Your resume is the first and lasting impression. You have about three seconds to grab the employer’s attention, so don’t waste it. Incorporating creative tricks and treats to amp up your resume can help you land that job.
Resumes consist of your prior work experiences, academic influences and extracurricular activities. It is your opportunity to exhibit all of the positives that you have conquered. Avoid confusing jargon and overwriting.
Assistant Dean of Career Services, William Hill advised, “Have an Objective statement. Avoid generic statements, tweak it to fit the job and be specific as you can. Write ‘seeking a position in the financial services industry with an emphasis in banking and credit’ or ‘seeking a career in software development with a progressive technical consulting firm.’ Avoid statements like ‘seeking a job in management,’ which are too broad.”
Start off with a powerful mission statement. Include your desires, goals and qualities you can provide. The more direct and specific you are with your statement, the more convincing you will appear.
Junior Kelly Dalton explained, “A mission statement offers the employers with a short summary of what you can bring to the table. It tells them all about you and your traits in a few sentences.”
In order to be different from others, you have to make sure the information on your resume is eye catching.
Science professor Frank Damiani explained what makes a resume stand out. “Consistency of past performance. In any resume I look at how long someone is employed at a position. I also look at the types of positions. In a resume, when it is a new grad I look at the course work and the grades but also the types of courses.”
When in contact with others, use a professional e-mail. Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail are all free websites that you can create a mailing address with.
Get involved. Providing any clubs, extracurricular activities, sports, volunteer work and fraternities and sororities that you are a part of can show your time management skills.
Incorporating a language is practical as well. With different cultures evolving all over the world, having that connection can be useful. “Taking on a second language can be resourceful when being compared to other students who are handing in their resumes. I took two courses of Spanish and can now add that to my resume as a quality for employees to see,” junior Alex Marino said.
Proofread and make sure everything matches. Do not just rely on spell check. Indentations should be aligned, the font should be the same, and the layout should be identical. Keeping it sleek and organized will make it easier for the employer to read as well as it looking professional.
Finally, visit the career services office. There are people willing to take the time to sit down with you, look over your resume and give you advice.
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