There is no right way to prepare a résumé, but there is room for many mistakes if preparation is not taken seriously.
“Résumés convey a snapshot of your education, work experience, as well as skills and abilities,” said Manuel Perez, director of the Career Development Center at Cal State Long Beach. Candidates can take several steps to represent the measures to the best of their abilities.
First, students have to pay close attention to their résumés to avoid making simple mistakes. The No. 1 mistake students make, according to Perez, is misspellings. Résumés represent people, and “[misspellings] are not a positive image for employers,” Perez said. Students have to remember that a résumé is a snapshot or portrait of themselves and having misspellings does not look good, he said.
Monster.com also names typos and grammatical errors as one of the top mistakes students make on their résumés. If employers see the errors, they can think either you don’t care or you can’t write, Monster.com stated. Perez recommends having other people look at a résumé and not relying on spell check.
Students should also stop selling themselves short, Perez said.
“Students don’t brag enough about themselves,” he said.
Perez also said students have to examine what their best qualities and attributes are. These qualities and skills can be found in their everyday life experiences, such as their class projects, extracurricular activities or part-time work.
Students seem to think they can’t have a résumé if they don’t work, and that’s not true, Perez said. They can have a résumé even if they don’t work, and they can list community service, sports and any organizations they have participated in.
These extra experiences can provide students with their “soft skills,” according to Monster.com. Soft skills are things such as gaining a good work ethic, time management, responsibility, etc., which are things employers also look for. These experiences are useful.
Perez said students have to look at all of their experiences and not undersell themselves. “It’s OK to boast, but not to lie,” he said.
Candidates could also highlight their accomplishments, not just their duties; employers need to know how the candidate can make a difference, the Web site stated. By listing the soft skills candidates gained through outside experiences, employers can see if the candidates have the necessary skills.
Employers look to “see if you have similar skills or experiences that will do well in their company,” Perez said. He said they want good communication and teamwork skills, as well as good analytical skills. These are things they look for in a résumé.
Because employers have a number of résumés to sort through, it is important to state qualities that demonstrate why a candidate is good for the position. The first part of the résumé is most important because they read from the top to the bottom, according to Perez. It is important to list strengths first, he said. The top is critical.
A candidate must have an objective and be specific about what he or she can contribute to the company, he said. Mention something that will be beneficial to the employer.
“Give employers something specific … that focuses on their needs as well as your own,” Monster.com stated.
If you don’t have an objective, list your skills by strength order.
There are many formats and templates for résumés and no one template to follow. Résumés are formatted depending on the candidate’s previous work experiences. Furthermore, résumés are different because there is a difference between a freshman and a senior’s work experience, Perez said.
He recommends that candidates go to the college center to talk to a career counselor or go to a nearby library to find books about résumé formats that are best for students.
Lastly, students need to put a lot of time into their résumés. A lot of time is spent on class work if you want to do well, and preparing a résumé should be no different, Perez said. It is also good to have one ready at all times. It gives the candidate the opportunity to add to it over time so he or she won’t have to start from scratch, he said.
“It is a living document. Duplicate the résumé and continually improve it,” Perez said.
