is time to consider the organization of the résumé. Put your name at the top, with your address underneath (if you have school and permanent addresses, put both -- side by side – but, include the last day where you will be at each place under each address/phone number so employers will know where to reach you. Next is the education section. Begin with the school that you attended most recently and work backward. Start with the name and place it's location next to it (if it is a well-known university, such as Harvard or, my personal favorite, Stanford, then including the location is not necessary.) On the next line, put the degree received or anticipated, with your program of study (or major). Next to that entry, write the month and date that the degree was (or will be) received. If you haven't received your degree yet, don't qualify the date by writing any variation of the word "expected". Just write the date. The entry on the next line is your choice: your Grade Point Average (GPA). If you are unsure of whether to include it, use this rule of thumb: if your GPA is under 3.0, don't include it. If you choose, you can include a subsection if you have honors (scholarships, society memberships -- for example, Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's List, honor roll, competition wins) that you would like to highlight. Next will come the three sections (or whatever number was applicable to you) that you have been concentrating on. The order you place them is: the strongest section, your second strongest, and your weakest is last. After these sections, you can include a Skills section. If you have language, computer, or other skills relevant to the job you are applying for, include them in this section. If you include skills, subdivide them into their own categories (language, computer software, computer languages, etc). This section is not necessary, but I do recommend it. 5) Feeling the Electricity: Inputting Your Résumé. Now that you have put it all together, it is time to turn your computer on and concentrating on the look of your résumé. If you are using Microsoft Word software, I highly recommend the Résumé Wizard formatting feature that is included. When you are deciding on a style, the more conservative layouts are best. It's better to be safe than sorry. Once you have decided on a format, you are thinking about font and point size. Again, conservative is better. I recommend Times New Roman or Garamond. Both fonts have simple, classic lines and don't draw attention away from the substance of your résumé. As for font size, always make your name larger than the rest of your document. However, I said larger not obnoxious -- anything larger than 17 is in annoying country. As for the text of the résumé, larger than 14 is obnoxious. Print out several editions on ordinary white paper until you get a balance between these areas. While we are on the subject of paper, try to use the nicest paper that you can afford. Staples has a great stationery section that includes résumé paper in a variety of prices. Also look to your local Office Max, Kmart, or Wal-Mart for paper choices. When choosing paper, look for paper with a heavier texture than ordinary printer paper. And stay away from white. Black text on bright white paper is very startling to the eye. Try off-white, cream, or grey paper. A final point: an entry-level résumé should not be longer than one page, unless you have extensive (and relevant) experience in one or more areas. If you do have more than one page, attach the sheets with a paperclip instead of a staple. Believe me, the last thing you want is a potential employer cutting their finger on a staple that they were removing from your résumé. If you want to get an idea of how a résumé should look or if you questions that are not answered by this editorial, I would recommend you take a look at Trashproof Résumés. It is a Princeton Review book written by Timothy D. Haft. When I was working at my undergrad's Career Services Center, I would recommend it to students who would come to us for advice. Also, your undergrad’s career services center is a great source of information on résumés, even if you have already graduated. Colleges, including my undergrad, often hold classes on how to write a résumé.  |
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