Resume Writing – A Guide for New Grads
Purpose of Resume Writing
When you are writing your resume, it is important to keep in mind the purpose of the resume. The resume is meant to spark interest in you as a candidate. Your resume writing should be with the intent to get an interview, not a job offer. It is not meant to list every single course, skill or accomplishment you have. Remember, resumes get interviews, not jobs.
The resume should do the following:
Create a positive first impression. This is done by showcasing your communication skills and making the resume easy to read. The resume should be succinct and easy to follow.
Tell who you are. When you are writing your resume, you are telling the reader who you are and why they should consider you for a position.
Describe what you have learned. Especially for a new grad, your resume should highlight the courses and projects that are applicable for the job you hope to be hired for.
List your accomplishments. Your resume should highlight any special accomplishments you have achieved. If you made a 4.0 while working full time, were awarded a special scholarship, or received special recognition of some kind, it should be listed under your accomplishments.
In order to make your resume pleasant and easy to read, you will want to follow some resume format guidelines. The resume format is important because you want to make sure to keep the reader’s interest and, ultimately, be called for the interview. A poorly formatted resume, one that is hard to read, contains many errors, or doesn’t flow well, is not likely to accomplish your goal.
Resume Format – General Guidelines
The following guidelines follow typical resume format standards. These a general resume format rules:
- Font size of 10 or 12
- Perfectly typed with about a 1 inch margin
- Use only one font. You may vary size for emphasis, if necessary.
- Use bold print or centering for emphasis. However, do not use too many different styles.
- Avoid all-capital letters and italics as they are difficult to read.
- Describe training, skills, and accomplishments in phrases rather than sentences.
- Use action verbs to encourage reader interest and response.
Resume Format - Section Titles
- Begin your resume with a heading which includes your name, address, phone number and email address. This is usually centered at the top or left justified.
- Omit personal information such as age, sex, marital status.
- The objective states the position type you are seeking. Don’t make this too narrow. It looks very professional to tailor the objective to the position when applying for a specific job
- The education section should identify your professional training by listing institution(s) attended with degree(s) conferred, major, and grade point average.
- The work experience section comes next and details the most recent positions or areas of expertise first and continues in reverse chronological order. Project experience can be listed here in the absence of institutional work experience.
- The accomplishments section comes last and highlights specific areas in which you have excelled, including leadership activities, memberships, and honors or awards.
What is an Electronic Resume?
Most companies rely on databases to store and search resumes. As such, there are certain things to keep in mind when you are writing a resume that will likely end up in such a database. The electronic resume (also called a scannable resume) started out as a printed resume that was designed to be scanned and 'read' by a computer. Now, the electronic resume is most often emailed or uploaded on a job site. The electronic resume differs fundamentally from the traditional resume in that it targets the computer as a reader while the traditional resume targets humans as readers. Though the process may seem limiting at times and not as attractive as the traditional approach, but it is necessary to ensure your resume is viewed as often as possible.
Before Writing Your Resume
Before you sit down to write your resume, it is helpful to think through a couple of points. The first is to think in keyword terms, because employers will use them to search for resumes.
Some general keyword examples:
- Ability to ... (delegate, supervise, etc.), analytical ability, detail oriented, problem solving, results oriented, communication skills, team leader, lead
Some technology industry examples:
- Software, systems, UNIX, Linux, SQL, Oracle, java, .NET, Operating System, CAD, Mechanical systems, Design, OO Programming, SDLC, coded, programmed, administered, engineer, programmer, developer, network, Cisco, Microsoft
Tips for Resume Design
The following tips for resume design will help ensure that the database your resume gets stored in can read and sort your information appropriately.
- Keep the resume design simple and standard.
- Make good use of white space. White space tells the computer where new information starts.
- Use standard font styles (Times New Roman and Arial convert best).
- Use a font size from 10 to 14.
- Do not condense the spacing between letters.
- Avoid 'fancy' styles (italics, underline, bolds etc.).
- Do not use horizontal and vertical lines, graphics, charts and boxes.
- Use boldface for section headings.
- Use common names for section headings (i.e., Education, Experience, etc.)
- Put name first with contact information on separate lines.
- Avoid most abbreviations, except for popular acronyms.
- Be concise and concrete in descriptions.
- Use popular industry keywords (including common abbreviations
After the Resume
After the resume is written, make sure to proofread. See these Resume Tips for more ideas that will help ensure your resume gives the best first impression possible!
Print the resume out, to see how it looks for a manager that might prefer hard copies. Adjust any spacing as necessary. You will want printed resume copies to take with you to job fairs and interviews.
