By ALLISON VILLENEUVE
Career Center
The resume is a necessary and powerful tool used to concisely communicate your educational, professional, and extracurricular involvements to prospective employers. There is no one right way to create a resume, which brings the potential for both personal creativity and unanticipated challenges in organizing and composing the content.
There are a number of general perceptions, some accurate and some inaccurate, about what and how information should be included on a resume. This list, while not meant to be exhaustive, serves to clarify some of the myths and facts of resume writing.
MYTH: Just stating the titles and locations of my past relevant experiences should be sufficient information to provide to the employer.
FACT: The bulleted statements called “action statements” you include underneath your position title and location may be the most crucial components of your resume. Writing bulleted statements gives you the opportunity to elaborate on your experiences in a position, highlight the skills you have used, populations you have worked with, and accomplishments you have made. Never start your bulleted statements with the word “I”; each statement should begin with a skill-focused verb (organized, managed, assessed, etc.)
MYTH: Only paid experiences count as relevant experience.
FACT: Relevant experience can include internships, volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, on-campus involvement, leadership roles, paid positions, and for-credit experiences. If an experience has helped you develop skills pertinent to the position you are applying for, consider including the experience in your relevant experience section. Also be sure to list the most relevant experiences first (in terms of applicable skills and accomplishments) so the employer does not overlook them.
MYTH: An objective statement is not necessary to consider while writing a resume.
FACT: The objective statement is a brief, fragmented sentence (“To obtain a position in …”) that can be written underneath your header (name, address, contact information) in which you convey your interest in a specific position or field. It can provide the employer or hiring committee with a clear indication of your career goal. It can also provide you with a starting place for organizing the information you include in your resume, as you should be sure the information that follows your objective statement supports it. If you choose not to include an objective statement, you should still have a clear objective in mind as you are crafting your resume.
MYTH: The best way to write my resume is to use a template.
FACT: Templates are attractive with their fill-in-the-blanks format, but starting with a blank Microsoft Word document is highly recommended. While templates may provide you with insight as to how you may want to organize the sections of your resume, they are very challenging and time-consuming to reformat and personalize.
MYTH: I only have to create one resume that I can send to every job I apply for.
FACT: For each job you are applying for, you should tailor your resume to that specific position. For example, you can prepare multiple resumes with separate objective statements or objectives in mind. The information in your relevant experience section will likely need to be reorganized or adjusted to reflect your experiences that align most closely with the objective of each resume.
MYTH: My resume alone should give the employer enough of an understanding of my experiences.
FACT: You should include a cover letter with your resume. While you are able to tell the employer what you have done on your resume, you are able to explain to the employer why you are a qualified candidate and what sets you apart from others in your cover letter. Even if not explicitly stated as an application requirement, it will only benefit you to include a cover letter.
Resume Assistance at The Career Center
Another myth may be that only you have the expertise to develop your resume, as it is a reflection of your personal experiences and accomplishments. While you are the master of your own experiences, The Career Center at The College of Saint Rose (Saint Joseph Hall, 3rd floor) is available to help students improve the content, organization, and format of their resumes, as well as provide cover letter, job search, and interview preparation assistance.
The Career Center also offers Walk-In Hours for 15-minute resume critiques, cover letter critiques, or job search assistance from 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday throughout the semester. For longer sessions or for assistance with multiple areas, students may make an appointment by calling the Career Center at (518) 454-5141.
The Career Center is hosting Resume Critique Week from March 25 through March 28. Drop in for a 15-minute one-on-one resume critique by a Career Center staff member from 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. from March 25-27 and 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on March 28.
Reach the Career Center at
career@strose.edu
Phone: 518-454-5141
Twitter: @CSRCareerCenter
