As the school year comes to a close, university students begin to think about summer plans. For many, this means applying for summer jobs. When I began seeking employment last summer, I found that my resume was not where it needed to be. Up until that point, I had been using the one I made in my grade 10 Careers class. While I didn’t need to start from scratch, I did need to tweak a few things. Using the template of my old resume, I made a new one that complimented my post-secondary education – the following tips made a huge difference!
1. Limit it to one page
My high school resume was filled with flowery and unnecessary descriptions of my experience. This caused it to be nearly three pages long. I’ve learned that employers don’t want to sift through pages of writing – they want to take a quick glance and get an impression.
2. Use a simple design
In my experience, employers don’t care how aesthetically pleasing a resume is. Visually packed layouts can distract from the important information. So, unless you’re applying to a specialty job that requires a creative resume – keep it simple.
3. Link your LinkedIn
In today’s world, almost everything is done online. If you have a LinkedIn – or any other professional platform – list it on your resume! This way, your employer can get a closer look at who you are and the work you do.
4. Order matters
Something I wasn’t aware of is that the order of a resume matters. Although I placed my experiences in random sequences in my high school resume, I made sure to include the most relevant experiences at the top of my new resume.
5. Explain how
On my high school resume, I would say things like “collaborated with others in an effective manner”. I’ve since realized that this is incredibly broad. Instead, try offering concrete examples of how you did what you did. Quanitfy your impact to show rather than tell.
Hopefully, these tips will help you land your dream summer – good luck on the job hunt!