I've been applying to several internships and of course they always ask for my resume. But then I got to thinking, how many resumes are they receiving and how many are they actually looking at? Usually for popular internship programs you submit your resume within an internet database, which somehow sorts out the good candidates from the bad candidates. Have you ever wondered how these recruiters find your resume out the thousands they receive everyday? How can you stand out among thousands of other candidates? Is it just luck? This post will explain how you can make your resume stand out in online resume drops and in person. Whether you want to demonstrate your creative side, or just learn simple steps to make your resume more likely to get in the actual hands of a recruiter, this post is for you!
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| Source "Make sure your resume has the best chance of getting you an interview!" |
Internet Resume Drops
A majority of companies today are using online databases as the primary way for candidates to apply for positions. What I find a little scary about this is that anyone can search for the job and apply and therefore have the same chances of their resume getting picked by a recruiter. Out of the millions of people around the world who can submit a resume for these jobs, how does the database work to get the best candidates to recruiters simply based off a text resume. I call this the "Machine to Human Bridge."
Before your resume hopefully reaches human hands, a machine carefully scans it for keywords, education, skills, and experience that correlate with a certain algorithm set up by the company. What's unfortunate about this is that if you have a resume that is impressive but doesn't correlate at all with the job description, your resume will be cast aside immediately, and probably never looked at again. :(
According to this post, The Killer Resume: How to Get Hired by the Machines written by Cindy Perrman, there are several steps you can take to make sure this doesn't happen to you. Here is a list of some suggestions for making sure your digital resume reaches human eyes:
- List your professional skills
- Match the job requirements with your resume- Look at 10 job listings related to the same field and write down commonly used words that the resume machines might be looking for
- Use TagCrowd to see what words recruiters will associate your name with
- Use strictly Arial/Times New Roman- these are machines, don't confuse them with stylish fonts, or artistic bullets!
Saving Multiple Resumes
Make sure that you look over your resume to shape it to fit each internship/job you are applying for. This is vital, especially if you don't have a contact within the company who is looking out for application. I have a number of resumes saved on my computer by date. Often when submitting resumes to a database they ask for you to have it in a certain format, so make sure you're organized and label them correctly so you don't send the wrong resume to a company.
Templates
So here is the fun stuff! While I want you to ensure you have the right vocabulary, this doesn't mean you can't have a visually appealing resume. Making your resume pop to recruiters can show your creativity and fun side rather than having a boring text resume for will only appeal to the machines. So let's get crafty! Here is a Buzzfeed article with links to resume templates that will give your resume the makeover it needs. I've yet to submit a resume with a design like this, but hey, you never know if one of these templates will give you a slight edge over other candidates, especially important if you are looking into creative fields such as media, architecture, graphic design, or other art-based industries.
Do's and Don'ts
Alright don't get too crazy! Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when giving your resume that makeover it so desperately needs. Remember as the great Tyra once said, "Once you plant the tree of success your tree will bear FIERCE fruit."So be FIERCE y'all!
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- Dos
- Use a template for reference. Check out the Career Center for examples for specific industries!
- Leave some white space: Highlight job titles and locations with BOLD or Italics. Make sure you practice the same pattern throughout the entire document.
- Get creative, while staying professional
- If submitting online save your resume as a PDF, this ensures the formatting remains the same regardless of what program the recruiter's database uses
- Use action words! Current jobs/activities should be present tense and previous roles should be in the past tense
- Use numbers to measure your performance! This helps employers understand exactly how effective your performance was
- Don'ts
- Have typos. This goes without saying! Make sure someone proofreads your resume, whether it's a roommate or a parent. Check out the Tufts Career Center calendar for resume critiques and drop in hours
- Don't be too bland, set yourself apart from other applicants
- Don't emphasize skills you have that you aren't interested in using
- Don't fluff! Be succinct in your word selection, and make sure it is exactly what you did at that job
- Don't use personal pronouns
Alright guys, that's about all I can cover to make sure that you have America's Next Top Resume. Remember that it's not all about the looks, but also your ability to communicate your personal brand that will set you apart from other applicants. Good luck out there!
Carpe Diem,
Nicole Brooks
Class of 2016
