Resumes & Interviewing
Recipe for a Great Resume
- Heading: Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email Address
- Education: List all degrees you have or anticipate having (ex-Bachelor of Business, expected May 2012)
- Objective: We prefer reading this in your cover letters, not resumes.
- Experience: List jobs, internships, and volunteer positions. Keep duties straightforward and in order-from present to past.
- Skills: Don’t forget computer skills, foreign languages, and creative skills.
- Honors & Awards: Only list relevant awards. Don’t list an award from High School, unless directly related to your career path.
- Activities and Special Interests: List useful activities (community service, student government, other groups, etc…) that show leadership, communication or other intangible skills relevant to the position you are seeking.
Do’s and Dont’s
Do
- Proofread, proofread, proofread
- Check for both spelling and grammatical errors that spell check won’t always catch
- Focus on accomplishments, not just responsibilities
- Use strong action words
- Use a decent size font – 10 to 12
- Use professional social media ex: LinkedIn
- Research the company
- Write a cover letter addressing the individual requests of each company you’re applying to
- Arrive 10-15 minutes early
- Have a strong, confident handshake
- Maintain eye contact
- Leave your cell phone in the car
- Dress professional no matter what the employer’s dress code is
- Create a professional voicemail message on your cell phone
- Create a professional email address: ex-TJackson@email.com
- Be your self
- Always send a thank you letter
Don’t
- Include false information on your resume
- Put your picture on your resume
- Print your resume on fluorescent paper with crazy fonts
- Share references until requested
- Write a selfish objective-instead use something more like: “To gain experience in…”
- Display unprofessional pictures or information on a personal website or Facebook page
- Forget your picture ID-some places require one at check-in
- Wear questionable items such as nose piercings or orange shoes
- Don’t wear perfume or cologne
- Complain about the receptionist, traffic or difficulty finding the office
- Allow your voice mail to fill up so employers are unable to leave you messages
- Share an inappropriate email address: ex-like2party@email.com
- Constantly call an employer after your interview