Greetings PASA students and alums. Whether you are actively looking for a graduate assistantship or full-time position, this career advice is for you. These tips are based on the 100’s of hiring managers from various universities I have worked closely with at all stages of the employment process, the 100’s of candidates I interviewed, and the 10,000+ resumes I have screened, evaluated, and written.
Each job that you see posted on USC’s website and other universities and colleges receive from 50 to 300 applications per job. These resume tactics will help you stand out among the crowd (Other than being one of the first applicants to apply).
Effective Resume Writing Tips
Qualifications summary. Get rid of your “Objective Statement” and turn it into a “Qualifications Summary.” An objective statement is not necessary on resume after your sophomore year in college – its purpose is to show what you are looking for in a job (an objective). Most hiring managers and HR reps do not read them because they are trying to quickly see why you are qualified and the objective statement falls short. A Qualification Summary indicates why your credentials meet their criteria. Carefully read over the job description and concisely write (in either 3-5 statements or bullet points) why you make a good fit based on the job description. Most job announcements spoon feed their criteria as Minimum Qualifications. This section will be tailored to each job you apply to and not have the same content every time.
Bullet points/action verbs: If you have paragraphs describing your experiences, you are not marketing yourself effectively. Hiring managers and HR professionals do not have time to dig amongst the chunks of text why you meet or exceed their selection criteria. Turn your paragraphs into concise bullet point statements beginning with action verbs. Cleaner and more presentable.
Too little detail. Your bulleted statements should be one to two lines long and tailor the content if possible to the job description.
Proofread and word variation. Proofread. Proofread. Proofread. I have seen countless times where resume and cover letter verbiage contains erroneous syntax and grammar. This is your first impression – many hiring managers see this as a direct correlation to attention to detail/writing skills in your day to day work.
One-page resume myth. Yes, it’s true. If you have the experience, showcase it beyond one page. You resume matures with your career, meaning resume should be one page in college, one to two pages from one year to four years, two pages (no less) four to fifteen years, and two to three pages 15+ years of experience.
Targeted Resume.
Targeted Section Headers. Stand out among the candidates applying by not only tailoring your qualifications section, but also each section header. Again, the purpose is to showcase why you are a good fit for the position. For instance if you have Student Affairs experience and you are applying to a Student Affairs job, your section header can say “Student Affairs Experience” and have a section after with “Additional Higher Education Experience” or “Relevant Experience.”
Targeted Content. Read over the job description carefully and highlight any relevant experience and anything that makes you meet/exceed the qualifications that you did in your former/current positions. Put those bullet points to the top of each position experience. Remember, the hiring manager is figuring out if you are a good fit for their position both environmentally and technically. These tactics will make you stand out from the candidates who do not have the experience.
If you have any questions regarding your resume, please feel free to reach out to me:
Justin Fiske, PASA ‘11
Human Resources Representative
Stanford University
jfiske@stanford.edu
