resume help

RU OX Alum · #1 01-18-2010, 03:33 PM

I haven't really done one since I got my current job five years ago so...

what else should go on it??? I have my work history, going back as far as college interships and summer jobs, and some education history, like where I went to school.

Should I expand on these and try to list extracurriculars??
ETA: Should I tell about each specific position?? Or let them ask questions about it?
EATA: My contact info is on there. Should I list my email address? I guess so, huh?

thetygerlily · #2 01-18-2010, 03:55 PM

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.

Smile_Awhile · #3 01-18-2010, 04:05 PM

Playing off of the theme- I'm working on my first "real job" resume, and I'm kind of stuck. I'm applying for internships, so I definitely want to list my experience in leadership roles within my sorority and in student government. But I don't want to make it obnoxious. I don't have previous work experience except for retail work either, so... what would you do?

cheerfulgreek · #4 01-18-2010, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I haven't really done one since I got my current job five years ago so...

what else should go on it??? I have my work history, going back as far as college interships and summer jobs, and some education history, like where I went to school.

Should I expand on these and try to list extracurriculars??
ETA: Should I tell about each specific position?? Or let them ask questions about it?
EATA: My contact info is on there. Should I list my email address? I guess so, huh?

Well, I dunno, I guess the only advice I can give you is to first look to see if the company you're applying to has guidelines with regard to its applications and try to be specific by targeting one field. It's just that I wouldn't use one resume' for several different fields. I just wouldn't put so much on it that there's no white space. Quality is better than qauntity. There's people on here who know a lot more than I do about this, but I just thought I would help with a few things that I've learned. Good luck, I hope everything goes well for you.

RU OX Alum · #5 01-18-2010, 07:19 PM

thanks y'all, that'll get me started

AlphaFrog · #6 11-12-2010, 10:09 AM

Bump...

I'm helping a friend with her resumé....

I personally do not put "Interests" on my resumé. I might if they were relevant to the job I'm applying for, but that has yet to happen. I also usually end up rolling my eyes when I see them on resumés sent to me...especially if it's dumb stuff like "watching tv, video games and wrestling". So, basically, I'm against it.

The person that I'm helping is mainly looking at Admin positions. She listed her Interests as "Hospice Volunteer, Reading, Baking". It's also on page 2 in the center of the page beneath her education section and below that is half a blank page. I don't see a way to squish her resumé to a page without it, so it's not like it is causing it to spill to additional pages, it just looks to me to be more important than it is, even though the alternative is 3/4 of page 2 being blank, instead of half.

Thoughts, HR type people?

IrishLake · #7 11-12-2010, 10:16 AM

Find a way to get everything on one page, even if that means getting rid of the interests section. Nothing worse than a second page that isn't full!

DeltaBetaBaby · #8 11-12-2010, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Bump...

I'm helping a friend with her resumé....

I personally do not put "Interests" on my resumé. I might if they were relevant to the job I'm applying for, but that has yet to happen. I also usually end up rolling my eyes when I see them on resumés sent to me...especially if it's dumb stuff like "watching tv, video games and wrestling". So, basically, I'm against it.

The person that I'm helping is mainly looking at Admin positions. She listed her Interests as "Hospice Volunteer, Reading, Baking". It's also on page 2 in the center of the page beneath her education section and below that is half a blank page. I don't see a way to squish her resumé to a page without it, so it's not like it is causing it to spill to additional pages, it just looks to me to be more important than it is, even though the alternative is 3/4 of page 2 being blank, instead of half.

Thoughts, HR type people?

Useless filler. Hospice volunteer is interesting, and could easily be worked into an answer in an interview, but the other two tell me nothing about her as a candidate.