Thursday, October 24, 2013

7 Resume Tips (That You’ve Probably Heard Already But Are Worth Mentioning Again)

As an MBA career management advisor for the past three years at McCombs, I’ve seen my share of bad resumes. With that in mind, below are some basic tips I typically suggest to students that will quickly help you to enhance your resume and the value it has to potential employers.


1. Tailor Content – You may have heard the old adage that your resume should be tailored to your audience, which is true. But does that mean each resume requires a complete overhaul? Absolutely not. Customizing your resume may simply entail reordering or swapping out bullet points. Remember, a resume is a summary of your relevant experience, not necessarily all of it.


2. Emphasize Results – Simply put, your resume is more than just a summary of what you’ve done in the past. A recruiter wants to know not only what you did, but whether or not you generated results from your work. Therefore, stay away from bullet points that read like job descriptions and input results wherever possible. If the person replacing you in a previous job of yours can copy and paste your resume bullet points to their resume, that’s probably a sign your bullet points read like a job description.


3. Avoid Redundancy – Think of each line on your resume as a valuable piece of real estate. With that in mind, consider the incremental value that each line on your resume provides for you as a candidate. If you have performed the same task in multiple roles, is it necessary to list that same task more than once on your resume? Likely not.


4. Show Balance – As a frequent resume reader myself, I want to see a “balanced” candidate – one that has not only been strong in the classroom and in the workplace, but someone who has participated in extracurricular activities and has unique interests outside of work. Consider creating an “Additional” section to detail your extracurricular activities and unique interests for use as a potential conversation starter with an employer.


5. Utilize White Space – Great resume content can only be great if a reader can easily access it. That’s where resume readability comes into play. In addition to following the content guidance above, don’t forget to use your white space effectively. A resume is not about cramming as much you can onto the page. Rather, give your content some space to breathe.


6. Enlist Proofreaders - Perhaps the most important element of a resume is that is free of errors. A single spelling, grammatical, or formatting error can result in your resume being thrown into the garbage. Don’t let that happen to you. Have multiple individuals proofread your resume.


7. Convey Personal Brand – What do you think of when you think of great global brands like Apple, Nike, or Google? What words come to mind? Now, when a recruiter reads your resume, what words do you want to come to their mind? Remember, a recruiter may only look at your resume for 30 seconds or less. Suggestion? Have a peer give your resume a 30-second review and see if the words you want to pop for a reader actually do.


I hope you find the tips above to be helpful. Remember, your resume is important, but it’s only one data point for you as a candidate. I recommend creating multiple touch points (hint: networking!) with an employer to demonstrate your interest and fit as well as reduce the “burden” on your resume.


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7 Resume Tips (That You’ve Probably Heard Already But Are Worth Mentioning Again)