Churning out an impressive resume can be tricky, especially when there is so much advice already available. Continuing our #ThursdayThrive series, we have gathered some of our favorite tips for taking your resume to the next level!
Keep It Simple
You might be tempted to flaunt your artistic eye through your resume with beautiful colors and graphics. Rookie mistake! Unless you’re applying for a creative position (or asked by the requirements to do so), keep it plain and simple with clean, separate sections. The more readable, the better! Someone should be able to quickly scan your resume and get the gist of what you can offer. Aim for a balance between white space and content to avoid overwhelming the reader. Just because you can fill every square inch of a page with size 8 font and .8 spacing does not mean you should!
Ditch the High School Hobbies Section
Unless that blue ribbon you won in the 10th grade hopscotch tournament is very relevant to the job, it’s time to bid farewell to your high school achievements by the middle to end of your sophomore year. Instead, use that precious space to showcase your current passions and accomplishments!
Quantify Like a Data Scientist
Numbers speak louder than words. Whenever possible, quantify your achievements. Did you increase sales by 20% at your part-time job? Did your social media campaign reach a gazillion views? Even if you can’t include tangible results, you probably can add some type of numbers for context. You planned events for your student organization. How many events? For how many people? In what budget? Numbers add credibility and make you look like the superstar you truly are!
Say Bye to the ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Approach
You should have a different resume for Every. Single. Job. Highlight experiences and skills that align with the specific role you’re after. It’s like customizing a pizza, extra cheese for that tech internship, hold the pepperoni for the marketing gig.
Banish Buzzword Bingo
Avoid drowning your resume in a sea of generic buzzwords. Phrases like “team player,” “hardworking,” and “detail-oriented” have been overused to the point of becoming white noise. Let your experiences and accomplishments do the talking. Show, don’t tell!
Mind Your Manners
No typos, no grammatical errors, and no Comic Sans! Your resume is your first impression, so make it count. Proofread like your future depends on it (because, well, it kinda does). Stick to professional fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
Don’t Underestimate the Art of Networking
Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know (or whom, if you want to impress the grammar police). Attend career fairs, connect with professionals on LinkedIn, and don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for informational interviews. You never know when a casual chat over coffee could lead to your next big opportunity. Want to know more about this? Check out our previous blog here!
Use Career Center Resources
Miami’s Center for Career Exploration and Success is exceptionally good and offers a ton of resume-related services. If you’re starting from scratch, check out its website’s resume page for basic information on sections to include, examples by career cluster, and ideas on how to structure the resume.
Once you have a draft of your resume, you can upload it to VMock, a virtual resume feedback application, for review. After updating it again, drop in for a resume review.
Other helpful resources from the Miami’s Career Center:
Just remember: your resume is like your personal hype squad, cheering you on to that dream job. So keep tinkering, updating, and jazzing it up with your awesome experiences and skills. With a dash of personality and a sprinkle of confidence, there’s no limit to what you can achieve!
Chi Truong | Class of 2026
