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Resume Advice 101 for College Graduates

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Most college graduates have already begun to send out resumes, and a few may even have job offers pending. If your resume is not drawing in interviews and seems to have vanished into a deep well, here are a few strategies for re-energizing your job search.

  1. Get a second opinion. Do you know anyone in the field you are trying to enter? Ask if they would take a look at your resume. Often, college graduates send out a resume that is suitable for handing to companies who visit the campus but is not suitable for responding to job postings. Or the resume will overlook information vital to the industry and position the college graduate is interested in. If you do not have a knowledgeable source willing to review your resume, consider hiring Robin’s Resumes®. I have resume writing experience in many fields in many industries: I know what hiring managers and recruiters—and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)—are looking for.
  2. Read, read, read. First, read your resume to make sure it is consistent and correct in format, grammar, and spelling. Never rely solely on online spell checkers and grammar checkers. Spell checkers will overlook words that are spelled correctly but are still wrong (for example, manger instead of manager or fiancé instead of finance), and grammar checkers will always lead you astray. Second, read job postings carefully to make sure your resume includes the key (and truthful) skills, experience, and accomplishments that employers are asking for. Again, if you are not confident about your grammar, spelling, formatting, or resume strategy, consider talking to me at Robin’s Resumes®.
  3. Focus your search. Determine what you really want to do. Applying for everything — and taking the first job offered, without consideration may not be the right path for you. If you first determine what you want to do, and then write a resume that highlights those skills for an employer, you are most likely to find the job you want. Even though it may seem that writing a “general” resume would offer the most opportunities to you, I have found the folks who focus land jobs they want faster. Companies and people tend to hire folks they know want the job they are offering. If you need help in determining your career field, consider hiring Robin’s Resumes® for your career coaching needs.
  4. Investigate other ways to apply. If you rely on your resume alone, you are overlooking networking, social media, and personal contacts as sources for information on jobs and ways to promote yourself. Based on numerous studies, you can increase your chances to get a job at least 80% if you network to it first. If you need advice on how to jump-start your search, I can help.
  5. Take a different path. Sometimes you simply do not have the education, skills, and experience that employees want. You can rectify that by taking courses; volunteering for positions at nonprofits that will hone your skills; and accumulating experience that is transferrable to the field or industry that truly interests you. Your rise to the top of the resume pile may be slower, but it will happen.

Robin’s Resumes® is dedicated to helping college graduates survive and thrive in the marketplace. Let me know how I can help you.

Education on Your Resume

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You should include an Education section on your resume but how detailed should it be?

Graduation Years/GPA

If you are a recent college or high school graduate or a rising senior, then you should include your graduation year; if you have recently graduated with a high GPA (say, over 3.5), include the GPA if you want to. For everyone else, the year and GPA are not needed.

If you graduated with a high school degree years ago, your work history is now more important than information about your high school. However, if you did not attend college, you should still list your high school. If you have attended or graduated from college, in most cases, do not list your high school. There are exceptions, and you may want to speak to a resume professional to discuss if you are confused.

If you graduated or attended college years ago, you still should list the name and location of the college(s), the degree(s) (A.A., B.S., MBA), and your specialization (“B.A. in business communications”) but omit any high school information entirely.

Specific Courses

Here, again, the closer you are to graduation and the less work experience you have in your field, the more important it is to mention the courses you have taken that apply to the position you want.

The further from graduation and the more work experience you have, the more you should concentrate on work, as opposed to academic, accomplishments.

There are two exceptions:

  • If you did not achieve a degree but took courses toward a degree, you may want to briefly mention those courses or at least state that you have “30 credits toward an A.A.”
  • If you have taken professional courses (for example, in lean manufacturing) or been selected for training by a company you worked for (for example, management training), that information should be on your resume. The knowledge you bring into a company is invaluable.

Honors

Your college or high school career might have included volunteer, sports, or other activities that you are proud of. Be careful about listing them unless they have some bearing on the work you want to do. For example, if you want to enter the nonprofit world and you raised significant funds at an event at your school, you may want to include that achievement in your resume. Also, if you are a recent graduate, you should include your volunteer work. Many employers look for volunteer experience when they hire students for their first jobs.

If you worked your way through high school or college, received a prestigious scholarship, or were selected out of many students for an opportunity, that information may be relevant in showing your determination and the high regard in which others hold you. Just be careful of holding on to high school or college honors too long: resume space is limited, and you want to leave room for your most current and relevant accomplishments.

Attended College and Did Not Graduate

List any college experience on your resume. Even if you did not complete your degree, the courses you took gained you valuable knowledge and experience which will be useful for employers. Also, there are ways to list this type of college experience on a resume that can help you get through barriers such as initial Applicant Tracking System (ATS) scoring scans. Robin’s Resumes® understands these strategies and can help you with them.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we write Education sections that bolster a candidate’s appeal. Contact us today.

