Resume Guidelines

Key Things to Remember:

• Put most important information first.
• Less is more.
• Be well organized and professional.
• Organize information in a way that highlights your strongest areas.
• KISS Principle - Keep It Sweet & Simple.
• 10 or 12 point font.
• Avoid shadowing and highlighting (for scanning and faxing purposes).
• Use boldface sparingly. Highlight with capitalization.
• Use "Key Words" (for computer searches).
• Make it visually appealing and easy to read.
• One inch margins on all sides.
• One page format is best.
• Capitalize headings, names of employers and educational institutions.
• Use action words in the description of work experience.
• Be positive.
• Double or triple space between paragraphs.
• Proofread very carefully.
• Don't use personal pronouns.
• Minimize abbreviations except for states, standard and industry specific.
• Spell out the names of colleges, schools and degrees.
• Be consistent throughout the resume.
• Career history need only date back 10 years.
• Use white space to enhance readability.

Creating a Scannable Resume:
To maximize the computer's ability to read your resume, provide the cleanest original and use a standard style resume. The computer can extract skills from many styles of resumes such as chronological achievement, functional and combinations of resume types.

The most difficult resumes for the computer to read are of poor quality and have unusual formats such as newsletter layout, adjusted spacing, large fonts, graphics or lines, type that is too light or paper that is too dark.

Tips for Maximizing Scanability:

• Use white or light colored 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, on one side only.
• Provide a laser printer original if possible. A typewritten original or high quality photocopy is ok. Avoid dot matrix printouts and low quality copies.
• Do not fold or staple.
• Use standard typefaces such as Helvetica, Futura, Optima, Univers, Times, Palatino, New Century Schoolbook & Courier.
• Use a font size of 10 to 14 points (however avoid Times size 10 font).
• Don't condense spacing between letters.
• List each phone number on its own line.
• Use boldface and/or all capital letters for section headings as long as the letters don't touch each other.
• Avoid fancy treatments such as italics, underline, shadows, and reverses (white letters on black backgrounds).
• Avoid vertical and horizontal lines, graphics and boxes.
• Use standard address format below your name.

Resume Checklist:
Is your resume professional in appearance?

Is it:
Neat & Clean?
Error Free?
One page in length?
Grammatically sound?
On quality paper?
Professional looking?
Visually appealing?

Does it have:
Plenty of white space?
An original objective, indicating what you will do for the company, as well as what you hope to gain?
Bold headings?

Have you paid attention to organization?
Does it include:
Address and phone number?
Chronological format (most recent experience first)?
Functional format (list skills)?
Dates?
Clear, concise, and complete data?
Centered format?

Is the content of your resume effective?
Does it contain:
Action verbs?
Transferable skills?
Emphasis on results and accomplishments?
Measurable benefits?
Only essential information?
Honest and Functional material?

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General preparation before you begin the interview process:

• Self-assessment: I recommend self-assessment annually, but most people resist this step. When one is unemployed or fearing lay-off, the time is right for reassessing current skills, talents, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, and work values. In addition, it is clearly time to re-examine accomplishments and achievements, particularly those that may be relevant to a prospective employer. I recommend keeping an on-going accomplishments file in which to maintain such items as articles, congratulatory letters, kudos from the boss or clients/customers, 360 evaluations, and descriptions of successful activities as they occur. In the course of daily business life, one often forgets those notable successes.
• Updating your resume: The accomplishments file serves as a springboard to reassessing your resume. The file contains content for selective resume inclusion. If we assume that a resume must be accomplishments-based rather than descriptive of one's responsibilities, then the file serves to jog one's memory about recent notable activities. Bare-bone the resume by removing all superfluous and/or irrelevant material, all articles (a, an, the), and work at getting it onto one page. Use functional headings to help focus the reader on what you have done and what you can do for the prospective employer. Be absolutely certain it is error-free.

Let’s now assume you have a specific interview lined up.

• Research, research, research: Depending on available time, use every possible means to learn all you can about the company and position. Use the public library or local bookstore to locate and read information about the company/organization. Access books, journals, magazines, newspapers and any reference materials useful for investors -- and job-seekers! Ask the reference librarian about connections to investor online publications or services, such as Valueline, Lexis-Nexis. Read and/or check online resources for major business publications, such as Forbes, Money, Kiplinger’s, The Wall St. Journal, or Investors Business Daily. Go online to the company's Web site as well as competitors' sites. Use investor Web sites to learn what's happening now in the news with this company and its competitors. Use bizjournals.com to find business news by industry and/or location.
• Use your alumni network to the best advantage: if your college offers a searchable online database, search by company name. Contact any alumni who work for that company. Choose fairly recent graduates (to learn about the interview and hiring process, and early experiences on the job) and older alumni as well (to learn about corporate culture, history, and career paths.) All alumni contacts are valuable for their insights as well their connections. Always come away from any networking meeting with at least two additional contacts.
• Re-assessing your resume: Even if you have sent your best-yet resume, which was obviously successful in making the cut, review it thoroughly and know everything that's on it. Be prepared to discuss supplemental experiences that might be important to this employer. Focus on experiences you feel are most relevant and match them to the employer's needs.

