Tonight, our very own Sarah Taylor will lead us in a resume workshop. Followed by resume reviews by members of the executive board and free headshots! Sarah starts the meeting with her presentation, going over the three types of resumes.
The first resume type is the standard resume write-up that the University of Maryland’s Smith School gives out (this can be found on HireSmith). This resume is black and white text, with no photographs or graphics. It is important for this resume to be neat, clean, organized, and legible. This resume is perfect for a person who is applying for a job specifically in finance, law, and business.
Moving along we have a semi-creative resume. This resume type is made with a template. One resource if you are looking to make this type of resume would be Canva, it is easy, free, and has a plethora of template choices to use! This template is made with one or two colors, unlike the standard resume. There are some design elements, which make this a perfect resume for the marketing or creative industry.
The final resume is the full creative resume. In this resume format, the applicant fully controls their design. These resumes are typically made in Adobe Illustrator or Indesign. This resume is one to three colors and may include flat icons, or graphics to enhance the message and break up the text. This type of resume is great for graphic design jobs and any job that requires a portfolio in your application.
Continuing with the presentation, Sarah moves on to what makes a good resume. Starting with general tips, your resume should be changed based on the job description you want your resume to match what the company/organization is looking for.
Sarah points out a very important rule: don’t include a picture of yourself! This can take away space on the resume, you want your employers to see what you have accomplished and why you are qualified for this position, not what you look like. A picture could also lead to cases of discrimination or getting hired/not hired for a reason besides your skills and qualifications.
Another characteristic of a good resume is having three to five bullets. Your employer does not want to know your life story and they want to quickly skim over your resume. Keep your qualifications concise and one page long. You can always explain and elaborate in your cover letter or interview.
Next, Sarah dives into explaining organizational tips to keep your resume neat and precise. It is important for all of your crucial information to be above the fold. Sarah explains how you should organize your bullet points from most to least relevant. Use chronological order so recruiters can see what you have done most recently. