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| When we're not trying to claw each other's faces off, we occasionally pose for nice pictures. I'm the significantly better-looking one on the right. |
Last week, I went home for the long holiday weekend. It was a
wonderful vacation from campus, filled with reunions with old friends and plenty of those classic fall-in-New-England activities, and I also
got to see my twin brother. Our relationship isn’t exactly the best; I like to
think of it as your typical dysfunctional sibling rivalry with an unspoken but mutually agreed-upon ignorance of the other’s existence. During one of the two forced
conversations we had all weekend, he mentioned that he had missed the application deadline
for an internship he really wanted because he had no idea how to write a
resume. The combination of my shock at this notion (perhaps intensified because
of my employment at the Career Center) and my not-so-subconscious desire to
prove myself more knowledgeable than him caused me to offer him a few quick
tips about writing a resume. A quick poll of my friends back at Tufts made me realize, however, that a decent amount of college students struggle with this. So, this post will cover the basics of resume-writing, and is dedicated to my brother Ryan.
The resume is the main weapon in a job-seeker’s arsenal—it’s
what gets you in the door for an interview. When done well, your resume can be
a succinct, organized self-advertisement that highlights your key skills and
experiences. It’s an intimidating concept to many young adults: summarizing your
accomplishments on a single sheet of paper is daunting, to say the least.
However, the following tips can help your resume stand out among others and
ensure that you are presented to employers in a clear and professional manner.
Quick tips for writing a resume:
Format matters. Most employers will only devote 6 seconds (!!!) to scanning your resume, which means readability and visual appeal are key. It’s important to use an easy-to-read font and include headings to separate the different sections of the resume. These
sections should include contact information, education, experience, and skills
(this is not an exhaustive list—other sections can be present). Also, for most undergraduates, it’s best to stick to one page. Put the most recent (which are usually the most relevant) jobs and leadership roles first, and continue in reverse chronological order. You can check out some sample formats
from the Career Center here.
Highlight your skills. Even if you don’t think you have significant skills,
it’s important to demonstrate to your employers that you’ve done more with your
life than watch all ten seasons of Friends six times over (my personal record as of
summer 2014—I’m still going too). If you’re a first- or second-year college
student, it’s okay to include activities you participated in during high
school, especially if they illustrate the transferable skills that all employers seek. Talk with a Career
Counselor if you need help articulating these skills—they’re happy to
help!
Use action verbs. When discussing your roles and
responsibilities in prior jobs, internships, and extracurricular activities,
use action verbs in your descriptions and avoid complete sentences. This way,
the employer can formulate an image of you performing these duties in a professional
setting. It makes a much more lasting impression to say “managed budget of
Pre-Medical Society for the 2013-2014 academic year” than “I served as the
treasurer for the 2013-2014 academic year, which entailed managing the club’s
budget and attending TCU Senate meetings”. See a list of action verbs here if
you’re struggling with the proper word choice.
Make it special. Not all jobs are created equal. For the
most part, your resume will have the same basic format for every job you apply
for, but it might be helpful to tailor your resume to each different position.
Read the job description first, and understand what the employer is looking
for. Then, try to show that you meet these qualifications through your
experiences and skills. If a job calls for strong leadership abilities, you
might want to include any positions on club executive boards or in Greek
organizations you’ve held; at the same time, it might not be as important to
mention that you’re a four-year Math Olympiad. This is a great thing to put on
your resume, but it takes a back seat to other experiences that more closely
resemble the job description. Take this into account before you email the same resume to 10 different job openings!
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| Yikes. |
SPELL CHECK. You’ve put in real effort and time into
crafting your beautiful resume. The last thing you want to do is have your good
impression ruined by something as simple and avoidable as a spelling or
grammatical error. Have your roommate, friend, parent, or a career advisor give it a read so that as many eyes approve of your resume as
possible. They’ll catch things you might not have noticed, and could really
save you in the long run!
As always, here comes my weekly plug for the Career Center.
Their website has a plethora of resources for students on how to write resumes,
including a few educational videos and format samples. It may seem scary at first,
but writing a resume doesn’t have to be as painful as it’s made out to be.
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
P.S. Ryan, this counts as your Christmas present for this year.
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
P.S. Ryan, this counts as your Christmas present for this year.