Practicing typical and targeted interview questions:

Be able to answer the "Basic 3:”

• Why are you interested in this field?
• Why are you interested in this company?
• Why are you interested in this position?

Be prepared to discuss anything on your resume. Be prepared to answer questions/issues you really don't want to answer. For example:

• your greatest weakness
• your lack of related experience
• your low GPA
• your lack of leadership experiences
• * your record of job-hopping

Practice with a friend, career counselor or coach, or in front of a mirror. Video or audio-tape your answers for future review. Scrutinize how you look and sound. Note inflection of your voice, mannerisms and gestures, facial expressions, poise, energy and enthusiasm in your answers as well as in your body language. How can you improve, enhance, develop, or revise your answers and/or delivery? Because interviewing is a skill, you can only improve your style and acumen with practice. Practice is important in assuaging fears and nervousness. However, a degree of tension is beneficial toward maintaining a level of alertness that causes you to sit up straight and forward in your seat, leaning toward the interviewer. The ideal is to strike a balance between poise/calm and energy/enthusiasm.

Prepare questions to ask. These questions should reflect your research on the company and position and should never include questions whose answers are readily available in company literature or Web site. Do NOT ask about salary or benefits!

Final preparations:

• Select appropriate attire long before the interview day. Know the culture of the organization for which you are interviewing and dress accordingly -- perhaps a notch above that -- especially if the company has espoused corporate casual. A business suit is always acceptable. Be certain that your clothing is clean and well pressed. Do a test run to determine comfort level. Too short or too tight may cause you -- or others -- to be distracted or uncomfortable. Minimize accessories. Remember: less is more. You want to be memorable for the right reasons.
• Know the location of your interview. Do a drive-by if possible. Plan to arrive at the designated office 10 minutes in advance. Allow ample time for traffic, the possibility of getting lost, and parking difficulties.

While you're there...

• Bring extra copies of your resume in a folder or portfolio.
• Bring a small notebook for notes, but keep note-taking to a minimum.
• Collect business cards from every individual with whom you interview.
• Ask about timeframes for filling the position, how and when you will be notified, and if they would like additional information or materials from you.
• DO NOT ASK ABOUT SALARY OR BENEFITS!

Follow-up:

Send a thank-you note within 24-48 hours of your interview. Send one to every person who interviewed you. Email is OK, but follow protocols for formal business correspondence, which is always more formal than typical email. Use the thank you note to reiterate your interest and to emphasize your specific qualifications for the position. What do you want them to remember about you that is likely to "sell" them on you as a viable candidate? Everything about the job search should be focused on what YOU can do for the company, what YOU bring to the position, and why the employer should hire YOU! The interview may be your one shot -- so make it a good one!

Louise Giordano has been a career counselor at Brown University since 1992 and solely staffs the Providence College Alumni Career Advising Program. She served as director of business placement at Johnson & Wales University from 1987 to 1989. Prior to and concurrent with these activities, she was a secondary foreign-language teacher in public and private schools in CT, MA, and RI.

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Job Seeker Resources

Business Communication Protocol

• A universal format, style, and etiquette is accepted by nearly all organizations. Job candidates can alienate potential employers simply because they do no use standard business writing style. Professional communication ability remains a significant factor that employer use in evaluating and comparing applicants.
• Each letter, however, must be individually tailored to the needs of the prospective employer and individually produced.
• Misunderstandings often occur because of the failure to follow up in writing. Take the extra time needed to avoid confusion.
• Always keep copies of letters sent because they may save later embarrassment. If correspondence is lost in the mail, showing potential employers the copy may save a job offer.
• The importance of proper communications cannot be overemphasized. Written communication is the backbone of every personnel office. A good succession of communication shows the employer that you sincerely want the job.

Correspondence Tips

• Use a standard business style format and 8 1/2" x 11" paper.
• Type all letters. Employers type even personal notes, so follow suit.
• Address letters to a particular individual, and use his/her correct title.
• Never duplicate a letter; each must be an original.
• Make paragraphs average in length.
• Always send a letter with a resume, never a resume alone.
• Check your work carefully for grammar and spelling. It is a good idea to have someone else proofread it.
• Be wary of suggestions to use gimmicky attention-getters, overzealous or desperate-sounding phrases, and exaggerated praise of the employer.

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