Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Writing


Do’s

·    Do put your degree information on your resume, school, date, type

·    Do put dates of your work history, month and year

·    Do specify what you do on daily basis, your core responsibilities

·    Do be succinct and clear in your descriptions

·    Do make it “easy” to read, not too many fonts, sizes, bold, italic, etc., but consistent

·    Do keep your format clean (justified with itself) and organized

·    Do put your job titles

·    Do put an email address on your resume

·    Do put at a minimum for your address info: city, state, and phone numbers

·    Do clarify time gaps of over one month in your job history on your resume, briefly

·    Do a section of the types of tools or systems you’ve used

·    Do use your resume as a selling tool

·    Do realize the most effective resumes are clearly focused on a specific job title of the employer’s stated requirements

·    Do customize your resume to each employer and position

·    Do realize it takes 30 seconds or less to be “considered” or “rejected”

·    Do keep your resume between one and three pages, if possible

·    Do make sure to cater your resume to web resume specifications

·    Do write your resume so it can be understood/proofed by someone
outside your field


Don’ts

·    Don’t be too vague in your resume; give enough detail to elicit
understanding

·    Don’t assume they’ll know what you’ve done

·    Don’t go overboard and write a book about your accomplishments, leave room for questions and discovery during the interview process

·    Don’t forget to proofread your resume before you send it out, also by someone else

·    Don’t forget to put your contact information on your resume

·    Don’t forget to use paragraphs

·    Don’t overuse bold and italics

·    Don’t put your picture on your resume

·    Don’t forget to focus on your needs

·    Don’t forget to put your accomplishments and your results

·    Don’t use too many big words

·    Don’t rely on your spell check on your computer

·    Don’t forget to use space to your advantage, .75” left/right margins, .5” top/bottom

·    Don’t talk about yourself in the third person