B E YOUR STRONG F IRST I MPRESSION WITH A COMPANY / RECRUITER .
R EAD AS A N A CCOMPLISHMENT L IST AND NOT AS A J OB D ESCRIPTION . K NOW THE DIFFERENCE .
S HOW AREAS WHERE Y OU ’ VE M ADE A N I MPACT ( SOMETIMES QUANTITATIVE ,
SOMETIMES QUALITATIVE ).
H IGHLIGHT P ROGRESSION WHETHER IT BE IN SCHOOL , LEADERSHIP , OR
WORK .
T OOT Y OUR O WN H ORN ! T HIS IS YOUR TIME TO BRAG .
A CT A S A T EASER : I T SHOULD BE A TOOL THAT RECRUITERS USE TO THEN
ASK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS - DON ’ T DO A WORD DUMP - SAVE SOME GOOD
STUFF FOR THE INTERVIEW .
S TAND O UT F ROM T HE C ROWD : K EEP IN MIND THAT EVERYONE
FROM YOUR MAJOR WILL HAVE THE SAME CLASSES / PROJECTS LISTED .
GPA. S OME R ECRUITERS A SK , S OME D ON ’ T : JUST MY OPINION - I F ITS BELOW A 3.0 LEAVE IT OFF . I MPRESS THE RECRUITER FIRST AND
GIVE THEM YOUR GPA IF THEY ASK FOR IT ( NEVER ASKED FOR MINE
)
L IST O FF A NY H ONORS R ECEIVED : BE PROUD OF YOUR RESUME -
ITS TIME TO BRAG!
A RE Y OU A T EACHERS A SSISTANT FOR A C LASS ? L ET PEOPLE KNOW !
G RAD D ATE S HOULD B E C LEARLY L ISTED : T HIS WILL OFTEN
DETERMINE HOW TIMELY A RECRUITER WILL CONTACT YOU .
B
RAG: H
IGHLIGHT THE POSITIVE IMPACT YOU MADE(
I.
E.
INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY BY50%
BY DOING
X,
SAVED COMPANY$1500
BY DOINGX)
D
ON’
TJ
USTL
IST THEP
ROJECT- L
ISTY
OURROLE
IN THEP
ROJECT: L
ET US KNOW IF YOU WERE THE LEADER,
IF THERE WERE10
OTHERS HELPING. A
LL THOSE DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT.
B
EH
ONEST: I
F YOU WERE A CASHIER,
THEN JUST PUT CASHIER-
DON’
T SAYCEO
OF MONEY TRANSACTIONS.
I
F YOU WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND DURING A SCHOOL PROJECTLET US KNOW: I
F YOU WORK ON A PROJECT AND WROTE A PAPER ABOUT IT– SHARE! I
F YOU GOT TOP IN ACONTEST PUT THAT DOWN TOO
!
I
F THEC
OMPANY ISU
NKNOWN: W
RITE A BRIEF1
SENTENCE BLURB ABOUT WHAT IT DOES–
THIS IS HELPFUL ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR JOBS OUTSIDE OF YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY
.
S
HOULDN’
TR
EADA
SA J
OBD
ESCRIPTION: A
GAIN,
SHOULD READ AS ACCOMPLISHMENT AND IMPACT.
L
ISTA
NYP
ROMOTIONSY
OUR
ECEIVED: I
F YOU STARTED OFF AS CASHIER AND ENDED UPS
R. C
ASHIER PUT THAT ON YOUR RESUME.
K
EEPI
TC
ONCISE: B
ULLETS SHOULD BE JUST THAT-
BULLETS-
NOT RUN ON SENTENCES.
D
ON’
TF
ORGETV
OLUNTEERW
ORK: J
UST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’
T GET PAID DOESN’
T MEAN IT DOESN’
T COUNT.
A
LLL
EADERSHIPC
OUNTS: W
HETHER ITS CHURCH,
CHEERLEADING,
OR A CLUB-
PUT IT DOWN IF YOU MADE AN IMPACT IN AN ORGANIZATION
.
D
ESCRIBEA
NYF
UNDRAISING/L
ARGEP
ROJECTS: T
HE KEY WITH LEADERSHIP IS TO NOT JUST SAY YOU WEREP
RESIDENT OF AC
LUB,
BUT TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT YOU HAD(
I.
E.
RAISED MONEY,
INCREASED MEMBERSHIP,
ETC)
T
IMEL
INE: I
F YOU ARE AF
RESHMAN/S
OPHOMORE IN COLLEGE–
ITS OKAY TO LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL STATS ON THE RESUME-
AFTER THAT ITS TIME TO UPGRADE AND ONLY MENTION COLLEGE ACTIVITIES.
L IST OFF ALL OF THE TECHNICAL PROGRAMS YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE
ABOUT USING ( DON ’ T LIST OFF ANYTHING YOU HAVE HEARD OF ).
I F YOU HAVE A SET AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE ( I . E . 2 YEARS LIST THAT
OFF ).
E XPECT PEOPLE TO ASK YOU TO TALK ABOUT ANY TECHNOLOGY YOU PUT
DOWN - ITS FAIR GAME .
I F YOU WORKED ON A PROJECT AND USED A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY OR
PROGRAM LIST IT ALONG WITH THE DESCRIPTION .
