backwards to look for spelling and grammatical errors. Always check for errors. Do not rely on spell check. A resume must be error free. After you complete your resume, the next step is to have the resume critiqued by a Career Services professional. The staff member will check for errors that you may have overlooked and will give you suggestions to improve your resume. Recommendations for Achieving a Professional- Looking Resume Things to do: • DO use Microsoft Word to create your resume. • DO be concise and truthful and match your skills to each position you apply to. • DO make sure the resume matches the job you are seeking. • DO use white 8½" x 11" paper printed on one side only. • DO use standard type fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Garamond or Times New Roman. • DO use a font size of 11 to 12 points and up to 16 points for your name. • DO use bold, underline or all capital letters for section headings. • DO use a standard address format below your name. • DO list address, phone numbers, email and website on their own line. • DO use margins that offer enough white space to facilitate easy reading. It is suggested the margins be a minimum of ½ inch on all sides. • DO align your bullet points. • DO have your employment history listed in reverse chronological order. In most cases, 10 years of employment history is sufficient. If you have questions about your employment history, contact a Career Services professional for suggestions. Things not to do: • DO NOT use templates . They tend to produce identical-looking resumes. They lack flexibility and will not allow you to edit, delete or add information easily. Templates often do not upload properly. • DO NOT use headers or footers.
• DO NOT use abbreviations or trade terminology unless they are used in the job posting. • DO NOT use first-person language (I or me). • DO NOT condense spacing between letters. • DO NOT use fancy formatting, such as shadows and reverses (a white letter on a black background) or graphics, as these do not scan well. • DO NOT use a font smaller than 11 points. • DO NOT use italics unless you are including titles of books, plays, video games, movies or other creative works. Additional Tips to Improve Your Resume • Use enough keywords to define your skills, experience, education and professional affiliations. • Describe your experience with concrete words rather than vague descriptions. For example, it is better to use “managed a team of three software engineers” than “responsible for managing software engineers” • A one-page resume is suggested for recent graduates. Adjusting margins and line spacing is permissible to get everything on one page. • If necessary, your resume may be up to two pages. If your resume is two pages, make sure the second page has a heading with your name and page 2. • Increase your usage of keywords by including specific words related to your career and to those used in the job posting. • Describe your interpersonal traits and give examples. Keywords could include dependable (100% attendance) and skilled in time management (managed a part-time job successfully while attending school as a full- time student and achieved a 4.0 GPA). • All bullet points should begin with an action word. (See page 18 for some examples.) Proofread carefully to ensure all verbs are in the correct tense and in agreement. • Include quantitative (numbers, percentages and financial statistics) information to describe your skills, experience and accomplishments. (Example: Expanded sales territory and developed 29 new accounts, which resulted in an annual increase of $450,000 of revenue for the company).
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