Can someone explain what makes a "good" resume???

Originally Posted by yerfdog

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Disclaimer: I'm lookin for a job right now and the quality of resume may be one reason why I haven't found one yet

BUT I would think that having worked full time throughout college 40 hours/week is pretty dang impressive and should make you stand out already. Even if the jobs themselves are not impressive jobs, the fact that you were able to handle the responsibility and time management of full time work and school is going to look good to most employers - a lot better than "I was the President of the Rubiks Cube Club"

Good point, Recruiters, if they're anything like myself will EAT UP anything where you "worked to pay your own full way through college". I love that stuff!

That being said, we don't want to see 12 different Taco Bell jobs.

N/M. answered a very old post that I thought was above mine.

Remember, "professional" services do not know a LICK about chemical engineering, or law, or .......

The only one who can do your resume is you. Put in the work and reap the reward.

Originally Posted by mcpaul

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The only one who can do your resume is you. Put in the work and reap the reward.

This is basically what it boils down to. A resume writer can help you structure your resume so that it's convenient for whoever will be looking at it to make out what you're about. However, only you care enough about your career to give your resume the attention it deserves. It's only one page, but think of it as a term paper. Do your work, then produce a polished resume with all the right "hooks."

Originally Posted by lithium180

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I disagree slightly with this. I just got my first job out of college and had a relatively thin (though relevant) previous employment history. In my hobbies section, I wrote that I like backpacking and listed some of the rather obscure places I've been (Georgia, Iraq, etc). This ended up being a conversation piece and final ice-breaker in each of my 5 interviews.

I'd say if you have something that sounds really unique and will pique a potential interviewer's interest, then throw it on there. I doubt it will get you in the door with an HR person but it could be a great thing after that point.

Again this was for a first professional job though...

i definitely have to agree with this. it really shouldn't take up any more space than, say, one line near the very bottom of the resume, but unique things like this make great things to talk about during an interview to break the ice and make you seem like you would be an interesting person to work with

Situation - Actions - Results

You can make your resume look good and pretty in a variety of ways: font, how you organize the various sections, etc. There are many different ways and there is really not a wrong way if it works for you.
But the meat and potatoes of a resume has to have

Situation/projects/goals you were involved with, confronted, etc

Actions/plan of attack,skills, tools, expertise you utilized for the situation.

Results that occurred due to your actions.

That is the most important

Originally Posted by Jodum5

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Write it yourself. The first resume is daunting but not particularly difficult.

- First put together a resume based on what you already have and what you have read on this board. Then go to career services and ask they advice. Also, go to your school's alumni network (should be part of career services website or ask!) and look up a few people who are in industries or have proviles that interest you. Contact them and ask for advice, attach your resume to your email and seek feedback on that too.

Don't throw your money out the window with "professional services".

The key is to remember it's like a paper. Follow my advice above and you will have your first draft. Then after you have some some people look at it and provide feedback. you will have your 2nd and possibly final draft. It doesn't have to fill up an entire page but it also shouldnt be less than 2/3 of a page.

* If no Extra curricular's list classes and papers/projects you have had. Discuss in detail (1-3 bullet points each).
** Since you worked 40 hours a week in college (was it service industry or office setting?) you should have a lot to talk about. (5-10 bullet points)
*** List internships or things you did during summer/winter break. Study abroad?

Great stuff. Thank you.

Originally Posted by yerfdog

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Disclaimer: I'm lookin for a job right now and the quality of resume may be one reason why I haven't found one yet

BUT I would think that having worked full time throughout college 40 hours/week is pretty dang impressive and should make you stand out already. Even if the jobs themselves are not impressive jobs, the fact that you were able to handle the responsibility and time management of full time work and school is going to look good to most employers - a lot better than "I was the President of the Rubiks Cube Club"

Thanks. Unfortunately, my full time job is not in the industry I plan on entering. I plan on either entering accounting or finance and I am currently on the job hunt for an internship at either a big 4 accounting firm, or finance firm. Unfortunately, managing a restaurant does not really apply to either industry....

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

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I'm using a book called Resume Magic and I think it's a fantastic book. Normally, I'd stay away from the typical blow-smoke-up-your-ass resume and cover letter books, but a quick perusal of this book convinced me to buy it. If anything, it provides you the buzzwords to stick in your resume that might catch the eyes of a recruiter. Obviously, if you're applying for a very specific position, then you should tailor your resume to that position and/or company.

Thank you sir. I will be ordering this book tonight when I get home from school.

Originally Posted by mcpaul

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A good resume is a VERY specific document.

mcpaul
123 your street, anywhere, province, country : (123) 456-7890 : [email protected]​

No objective/profile, etc.

reverse chronological work experience
Month, year - month, year: job title, company, city: list 3-4 responsibilities in paragraph form with a single space after your colon.