D ON ’ T CALL YOURSELF “ EXPERT ” IF YOU AREN ’ T - YOU MAY INTERVIEW AT
THE COMPANY WHERE THEY INVENTED THE TECHNOLOGY
G ET S OME : V OLUNTEER FOR A JOB THAT IS SIMILAR TO YOUR INTERESTS , YOUR PASSION FOR TECHNOLOGY , ANYTHING!
A DD W ORK T O P AST P ROJECTS : T AKE THAT M ARKETING PLAN YOU WORKED ON LAST YEAR AND UPDATE IT FOR PRACTICE , REWRITE SOME
CODE FROM A PAST PROJECT - KEEP BUILDING YOUR SKILLS .
C HOOSE B ETWEEN A F UN J OB A ND A S MART J OB : I F YOU CAN FIND A JOB WORKING FOR A DEPARTMENT AT SCHOOL RATHER THAN AS A
BARTENDER , DO IT . G ET CLOSER TO THE FIELDS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ,
EVEN IF ITS WORKING IN THE OFFICE .
D ON ’ T L ET N O E XPERIENCE S TOP Y OU : I TS TRICKY , SINCE IT TAKES EXPERIENCE TO GET EXPERIENCE . F OCUS ON SCHOOL , ON LEADERSHIP ,
ETC . A ND HIGHLIGHT THAT IN YOUR RESUME . T HINK ABOUT WORKING
FOR FREE !
T
HE AVERAGE RECRUITER/
CAREER FAIR ATTENDEE WILL PROBABLY SPEND AROUND20- 30
SECONDS LOOKING AT YOUR RESUME
I
F YOU HAVE MORE THAN1
PAGE MAKE SURE ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS ON PAGE1,
JUST IN CASE PAGE
2
GETS LOST.
I
F YOU HAVE A TON OF EXPERIENCE,
THEN ITS FINE TO HAVE2
PAGES-
JUST DON’
T EXPECT SOMEONE AT A CAREER FAIR TO READ IT ALL IN A SHORT TIME.
H
AVED
IFFERENT VERSIONS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF JOBS. I
F YOU HAVE A LOT OF RESEARCH EXPERIENCE THEN SAVE THAT12
PAGE RESUME FOR JOBS THAT REQUIRE THAT KNOWLEDGE.
I
F YOU PUT ANOBJECTIVE-
MAKE SURE THAT YOU CHANGE IT EVERY TIME YOU APPLY FOR A NEW JOB/
COMPANY… T
HE WORST IS WHEN YOU SAY“O
BJECTIVE IS A SOFTWARE DESIGN ENGINEER ATG
OOGLE”
AND THEY ARE APPLYING FORM
ICROSOFT.
I
F YOU CHOOSE AN OBJECTIVE,
MAKE IT SPECIFIC.
P
UT THE NAME OF THE COMPANY IN THE OBJECTIVE(“I’
VE LEARNED AN AMAZING AMOUNT THE PAST4
YEARS AND BEING A DEVELOPER ATM
ICROSOFT GIVES ME THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR NOT ONLY APPLYING ALLI’
VE LEARNED,
BUT CONTINUE DOWN THE ROAD OF GROWING IN THIS FIELD. I’
M ALSO EXCITED TO HIKE AND LEARN TO SAIL!”). T
HIS SHOWS THAT YOU NOT ONLY WANT TO WORK FOR THISCOMPANY
,
BUT ALSO YOU WANT TO MAKE IT YOUR NEW HOME…
YOU WANT TO INVEST,
NOT JUST GET PAID
I
F YOU HAVE2
TYPES OF POSITIONS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN(
I.
E. F
INANCE ANDM
ARKETING) – H
AVE2 R
ESUMES
E
ACH RESUME SHOULD HIGHLIGHT YOUR SKILLS FOR THAT TYPE OF POSITION.
T
HIS SAVES TIME: N
OW YOU NEVER HAVE TO TWEAK A RESUME LAST MINUTE.
Y
OU CAN ALSO PULL OUT PARTS OF YOUR JOBS AND MAKE THEM FIT TO WHAT THE COMPANY IS LOOKING FOR.
List the NON-class projects that you have worked on! Most students have worked on
websites for student orgs, applications for departments on campus, and tons of personal side projects for fun that are actually pretty neat! The number one thing that makes a student stand out to me is not what they did in the classroom but how they applied what they learned
outside of the classroom.
I’m not really interested in your hobbies. You’re not going to get hired at Microsoft (or most companies) based on what you like to do in your free time. Instead list things that you might do in your spare time that are relevant to your target company. For instance, have you helped beta test some software? Are you really interested in computer graphics and how it relates to video games?
Tailor your resume to the company. If you want to work for company X, show them by
understanding what things you’ve done that might contribute to you getting hired. The fact that you babysit or worked at Wendy’s over the summer clutters up the resume.
Conciseness is nice – I like when they have succinct points to make about something they worked on so that I can then ask them more about it and dive into deeper conversations.
Write every bullet such that the reader can visualize you performing that task.
You should use words that provoke movement like: contributed, participated, engaged, maintained, organized, developed, etc…
You have to remember that your resume is likely to be scanned, make sure you use as many brand name words (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.)
With computer skills, its a good practice to put your skill level in there: basic, proficient, advanced, some experience..., etc. this tells them that:
A. you are aware of your skill level and can differentiate between basic and advanced and
B. that you are honest and upfront about your skills (which makes them think you are honest about everything else!)
