What post-college skills do you possess that are attractive to a company looking to hire a professional? It may seem that the skills you currently have are minimal. During your course work, have you led or participated in a group project, written an essay, or completed a major assignment? All of these things demonstrate your ability to perform as a professional. If you also worked a part-time job, the skills you gained while working can also be included on your resume.
The format of a resume is as important as the content of the resume. Recruiters review thousands of resumes. Time is of the essence, and a ten-page resume will certainly be bypassed during their review. If you have minimal work experience, a one-page resume is sufficient. As you gain years of work experience, your resume can grow in length. If your work experience is varied, your resume should only contain the items relevant to the position for which you are applying.
There are many different resume templates online, any of which could be used. Be creative and take the best sections of each template to display the important points you want to highlight. Regardless of the selected format, it is important to display your name at the top of the page. The font size of your name should be slightly larger than the font of the remainder of your resume. The font style should be consistent throughout the resume. Minimize emphasis throughout the resume: the underline, bold, and italics features should be used sparingly but consistently. If you decide to use bold font for a section header, use bold font on all section headers. If you have difficulty completing a full page of experience or narrowing it down to a single page, play with the page borders and font sizes until the page layout is adequate.
While searching for a job and after getting hired, it is important to act professionally in your personal life as well. Your e-mail address should be simple and professional: [email protected] is inappropriate. Also, be mindful of your voicemail messages and how you answer the phone. In the age of social networking, your life is easily accessible and on display. Remove any content that is non-professional; consider using all security measures to reduce your digital footprint. Don’t be surprised if a potential employer Googles you; you want to be proud of the person they find online. Although you have freedom of speech, your point of view on a particular subject could prevent a company from hiring you.