Click to Expand

Stay concise, focus on accomplishments, and don’t hold back

Do you think the perfect resume is a subjective idea? The recipe for an outstanding resume is actually fairly universal in terms of look, length, and basic content. With the right approach, you can churn out a stellar resume that will appeal to potential employers and land an interview for your dream job. Here are some resume writing tips and a sample resume to get you started.

• Design is crucial.

Your layout matters. Your font matters. Your type size and masthead matter. Selecting them should be equally as important as your job descriptions, because a poorly formatted resume will turn off hiring managers – they will move right on to the next candidate. Try sticking to basic sans serif fonts (no more than two, total), avoid going any lower than 11-point text size, and make sure the most important things like your job title and place of employment, stand out the most. Make sure you don’t cram too much onto the page – plentiful white space makes it easier to scan. As for the length, you can never go wrong with one page. Consider posting an extended version on your personal Web site for reference. Check out these resume tips for first-time job hunters.

• Build your resume around the essentials.

Not sure which duties and responsibilities to include for each job? Consider brainstorming your accomplishments first. Did you have any special appointments? Record sales? Were you put in charge of managing or coordinating any projects? List the biggest stuff first, and always use actionable verbs to describe them (e.g., “chaired the committee”, “coordinated schedules” , etc.). Smaller duties are certainly important, but knowing how to process invoices and manipulate templates in InDesign may be more relevant in cover letters, where you can discuss how capable you’ll be in a specific job. Discover the essential elements of resume style.

• Think about the job you’re applying for.

You will often hear the words “tailor your resume,” which means you should highlight what makes you most qualified for the job you’re applying for. Dropping job-specific keywords into your descriptions works well, but don’t go overboard – make sure you’re staying true to your own abilities while underscoring what makes you an excellent fit for the position. Don’t be afraid to talk yourself up. Hiring managers look for confident candidates, and this will shine through in your resume.

• Don’t skip the spell-check.

Proofread, spell-check, copyedit, and repeat. Make this your mantra! Leaving mistakes in the one professional reflection of yourself speaks worlds to a hiring manager and could leave you without a job. Try to stay away from superlative, self-flattering terms (e.g., “highly skilled”, “very motivated”, “expertly executed”, etc.). Let your accomplishments and job history speak for you. If you’re disseminating your resume via e-mail, make sure you’re sending it as a PDF – not as a text document. A PDF will retain your resume’s formatting, fonts, and spacing. Plus, it will open on most computers, whereas – a text document may not. Check out these 202 great resumes.

• Enlist resume reviewers.

Ask a friend, colleague, mentor, or all three to read your resume. Even if you’ve read through it 100 times, there is probably something you missed. A fresh perspective often helps you be more concise and expand the content as needed. If you’re snail-mailing your materials, make sure you use high-quality paper. Avoid stapling or folding it, and don’t forget a cover letter.

Don’t know where to begin? Here’s a sample resume to get you started. Want more? Check out these other resume examples.

One critical factor to consider is “creator bias.” As Stebbins explains, “Every primary source has a creator and every creator has a point of view or bias. The bias in a source does not render it useless, but must be factored in when evaluating the information contained in a source. A photograph, for example, even before the days of computerized airbrushing, is influenced by the bias of the creator. Settings can be manipulated or the photographer can choose to take some pictures of an event and not others. When reading or viewing a primary source it is important to consider who the creator was and what their relationship was to the event or situation being recorded.”

Researchers, Stebbins notes, can ask questions like these:

• What was the creator’s view or purpose?
• What did the creator include and not include in his or her reporting?
• Was the source created on the spur of the moment or was more thought put into its creation?
• Did the creator see the event firsthand or did he or she report on what others related?
• Did the creator have a special interest in the event, or was he or she neutral?
• Was the creator producing something for his or her personal use, for a friend, or for the public?
• Is the language of the creator neutral or persuasive?

The author also explains how to analyze a primary source’s time and place, and internal and external consistency, what the creator decided to omit from the source, how to be selective in what you choose to use, and other factors. Learn more about each by checking out the discussion Critically Evaluate Primary Sources.

And remember, Stebbins emphasizes, to “Read critically and skeptically. Though some primary sources are believed to be more reliable than others, every source contains some weakness or bias. Think carefully about the social, political, and economic contexts in which a source may have been created.”