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Job Listings | Mayor's Letter to the Employer | Tips

Resume Tips

For Your Information:

Click Here for Printable version

Resume Tips

If you do not have a resume, we can help you! We have computers and assistance available to help you create a resume.

Your resume is a reflection of you. Your resume makes potential hiring personnel aware of your accomplishments, technical abilities, experience, and education.

Usually an interviewer is looking for some of the following in your resume:
  • Job Knowledge and expertise

  • Proactive versus passive behavior

  • Ability to learn

  • Decision-making skills

  • Flexibility, adaptability, and initiative

  • Communication skills

  • Teamwork skills

  • Leadership skills

  • Organizational skills

  • Your ability to think under pressure

  • Why you left a previous employer

Many times resumes are scanned and entered into a database, where they are reviewed. To ensure that your resume is scannable, please keep the following information in mind.

Format
  • To maximize the computer's ability to read your resume, submit the cleanest possible original and use a standard resume format. This is not the time to get creative or fancy with your resume. But, you may say, I want my resume to stand out, or I'm in a creative field and I don't want to appear bland. In that case, send in a standard resume for scanning purposes and then create another resume with a more creative layout to be given at a career fair (along with the scannable one) and /or in an interview

  • Use standard, easy-to-read fonts - Helvetica, Arial, Times.

  • Use a font size between 10-14 points.

  • Avoid script, italic and underlined text. Bold is usually okay.

  • Spell out ampersands (&) and percentages (%) signs, as scanners have difficulty interpreting them

  • Horizontal and vertical lines should be used sparingly. Use light-colored, standard size (8 1/2" x 11") paper. Use high-quality paper and a good printer. Use white, eggshell, beige or light gray paper. Avoid recycled "grainy" paper.

  • Place your name at the top of each page.

  • Avoid using staples.

  • Save your resume in a rich text file (RTF) format. This is readable by nearly all word processors

Content
  • Use common resume headings such as Objective, Experience, Employment, Work History, Skills, Accomplishments, Education, Professional Affiliations, etc.

  • Use nouns vs. verbs. Resume tracking systems look for nouns (keywords) vs. action verbs.

  • The computer will search for key words in your resume, so you will want to be sure to include those, as it increases your opportunities for a match. How do you know what key words to include? Here's a few tips:

  • Look at the job posting and notice the words used to describe the duties and requirements of the position

  • Talk to people in the field. What are some industry "buzz" words?

  • Meet with someone in human resources to find out what they look for in a resume.

  • If you're in college, go to your career services office and ask them what employers are looking for.

Tried-and-true resume tips
  • Always use spell check

  • Use the recruitment contact's name. If it's not given, either skip the salutation or address it "To Whom it May Concern" - never include a gender reference if you do not have the person's name.

Tried-and-true resume tips for students

Refer to the two items listed above and them keep the following in mind:
  • Include an objective. It should include key words.

  • Education - Include major, minor, month and year of graduation and GPA, but only if 3.0 or higher (this is the general rule).

  • Work experience - include internships and part-time jobs (within reason)

  • If lacking relevant work experience, Include information about class projects that would relate to the position you are applying for.

  • Include extracurricular involvement, keeping in mind these tips:
     - Identify the skills and experience you will need in your target field and look for organizations on campus where you will get theses
     - Hold an officer position within the organization or head up various committees within the organization;
     - Have a variety of extracurricular experiences - it demonstrates your ability to work with a range of people; and
     - Be involved throughout your college career, not just your final year in school

  • List specific skills related to your career goals - computer skills, international experiences, etc

  • Do not list your classes. You can list them on a separate sheet of paper, along with a brief description if the course title doesn't adequately explain them. Give this to the interviewer only if asked..

  • Keep your resume to one page. While you've probably had a number of great experiences in college, you haven't had enough yet to warrant more than a one-page resume.

Contact Information

Some companies will contact you by mail, telephone, and/or email. A call can be considered as a positive indication. If you use an answering system in your absence, you should record a dignified and professional message on it.

Do not try to be cute or funny. Record your message in a very business-like tone, but be friendly, speak clearly and slowly and, by all means, listen to what you have recorded. You may even ask a friend to listen to it and re-record it until you are satisfied.

Please avoid allowing a child to answer the phone, as so doing could result in a lost or inaccurate message. You do not want to miss a call. It could be that on call that may determine your future.

Get Your Resume Ready for the Recession
by Joe Turner

Don't let the economic situation derail your job hunt. Get smarter in your job search strategy. Revise your tactics to include a more solution-selling approach to make your value clear to potential employers.

Always answer the question, "What's in it for them?" not, "What's in it for me?" Stay focused on what you can accomplish for your next employer. Demonstrate you understand the macroeconomic bigger picture of the role you play in moving the company forward.

Apply these tips to retool your resume for a better chance of success during the recession.

Add Achievements to Your Resume

Leave behind that old mind-set that your job-related skills or length of service are selling factors. Think of yourself as a mini profit-and-loss center rather than just a prospective employee. Employers today buy results and are less impressed with candidates promoting a laundry list of skills. Instead define the many ways your past and present job performance have been assets to your employers -- just as they will be for your next employer.

Your resume should be hard-hitting sales tool designed to accomplish one goal: Get the interview. To demonstrate this, add a specific achievements list to your resume. Whittle your bottom-line achievements down to your biggest, most notable accomplishments. Now, describe the benefit your employer gained from each example. This will put you several steps ahead of your job-seeking competitors. Plus, you'll have your talking points ready for that next phone interview.

Emphasize Your Contribution to the Bottom Line

Hiring managers categorize desirable employees into one of two distinct groups: those who make money and those who save money. For example, Jim works as a lead-generation specialist for the marketing department of a direct-mail provider. His role is to use specialized software to research lists of names to develop the best prospects for the company's future marketing programs. Therefore, although he doesn't actually make the sale, each lead Jim generated has a dollar value, because one out of every 20 of these leads will produce a sale.

Rethink your current or past jobs to understand your position in the bigger corporate profit-and-loss picture. Collect specific examples of the benefits your company gains from your work. Here are some questions to ask yourself.
  • How did my work improve the performance of my department or company?

  • How many roles did I perform that saved the company the expense of added employees or contractors?

  • How has my work made the work of others (employees and managers) easier, faster and more effective?
Develop several specific examples of how you benefit your company by making money or saving money, and then incorporate them into your resume.

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