Resume Writing

Last week in class, we were talking about resumes. Our resumes are due this week in class, which made me think about how my current resume could be improved. Things we talked about included:

• Creativity - How do you make your resume stand out compared to others?
• Organization - Hierarchy of font size/boldness and sub-sections as well as dividers are important
• Personalization - How will your employer get to know you through your resume?
• Language - Never use full sentences and be concise and to the point
• Inclusion - What do we include?

The answers to these questions really helped me revise the boring resume I had earlier. By creatively integrating color/line/font size and anything that can make yourself different from others just by looking at the resume without reading it could make a difference. I added a few rectangular boxes to my resume in order to help with organization and add a tiny bit of transparent color. Organizing your information can be the difference between being on the top of the pile and being in the garbage. If your employer can read your resume easily, quickly and accurately in one swipe, you have succeeded in resume writing. I tried my best to use bold fonts for my headings and larger fonts to show the headings and what went underneath them. Using a line, I was able to separate the sections of my resume easily. In order to personalize my resume, I tried to include some information about myself in my objective instead of having a separate section that described myself. In class we also suggested that the information in your resume with personalize your document and will stand out according to it's information. The language we use should be concise and informative while remaining formal. Using complete sentences takes too long for the employer to read, so fragments are okay to use as long as they make sense. Things one can include in a resume are:

• Name (always larger so they remember and notice it)
• Contact Information
• Objective
• Education
• Related Expereiences
• Job Experiences
• Volunteer Expereinces
• Creative Skills
• Special Skills
• Qualifications
• Extra Activities (especially for those right out of college)
• References (including your references saves the employer from another step of asking you for them - always let your references know you put them as one!)

All of these things do not have to be included, but give some ideas of what can be. Of course you will need your name, contact information and so on, but things like creative skills and qualifications don't always need their own heading.

Here is a look at my revised resume: