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| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT By: Brittany Reed. Follow me @brittanyareed. Resume- What to do??!Formatting your resume for the first time is a daunting and an "uh, I'd rather not" task. The fact of the matter is employers might spend about 10 seconds looking at the resume which you've slaved over, so it needs to be well organized and very easy to read. But I've got some tips below that should help you tackle this beast and land you the job of your dreams! (or, something like that). What information should I Include?There are standard "sections" that help organize and format the information on your resume. At the top of the page should be the your philosophy statement (aka "career objective"), followed by your education, work experience, computer skills, and involvement. Basically, you want to cater your resume for the position you are seeking. I altar mine for every position to which I apply. For example, you're going to want to highlight different talents for a retail position than for an internship with a campaign. I begin by altering my philosophy statement; it's easier for me to call it such rather than "career objective" because the latter is so abstract ("My career objective is to be so successful and savvy in the industry that I make all the money in the world and eventually fire you're a$$"- doesn't fly, does it?). Keep the requirements of the position in mind, and what you think the employer will believe the "perfect candidate" would be, and make it seem like you ARE that perfect candidate. Philosophy for interior design position: I approach my designs with the mindset of finding the equilibrium between a strong sense of line and a unique, comfortable environment. I find extraordinary spatial experiences are created through the combination of dramatic gestures and subtle design elements. Philosophy for cocktail waitress position: I approach all aspects of my work with the mindset of hospitality and efficiency. These qualities combined with my team-oriented work ethic assure satisfied customers as well as a pleasant work environment. You can see how each statement appeals to each position's requirements and the skills necessary to complete them. Below is an example of what to include in the "education" section. I have listed my study abroad experience in this section, although it is completely acceptable for study abroad to have its own section (I just don't have the space for it).
Education: The University of Georgia – Lamar Dodd School of Art May 2011 Bachelor of Fine Arts – Art – Area of Emphasis: Interior Design Council for Interior Design Accreditation Accredited School Cumulative GPA: 3.71/4.0 • Hope Scholarship Recipient • Dean's List • Magna Cum Laude Study Abroad The University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy – Interior Design Exhibit Design • Furniture Design • Art History: Early Italian Renaissance I break my work experience into "Relevant Work Experience" and "Other Work Experience," and list my previous positions in descending order. Beneath every position, I list 2-3 bullets of my responsibilities. This is the kicker. Today, so many places will run your resume through a database that will pick up appropriate keywords for the position. If your resume doesn't have them, it may get shuffled to the bottom of the "will never call back" pile. (See: cater your resume for every position). Also, focus on using strong, active verbs as opposed to passive language. "Answer phones," sounds a lot weaker than "First point of contact for major and potential clients". Utilize power verbs like "manage," "organize," "develop," and "establish." You want your summaries to be specific, but not so detailed as "First, I checked voicemail, then I checked email and filed paperwork until lunch…" Be concise. Design Experience Intern – Peace Design – Atlanta, GA Jun 2011-Present • Assist in aesthetic design development of residences and restaurants • Manage staff calendars and phones while maintaining organization and structure in the office IDEC Design Competition – Regional Finalist – Athens, GA Feb 2011 • Annual three week long design competition sponsored by NCIDQ • Competition required research and design of medical facility based on local needs Writer – College-Style.com – Athens, GA Oct 2010-Present • Author articles relating to design, art, fashion, and college life Salesperson – Barbara Cosgrove Lamps – High Point, NC; Apr 2010- Jan 2011 • Build and maintain relationships with high-end clients, designers, & sales representatives • Meet clients' aesthetic needs with knowledge of the line through sales Design Associate – DeckMyDorm.com – Duluth, GA Apr 2010- Jun 2010 • Develop company branding and aesthetic including design, content, graphics • Mass-Market via social networking resulting in significant increase of traffic to site • Stage, photograph, and edit scenes for selling purposes on website Design Assistant – Jennifer Cook Interiors, Inc. – Atlanta, GA Sep 2003-May 2007 • Catalogue sample library, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness • Maintain daily relationships with clients and vendors • Organize and maintain finances and files Additional Experience Administrative Assistant to CFO – Century Strategies – Duluth, GA May – Aug 2007 & Jan–Apr 2010
