During her presentation on Mastering Your Resume, expert career coach and resume writer Kara Becker provided alumni with some great tips and best practice suggestions that included both tactical suggestions on formatting, fonts, and size, through to content recommendations. Here are a few for your use:
TIP #1
Knowing and understanding what employers want by researching job descriptions is a key part of the art of resume writing. This was clearly illustrated in the session with a sample job description and a series of sample resumes. The audience was then asked which seemed the best. Even at a glance, the resume that had a clearer representation of the job description was easily pulled out of the slush pile.
TIP #2
Fonts and formatting matter. Stick with basic fonts such as Times New Roman, Calibri or Cambria, and avoiding Comic Sans or Futura. In addition, keep font size to 10 or larger and have margins of at least 0.5”.
TIP #3
Bullets can be improved with a clear action, a quanti ed context (ask yourself how many? who? what?) and a quanti ed result to cause them to not only have more impact but provide greater insight to the reader.
Kara Becker is passionate about career development and enjoys supporting others through making career decisions. Choosing a major, changing careers, or looking for a job or internship can often seem intimidating. She works with her clients to make the process feel less chaotic and achieve their desired results, assisting with everything from facilitating career exploration to guiding through the job-search process. She believes in a holistic but structured approach to career counseling to help others set and meet their career goals. Kara is certified in the Myers-Briggs Assessment, is a Board Certified Career Coach, and is an Academy Certified Resume Writer.
