Un Poco de Consejo: How to Write a Killer Resume

If you haven’t already, it could be time to start thinking about how to start writing, beef up, or just reorganize your resume so it’s more aesthetically pleasing to your potential employer. There isn’t necessarily a right way to go about doing this, but there are some guidelines to keep in mind…and here’s a few of our favorites:

• If you’re a student or a recent graduate, keep it to one page. Choose your most relevant experiences. Describe your education. Describe your work/intern/volunteer experiences. What were your most important tasks? What types of tasks did you enjoy or feel confident working on?
• Imagine you’re reviewing resumes for a position at your company. Do an image search for resumes and decide which formats are most appealing. Which are easiest to read? Which look too cluttered? This is our favorite we’ve found so far.
• Choose a basic font that’s easy to read. Our recommendations? Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or Verdana. And…don’t even think about going smaller than a size 10 or 12 point font.
• Don’t use a margin of .01″ all the way around your resume so that you can fit everything onto one page! Make sure there’s plenty of blank space on your resume. Nothing will make an employer file your resume in the recycling bin faster than a resume that looks like this:
• Throwing around words like “flexible,” “culturally sensitive,” or “self-motivated” because they sound good to employers is dangerous if you can’t back it up with concrete examples of experiences or ways that you have demonstrated these qualities. Make sure you’re honest and ready to provide evidence!
• If you’re having trouble saving space, don’t feel the need to list your references (unless the instructions specifically request them) – simply write “References Available Upon Request” at the end.
• Include your contact information in a place that’s easy to spot (usually the top). Use your judgment about how much information to include; personal (not work) e-mail and phone number are a must, but addresses may be included depending on the situation. Remember, if your personal e-mail is BaByGuRrL4u1992@yahoo.com or bootylicious7491@hotmail.com, it might be time to open a grown-up account. 😉

We know that you’ll rock it in the resume world, but if you need a good laugh in the meantime, check out these common resume mistakes to learn more about what NOT to do!

Finally, don’t forget that if you participate on a Barcelona SAE program, not only will the experience itself look great on a resume…but you’ll also have a team of staff to help you one-on-one with any professional development questions.