Do enough research about the employer and the field to decide which messages are most important to your audience, and communicate these messages clearly in a visually appealing format. Here are some guidelines to help you do this:

Style

• Proofread to eliminate all spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
• Use action verbs and strong adjectives
• Make it future or present oriented, suggesting that "I am this kind of person, with these abilities, as my past record demonstrates."
• Avoid repeating words or phrases.
• Leave out unnecessary words, sentences, and phrases such as "Duties included / Hired to / Project involved."
• Avoid stilted or confusing language. Ask yourself, "Would I talk like that?"
• Don’t use the first person I or any pronouns.
• Be consistent and use the same grammatical style throughout.
• Avoid self-flattering terms such as "highly skilled, outstanding, or excellent." Describe your accomplishments effectively and let readers decide for themselves that you are well-qualified.
• Be honest and accurate, but not overly modest.
• Convey through the style and content of your resume an understanding of your audience’s needs, priorities, hiring criteria, and vocabulary.

Format

• Stick to 1 page; use 2 pages if you have an advanced degree or extensive experience (10+ years).
• Make the page easy to scan and graphically-pleasing: leave sufficient white space.
• Select a format that suits your qualifications. Don’t automatically follow someone else’s, which may not suit what you have to say.
• Underline, bold face, and use bullets to emphasize your credentials.

Content

• Put name, address, and phone number at the top of the page. If you have a 2nd page, repeat your name at the top.
• Highlight skills, accomplishments, capabilities, and work experience. Give evidence of your personal impact: show not only that you completed tasks but that you contributed to organizational goals.
• Include marketable and/or relevant data only; for example, include classes that have been most important in your education and are most relevant to the type of work you seek; don’t provide an extensive list of courses.
• Choose topic headings that invite your readers’ interest, e.g., "related experience, overseas experience, or skills" rather than "employment or other."
• Cite numbers to convey size and/or scale of project, budget, and staff supervised.
• Give examples that demonstrate desirable personality traits such as leadership, interpersonal facility, confidence, and independence.
• Minimize personal information and omit unrelated memberships, age, marital and health status, and information that is repetitive, implicit (e.g. high school graduation for a college graduate), or out-of-date. If you are a US citizen or hold a permanent resident visa, include this if readers might have reason to think otherwise.
• Generally, it is a good idea to exclude data relevant to salary expectations, religious or political affiliations, and geographic descriptions.
• References are usually omitted, although you should line up at least 3 (including 1 or 2 who are non-academic) at the beginning of your job search. They can be listed separately and made available when requested. Employers assume that “references are available upon request,” so leave this phrase off.

Emailing a Resume

• Don't assume how a company wants to receive an email resume.
• Sometimes they want the cover letter in the body of the Email and the resume attached separately.
• When attaching a file to an email, don't assume that any type of file can be sent always ask what kind of digital files are acceptable?
• Sometimes it's better to just Type the cover letter into the body of the email and then copy and paste the text from the resume document into the email.

Scanner-friendly Resume

When submitting your resume for employment, the chances are growing that scanning technology will be used to read it. Supplied with certain specifications, a computer checks your resume for keywords. You want to fill your resume with as many of these words as possible.

The ultimate keywords are specified by each employer for each position. You can only make reasonable assumptions about what a specific employer will ask for. Keep a log of keywords that apply to your occupation and industry.

Quick Checklist for Resumes

1. Use a laser printer.
2. It is safe to use a conservative font, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
3. Use 8 1/2" x 11" paper, printed on 1 side only.
4. Use high quality resume paper.
5. If you have a 2nd page, put your name on top of page 2.
6. Do not fold or staple the resume. Send it flat in a large envelope.
7. Send a regular copy of your resume along with the scannable version.

Final Edit

• Ask a counselor, friend, or someone unfamiliar with your background to review your resume for clarity and effectiveness.
• Tailor your cover letter and resume to the specific qualifications of the job for which you are applying and/or to the specific employer.
• Include all important information, such as dates of graduation, major, GPA, etc.
• Proofread one more time to ensure correct spelling and punctuation.

Top 10 Resume Pitfalls

1. Too long. Restrict your resume to 1 page, use 2 pages only if you have an advanced degree or extensive experience.
2. Typographical, grammatical, or spelling errors. These errors suggest carelessness. Have at least 2 people proofread your resume. Don’t rely on your computer’s spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.
3. Hard to read. A poorly typed or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a size 10 font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier.
4. Too verbose. Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible. Articles (a, an, and the) can be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
5. Not enough information. Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills, accomplishments, activities, interests, and club memberships that will give employers important information. Include course titles and not numbers (avoid writing 6.001) Including volunteer experience would make you stand out as a well-rounded individual.
6. Irrelevant information. Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible). Of course, include education and work experience, but emphasize relevant experience, skills, accomplishments and activities. Do not include marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church membership, etc.
7. Obviously generic. Too many resumes scream “I need a job, any job!” The employer needs to feel that you are interested in that particular position with his or her company.
8. Too snazzy. Of course, use good quality bond paper, but avoid exotic types, colored paper, photographs, binders, and graphics. Electronic resumes should include appropriate industry keywords and use a font size between 10-12 points. Use italics and bolding strategically to emphasize key words.
9. Too static. Make your resume as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use active verbs to describe what you have accomplished in past jobs. Take advantage of your rich vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.
10. Too modest. The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification, or arrogance.