Tom McKiver/The Mirror
Brand new suit. Fresh haircut. A firm handshake.
First impressions are everything during a job interview and your resume is no exception.
In an increasingly challenging job market, a strong resume is the key to success after graduation. However, one side of a piece of paper is no longer sufficient for an employer according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.
In an era dominated by technology and social media, it is only fitting that of a resume is now a combination of the traditional paper outline and a professional profile on an online database. Websites such as LinkedIn are now required to be a legitimate prospective employee.
Using LinkedIn
According to The Wall Street Journal’s “Updating a Resume for 2011” employment specialist and author, Wendy Enelow states that “In today’s executive search market, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you don’t exist.” Thus, embracing available technology is mandatory rather than recommended.
For those you who do not have a LinkedIn profile yet, it is a website where users create an electronic, detailed version of their resume. LinkedIn provides the user space to post a photograph, list their interest and talents, as well as providing traditional resume information such as work experience and education.
This way, an employer has immediate access to a wider range of job applicants at the click of their mouse. It is both practical and convenient, making the users’ information available to a wider range of potential employers that a paper resume in the mail might not be able to reach. LinkedIn benefits users on both ends of the employment process.
Senior biology student Mike Whitley stated that “Joining LinkedIn is the new passage into adulthood. Once you have a LinkedIn profile, you’ve begun to make it.”
Business student Andy Cardone agreed saying that “LinkedIn is like the Facebook for employers and let’s be honest, who wants to be left out of the employment network.”
However, LinkedIn alone is not enough to get you hired. A paper resume is still a necessity, but the format and content is vital for standing out as a great potential employee.
Ideal Traditional Resume
Although technology is an important component to getting a job, the paper resume is still important. Like all first impressions, your resume is either a hit or miss, but there are several steps to creating the perfect outline.
According to Fairfield Career Center advisor Cath Borgman, the resume format for current and recently graduated students is easy to follow and that placement, organization and word choice are crucial to resume success.
Borgman stressed primarily importance of accessibility and organization saying that “Since recruiters take five seconds to scan the resume, you don’t want to have all of the information squished together making it difficult to look over. The more effort they have to put into it the less of a chance they will actually end up reading it.”
Because five seconds is such a small window of time, Borgman gave the following tips for a clear, functional resume.
• Begin with name, e-mail address, phone number, Fairfield University, major, month and year of graduation at the top of the page.
• A resume must have experiences that will tell the future employer what skills you have and how you used those skills. This is where you insert job and internship dates, as well as an explanation of what skills you applied there.
• Action words and the use of key words are very important so your resume positions your abilities as the kind that are transferable, meaning that your skills can be applied to almost any line of work.
• Do not rely on resume templates found online, they can be difficult to modify when updating your resume.
• Do not rely on spell check. Words can be spelled correctly but not taken in the right context. Read it and have a friend read it…just not after going to the Grape.
• Do not embellish your grades or your work experience. They will find out one way or the other.
• Using colorful inks or papers will get you noticed but not necessarily in a good way.
•Do not put pictures on your resume. Save them for Facebook or LinkedIn.
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