Resumes 101

 

Probably one of the most daunting parts of a job search is preparing a good resume; many dread this challenge so much that they wind up paying someone to write one for them. Big mistake!

 

Your resume is your introduction and primary memory jogger to prospective employers. Whether you mail it in with a well written cover letter or hand it to a recruiter as you deliver your 20-second “who are you” introduction, this document is what they will keep to remember you.

 

No one is in a better position to write your resume than you are. After all, who knows more about you and what you have done?

 

Here are some tips to keep in mind as you build your first resume or update an existing one.

 

The average recruiter or HR professional will spend 30 seconds scanning your resume. In that time you need to convince them why you will be of value to their company and why you are different from the hundreds, maybe thousands, of candidates they see every year. You want to interest that recruiter enough to call you for an interview. You want to get to the “tell me more” stage.

 

Building that concise but compelling document will be one of the greatest challenges you will face early in your career (other than, maybe, completing your undergraduate degree), and any effort you put in will pay big dividends. But keep in mind: you only have one page in which to do it!

 

To meet the basic purpose of a resume (generate an interview) you need to include four key things about yourself:

 

• Your education, including programs in progress

 

• Your work experience, including specific accomplishments and contributions you made in each

 

• Honors and things that differentiate you, including volunteer service, international travel, and unusual talents or experiences. High school accomplishments are acceptable for freshman but need to be phased out as your experience at Tech grows.

• How to contact you for the interview (this should go at the top of the resume, like a letterhead)

 

Every book, Web site or counselor will have a different style or format for resumes. This holds for the things that you will see here. There is no right, wrong or best style, but over a period of time you will pick up a hint here and an idea there that you can store away in your resume toolbox to build a document that fits your experience, personality and – most important – with which you are comfortable.

 

This is the first statement a reader will see after your contact information. It is your one big chance to establish in their mind who you are and what you might do for them. Done well, it will compel them to read on.

 

Use this to define your ideal job – the position, not the company. Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? How do you see yourself contributing so some organization? Remember that it is not about you and your goals but what you can contribute to the employer. 

 

And like everything else in this process, it will take time to get it right and effort to keep it short.

 

Never forget that you have 20-30 seconds to get them to nibble so that you can set the hook in an interview. Help them find the nuggets in your background. Make it visually “scanable”.

 

Use wide margins and blank lines between statements

 

 

Consider using tables to provide consistency and to ease updates

 

Make every word count: you only have one page. Eliminate articles, conjunctions and extraneous modifiers – just the facts!

 

Ask a friend or, better yet, a business professional, to review your resume. Have them read it all the way through and time them. See if, in 30 seconds, they can learn enough about you to be interested in exploring further. 

 

The document should be perfect in both grammar and spelling before you get to this stage. This will be a final check before you go job hunting, but don’t embarrass yourself with errors you should have caught.

 

Georgia Tech Career Services offers resume reviews by professional volunteers in September prior to the GT career fair. Be on the lookout for information about where and when.

 

A resume is not a one-time document. It is not something you write and put away; you should be constantly improving and expanding it. More important, you constantly should be looking for things to add to your accomplishments: leadership opportunities in organizations; volunteer and service experience; research, papers or meaningful projects in classes. 

 

Remember: you have the power of fire! You understand and can use computers. People need your skills. Some can pay you for it, many cannot, but at this point every interaction is a potential experience that shows what you can do. Volunteer. Offer your skills. Take the initiative to use and record your skills. 

 

Spend time every semester to update your resume, and when you walk across the stage at graduation, you will be smiling because you already nailed down the ideal job you described in your objective statement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of good resume resources on the Web, but one of the better ones is from Purdue:

 

Introduction to Resumes

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/564/01/

 

Resume Design

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/631/01/

 

Closer to home, Georgia Tech Career Services offers seminars and other support activities:

 

http://www.career.gatech.edu/

 

Check this site often.