Resumes shouldn’t be dreaded, but everyone should always have one ready to go when opportunity calls. You really never know how complicated writing one can be until you have to do it. A resume is essentially a tool that outlines your education, accomplishments, skills, and experiences demonstrating your potential. Whether it’s for a scholarship, internship or for an employer, it needs to be comprehensive enough to fit any application. If you’re looking to give your resume a makeover, HCUGA has you covered with a few tips to help you improve your resume.
1. State your objective – Why do you want this position? What are you looking to obtain from this position? Knowing the answer to these questions can help you state your objective at the beginning of your resume. The objective does not have to be long, a few strong sentences should do.
2. Have your information – Your resume should always stay updated with everything you have done that will enhance your candidacy. Gather all the information that will be included in your resume so you don’t risk forgetting anything important.
3. Have a format in mind – It’s great to be creative and employers love to see creativity, but never forget that simplicity is key. Employers will lose interest if they have a resume too complex and, unfortunately, your application is short-lived. If you prefer to do a creative resume approach, always have a traditional format on hand. Resumes often lose their original format when you upload them to websites; prevent that from happening by sticking with the basics.
4. Use action verbs—Resumes are tricky at times because you have to limit descriptions of your experiences to a single sentence or even a few words. Start off strong by using action verbs to begin your sentences. Every single bullet is important, make it count and stand out. Begin by using a verb that speaks volume of what you did. Here is an example: Created multimedia content, such as 4 videos edited in Final Cut Pro and 6 graphics created in Photoshop uploaded to HerCampus.com
5. Pay attention to details – Details are everything in a resume. But try to avoid clustering too much information under each experience. It’s important to be descriptive but think of each bullet as a written elevator pitch and list what you can about your accomplishments in one to three bullet points. This will work well if you have a vast amount of relevant professional experience.
6. Be clear, concise and confident – This is your resume and what you will be using to market yourself to other people. Your resume speaks for you. Don’t leave it up to the person reading your resume to make sense of what you’re trying to say.
7. Proofread! – Always make sure there are absolutely no grammatical errors or mistakes, but, most importantly, make sure it’s readable. Go over your resume as many times as you need to until it’s perfect. Take it a step further and hand it over to a professor, mentor or friend and have them constructively review your resume. Don’t let the person reviewing your resume see your mistakes before your talents.
Have a feeling you could use some of these tips to enhance your resume? Put it to action! Don’t take for the granted the resources we have here at UGA; set up an appointment with a career consultant at the Career Center. Between these tips and what the Career Center can offer you, your resume will be the crème of crop. Good luck!