• Why do Resumes Matter?

  • It is the first point of contact with potential employers.

  • It highlights all your strong assets, skills, experience that's suitable for the role.

  • Your resume has to set you apart from other candidates. 

  • It is the first step in the hiring process.

• Components to the resume:

  • In your resume, you have to target and tailor it to every application.

  • Use keywords and  skills from the job posting.

• The job posting is divided into three parts:

  • The First part is the purpose of the job, this will usually be one or two paragraphs describing the company, values and achievements. 

  • The second part will be responsibilities. In this section, you will find what you are expected to do on the clock from a monthly or yearly basis. 

  • The third section is the requirements. In this section, the employers will list a set of skills they seek from employees. 

• How to read the job posting: 

  • Identify the key skills in the job description.

  • Use the resume introduction to highlight all the skills you have that they are looking for in an ideal candidate, from hard skills to soft skills. 

  • Use the education section to highlight any past courses you have taken which have helped you develop said skills. 

  • Use the relevant experience section to describe how you have used those skills in past experiences. 

• How to get through the applicant tracking software: 

  • This is being used more and more often by companies.

  • This algorithm declines or accepts all types of resumes before the actual companies get a chance to look at them. 

  • Because these are ATS, if it has a difficult time reading the resume, it’ll automatically reject it. 

• Some things to avoid are:

  • Too much colour. 

  • Text boxes and shapes .

  • Clip art or pictures. 

  • Photos of yourself. 

  • Anything with design or made by design programs like Canva or Indesign.

• The Dos and Don'ts:

  • Do: 

    • Tailor the resume to every job application. 

    • Proofread and ask others for any grammar errors.

    • Get feedback.

  • Don’t

    • Never include false information. 

    • Don’t use cliche skills like “team player” if you can’t provide evidence. 

    • Do not use a template from an random resume software. 

    • Do not send out a generic resume. 

    • Do not limit your paid experiences. 

    • Do not write in paragraphs. 

    • Do not focus on skills that are not listed on the job application.

    • Do not exceed two pages unless it is an academic Curriculum Vitae. 

• Formatting your resume:

  • • Keep clean and simple to read.

    • Use a one to two page format.

    • Reverse chronological order for work experience.

    • Don't use overly fancy fonts or colours. 

    • Don't clutter on page with too much text.

• Key Components of a Resume:

  • Contact Information:

    • Place this section in the header of your resume to save space.

    • Use a professional email, not your school email.

    • Include full name, number, email.

    • Don't include unnecessary information like birth date or marital status.

  • Highlight of Qualifications

    • This has two purposes: Allows it to gain extra traction with the ATS because of additional inclusion of key words. 

    • Use bullet points to explain why you are the perfect fit for the job

      • Points for using your academic knowledge, for discussing your hard skills you share with their requirements and for soft skills

      • Don’t be too vague or generic, make it concise.

      • This should be the last section done.

  • Education 

    • This section is often looked over but it allows you to highlight skills you've acquired during your academic journey.

    • When formatting, consider the following: 

      • Full name of degree and program 

      • Start date and expected date of graduation 

      • Institutions of Study and location 

      • Awards or achievements gained during your time there

      • GPA 

      • Courses or projects that allowed you to develop relevant skills. 

      • Don’t include a long list of courses you have completed.

      • List your most recent degree, do not list every type of education you have
          

  • Work Experience:

    • This section can be organized based on how much it correlates with the job application

    • Include: 

      • Title of role you had 

      • Start and end date 

      • Name of company and education 

      • Accomplishment statements, explaining your tasks and skills used during that experience. 

      • Consider situations where an impact was made, took initiative, satisfied peers or supervisors

      • Overcame challenges

    • Don’t just focus on duties but impacts. 

    • Use bullet points, start with an action verb, dont list work without context. 

  • Skills

    • Include both hard and soft skills 

    • Prioritize mentioning the skills listed on the job application

    • Use technical, interpersonal skills

    • Do not list false skills or too many skills

  • Certifications and Awards:

    • List any relevant certifications or awards that show your excellence in the field.

    • Don’t list any certifications that are outdated

  • References (optional)

  • For references, include “Available upon request” 

  • Do not list the reference information. 

Tips Sections 

• Use a venn diagram to make sure you are the perfect fit for the job you are applying to. 

• In the middle should be the skills that align. 

• Use the Star Method During your work experience section! 

  • Situations: explain the challenge you faced

  • Task: describe your responsibilities

  • Action: Explain the actions you took to overcome the challenge 

  • Result: explain the final result and how it benefited.