6 Ways to Ramp Up Your Resume

By Victoria Robertson on April 28, 2017

May is literally less than a week away, and for many of us, that means graduation is just around the corner. But for most graduates, that feels so far off and you aren’t nearly well-enough prepared for it, especially those that are going to find themselves on the job market.

For some, the search has already begun, but for others, hunting for a job is going to be a full-time commitment upon graduation, and though there are usually campus resources to assist in this search, for the most part, you’re on your own.

For this reason, it’s important that you have a killer resume that says all you need it to, as that’s going to be your initial foot in the door. As most college graduates will be entering the workforce without any true experience, your resume presentation is key to succeeding.

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So, here are six tips to not only help you build the perfect resume but to consequentially land you your dream job!

1. Include your contact information

Simply put, this is the way that employers and recruiters are going to get a hold of you; if you don’t include your contact information, they have no way to reach out to you.

That being said, be sure you’re including your phone number and your email address, as typically email is a great way for them to send over job descriptions while they can give you a call to discuss your background and conduct phone interviews etc.

2. Be consistent

When looking at resumes, one of the most frustrating things to find is that the individual is not consistent with how they list their employment history. If you are making the company name bold and putting the dates of employment underneath for one position, be sure that you’re doing the exact same for every other position as well.

Also, be sure to use the same font, font sizes, and spacing throughout your resume, as employers do notice these small differences, and it can show that you’re unorganized or lazy. So be consistent and clean in writing up your resume.

3. Don’t overdo it

One of the mistakes I see the most often is writing a resume that’s too long. Ideally, you’re looking at 1-2 pages, maximum. Your resume should not have to be stapled together: it should be short, sweet, and to the point.

Basically, you aren’t writing a narrative; you’re briefly outlining your experience. You don’t have to write every task you’ve ever done, but rather a broad overview, highlighting the important skills that are going to make you marketable.

4. Don’t make grammatical errors

You’re sick of hearing it by now, but it’s true: check your work. Grammatical errors on a resume look like you either didn’t put enough effort into it or didn’t care enough to spell check, and either is bad for your job search.

So take the extra five minutes, re-read your resume, and fix any grammatical errors. It also helps to have a friend, roommate, family member or even counselor take a look and proofread, as a second opinion never hurts.

5. Don’t include everything

Going along the lines of making it short, your resume should not include every job you’ve ever had. Don’t include your high school work experience (unless it’s absolutely relevant).

Your resume is a great place to showcase your college internships or other relevant positions, honors and/or associations you were a part of.

Granted, you won’t have a lot of experience to include, but this isn’t an invitation to include your high school babysitting jobs — think about what’s relevant to the position you’re targeting and go from there.

6. Skip the mission/objective statement

You’ll hear a lot of different advice on this, but my recommendation is to skip the mission statement altogether for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, it’s unnecessary. Many employers ask for a cover letter, and that is where this information would be included.

On the other hand, it’s irrelevant. You’re sending in your resume because you’re looking for a job — there’s no reason to reiterate that in writing. Instead, utilize this space to list your competencies and skills as they relate to the position.

Of course, these are just a few tips meant to get you started and help you to organize your resume, but there’s plenty more information out there for you on the internet or through the guidance of a career counselor.

No matter the path, so long as you take some time to map out your resume and to proofread it, you’ll be several steps ahead of your classmates when it comes to beginning your job search following graduation.

So get to typing because your dream job is just around the corner and you now have an upper hand!

Happy hunting!

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