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The Resume: If done right, it's your ticket in the door. If done wrong, it's your ticket to No-Where Ville. Consider these tips below to help you develop a resume that will knock the socks off any potential employer. Format
Use Microsoft Word, not Quark or other random format. Nine out of ten people don't have Quark, especially if you're dealing with the Human Resource Department. This is not the time to differentiate yourself, save that for the interview.
Choose an easy-to-read font that is standard on most computers. (i.e. Helvetica or Arial). If you've selected a font that is not loaded on a hiring managers computer, it will default to another choice that may cause spacing and style issues.
Be consistent. Keep an eye out for consistent spacing, use of italics and/or bold and punctuation. If you include periods on the first bulleted list, include it on ALL bulleted lists.
Keep creativity to a minimum. It's very tempting to include creative fonts and/or graphics on your resume, but unless you're a designer (and even if you are), leave the creativity for your portfolio. Resumes should be clean and professional, not a character statement.
Have at least two other people proof your resume. You've looked at it long enough and chances are, you'll miss any spelling errors or typos.
Content
Consider eliminating the Objective statement. It's a textbook resume element, however Objective statements are often limiting and unnecessary. It's also the quickest way for your resume to end up in the circular file because your objective "isn't the right fit for this job".
Eschew verbose and byzantine words and phrases. See what we mean? Big words don't make you look smarter, they make the reader feel dumb. Keep it clean and concise.
Check the verb tenses. Here's an easy one that is wrong 9 times out of 10. Current jobs should be described in the present tense. Previous jobs should be described in the past tense.
Be brief in your descriptions. Your resume is only a summary of your work history. You'll need something to talk about in your interview so don't spill all the beans on your resume.
Leave the personal pronouns at home. I, we and you are not appropriate for a resume. In the end, all the extra words needed to support the personal pronouns waste precious real estate space on the page.
Don't include salary info. Again, here's another perfect example that could take you out of the running before you ever had a chance to interview. If a company requests this information, you can include it in the cover letter.
Don't lie! You'd be amazed at the stuff people check up on these days. It's ok to highlight certain job responsibilities, etc., but don't exaggerate dates employed or job titles. It will catch up with you.
Attention Designers: Include your personal portfolio link and/or links to sites you have completed.
Contact Information
Include an email address. If you are unable to use your work email, sign up for a free email account via the Internet. Don't forget to check the account regularly! If you take more than a day to respond, the company may think you are not interested and move onto another candidate.
Attention Designers: Buy your own URL. There's nothing that says "amateur" more than an online design portfolio who's URL ends with ../freeware/members/users/johndoe/designs.html. You're automatically launched into the upper-echelon of designers with your very own www.johndoe-design.com. A URL costs only $70. Save up for it if you have to.
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