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Resume Tips

Read below for some general tips on writing a resume.

General tips

  • On average, a recruiter will spend 6 seconds looking over your resume. You need to make sure the information is easy to read, includes relevant information, and flows well.
  • References do not go on your resume and you do not need to list “References available upon request”. Your Reference page should be a completely separate document.
  • Do not use a resume template- these are oftentimes hard to manipulate and cause frustration. Use the skills you have learned in your classes to create a professional looking document in Microsoft Word.
  • Customize your resume for every job you apply for. This means you will have a different resume for every job.
  • Do not include an objective. This is for the cover letter. Use a profile - 1 to 3 sentences about your technical skills related to the job description.
  • Your education should only include school where you completed a degree, unless you are within 12 months of graduating - then use "anticipated month/year. Do not include high school. Only use graduation date.
  • Your duties should include accomplishments and how you made a difference. These accomplishments should include quantifiable results if possible.
  • Duties should be outcome based, not duties based. It's not good enough to just tell the employer what you did, but include how well you did it.
  • The preferred length is one page. However, depending on your industry and your experience, two pages may be acceptable. If you include a second page, it should include information that is directly related to your field and have your name at the top.
  • Make sure you do not have any grammatical or spelling errors, or typos. Many employers will discard a resume as soon as they see a mistake.
  • Do not include information about your gender, marital status, religion, race, etc. Also, do not include a photo.
  • If you print out your resume, use high quality resume paper.
  • Always submit your resume in the format that was asked (Microsoft Word, PDF etc.). Avoid using Open Office to create your resume, as this does not always upload correctly.