Your resume is an effective marketing tool that captures the reader's attention and helps you secure an interview.
Guidelines
Keep your resume to one or two pages; two pages is a standard length if you have had 5 or more years of professional work experience.
Focus on including relevant information for the position you are applying for; resumes should not overwhelm the reader with information.
Customize your resume for each position by including information from your skills and experience that best demonstrate the reasons you should be hired.
Describe your unique accomplishments to avoid having your resume sound like a repeat of your job description. Your accomplishment statements will help make your resume different from someone else with the same position description.
Include keywords, which can be identified by analyzing the position description, conducting informational interviews, and doing research about the occupation.
Do not use abbreviations or acronyms unless you are absolutely certain the reader knows what the abbreviations mean. Remember that someone without industry knowledge, such as a recruiter, may be screening your resume.
Make your resume easy to read.
Use plenty of white space.
Use wide margins (at least .75 inches on the top and sides and at least .5 inches on the bottom)
Use bullets to highlight key points.
Use a readable font (Calibri or Arial are good choices) and appropriate font size. Avoid using a font less than 11 point in trying to get your resume on one page.
Indent or double space to separate sections.
Be selective with your use of bold, special typeface and print size. Use no more than two fonts and special types.
Do not use personal pronouns such as “my” or “I”.
Keep your verb tense consistent. Use present tense for your current position and past tense for previous positions.
Make sure your resume is clean and professional looking with no spelling or grammatical errors. Use spell check and ask someone to proofread your resume.
Have your resume critiqued by someone knowledgeable about your field.
When submitting your resume file it should be in PDF format.
Every time you send out your resume, you need to re-evaluate if it is relevant to the position to which you are applying. You may need to shift the order of the bullets, include different accomplishment statements, or rewrite certain sections so that the most relevant information is seen first.
Leave off personal information and hobbies unless they are particularly relevant to the position. For example, if you spend your time fostering kittens and are applying for a position with the School of Veterinary Medicine.
