Dos and Don’ts for Your Resume
Dos
- Do be concise. Try to make your resume fit in one page. Recruiters have to read hundreds of resumes a day. You can help make their job easier if you stick with a one-page resume.
- Do make it easy to read. Write a resume that is easy to understand and follow. Use a maximum of two different fonts and three different font sizes, and take advantage of simple resume examples that can be found online and within Microsoft Word.
- Do have stories to tell. Interviewers will base their questions from your experiences, so make sure you can talk about them. Be upfront about your past and focus on the lessons you have learned from your experiences.
- Do include your name and contact information at the top of the first page. Your name should be the biggest item on your resume. Include your phone number, mobile number, home address, and e-mail address at the top right hand corner so that it is easy for recruiters to get in touch with you.
- Do include an objective. Write a brief statement about what your current career goals and customize it for each new job. It shows your interviewer that you took time to think about career goals and gives them something to base questions from. Limit your statement to four sentences.
- Don’t purposely leave things out of your resume. Don’t try to hide past jobs or negative experiences. Recruiters will catch it during the interview and it will make you look dishonest about your past. People usually learn more from failing than succeeding, so focus on the lessons you have learned from the.
- Don’t add fillers. You do not need to fill your resume with papers you wrote, or seminars you attended while in college unless it relates to the position you’re applying for. It is better to have a simple and concise resume than one filled with activities that are not professionally relevant.
- Don’t include a picture unless the employer specifies you do so. A picture takes up much space and can hurt an applicant just as much as it can help. If the picture is grainy, it makes the resume look unappealing and unprofessional. You want to be judged on your qualifications, not your head shot.
- Don’t say anything negative. You are selling your services to a company during a job interview. Don’t say negative things about yourself or your previous employers. Recruiters look for positive and productive employees who are easy to get along with. In addition, prospective employers might wonder if you will say negative things about them when the time comes.
- Don’t include things that don’t have any impact on getting you the job. Filling your resume with things that are not necessary makes it harder to read. In fact, you should rewrite your resume for each new position you apply for. Hobbies, height, and weight have no bearing on your work in an office setting.
