AIU Career Services Weekly Tip: Freshen Up Your Resume

January 15, 2013 •Career Services • 0 Comments

What better time to try and freshen up your resume than in the first month of the year? Take a moment and look over your resume if you haven’t in a while. First, check to see if any sections need updating. Do you have any more skills you can add that you’ve recently gained? Do your degrees and certificates have the correct completion dates? Are the dates of your employment still accurate?

Once you finish any updates, go through the checklist of “5 C’s” below to find ways to improve:

• Clarity.
  Check to make sure that your resume is easy for anyone to understand. Keep in mind that hiring managers won’t be very familiar with your previous or current positions, so try to avoid using jargon.
• Concise.
  Your resume should only contain information that is directly relevant to positions you are applying to. Entry-level resumes should fit onto one page, while resumes with more direct experience can generally be two pages, but no longer. Typically you only need to include your last 5 positions in your experience or employment history section.
• Captivating.
  Your resume should captivate the audience! This is the purpose of your Professional Summary or Career Goal and why it is at the beginning of your resume. This should briefly state what makes you qualified for the position and also state some skills and key words that are directly related to the position.
• Customary.
  Go through your skills sections and job duties again. Every statement should somehow be relevant to the positions and field you are targeting, and showcase why you are a good for the position. Sometimes you may need to further tailor your resume for each particular position you apply to, as well.
• Calculable.
  Focus on any specific accomplishments, statistics, and results in your job duties, instead of listing the daily tasks by themselves. Try showing how you impacted a company or department, both short-term and long-term. Employers like to see if you were able to achieve specific goals as well as how you can make their company better.

For more career advice, please contact the Career Services Department at 877-221-5800 ext. 15060 or at careerservices@aiuonline.edu.

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