On the tenth day of resumes, NAU Career told me…

ON THE TENTH DAY OF RESUMES,
NAU Career told me:
ALIGN YOUR DATES AND TIMELINES,
QUANTIFY YOUR DETAILS,
DEMONSTRATE YOUR SKILLS TRANSFERRING,
HIGHLIGHT UNIQUE EXPERIENCES,
WRITE ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS,
Use STRONG ACTION VERBS!
MAKE YOUR MARGINS EVEN,
THREE TO FIVE KEY QUALIFICATIONS,
ONE TO TWO FORMATTED PAGES,
AND HAVE A SOLIDLY CRAFTED RESUME!

NAU Career presents…12 Days of Resumes!

Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle this holiday season while trying to build your resume! Turn on the fireplace, grab yourself a cup of hot cocoa, and read through our TWELVE DAYS OF RESUMES jingle to show every employer why you’re the best elf for the job!

We will be releasing a series of blog posts and videos leading up to December 25th with important information, so don’t miss out!

Check us out on all our social media channels (@naucareer) for more information and to see the NAU Career staff offer you the gift of their lovely voices this year to celebrate!

Day 10: The Santa Clause is all about the details

If you’ve ever seen the classic Tim Allen movie, The Santa Clause,  you know how important details are.

After he accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit, Allen’s character, Scott Calvin, puts on the suit without reading the terms and conditions!

Shortly thereafter, Scott and his son, Charlie, are being magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa’s place before the next Christmas arrives.

Long story short, just like how stockings are hung by the chimney with care, resumes need the same amount of attention to detail!

The cold, winter truth about resumes

Employers spend roughly 7 SECONDS looking at each resume, so you want to make sure yours is visually pleasing and easy to read.

So, how do you do that?

The key to a great resume, besides excellently articulated content, is the layout.

Many times, employers get hundreds of applications for one job posting. They are doing everything they can to trim their stack like a Douglas Fir in December, if you know what we mean!

If you know that employers only spend a few seconds looking at your resume, you need to ensure yours is visually pleasing and easy to read. This way, you make sure your resume stays in the pile!

Formatting tips, part two

There are three primary types of resume formats: the chronological resume, the functional resume, and the combination chronological-functional resume.

Generally speaking, the chronologically formatted resume is recommended.

However, the functional format may be more suitable in certain cases: new graduates with minimal work experience, career changers, and those who are returning to the workforce after an extended gap.

Chronological resume

• Education, experience, jobs, activities, projects and technical skills are entered individually within specific categories
• These entries are made in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent
• Date ranges are included for each entry, typically vertically aligned on the right side of the document

Functional resume

• The functional resume combines transferable skills together under appropriate headings, such as “Event Coordination,” “Leadership,” and “Fundraising”
• The employers, positions, and (sometimes) dates of employment are listed in a simple form at the bottom of the resume
• Think of this list at the bottom as more of a record of employment, where the main focus of your resume is on the skills and experiences you’ve developed in each functional area

Combination resume

• The combination resume takes the best of both the chronological and functional resume formats by combining descriptive information on your work history with information on your specific skill areas
• Combination resumes are designed for job seekers who already have quite a bit of experience (at least 5+ years)
• Like functional resumes, a combination style heavily focuses on the applicant’s skills and abilities right from the get-go.
• For those applying for a position that requires a lot of technical skills and expertise, using a combination format is a good way to showcase these abilities.

General tips and tricks

Regardless of how you decide to format your resume, we have compiled a shortlist of things to remember as your work on formatting your own resume:

• Use bold or italics to highlight important information and to visually breakup sections
• Make sure your font is readable, no smaller than the 10-point font size
• Align key information along the right and left margins, to make the resume easy to scan
• Consider including horizontal lines to distinguish each section, and/or border
• Use a professional, consistent font across all resume sections:

For more information or to see some examples, be sure to visit our website or schedule an appointment via Handshake! Happy holidays!

– NAU Career Development!