Résumé Tips We Learned At Résumé Night

September 19th was AMA's Résumé Night, where we hosted speakers Tami and Lori from Career Services, and recruiters Garrett and Stacey from Steelcase Inc. They had a lot of wisdom to share, but if you missed it, here's a brief recap.


GVSU Career Center

They offer many services for students to help you land the perfect career. They offer copywriting, interview preparation, internships, hirings, networking, résumé help, and more! They also work in conjunction with LakerJobs, and can help you find an internship for credit.

They have a walk-in office in DeVos B on the 1st floor or in 257 SCB. Or you can visit their site, www.gvsu.edu/careers.

Members were given fake résumés and had to decide 

which ones were winners, and which would lose the job.

Interview/Résumé/E-mail DO's and DON'T's:

1. No txt speak lol
2. Watch out for autocorrect!
3. Copy and paste into Word to get automatic Spell Check.
4. Silence your phone.
5. If you went to community college, put your Associate's degree on your résumé.
6. It's okay to add a color scheme (like navy and gray) to your résumé but keep it clean and concise.
7. Use careful judgment when deciding whether or not to include a photo on your résumé. Most professionals recommend leaving the photo out.
8. Be confident!
9. To stand out to the folks looking at your résumé, put your name and contact information in large type at the top of your résumé. Your header should be easy to see and the information should not be hidden.
10. Recruiters are hard to meet after graduation- meet them now!
11. Proofread, proofread, proofread! (The folks at the Career Center can help you with this.)
12. Talk about relevant projects from only 1 or 2 classes. You don't need to describe every course you took in detail.
13. You entire résumé should only be 1 page and should highlight your strongest assets. If you overflow onto a second page, consider editing down the information.
14. It isn't necessary to include references; it's okay to put "References Available Upon Request."
15. When asked whether or not your résumé should be "general," or "tailored" to look better to the company, recruiters suggested that you should tailor your résumé with your most relevant assets to make you appear as the best fit for the company. It shows your effort and your attention to detail.
16. The first things recruiters look for are experience (course work, projects, volunteering, internships, portfolio, jobs, extra curriculars like AMA) and education (put your degree at the top and add your GPA- it's important!).
17. Pay attention to the recruiter's instructions.
18. "If I don't have experience, can I apply for an internship or entry level position?" Yes- that's the whole point! The worst they can say is "no."
19. Be specific about the position you are looking for.
20. It's always better to be overdressed- looks DO matter!


And above all, be well-rounded- every recruiter suggested being involved in AMA to boost your résumé to the top of the pile!