The Class of 2010 is in trouble. Facing one of the worst job markets in the country’s history, students find themselves working minimum-wage retail jobs to make ends meet, competing for unpaid internships with industry veterans looking to launch new careers, and even coping with the loss of their health insurance following the end of their full-time student status. Indeed, it’s a jungle out there. Such a reality, then, makes a uniquely tailored resume all the more important. As the era of tight budgets finds most public and even some private schools being forced to curtail career development services in favor of basic educational needs, more and more students find themselves adrift when it comes to resume writing, resume objectives, and cover letter development. Such deficiencies could unfortunately mean a prolonged job hunt for the individual. Luckily, most graduate mistakes are common and easily corrected with stricter personal oversight:
The resume and cover letter are unfocused The biggest mistake that new grads can make is a failure to research companies before applying, and this results in generic, unfocused resume writing that turns off recruiters, fails to trigger an organization’s electronic resume scanner, and does not result in an interview. Determine the specific recipient of your resume and cover letter, and insert their name as opposed to the generic “Hiring Manager,” “Recruiter,” or “To Whom It May Concern.” Keep your objective or short summary focused to the organization’s key strengths, pick at least one company attribute that you admire and explain why, and don’t be afraid to get personal when explaining why you would fit within the company. Above all, it’s important that the company be able to easily discern its potential return on investment from the materials should it hire you.
There are typos, grammatical errors, sentence structure problems, or layout issues The penchant for simple grammar and usage errors among America’s grads means that they are putting themselves at risk once their materials come before a hiring manager. This is a concern that moves beyond simple typos: recruiters are likely to notice every typographical error that crosses their desk, and it is likely that those resumes won’t receive more than a few seconds worth of time. Layout issues, while less common, are still widespread. These can include anything from contact info header problems and complete sentences to including the wrong information. Use bullet points and short fragments of information when describing your qualifications and experience. Keep to a traditional chronological or functional resume format, both of which can be found in BriteTab.com’s arsenal of visually appealing online resumes. Don’t use funky indentations, excessive line breaks, or different fonts.
They’re too long! A major concern among graduates is overall lack of experience. To compensate, many attempt to pad, listing everything from their one-time participation in Math Club to placing 18th at the local horse show in third grade. Though grads are facing increasing amounts of entry-level competition from other demographic sectors, fabricating or partially embellishing experience isn’t the way to stand above the pack. It’s important for graduates to scrutinize every line of their resumes and cover letters, and omit redundant, superfluous information.
BriteTab.com is committed to helping newly minted college graduates structure their resumes to stand out from the pack. With its wide variety of resume templates and ability to upload many forms of multimedia, students can feel confident in their body of work and share it with others…without having to fill out separate applications for each job. Together, BriteTab.com and college grads can create resumes with personality.
