What throws out more resumes than anything is the functuay of the document. It needs to visually be appealing and correct. You don’t have to have a graphic design background to make it look pretty. In fact, Microsoft Word is amazing and can give you a template. But you still need to follow these rules:
♦ Your resume should be no more than two pages (that means one page, front and back).
♦ Use the same font throughout. No whimsical fonts. Good ol’ Times New Roman never goes out of style.
♦ You must have the exact space gaps throughout. If you have a size 14 space between your headers, you better have size 14 for every header.
♦ Use the same font size for the body of the text.
♦ Periods should be used at the end of each line in your bulleted Professional Experiences.
♦ Use past tense. The past experiences you’ve had need to be in past tense. I also like to have my current position in past tense too, so it has a nice flow and truly, even if you’re in that current position, your duties you list are technically in past tense. You could have your current position’s bullets in present tense as well. It can go either way.
♦ Unless asked for, don’t put references on your resume. Listing references is a tad old school anymore because if they’re on as a reference, they’re going to say amazing things about you. However, if they do ask for them, make sure you let your references know that they’ll be listed.
♦ Don’t use acronyms. List everything out. Don’t assume the reader knows what you’re talking about, ever.
♦ Always save as a pdf before submitting. Never send a Word doc resume or application.