Newswise — When it comes to first impressions in a job search, there is nothing as important as a well-organized and visually appealing resume, especially since job recruiters quickly skim over the document before making a decision to toss it into the possible contender or rejection pile. With such a short time to get important information across, it is crucial that job seekers make their resumes as polished and professional as possible. To commemorate Update Your Resume Month, which is recognized in September, Broward College’s Career Center is offering tips to produce a resume that will impress potential employers and get results –
Keep formatting consistent. Although you may have an urge to get creative with font sizes or colors, it is best to keep formatting uniform throughout the document. Do not center or justify all text, but align left and use a single font. This will help make it easier to scan the document, so if the recruiter needs to refer back to something important, they won’t get distracted by unnecessary elements.
Be careful with all-caps. To create emphasis, avoid using all capitals. Not only is it difficult to read, but it is improper to use. Reserve all capitals for your name, and bold all other important section headings.
Bold wisely. Again, it is easy to get carried away when trying to highlight important information so that it stands out. When deciding to bold text, don’t bold two pieces of information that are related, such as a job title and the company you worked for at that position. It is better to bold either the company or job title. For new graduates with little work experience, bolding the company name would be a better option. Whereas, those with a long work history could choose to bold a job title instead.
Keep bulleted information brief. It is best to follow the “short and sweet” advice for a resume, but especially when it comes to bulleted information that you use to describe your past work experience. Make sure to keep it to a sentence or two.
Make sure to use digits. Writing out the spelling of a number will not only take up more space, but it will also decrease readability. To avoid this problem, use digits when referring to numbers.
For more information on Broward College’s Career Center, visit http://www.broward.edu/ccn or contact Angela Nicoletti at 954-201-7939 or [email protected]. -BC-
About Broward College:
Serving more than 68,000 students annually, Broward College provides residents with certificate programs, two-year university-transfer degrees, two-year career degrees and baccalaureate degrees in selected programs. The mission of the college is to provide high-quality educational programs and services that are affordable and accessible to a diverse community of learners. For more information, visit www.broward.edu.
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