Résumés: How to Get Yours in Shape to Land a Job
By John James II, Senior, St. John's University
Getting a job requires perseverance, a dedication to searching and networking, and having a résumé that will convince an employer to hire you. Your résumé is often your best and only shot at showing an employer your talents and persuading that person to employ you. A résumé is a personal, handcrafted representation of yourself, and for yours to stand out, it needs to be organized, concise, and highlight all of your achievements and personal skills.
Organization Is Top Priority
Lydia Horemis, the employment specialist at St. John’s University’s Career Center in New York City, assists students with editing and polishing their résumés. She stresses that organization is the main component needed in order to have a successful résumé, which can open the door to an interview and ultimately employment.
“Organization is the key,” says Horemis. “Many students worry whether they are using the correct template or not, which does not matter because there is no universal template. Rather, it is important that your template’s format maintains consistency, and that you remember to start your résumé with your name and contact information. Forgetting to place your contact info at the top of the résumé or forgetting it altogether is the most common mistake on résumés that cross my desk.”
When asked what a student’s résumé should consist of, Horemis says, “Name and contact information is imperative, but after that, everything should follow in a reverse chronological order (meaning the most current activity should be at the top for each sub-section): objective, education, activities, related coursework, work experience, community service, and skills.”
To see some sample résumé templates from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, CLICK HERE.
Action Verbs Gain Interest
The purpose of a résumé is to make you look good by highlighting your achievements, and action verbs, by their very nature, make for a better read and make you seem like a dynamic candidate.
“You have to use action words,” says Horemis. “Action verbs [rather than just is or are] will raise the level of your professionalism in the eyes of prospective employers.”
Also, pay attention that your descriptions are actually saying something of value. “If you worked in retail, you don’t want to put that you simply helped customers; it sounds much better to say that you assisted customers by problem-solving,” says Horemis.
Highlight Your Strong Points
Never embellish or exaggerate on the things that you have done, but place in bold letters the accomplishments, activities, and skills that you want the employer to see, since many employers only skim through résumés.
What If You Have No Experience?
“Once you are a sophomore in college, it is no longer OK to use your high school achievements as part of your résumé,” says Horemis. Freshmen and students who feel as though they don’t have enough accolades or work experience to put on their résumé should not let that stop them from creating a résumé or applying for jobs.
If you truly feel that you lack the experience, then the best advice would be to get involved. Consider joining university clubs or the school newspaper. You could even participate in community service through a church in your area. Extracurricular and volunteer activities give you the chance to develop leadership, organization skills, and other talents that can make you an attractive job candidate.
Just remember: When polishing your résumé, organization is key. Quantify and highlight your skills with details and action verbs, never exaggerate, and stay truthful and accurate. Employers look for students who can articulate in writing how their past activities have helped them develop marketable skills, such as the ability to work in a team, coordinate projects, and communicate.
The Cover Letter Counts
Horemis emphasizes that a cover letter can really make a difference in getting a job. “It not only shows your professionalism, but it also demonstrates an important talent that employers look for—the ability to write,” she says. “With that small summary, you are able to make an impression on an employer before even exchanging a word with him or her in an interview setting.” The cover letter can also help highlight specific experience that makes you right for a particular job.
Gabriel Baker, a junior from St. John’s University, believes that cover letters are a necessity as well: “You never know what the employer is actually looking for, and for some employers a simple résumé will suffice, but after my experiences with job fairs and interviews for internships, I can say having a cover letter makes you stand out that much more to the employer.”
Tips to Keep Your Résumé Out of the Trash
Keep this advice (from the career center at Villanova University in Pennsylvania) in mind as you craft your résumé or update the one you already have.
• Check for typos. Mistakes in your résumé show an employer that you may not be careful or neat.
• Use reverse chronological order. In almost all cases, résumés should show your latest employment experience first and work backwards from there.
• Develop separate sections. Employers need to easily see your work experience, education, and activities.
• Use phrases rather than full sentences to describe what you have done. Full sentences are simply too lengthy.
• Consider putting in an objective. This is a brief statement saying exactly what your employment goal is, and you can tailor it the specific employer.
• Use a conservative e-mail address. When you list all your contact information, you will need to provide an e-mail address. Employers may not respond well to something like [email protected]. A straightforward e-mail address featuring your name is usually best.
JOHN JAMES IS A SENIOR AT ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK CITY.
Find Out More
Click an online résumé seminar from the University of South Florida.
Click for a great resource on résumé content from Wellesley College.
Click for a great résumé writing guide from Colorado State University.
