A well-written résumé that exclaims “hire me” can improve your odds of getting a job.
A detailed résumé is a marketing tool detailing why an employer should hire one candidate over another, according to Monster Worldwide.
Execute Résumé
Gina Gottfredson, a career coach at the Career Center, said, “One of the first suggestions that we would offer [a student] is, if they are going to do a résumé they would want to find their dream position and look at the job description. This description often times will give us skills or requirements and that is our template for how we help a student shape a résumé.”
There are also tips on their website for writing a strong résumé. The techniques are broken down by different degrees and have a list of résumé action verbs such as: condensed, developed, furthered and oversaw. Additionally, the website gives samples of well-written résumés and covers letters.
“The career center and career coaches are here to help a student obtain their ideal job after graduation,” Gottfredson said.
Specifying Skill Sets
“I usually try to illuminate materials that are relevant to my job,” Kelton Crook, a senior English major with a literary studies emphasis from St George, said. “I try to highlight how old employment is an asset to the job I am applying for.”
Crooks said if he were a barista and wanted to get a job as a secretary, on his resume he would write that he had great customer services skills rather than he made great coffee.
Curtailing Résumé
Assistant English professor Florence Bacabac said: “There are three things that are most important when writing a résumé. Curtail the résumé per the job you are seeking. Make a file and have five or so résumés in a file ready to go. Use keywords and phrases listed in the job description. The resume should be simple and a well-designed document.”
Make sure not to use use a boilerplate résumé. Which is using the same résumé to apply for different jobs, Bacabac said.
The reason to tailor a résumé for an individual job is to highlight the different skills and buzzwords applicable to that particular position. Also, be sure to highlight the projects applicable to that particular line of work, a candidate an interview. Bacabac said.