Dos and Donts of Formatting Your Resume

Dos and Donts of Formatting Your Resume Dos and Donts of Formatting Your ResumeDosEach section of your resume should start with the most recent education, experience or activity to the oldestIf you are printing your resume, use white or off-white paperUse a standard font (example Arial) for your resume avoid fancy serf fontsText size or your font should be 1012-points, your name and headings can be larger, 12 points, and the body 10 pointsBe cautious about overuse of italics and boldface, and be consistentif you use boldface schriftart for one job title, do so for all job titlesExplain any acronyms you use in your resume the first time you mention them, unless the term is a generally known standard or a standard within a given industry that you are applyingUse indented statements with bullets, as a general guideline each bullet point should be at least five words and no more than three lines longUse quantities, numbers and dollar values when possible to demonstrate successes or scop e of responsibilitiesUse action words such as contributed, managed, developed, led, operated to describe your responsibilitiesPut the strongest statements or qualifications at the topHave someone with strong English spelling and grammar skills check your spelling, grammar and punctuationAlwaysbe creative and original without being gimmicky or offensive. For example, if youre applying for an internship in social sales and marketing, a QR code with your contact info is not gimmicky. It demonstrates your understanding of current social sales strategies.DontsDont try to impress with big, fancy words or jargonDont use gimmicks. But stay aware of evolving resume trends such as the Twesume* or TweetMyResume that you might be required to use as parte of your internship applicationDont use photos of yourself on your resume unless requested by the employerDont include salary history unless requestedDont include personal information such as religion, national origin, or political affiliationsD ont use pronoun I repeatedly to describe your responsibilities*A Twesume is your resume in 140 characters or less and is becoming popular with companies who use social recruiting.Marv Russell was a renowned student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame. Amiddle linebacker, Marv was a member of the universitys 1973 NationalChampionship Team. He has a masters degree from Indiana University and iscurrently completing PhD studies in International Human Resources andDevelopment. He is a senior human resources professional who has proven in aller weltsuccess in the deployment of modern leadership and human capital development.Marv is the author of LINEBACKER IN THE BOARDROOM and FINDING YOUR INTERNSHIP.For more information visit www.marvrussell.com