Resume Tools

Your resume serves as both your calling card and history for a job, so make sure yours is thorough, impeccably neat, and proofed by a professional. These additional guidelines will help you create a resume that not only gets noticed, but gets the job.

• Your resume should be printed on 8.5 x 11, high-quality paper. Use black ink only, and try to limit your resume to two pages.
• Choose a font that is classic and easy to read. Depending on the font selected, the font size for the body of your resume should be between 10 and 12 point. For most fonts, 11-point is an ideal size.
• Your name should be located at the top of your resume, along with contact information (name, address, phone number(s), and email address).
• Make sure all word choices and sentence/phrase structure are easy to comprehend, clear, and accurate.
• When possible, use bullet points as opposed to paragraphs. This will help your resume be more readable.
• Begin with a specific objective. Focus on what type of position you are seeking by including your preferred job type and job industry.
• The Objective is generally followed by a Summary section. This makes up the body of the resume, and includes sections that support your objective, such as Education, Experience and Work History. You can also include Activities, Volunteer Work, etc.
• When highlighting Experience and Work History, list them in chronological order, beginning with the most recent. Prioritize other sections by importance and relevance to the job you want.
• Use powerful adjectives and verbs that match the level of the position you want.
• Proofread your resume thoroughly. Make absolutely sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Even one misspelled word can discredit your entire resume.
• Have someone else proofread your resume for grammatical errors, clarity, and effectiveness. Give the person five seconds to look over your resume. The information that they gather within five seconds should be the main points you are trying to convey.