Have you heard of the 15 second rule?… No, not the one where you accidently drop food on the floor and have to eat it within 15 seconds … or was it 10? Anyway, THIS 15 second rule simply states that employers will spend about 15 seconds MAX looking at each resume to maximize efficiency. You’re probably thinking: That’s an awfully short amount of time for all that hard work! So what makes a resume stand out from all the rest you may ask? For those of you who are too lazy to read through hand-outs or books on resume writing, here are a few tips that may get your resume noticed…
1) 1 OR 2 pages. Note the “OR”.. this means you either have a full 1 page resume, or extend it to 2 FULL PAGES. Never have 1 and a half or even half a page for your resume.. this simply shows that you’ve put some thought about your skills and experiences, and are capable of articulating them effectively. For tips on how to be more succint, or how to elaborate on what you’ve got, check out the wealth of books on resume writing at Career Services!
2) Minimum 3/4″ margins on all four sides. This means you should avoid stretching the margins to make more room for your writing. This is not only makes your resume look more professional, but it facilitates skimming by the employer, and most of all, if your resume were to be photocopied, keeping the standard 3/4″ margins will ensure part of your resume doesn’t get cut off (which would be a total bummer, especially after all that hard work you put into making it!)
3) 10-12 point font, that is kept consistent. This means if you’re using a Seriff font, you keep it seriff throughout the entire resume. Of course, if you want to bold, feel free to do so, but keep the same font style.
4) Distinctive header for name and contact information. Once again, to stand out in that pile of resumes, you’ll want to show some creativity, individuality and thought. Some excellent examples of headers can be found in “Queen’s Best Resumes” at Career Services. In addition, for consistency, you’ll want to use the same header in your cover letter.
5) Appropriate use of bold, italics, spacing, indents, margins, tabs… these all help to create visual impact, and help draw the employer’s eye to the key information first.
6) SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF! seriously… especially if you’ve claimed somewhere in your resume that you “pay attention to detail”. This not only shows that you can be professional, but for the employer’s sake, he/she will be more inclined to spend more time on a resume that is neat, attractive, inviting, and overall, easy to read!
As you start writing away with your newly acquired knowledge, I wish you the best, and hope to see you sometime on the 3rd floor of Gordon Hall! Career Services staff have got to be some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet! :)
Until next time,
Jessica Pun, Peer Career Educator