It’s in the details: Undergraduate résumé tips from PPD

Undergraduate | Mar 31, 2017 | Casey Shenloogian

Gabelli School undergraduates are diverse, from their home towns and countries to their majors and concentrations, but they share a similar goal: to start a career after graduation.

One step toward reaching that goal? Building a résumé.

While experience is important, it’s often the details that make the first impression.

Here are some of those details, shared by the Personal and Professional Development Center, that will help you land a shot at your dream opportunity.

1. Get rid of the hyperlinks.

It’s fine if you want to add your LinkedIn address or email on your résumé; just make sure it’s not in blue. According to Cynthia Bush, director of career advising for undergraduate programs, “the blue is distracting. If the first thing I see is blue then I’m not looking at all of the wonderful things you have [included] about yourself.”

2. Make sure your alignments are, well, aligned.

Repeated use of bullet points and subtitles is completely acceptable, but if they aren’t aligned with each other than your résumé might look sloppy. Keeping everything aligned with corresponding categories will show that your organizational skills are solid, even on paper.

3. Keep the font and bullets classic.

You may want to express your creativity by choosing stars, but the person reviewing your résumé isn’t interested in seeing anything other than regular bullet points. Likewise, if your résumé is written in Comic Sans, change it to a more universal, professional font.

4. Your résumé shouldn’t be longer than a page.

When asked the question of whether a two-page résumé was okay, Bush had a quick response: “No.” She called upon her own past experience as a finance-sector recruiter, noting that a one-page résumé is most appropriate at the entry level.

5. When taking the one-page limit into account, don’t make the font smaller than 11 pt.

Not everyone has stellar vision, which could include the person looking at your résumé. It’s hard to squeeze every last detail onto a single page, but if you need a microscope to read those details, you’ll need to prioritize.

Want someone to review your résumé or help you prepare for an interview? Contact the PPD Center, or see what else it has to offer.