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More people than ever are graduating from university, either in school or online. This is wonderful. It’s great for society, the economy, and the future of civilization. However, it can make getting your first graduate job a difficult task. For every job going, 100’s if not 1000’s of graduates might apply. Many of them with similar degrees, qualifications, and experience. So, what can you do to make sure your resume gets noticed and put to the top of the pile?
#1. Check Spelling and Grammar
It might sound obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people make basic spelling mistakes on their resume. If an employer notices a spelling mistake, they might not even read the rest. So, make sure you double, and triple check before you send it.
#2. Check the Presentation
Your resume needs to be easy to read and written in a clear font, laid out into obvious sections. Don’t include a photo or any unnecessary extras, unless it is specified, and keep it clean. Make sure it’s on crisp white paper if it is printed out. If you are handing it in in person, you’ll also need to watch your own presentation.
#3. Cover the Basics
While you don’t want to include too much, you do need to make sure you don’t miss out anything important like your contact details. As a minimum, your resume should have your personal details, contact information, qualifications, and work experience.
#4. Short but Sweet
A resume shouldn’t be more than two sides of A4. Anything longer just looks boring and full of pointless information. Yours should be short and to the point. Only include recent, relevant experience. Unless you are applying for a job in childcare or education, employers don’t want to know that you babysat when you were 12.
#5. Tailor it to the Job
It doesn’t look good if you’ve obviously just handed the same resume to every company hiring. Tailor it to the job you are applying for. Employers appreciate this. Make sure you understand the job description and include parts of it in your resume.
#6. Make the Most of Your Skills
Tailor your interests and skills to the description. Any interests you have that are relevant, include them and mention how they could help you in the job role.
#7. Talk Yourself Up
If you’ve studied your degree online, don’t just write master of information from Rutgers Online. Explain that studying an online MLIS degree not only gave you a great education and understanding of information architecture and management, it also helped you build fantastic organizational skills, and taught you how to manage your own time. Skills like these aren’t just useful in jobs relating to your degree; they can be transferred to any industry.
#8. Don’t Lie
Making things sound good is one thing. Lying is totally different. Don’t be tempted to lie, or exaggerate. You’ll either get found out or have to spend the rest of your career making up more elaborate lies. It’s not worth it.
Remember, a great resume can get you an interview and a head start. But that’s it. You should also work on your interview skills, and make sure you know how to make a fantastic first impression if you don’t want that degree to be wasted.
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