Resume writing workshops are one of the many resources available through University Career Services.
Career Peer Educator Imani Nichols, a second-year in the College, offers quick tips and information about resumes, cover letters and how UCS can help in the job hunt.
“Employers are only looking at your resume for about 30 seconds,” Nichols said. “You want a crisp resume with no spelling errors, and you definitely don’t want to lie on a resume. You want to leave a good impression.”
There is no single, unfalteringly correct way to structure a resume, UCS members say, though they do offer resume writing service with several tips on how to make a resume stand out.
1. Avoid using templates
The first order of business when writing a resume is to decide on a format, but Nichols advises against using templates provided by word processing applications.
“I discourage people from using templates — we can’t just fit our experiences into a template because we are all different,” Nichols said.
2. Emphasize your name
UCS workshops advise students to display their names prominently on resumes, allowing a potential employer to find your name at first glance.
“Your name should always be the biggest part of the resume,” Nichols said.
3. Only include information you can talk about in an interview
Though resumes are important tools for selling your skill sets, Nichols advised against overstating your abilities.
“Your resume is also used as a guide during an interview — many people forget this,” Nichols said. “Only include things you are willing to talk about in an interview. For example, don’t say that you are fluent in Spanish if you aren’t. I had a friend who said that he was fluent in a language and then the interviewer used the language to speak to him in the interview. It didn’t go well.”
4. Focus on relevant experience
UCS recommends tailoring your resume's listing of relevant experience based on the job you are applying for — adding a "teaching experience" section when applying for a job in education, for instance. For each listing, they advise including the organization your worked with, your specific position, the dates you worked, and the geographic location of the organization.
UCS also advises students to begin each point with a verb and to make each point as succinct as possible.
5. Be cognizant of “The ‘R’ Effect”
UCS provides students with four ‘R’ words to denote some of the most important attributes of a strong resume.
All details on a resume should be relevant. Overloading a document with superfluity is ultimately detrimental, as employers typically skim resumes.
Events and experiences should also be recent.
It is also important to ensure programs and experiences listed are recognizable. Programs that are unique to only your high school, for example, probably won’t hold much weight to an employer who is unfamiliar with them.
Finally, experiences should be listed in reverse chronological order.
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