Having an awesome, easy-to-read resume is your one-way ticket to a job interview. Your resume allows you to present your qualifications efficiently, focusing on skills, responsibilities, accomplishments, and leadership. Your challenge is to market your skills in a clear, concise manner, using keywords and action verbs to catch the attention of the person reading your resume. Now you know why having a resume is important; you’re probably wondering, “How do I get started?”
Hi, I’m Miranda Cristan, Career Coach Graduate Assistant at Tarleton State University’s Career Services Center; here to tell you my top tips for creating an awesome resume!
Start from Scratch
Using a template can be tempting, but making a resume from scratch is the way to go! Premade resume templates often are outdated, overused, and make editing and customizing your resume a headache. Creating a resume from scratch allows you to stand out against other candidates as it shows you have gone the extra mile compared to candidates who have submitted template resumes. Additionally, you are in complete control when you make a resume from scratch! You have the power to include any sections or information that will make you stand out as an ideal candidate. Many employers have reported that they only spend about 10 seconds reviewing resumes during the initial candidate review. Hence, you want to make sure employers can see your top skills and experiences quickly and easily!
Here are some general pointers on making your resume clean, concise, easy to read from scratch:
- Use narrow margins to maximize your use of space
- Use an easy-to-read font style, using a font size between 10-14 points
- Make sure your resume is black and white unless you are going into a creative field such as marketing
- Make sure you’re staying consistent with section spacing, font style, and font size
- Ensure that you are making a new, customized resume for each job/internship/scholarship/graduate school application
Know your Top Accomplishments, Skills, and Experiences
Now that you have some basic formatting tips, it’s time to start thinking about content! Take time to sit down and reflect on all accomplishments, skills, and experiences you may have acquired throughout your life, and make a list using a spreadsheet or word document! You might include a few descriptors or bullets on your list to help jog your memory. Having a list like this will help you easily create customized resumes in the future!
Know What Sections Will Make you Stand Out
There are several optional sections that you could use on your resume to make you stand out by highlighting your top skills and achievements:
If you are involved on campus and in the community, you can include an “Activities” section to highlight your membership in different campus or community organizations. Your activities section is a great way to highlight leadership skills if you hold office in any of your organizations!
An “Honors” section highlights any academic, professional, or personal awards and honors you may have received. Some examples for your honors section include being on the dean’s list, any awarded scholarships, or an award for outstanding membership in a campus or community organization.
Including a “Volunteer Experience” section can also be added to your resume to show you are an active community member!
A “Related Courses” section could be helpful for those of you who may be entering a job field where you cannot gain real-world experience but have gained relevant skills needed to do a job well through classes. The relevant courses section is especially helpful for education, nursing, counseling, engineering, and other similar specific-natured majors.
You can include any relevant certifications you have earned in a “Certifications” section. Just be sure your certifications relate to the job; if you are applying for an office job, you may not include a CPR certification, but you would have it on a lifeguard resume.
Know When to Use Bullets and How to Write Them
Using bullets is a great way to help potential employers easily see your top qualifications quickly and easily; however, using too many bullets or misusing them can hinder your chances of getting an interview. Only use bullets in your “Skills” or “Relevant Experience” to describe how you have displayed your skills in the past or to describe your job duties. You will always want to start your bullets with strong action verbs, avoid personal pronouns such as “I” or “me,” and avoid using complete sentences. Remember, we want our resumes to be concise! Additionally, we recommend using the SOAR method to help you write the strongest possible bullets.
Proofread!
Have you ever written and submitted an essay without proofreading for mistakes? Was the grade you received on that essay less than stellar? It’s okay if you answered yes; we’ve all been there, but we want to avoid that situation at all costs, especially when it comes to our resumes! Typically, your resume is an employer’s first impression of you, which is why it is so important to have a resume as close to perfection as possible. Proofreading helps you identify and fix errors, reword bullets to fit the job a bit better, and edit any formatting or spacing errors.
We recommend proofreading your resume in a two-step process:
- First, look over your resume yourself and make any changes you see fit.
- Next, have another person look over your resume as they may be able to catch a mistake you might’ve missed or provide helpful suggestions. A friend, parent, or professor can all be useful people to help you proofread, but coming to Tarleton’s Career Cafe and having a Career Coach proofread your resume is ideal. The Career Coaches you will meet in the Career Cafe have all been trained to help identify areas of improvement on your resume that may go under other people’s radars and know how to help you build the best possible resume!
Resources
Tarleton’s Career Cafe is an excellent resource for students like you! You do not need to schedule an appointment for the Career Cafe as it is a drop-in service. Simply bring a copy of your resume and the job description, and our coaches will help you edit or create your resume. The Career Cafe is offered in-person in TSC 218 or online via Zoom; for the Zoom link and the most up-to-date hours, please check our website! If Tarleton’s Career Cafe hours do not work for your schedule, you can also use VMock to electronically assess your resume and receive instant feedback and improvement suggestions! Additionally, if you would like to learn about resumes in more detail, you can attend one of our free Resume 1 & 2 Workshops or watch the same workshops any time on our Tarleton Careers YouTube Channel. Last but not least, the Book of Resumes is an excellent guide when creating or editing your resume as it is full of amazing tips, tricks, and guidelines for an awesome resume!
