By Janet Lewis
Navigator staff and professional counselor working at a university career center

You have about 15 seconds to convince an employer to take a second look at your resume. How do you move to the “second look” pile rather than the pile going to the shredder? Here are three strategies.

1. Start with the job description

Ideally, every resume you send out should be tailor-made for the job you’re seeking. Have a resume on your computer that you can revise each time you send it out. Highlight what the employer is looking for then make a list of your skills that fit the skills listed on the job description. Do they want someone who can work with databases? Do they want someone who has experience in a multicultural environment? Beside each skill, write out an example of how you have demonstrated that skill in a task or an action. Create four or five bullet points around these skills and put them in one of the top sections of your resume.

2. Make your objective specific

There is a tendency to speak in general terms because you do not want to limit your options. However, being too generic can work against you. When employers look through a pile of resumes, they look for a specific list of requirements. At the first run through, the resume is scanned for these specific items. Then it is put into one of two piles based on these specific requirements—either the reject pile or the “second look” pile.

3. Make it easy for an employer to find your top experiences

Resumes that are hard to read—with weird fonts, pictures, or too much writing—will prevent you from communicating your key experiences. If it is hard to read, the employer won’t read it! If your resume is too long, the employer won’t read it either. The rule of thumb for a bachelor’s degree and an entry-level job is to keep your resume to one page. You can go to two pages if you have a lot of experience or have been working for a while.

Make sure that your most important information is in the top half of your resume. If you are applying for a technical job have a separate section for your technical and computer skills. Group related experiences together under headings such as writing experience, creative experience, or fund raising experience. When you are thinking about your relevant experiences don’t forget to include your leadership involvement, class projects, presentations, and travel abroad.

Writing a good resume takes time but the results are worth the effort. You have great experience and you want to communicate this effectively to an employer. A targeted, well-written resume will open the door for further conversation and maybe a great new career!