Resume Tips

The first things that should be kept in mind before making a resume are its appropriate format, important content, and the functionality. This document is very important for you as it gives a complete sketch of your personal and educational details to a person who is an absolute stranger to you; hence, you have to make sure that the resume is accurate and impressive enough to appeal to the other person. A resume is more or less your work identity on paper. You have to make it as exceptional and special as you are. Most importantly, it must be professional. Take as much time as you need to develop a good resume with quite a few revisions and critiques. Resumes also need to get updated according to the activities in your life.

• Fonts should be same throughout the resume but do not implement any fancy font.
• For freshmen or just out of college job seekers, the resume should be adjusted in one page. Although, you can definitely add another page if you have valuable work experience and education to share.
• Try to keep margins of 1 inch, .75 or .5. but do not set too many margins.
• Make sure the headline is made bold and size 14.
• The body of the resume should have a font size of 12 or 11 but not less than that.
• Previous work experience, college, and other professional courses completed should be in bold font.
• Avoid acronyms and abbreviations. If you really need to put short forms of certain long words then put it in parenthesis.
• Personal pronouns like You, I and Me should be avoided. Instead use My.
• Try not to use personal information like marital status, age, caste etc in the resume, unless the employer demands.
• Paper used for your resume should be of fine texture and milk white in color.
• Get your resume checked by a professional for proofreading.
• Use big envelopes to send your resumes. Don’t fold.
• Often companies demand cover letters. Make sure your cover letter is unique and appealing.

Todd Hall
509.335.5480
Todd@ToddHall.com

• Name should be in Font size of 20 or 21. Alignment can be centered or at a side.
• Address/Phone/Email should be in 12 fonts. Alignment can be centered or at a side.
• Use abbreviations of 2 digits for states without periods in between or at the end. (i.e., WA)
• Include area code to your phone number.
• Do not mention “phone” or “email” before the number unless you have a fax number too.
• If you have a home phone and a cell phone, you can write (hm) and (cell) after the numbers.
• If you have different numbers for your home and mobile, add “hm” and “cell” in front of them respectively. Make sure you note accurate phone information.
• Email should also be noted down professionally.

• With or without a cover letter, include an objective.
• Objective should be precise, specific and accurate. EDUCATION OUTLINE
• High school need not be listed. AA degree or community college can be added.
• Bold out the degrees, irrespective of it being major or minor.
• Related coursework can be added if it has connections with the applied position.
• Make sure you include your GPA, major or cumulative. It gives a good impression to the employers.
• State the school, location, dates and references in case of abroad education.
• Mention the year you will be completing your graduate/degree if you are awaiting your results.

• Make sure the information provided is relevant and to the point.
• Bullet and highlight at least three points to make the section look striking.

• Recent experiences and employments shall be mentioned first in Chronological resumes.
• Bold the work titles not the companies you have worked with.
• ention the city, state and country you have worked in.
• You need not include address, zip code or the employer’s name.
• Add volunteer experience, if any.
• Include proper details of the internship you have completed.
• While you describe your previous experience, list the responsibilities, and make them bold.
• Present precise undertakings/achievements: percentages augmented, accounts prolonged, awards won, budget accountable for, programs developed, etc. (use numbers whenever possible – they stand out). Make sure your numbers are correct.
• Use action words such as Designed, Supervised, Analyzed.
• Explain your previous jobs in past tense.
• Add extra list of “Additional Experience”. Make it Bold and add dates, name of the company, and work profile too.
• Use the same title of the job you are applying for.
• List important dates; mention the name of the company, record preferences on the right hand side.
• Use skills of your previous work in abbreviations and make them bold (e.g. Mgt, Sales, etc.)
• Provide a general idea of the previous employer too.

• Label the section(s) as suitable for your achievements
• This is very significant to most companies (especially if you held leadership posts).

Never put extra sections saying” References available upon request” at the beginning or end of the resume. It sets a negative impact on the employer.

Rather, make a fresh page with a list of references, put proper headings and follow the same format of the other page and put names of 2-3 trust worthy people. Try not to put names of friends or acquaintances. Do add their work profile, name of the company, the address of the company, phone number and email address. Never put fake information.

Always confirm with references before registering them as a reference. Be convinced and sure they will correspond to you well and lend a hand to land the job!