Resume Building: Making Yours Stand Out

    Whether you're a recent college graduate trying for that dream job or a lowly freshman looking for extra money, every student knows how hard it is to compete for jobs in these economic times. Having an effective resume could be that giant step that sets you apart from the crowds and gets your foot in the door! Below are a few tips that will help you write that eye-catching and job-getting resume.

Organize Strategically 
     
     Though it can depend on the job you are striving for, most fields of work stick to the following seven categories to organize resumes:

• Heading-  This includes your name and contact information (Address, email, phone number) usually centered on the top of the page.  
• Job Objective-  This section is a one to two sentence description of your career goals. This can be omitted if it will limit the kinds of jobs you qualify for. 
• Education-  This portion summarizes any educational experience you may have, starting with college.
• Employment Experience-  Here, all paid and unpaid work experience should be outlined chronologically beginning with the most recent. 
• Related Skills and Abilities-  This is the space to write all other relevant abilities not exhibited by the education or employment experience sections. 
• Honors and Achievements-  All relevant extracurricular activities, awards, and professional affiliations are listed in this portion. 
• References-  This section lists persons with whom you have some professional or educational connection and are willing to testify for your good work. 

     Going off of this template can get you started, but to really make your resume shine, think about what skills are going to matter most to whomever will be reviewing your resume. Are you applying for a job in which a certain college education is crucial? Emphasize this part of your experience. Is work experience more important for the job you are seeking? Make the "Employment Experience" the first section that your possible employer sees.


Write Professionally
  
     Though organizing your content is key to a good resume, any irrelevant, unprofessional, or error-filled writing will cause a possible employer to lose interest. It's important to understand what to include in each of the resume categories and how to include it. The following are tips found in Writing that Works that explain how you should decide what details to include:

• Eliminate irrelevant information-  Employers don't need to know your hobbies or interests that don't pertain to the job. If you are applying for a secretary position, your years of dance training are not relevant.
• Eliminate wordiness-  In business, time is money, so your resume should be as short and skimmable as possible. Keep out unnecessary adverbs ("very," "interestingly"), redundant words, or throat-clearing phrases ("The fact that," "It is").
• Be consistent-  Use the same format, punctuation, and spacing throughout the resume. If you choose to make your headings bold, be sure to do so throughout the entire document. 
• Proofread carefully- Verify the accuracy of the information, and have at least one over person look over your resume. Any careless mistakes will cause possible employers to take you much less seriously.