5 Quick Tips for a Better Resume

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  1. Tighten your wording. Not only does this make your resume easier to read, but it also shows employers that you are able to convey information in a clear, concise manner. What do I mean by tightening your wording? Look at the difference between the two examples below:

“Proven ability to make Lean manufacturing improvements of microchips utilized in the construction of robots as well as other electronic devices.”

“Improve Lean manufacturing of microchips used to construct robots and other electronic devices.”

   The second sentence has 8 fewer words, is easier to understand, and says the exact same thing.

  1. Bullet each achievement. Breaking up paragraphs emphasizes each new skill and allows employers to scan your application for required competencies. No one likes to plow through huge blocks of text.
  1. Quantify what you say. Rather than mentioning that you “greatly increased sales,” try for an exact number—for example, you “increased sales by 20 percent.” Sometimes numbers can be difficult to find, but at least give an idea of the size of the company you worked for: does it have $85 million in revenue and 1500 employees or consist of 1 retail store with 8 employees?
  1. Pay attention to the details. Make sure your formatting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar are correct and consistent. If you start out your resume with the text in Times New Roman, do not suddenly switch to Calibri. If you spell the noun “startup” and the verb “start up,” then “start-up” has no place in your resume. Let the resume rest for a day and then proofread it with a fresh eye.
  1. Do your research beforehand. Instead of sending out a generic resume and cover letter, tailor your application to the company and the position. This will both strengthen your application and give you a leg up during an interview when you are expected to know at least basic information about the company where you are applying.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we are consistently creating top-notch resumes. Let us work with you to meet all of your resume and career goals.

Is it Okay to Use Acronyms in a Resume?

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Acronyms serve many good purposes in a resume. The best way to use acronyms is to spell them out the first time you use them:  “Led the Global Commodities Group (GCG).”  However, some acronyms are so well know (such as CEO for Chief Executive Officer) that you can skip the spelled-out version: “Worked directly with CEO on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).”

Here are the best reasons for using acronyms in your resume:

  • Use an acronym to prepare for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that may be set up to look for either acronyms or the spelled out version. For example, an ATS may search for IoT and/or Internet of Things. By defining the acronym, you are ready for both cases.
  • Use an acronym in case a recruiter searches on the acronym only, not the spelled out version. This is most likely for acronyms like P&L (for profit and loss).
  • Use an acronym when it saves space in a resume. For example, if you already have mentioned in the resume that you work in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), you may use the acronym EMEA in future references to that area.
  • Use an acronym that appears in a job announcement—such as SaaS or MBA.
  • Use an acronym if it is very well-known in your field or more commonly used than the actual words –for example, IT for information technology.

Whenever you use an acronym, make sure that you:

  • Are consistent: if the acronym for the Strategic Investment Team is SIT, do not switch to SI team.
  • Are clear about what the acronym stands for: FDA is most likely the Food and Drug Administration but it also has a lot of other definitions, including the Florida Dental Association.
  • Control the number of acronyms: the more acronyms, the harder your resume will be to read.
  • Are using the correct acronym: especially with associations and companies, make doubly sure you have abbreviated the name correctly.

Whenever you are in doubt about an acronym, spell it out. For guidance in creating a readable resume, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Format Your Resume for Success

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No matter how impressive the content of your resume, poor formatting can deter a hiring team from considering an applicant. So what changes can you make to ensure that you format your resume for success?

  • Include the most important information first: your name, contact information, and desired position.
  • Be careful about the fonts you choose. Choose a readable, common, and professional font. Avoid fonts that are too large (“This applicant is unqualified and wastes paper.”) and fonts that are way too small (“This applicant is causing me serious eye strain.”). Resumes are professional documents, and the font should reflect this.
  • Keep your formatting consistent. If the name of former position is bolded, make sure that all others are as well. Choose a single style for bullets (either circles or squares, for instance) and major headings (either bold or italics, initial caps or full caps, and so on)—and keep to it.
  • Avoid random changes in alignment and punctuation. Make sure that every heading, for example, has the same alignment (the choices are centered, ragged right, or justified) and every sentence ends with a period. Make sure dashes and hyphens are a consistent length.
  • Keep the spacing between words, paragraphs, and bullets consistent. Search for double spaces between sentences and words; replace with a single space.
  • Watch out for excessive capitalization. There is no need to capitalize every noun. (For example, “Collaborated with Sales Teams to improve Revenue year-over-year.”) The more capitals you use, the less power they have.
  • Shy away from graphics and show restraint in the use of color, bolding, italics, highlighting, font changes, and other effects. A little goes a long way.
  • Make sure your formatting works as well in print as on the screen, especially if you have used color or shading.

Formatting enhances your resume. At Robin’s Resumes®, we are prepared to format your resume to highlight your experience, skills, and potential.

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