In our
post earlier in the week, we talked about some
tips for searching for jobs online. But
before you can apply for a job, you need to build a resume (or for my
readership outside the US, your CV).
There are various styles and layouts available, but I have found a lot
of success using this
College Girl to Working Girl Resume Template.
This template works because it has 5 key characteristics:
One pager and headline. I have seen various experts argue for and
against the one page resume. But the truth in
the matter is that we live in a fast pace world and unless you are applying to be CEO, one
page is just fine. Your name is your headline. Always display this in bold and make it
large. Skip the objective, this is what
a cover letter is for.
List what
you accomplished, not your tasks. It’s
not always possible in your pre-college work experience to only list your accomplishments,
but do where ever possible. “Exceed
weekly sales targets by 10%” is much more impressive than “assisted customers
with purchases”.
Education. Some list this above work experience, others
below. If your professional work experience is more robust than your education, list it first. If your education is your spring board into
your first post-college employment, then list it first. In either case, if you graduated from
college, no need to list your high school information, it’s assumed you
went.
It all
counts, list all of your experience, no matter how small. Amy Astley from Teen Vogue told
The New York
Times earlier this week “Always be proud to put waitress on
your resume…I love seeing someone who scooped ice cream or was a waitress. To
me, it means they had to make some money and they had a job dealing with the
public.” This is so true. Work ethic is important and any previous experience demonstrates your future potential.
Travel and Other Experience. Working or traveling abroad is a valuable life experience and demonstrates you can work with people from different cultures. Ensure you list it and if nothing else, it gives your potential interviewer additional topics for discussion.
Always have a resume on file, you never know when you’ll
need it at a moment’s notice!
