General Rules for Writing a Resume
- Limit your resume to one or two 8 ½" x 11" pages.
- Don't use “I” or “my.”
- Write out numbers between one and nine, but use numerals for all numbers 10 and above. If you begin a sentence with a number, write it out.
- Don’t include personal information (marital status, social security number, religion, age, height or weight).
- Be clear and concise in your descriptions.
- Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms
- Check for periods at the end of full sentences, be consistent with your punctuation and don't use exclamation points.
- Use spell check but remember that spell check doesn't catch everything.
- Use jargon and terms specific to the industry in your resume.
- Don’t overcrowd your résumé
Resumes: Why You Really Need Two
Technology is rapidly changing the job-hunting rules. A traditional resume is still an important tool, but the number of employers using scanners to select applicant pools is growing. It is common for traditional resumes and those sent via e-mail to be scanned and searched for keywords by a computer. This creates a problem because traditional resumes are written using action words (verbs) and keywords are usually nouns or noun phrases. Since the computer selects an applicant pool based on the number of keyword “hits,” a traditional resume may not make it through the first cut.
Guidelines for Electronic and Scanned Resumes:
- Use left justification for the entire document.
- Use a sans serif font like Arial or Optima in size of 10 to 14.
- Avoid tabs
- Avoid hard returns whenever possible.
- Avoid italic text, script, underlining, graphics, bold and shading.
- Avoid horizontal and vertical lines.
- Avoid parentheses and brackets.
- Avoid compressed lines of print.
- Avoid faxed copies that can become fuzzy.
Action Words To Use In A Resume:
Accomplished Carried out Earned |
Evaluated Gained Increased Invented Maintained |
Produced Recommended Reviewed Won |
