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According to Business Insider, “It takes recruiters an average of “six seconds before they make the initial ‘fit or no fit’ decision” on candidates based on resumes”. Having an impressive resume should be the first thing on your list of things to have when networking, interviewing and applying for jobs. It can make or break whether you get an interview, or even get the job! Follow these steps to have the best resume possible:
The Header
The header of your resume should include your:
- Name – bigger and bolder than the first of the header
- Address – if the job is at school – use your school address, if it closer to home – use your home address
- Email – create a professional personal email if you don’t have one – not a school email and not your teenage girl email
- Phone number
- LinkedIn – if you don’t have a LinkedIn account, now is the time to get one!
Tip: If you are a creative person and are applying for a creative job (marketing, event planning, graphic design, etc.) you may want to have a something creative in your header. This could be a clean design or your initials in a box in the corner, something to show your creativity. If this does not apply to you, keep your resume simple and to the point.
Education
This step should be pretty simple. You should include:
- The name of your school
- Your major (“Bachelor of Science/Arts in…”) and minor (if applicable)
- Graduation or expected graduation date
Tip: If you have a good GPA (say 3.0 or above), include it in your resume. If not, skip it and wait to see if they ask you about it in an interview.
Experience:
This step is the hardest part of any resume. I think it is best to start out by making a list of all the jobs, positions, roles, etc. that you have had and categorize them by certain skills. Ex: Front Desk Agent and Hostess could both go under Customer Service Experience. If you held large positions in campus organizations, those could go under “Leadership Experience”.
Once you have a solid list and categories, be sure to include:
- Position Title, Place of Work
- The date you started the job and stopped it (if you are currently in the role, write “Present”)
- A few bullet points describing what you did in your role (use the same tense for each bullet – Ex: Wash dishes, Washed dishes)
Tip: Taylor your experience sections to things you want your potential employer to notice! If you’re interested in a Marketing position and have Marketing experience, use that as a section!
Example:
Customer Service Experience
Front Desk Agent, Hyatt Regency – Lexington, KY May 2016 – August 2016
- Greeted customers at the front desk
- Assisted customers with the check-in process
- Provided support to customer complaints and issues
Hostess, Cracker Barrel – Lexington, KY September 2016 – Present
- Greeted customers at the hostess stand
- Helped customers to their seats
- Organized front desk stand for managers and other staff
Finally, be sure to include a sentence at the end that says, “References available upon request”.
Good luck on all your job applications!