Nanny – Estate Domestics – Duluth, GA May 2009 – Aug 2009
Server – Taco Mac – Duluth, GA May 2008 – Aug 2008
Now, there has been some debate regarding what constitutes "computer skills." Some feel that MS Word does not count as a skill because come on, how lame. As you can see below, however, I list "MS Office Suite" in my computer skills. I think some of us take MS Office for granted because we've all been using it for our entire lives; but there are some people who legitimately don't know how to use Powerpoint, while on the other hand, some positions are filled solely on your knowledge of Excel. Like so many other things, it's up to you- perhaps if MS Word is your only computer skill, and you think it looks lame on your resume and it is not a required skill, then I don't think it will hurt to exclude it. Other things to keep in mind might be your social networking skills if it is important to the position. If you think your knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. will make a difference, then include it! It's always another talking point during an interview. Computer Skills
On my resume, I place "Involvement" above "Computer Skills." I made this decision because I wanted to strongly punctuate my resume, and felt that my computer skills were more relevant, more impressive, and more important than my involvement. However, "Involvement" is most commonly the last section on a resume. Involvement Design Collective Atlanta – Member – Atlanta, GA Feb 2011 – Present ASID – Rate My Resume Committee; Member – Athens, GA Jan 2009 – Present Emerging Green Professionals – Member – Athens, GA Aug 2009 – Present Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation – Volunteer – Atlanta, GA Jan 2007 – Present Community Tennis – Member – Duluth, GA Aug 2007- Present Safehouse Outreach – Volunteer – Atlanta, GA Aug 2007- Present What information should I Exclude? Again, the rule of relevance applies here. I promise, nobody wants to read a list of everyone you babysat the summer of 2003. The general rule is that once you are in college, all information prior to your freshman year is irrelevant, and once you've graduated college, all information before graduation should be excluded. However, I break this rule. I was looking for positions at an interior design firms, and decided to include my former experience as a design assistant through high school. First of all, it shows that I'm able to hold a job for four years, and it also increases the number of years I've had experience in my field. Eventually, however, this will become outdated and I'll need to remove it. Once you are in college, however, don't worry about including the high school you attended. Only include your graduate and undergraduate information. Also, (unless it's relevant) some people feel that you should exclude any volunteering or committees you were involved in within the political and religious arenas. These can be polarizing and sensitive subjects, and you don't want to put off your boss before he or she can even hire you! Formatting You can start with a blank page in Word…. Orrrrr you can find a resume template online. You can download templates through sites like this. Templates are really helpful because they allow you eliminate the headache of formatting and focus solely on the content. I wouldn't recommend attempting to reinvent the wheel with your resume layout; the likelihood is that it will be overly complicated and illegible. Stick to clean, crisp fonts. Your resume is not a place for you to express your individuality; you just want it to be as easy to read and understand as possible. Traditional fonts like Time New Roman is always a safe choice, and others like Helvetica, Arial, and Gil Sans are also great options. I like to use sans serif fonts because they are so crisp and streamlined, but it's said that serif fonts (like Times New Roman) are easier to read because each letter leads your eye to the next letter. Choose between font sizes 10, 11, or 12- nothing too small to read or so large you imply the person reading it is blind. There has been some debate in industries like interior design and graphic design- which is better, the traditional or "creative" resume. The consensus I've gathered is that it doesn't really matter. I have both, but the creative resume is the one that landed my current job! The danger with the "creative" resume is that there's a strong potential that it might end up being cheesy- so be mindful of that if the creative option is the one for you.
This is the format I chose for my “standard” resume.
Thoughts?I hope this article is helpful! Is there anything I left out that you think I should've included? Any questions I didn't address? Agree or disagree to what I've said? I'd love to hear your thoughts! For additional resume tips check out this site or go here. |
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