Top Resume Formatting Tips to be Aware Of

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 15:11:11 -0400
blog, resume, resumeformatting, resumetips, resumewriting

The Fall semester is a great time to build your résumé (if you don’t already have one) or update it with the latest information (if you do have one). To help guide your edits along, here are some formatting tips:

Personalization. When listing out your contact information at the top of your résumé, you may also want to consider including a web link such as your LinkedIn profile (we have appointments to help you build one out if you need one!), a portfolio link (for fields like communication or design), or a github link (for fields like computer science). Utilize the extra real estate at the top of your résumé to provide an additional opportunity for employers to view your work.

Relevancy. The goal for your résumé writing is to list the most relevant experiences to your career of interest as soon as possible. Don’t have relevant work experiences? No problem — you can just list out your course projects as “Relevant Projects” and your work experience as “Additional” or “Other” experience. You can also list relevant academic coursework as another way to demonstrate you’re learning about a particular area of expertise.

Consistency. There are no clear-cut rules about how to handle different aspects of your résumé (e.g., listing company vs. job title first in your experience section), but the most important thing to keep in mind is to remain consistent throughout the document. This tip also applies to using bold headers, maintaining similar font styles and sizes, dates, and using punctuation.

Detail. This tip relates to how you describe your work experiences. When developing bullet points you want to be as detailed about what you’ve accomplished as possible, while making sure to share results. You want to also be detailed about the skill sets you used for your accomplishments, focusing on those that closely match the requirements of the position.

Length. For most students and recent graduates, a one-page résumé should be more than enough to list your experiences, but if there is more that needs to be covered it can go to a **full** two pages. What is meant by a full two pages is that there shouldn’t be any excessive white space at the bottom of the page. There are exceptions to this rule, such as government résumés and CVs. One way that you can save space and keep your document to one page is by grouping your skills section into subcategories.

With these tips in your back pocket, you’ll be able to walk away with a clear, consistent, and detailed résumé that is bound to turn employers’ heads at our next career event.

Still need some 1-on-1 help? Stop by Resume Rescue at the Career Center any time between 10 AM and 4 PM on Tuesday, September 10 and have your resume reviewed by our experts.