Thread: resume help
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Old 01-18-2010, 03:55 PM
thetygerlily thetygerlily is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2003
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Speaking as a former recruiter... only list older things (internships, summer jobs, etc) if they are relevant to your position. You can define relevance however you want- for example, when I applied to be a recruiter I kept every customer service role, but dropped off the time I spent as a gardener. If you list extracurriculars, just keep it as one or two lines at the bottom of your resume labeled as "Interests" or something similar.

Although they suck to write (at least for me!), a 4-5 line summary at the top of your resume is one of your best selling points. It allows the reader to get a quick view of who you are and what you can do. They can figure out that you're detail oriented after they read several lines of experience, but why not just be up front and tell them? It'll make both of your lives easier. Some figures say that a resume reviewer spends between 30 seconds to a minute per resume... some less, some more. I always spent more because I wanted to be sure I really understood the person before talking to them. But the majority of recruiters really go by a quick glance gut check. With that, be as concise but detailed as possible Always start your experience lines with action-oriented ownership words- something that shows what you did and how you were responsible. Things like "Created, Established, Owned, Audited, Wrote" and so on.

Oh, and the kicker- keep all of your verb tenses the same. Either pick all past, or all present. It doesn't matter which, just pick one and go with it. If you have inconsistencies in tense, typos, etc in your resume the reviewer will click "Next" pretty darn quickly.

YMMV, especially dependent on the industry. But good luck!

ETA: I would generally recommend that a resume be 1-2 pages, and no longer unless you are ridiculously amazing AND all of the experience directly applies to what you're applying for. Don't force your resume to fit on one page if it means size 7 font, quarter inch borders, and so on. Yes- that happens! You'd be amazed at what people will submit. 5+ years of experience, 1.5-2 pages is probably good for you. If you can get it down to 1 great, but don't stress over it unless the application specifically gives you a limit.
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Last edited by thetygerlily; 01-18-2010 at 03:58 PM.
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