Resume Tips and Tricks

Purpose of a Resume

A marketing tool (you are marketing yourself to the employer)
Real purpose – to get an interview
To learn about you and what you can offer the organization
It is a snapshot of you (and only a part of you!)
It is concise
Remember employer’s SEARCH strategy – computer will crawl all applicants’ resumes, “key words” are important to help you rise to the top!

Develop a Master Resume with EVERYTHING on it including all internships, jobs, experiences, student organizations, professional organizations, class projects (and continue to add to it over time)
- Use your Master Resume to develop targeted resumes for internships/jobs that you are applying to
- By having a Master Resume, it is easy to cut and paste to tailor specific resumes
One page Resume (see below under Tricks to fit it on one page!)
Tailor/Target Your Resume to the Specific Internship/Job (VERY IMPORTANT!) – one resume does not fit all internships/jobs!
Content is MORE important than design
Only include in your resume what is RELEVANT for that position
Easy to Read

Include Name, Email, Phone Number in header (make sure your email is professional and that you have a professional phone message)
Address – can include current UW-Madison address, home address, or NO address – only have one address – current literature states an address is not necessary!
LinkedIn and/or Twitter account– can include if professional
Personal Website or portfolio link – can include if professional

Include current information and date (month/year) of graduation (May 2016)
The Education Section should be at the top of your resume unless you have substantial experience (then at the bottom)
Do NOT include high school unless you are a freshman or sophomore and need it to fill space!
GPA – only include if over 3.0 – only need one decimal point (two if you really want to!) – put GPA over 4.0 (3.5/4.0)

Use descriptive subject headings – use words to describe the experiences in each section (Advertising Experience, Digital Experience, Communication and Media Experience)
Cluster similar experiences under pertinent topic headings
Align subject headings to what skills the employer is looking for (check job description)

For each experience include: Organization Name, Position Title, Location, Dates (Dates should be given in Months/Year – not semester or seasons!)
Use bullets to describe specific responsibilities and tasks
Start each bullet with an action verb
In your bullet, demonstrate results/impact that you had on the organization
Show the context as to WHY the task was done and the overall goal objective of the task
Use key word strategies – utilize some of the wording from the job/internship description
Do NOT use first person pronouns
Use correct tense – either present or past tense – if current – use present tense
Class projects, jobs, internships, student organization involvement, volunteer experiences can all be included!

Raised over $10,000 of revenue for the production and distribution of Curb Magazine by working with a business team of four students (NOTE: This is a classroom experience!)
Increased engagement by 50% across social media sites, helping to build closer relationships with teenage target audience

Do NOT forgot about classroom experience – many of your classes teach you professional skills
Many times you work with REAL employers on REAL campaigns
Class Agency Title could be the Title of your “Experience”
Classroom Experience can be included under a Specific Experience (see above) or under Related Coursework (under Education)

Include Language, Computer, Technical and Equipment Skills
For Language –Proficiency Level: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Proficient, Native
For Technical/Computer/Equipment – Proficiency Level: Novice, Intermediate, Proficient, Expert
Software Examples: Adobe Creative Suite, Simmons, Sysomos, Excel (see sample resumes)

Objective – DO NOT INCLUDE
Summary or Qualifications Section – can include (but not necessary) – use a couple of lines of text to describe yourself (or use bullets) – it should be below your contact information

No grammar or spelling errors
Do not have an INTEREST section – employers do not need to know that you ski unless you are applying for a social media position for a ski company!
Do not use more than one style of FONT
Do not overuse Bolding, Italics or Underlining!
Do not have the font smaller than 10 point

Font Size between 10 and 12 point (except for your Name which should be larger)
Use basic but modern font, like Helvetica, Arial, or Century Gothic
Margins: .5-.75 (the default is 1-1.25 – change the margins!)
Spacing between lines – can be made smaller if you need to fit on one page (8 point font)