The job prob
An expert edits your résumé
EXPERTS:
- Paul Goodrick, Career Advisor, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario
- Jana McDonald, Career Advisor, University of Guelph, Ontario
Many of us have stared at the screen, willing vague experiences and anxious words to form into a compelling statement of how suitable we are for the job. But often, the result doesn’t work for employers—which means it doesn’t work for us.
To fix up your resumé, follow these tips and check out our resumé makeover (below).
studentvoice
MAKE THE LIST
- Make a detailed list of all your professional, educational, and extracurricular experiences. This exercise will help you remember everything you have done.
- Save this list. It might be useful if you need to fill out a form for your complete work history.
- Pick out the best stuff: everything that’s relevant to your intended career.
Now you’re ready to start making this look fancy.
WHAT TO SPOTLIGHT
Make this info very easy to find. This is what people who look at resumés focus on:
- Your name
- Your education, with dates
- Your current job, with dates
- Your previous jobs, with dates
WHAT TO INCLUDE
- Specific accomplishments, quantified wherever possible.
- “The resumé should be concise and visually appealing. It needs to highlight one’s ability and experience,” says John Mitteregger, Director of Employment Services and Programs at Job Skills, a community-based employment agency in Ontario.
- Remember, there are other ways (including cover letters and interviews) to present what isn’t on your resumé.
WHAT TO AVOID
- These are the 10 most overused buzzwords, according to the career networking site LinkedIn: innovative, motivated, results-oriented, dynamic, proven track record, team player, fast-paced, problem solver, and entrepreneurial.
- Terms like “references available upon request” are implied. Delete them to save space.
- Typos. No self-respecting resumé can recover from a typo. Find a detail-oriented friend to proofread your resumé bottom-to-top. Then do it again.
- Unnecessary details or too much information. “This may lead an employer astray,” says Kara Renaud, Career Services Resource Coordinator at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
KEEP IT SIMPLE AND EASY TO SCAN
- Use bulleted lists instead of paragraph descriptions, and differentiate each section with a heading.
- Use a conventional font like Helvetica or Century Gothic.
- Don’t put a border around the page.
- Don’t include a photo, unless you’re an aspiring actor or model.
WHAT THIS RÉSUMÉ GETS WRONG
This resumé makeover is based on a resumé submitted by an undergraduate in Canada.
LENGTH
This candidate used an oversized heading with a large font, which created a resumé that extends onto two pages. One page is usually appropriate for a student resumé. This resumé is too long. It should include:
- A substantial summary section
- More detail on education
- More succinct and relevant information about work
LACKS SPECIFIC DATES
Not including dates for some jobs makes it difficult to know how much experience you’ve had. Be consistent in the way you include information.
FONT
The heading is too large, taking up unnecessary space. A general recommendation for heading font size is two sizes larger than the body font.
FILLER TEXT
Every bullet in your resumé should have a purpose. Do not pad your resumé with filler material or repetitive text just to make it longer. “The focus should be on the quality and relevance of your accomplishments, not quantity,” says Kara Renaud.
BARE-BONES JOB DESCRIPTION
Just saying what you did does not set you apart from all the other candidates. Consider adding numbers and statistics to quantify your contribution.
WHAT THIS RÉSUMÉ GETS RIGHT
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
When a recruiter or employer reviews your resumé, within the first few seconds they should have a clear understanding of the type of position you are targeting. The best and most modern way to accomplish this is by writing a summary section. This is sometimes called a Career Objective statement.
The summary section should include:
- The type of work you’re seeking
- The specific job or field
- The skills you’re contributing
- The value of those skills to the company
“This section can take up a lot of space and is often poorly written. Many of these details are included in a cover letter and can be removed from the resumé. However, if there is no cover letter, a Career Objective statement is necessary.”
- Kara Renaud, Career Services Resource Coordinator at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario
“Availability is often the most important thing for retail or food service jobs. Consider adding an availability chart at the bottom of the page.”
- Paul Goodrick, Career Advisor at Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario
BE SELECTIVE
A resumé is a marketing document. If a piece of data you are including is not relevant to the type of work you’re seeking, there is no harm in leaving it off.
This is especially true of volunteer work, training you have completed, or other activities. If you keep it in, find a way that does not dilute the focus of your resumé.
NOT TOO SELECTIVE
Don’t leave out relevant experience, accomplishments, and credentials just to make your resumé shorter.
If you really need two pages to persuasively illustrate to the employer that you are the best candidate for the job, write a two-page resumé. Consider adding transferrable and technical skills to show a well-rounded skill base.
DEMO YOUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR CAREER GOALS
Include on your resumé:
- Courses that are relevant to the work you are targeting
- Relevant projects and extracurricular activities
- Memberships of relevant professional organizations (to enhance your credibility)
SPECIFIC DATES & LAYOUT
If you are still working on your degree, say: “Graduation anticipated 2016” (or whatever year).
Layout essentials
- Add space between sections
- Use bullet points
- Use different size fonts:
- 14-16pt for headings
- 12pt for primary text
- 10-11pt for bullet points
- Consider elements like horizontal lines, shading, columns, or other design elements. But make sure it looks professional, not cluttered.
DEMO YOUR POSITIVE TRAITS IN ACTION
Use examples from your work history or your education.
For example: “Organized the filing system at the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA), creating two additional hours of staff time daily.”
FOCUS ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Show how your employer benefited from your work. For some positions, this can be challenging, but you should still make an effort. On what factors was your performance assessed? How did you know you were doing a good job? What did you improve?
For example, don’t just write, “Assisted with daily cleaning.” Instead: “Assisted with daily cleaning, providing a more sanitary environment to animals, and enabling veterinarians and veterinary technicians to spend more time providing care.”
Bulleted accomplishment statements are more user-friendly than paragraphs.
studentvoice
