Resume Best Practices: Do’s and Don’ts for your Resume from a Seasoned Recruiter

Guest blog by Paula Kurtzman, Senior Technical Recruiter & Career Coach

For over the past 20 years I have spent my career reviewing resumes, interviewing, and placing candidates at various levels in their professional lives.  Whether you are applying to an internship or a C-level position it is important to have a professional resume that best represents what you can offer to a potential employer.  Your resume is a marketing tool which allows potential employers a snapshot view of who you are and what you can do for them. The goal is to attract attention to your resume with the end goal of getting a phone or video interview request. 

So how does one prepare this very important document that will determine their future career? 

I can offer many suggestions based on career level or industry but regardless its important to stick to the basics:

-Keep your resume to 2 -3 pages at most; entry -junior level candidates should be 1 page only.

-Highlight your key accomplishments.

-Ensure your present and past tenses are correct.

-Spell Check. Spell Check!

-Clean and easy to read is best/remove tables or unnecessary graphics.

-Keep the pictures for your LinkedIn profiles.

-Objectives are a thing of the past…make sure you have a Professional Overview.

-Highlight any certifications, contests, professional organizations.

-Spell out months and dates and if you graduated know what year 😉.

-No fancy fonts -Stick to Times New Roman or Calibri.

-If you are still using your AOL address go ahead and create a Gmail email. 

-Include a Cover Letter only if it is requested.

It is key to have another set of eyes to review your resume so reach out to your Career Coach or a Colleague to give it a second look.  I always suggest to my clients and candidates to have an updated resume so when your dream job comes along you will be prepared to further engage in the opportunity.