海角乱伦社区

Skip to main content

The Resume: 29 Tips to Leap into Your Career

chicagoscholars

Read More

It鈥檚 February in Chicago, and that means snow flurries and freezing temperatures. But even though summer feels very far away, summer internship season is quickly approaching. Now鈥檚 the time to start writing resumes, looking for opportunities, and preparing to apply. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e sharing a new tip every day this month on our Instagram Stories and recapping them here on Fridays 鈥� so our Scholars have all the information they need to land their dream internships this summer. AND because there鈥檚 an extra day in February this year, that means there will be an extra tip to help our Scholars leap into their career. Here鈥檚 Part 1 in our 29 Tips to Leap into Your Career.

Part 1: Build a Resume that Stands Out

1.THE STAR METHOD

Use The STAR Method as your North Star when crafting your Resume.聽Use it as your guide to writing your resume and crafting your content.

  • Specific 鈥� use quantifiable examples that clearly demonstrate your聽achievements and responsibilities in your resume.

  • Task聽鈥� describe your responsibilities in detail.

  • Action聽– demonstrate how you accomplished your responsibilities.

  • Result聽鈥� how did your actions impact the organization and/or your professional development?

2. TAILOR YOUR EXPERIENCES

When you submit resumes, be aware that many employers and recruiters use software to search for specific keywords. As you tailor your resume for each job opportunity, make sure to use the lingo they use in the job posting, even if you are already saying the same thing in a different way.

Avoid industry jargon if not referenced in the job description聽and if it doesn鈥檛 feel comfortable to you. If you are using industry lingo, make sure you can say what it is if asked during an interview.

3. CRAFT RELEVANT AND聽SKIMMABLE聽CONTENT

Tailoring your聽experiences聽can help your resume advance beyond computer聽scans, but it鈥檚 also important to make sure your achievements stand out to human eyes.聽On average, employers and hiring managers will聽skim your resume content聽in聽six to聽30 seconds.聽聽Before submission, make sure that your most impressive聽补苍诲听谤别濒别惫补苍迟 accomplishments stand out and are easy to聽identify.

4. ACTIVATE聽YOUR SUPERPOWERS!

When determining聽what accomplishments and experiences to include on your resume, think from the perspective of the hiring manager. What would you be looking for in an applicant for this job? Likely, you would want to learn about the unique and relevant accomplishments of the individual, not generic tasks and responsibilities that speak broadly to your profession.聽For example, if you have earned any awards or exceeded performance goals, highlight those. Focus on achievements聽and experiences that highlight your unique value-add聽rather than聽only聽listing job tasks.

5. BE CONSISTENT –聽FORMAT AND GRAMMAR

Choose a type of format that makes sense for the industry聽you are applying to聽and your experiences. Keep your resume within 1 page with a reasonably-sized聽font聽and margins. We recommend 12 point and Times New Roman font.聽Think of these guidelines less as constraints and more as encouragement to highlight your best and most relevant work.

Once you鈥檝e settled on a format, it鈥檚 important to be consistent throughout.聽For example, if you start listing experiences chronologically, then all experiences should be chronological. If you choose to not put periods at the end of bullet points, make sure you聽follow through for the whole the document. Here are other helpful tips:

  • Use聽present tense when describing your responsibilities and accomplishments for your current job, and past tense for previously held positions.

  • Use active verbs聽with quantifiable information聽i.e.聽鈥渟trategize and implement monthly ad campaigns with聽a $10,000/month聽budget鈥澛爎ather than聽鈥渞esponsible for overseeing monthly ad campaigns.鈥�

  • Title your resume appropriately. Label it as聽鈥淟ast Name, First Initial_Position Title_Resume鈥� I.e. 鈥淪anta Maria, A._Senior Associate Communications_Resume鈥� rather than 鈥淎nthony Resume 13.鈥�

6. UPDATE YOUR聽LINKEDIN

Think of LinkedIn as your online resume. Recruiters and employers look up potential candidates and you want them to see a completed profile! Craft a personal summary that combines pithy statements on your job experience with your career aspirations. When updating your LinkedIn, make sure to answer the following questions:

  • What are you an expert in?

  • What you are known for?

  • What skills you have learned?

Check out this article in for other helpful tips on how to stand out to recruiters on LinkedIn.

7. ASK FOR聽FEEDBACK

Crafting a stellar resume is an art. Many聽job-seekers聽can benefit from the eyes of a professional in helping make their resume stand out among the crowd.聽It also helps to have a fresh pair of eyes double check spelling and grammar.聽Many career centers at colleges and universities offer free resume advise and consulting.聽You can also reach out to聽your College Success contact at聽海角乱伦社区 for help!

We hope you found these tips helpful. Come back for Part 2: Networking next week!