• three bulleted NON-indented
  
• major
  
• accomplishments

education: (list the degree type, degree name, concentration, school, completion month, year ie. BS Commerce, Human Resource Management, University of Texas - Austin, April 2008). if it is longer than one page, they either will be bored reading it, or they will ASSUME (correctly) that the info on the second page is so old it is no longer relevant.

oh, and you technical people? do NOT list 3 columns of your programming languages, etc. fit them into your responsibilities and accomplishments. The scanners will still pick up C++ no matter where it is on the resume. Besides, if you have reached for ANY of the technical jargon in your 3 colum listing, and they ask you about it and you say "well it's been a while since I did this and ......" they will paint that entire paragraph with the same conclusion.

no references
no hobbies
nothing else
ONE page -- I repeat, no matter WHO YOU ARE, ONE PAGE. 10 point font, reduce margins if you need to, times new roman
We don't need to know if you belong to a professional association, if you're a professional, it should be assumed that you are. irrelevant.


When you get to the interview and the interviewer asks something like "tell me about a time when you had to make a quick decision without access to all the pertinent information", you take your answer FROM YOUR MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. You might have more than 3 major accomplishments for each job, but when you are applying for a job, you pick the accomplishments that are MOST relevant for the job you are applying for. All behavioral questions are really the interviewer asking you to tell them about a major accomplishment that fits the characteristics of the question. Your resume is designed to get you an interview, and thus it should LIST your major accomplishments.



Thank you again to all!

By the way, the Resume is the easy party. Cover letters are more difficult

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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Hey guys. Sorry to jack the thread but do you guys think it would be beneficial to have your first resume written by a professional service? I think that if I had a lot of stuff to pad my resume with then I could write a decent one myself, but I have worked full time throughout college (40 hrs/week) and have not been able to participate in extra-curricular activities that most students have, so I really need to stand out. Can any of you experienced gentlemen chime in on this? Thank you in advance
If I had it to do over I would do this.

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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Thanks. Unfortunately, my full time job is not in the industry I plan on entering. I plan on either entering accounting or finance and I am currently on the job hunt for an internship at either a big 4 accounting firm, or finance firm. Unfortunately, managing a restaurant does not really apply to either industry....

Yeah, but that sounds like it's still a real job that probably requires skills, (if nothing else, at least the leadership aspects) that an accounting firm, or especially a finance firm would probably like in a candidate.

Yeah managing a restaurant has a lot of responsibilities that will look great to someone recruiting for acct or finance internship.

- talk about the nightly/weekly/monthly turn over of the establishment you managed
- talk about the size of the staff

You sir are fantastic and I appreciate all your input. At first I felt hopeless because my lack of extracurricular activities but you have helped me turn something basic into a great asset. It has been a tremendous help. Thank you.

Originally Posted by mcpaul

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oh, and you technical people? do NOT list 3 columns of your programming languages,

no references

nothing else

ONE page -- I repeat, no matter WHO YOU ARE, ONE PAGE. 10 point font, reduce margins if you need to

I'm going to repeat this because I think it's important--different fields and different jobs have different standards for what a resume or cv should look like.

Using the above as an example:

While computer languages might not be important to list individually, if you are looking for an academic position, it is very important that you list every class you've taught so you make yourself out to be more flexible. While my peers could only list Intro Microecon and/or Intro Macroecon, I could list both of those plus two upper level classes. Make it plain as day, don't make them search. Why not list this under "major accomplishments"? Because academic cv's don't list those, nor do they describe "job duties." Every grad instructor does the same thing. But what classes you taught specifically can be very important.

You must list refences for academic jobs and for that matter if you send me an application now in my government job I expect references. How am I supposed to check up on you?

There's plenty of other stuff that might be relevant for your resume/cv. Like publications or activities in professional societies.

One page? Not in my field. One page basically equates with having done nothing in your time. Straight out of undergrad, yeah probably one page. Not anyone else.

10 point font? Mess with the margins? This is not a college paper. I'd just as soon I can read the damn thing. I'm bright enough to get to page 2.

The moral of the story is to get advice that is specific to your field and job desires.

b

Originally Posted by Jodum5

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By the way, the Resume is the easy party. Cover letters are more difficult

Seriously, what employer these days actually has the time to sit around reading cover letters? If someone actually sent a cover letter with there resume to my company, the recruiter would toss it before it reached anyone else's desk.

Originally Posted by dtmt

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Seriously, what employer these days actually has the time to sit around reading cover letters? If someone actually sent a cover letter with there resume to my company, the recruiter would toss it before it reached anyone else's desk.

In my experience a bad cover letter can kill your chances. But I guess if HR doesn't read them then it won't matter. I actually found them really enlightening as I was recently reading through applications. One came off as utterly arrogant so I skipped that candidate. Others, instead of addressing their letter (actually e-mails) "Dear Dr. XXX" wrote "Hey <my first name>. Huh? Skipped them too.

I was told early on that there are two philosophies about cover letters and CVs: one short the other long. Take your pick, but one of them has to explain why you're a good fit for the job. Again, though, this was for academia.

b