By Matthew Swope | Webmaster
Resumes remain the one of the most popular ways for applicants to get an interview with the company he or she is applying to, although many people still do not understand how to construct that perfect resume.
California Baptist University’s Career Service Center allows students the opportunity to bring their resume into the center to have the resume critiqued and enhanced by their staff.
Yenia Lopez, graduate assistant for the career center, explained that resumes should remain one page long and have only bullet-point lists instead of paragraphs.
“Less is more,” Lopez said. “Employers aren’t go-ing to want to read through paragraphs.”
Chelsea Dirks, receptionist for the career services, said consistency throughout the entire resume is one of her most stringent pieces of advice.
“If you can’t structure a consistent resume, then what’s to say you’re going to be detailed-orientated in your job?” Dirks said. “That goes along with spelling errors.”
Dirks added that it is much better just to play it safe with a resume and keep it short.
“Sometimes people will put their (photograph) on the resume; some people will try to make something super artsy, too,” Dirks said. “It’s just distracting. People will put on their resume that they were fired from jobs—don’t put that on your resume. Don’t put that you have a 2.0 (GPA) on your resume, only put it if it is a 3.0 or above.”
She went on to explain that resumes need to be organized in a way that is not only showing the applicant in a positive manner but pertinent to the position an applicant is applying for.
“If you’re applying for an internship, your education should come before your work experience,” Dirks said.
Both Dirks and Lopez stressed that resumes are not designed to get the applicant the job, but that the resume is supposed to just get an interview; the rest is up to the applicant.
Students can bring their resumes by the center during “drop-in hours”, Monday and Tuesday noon to 2 pm or anytime by appointment.
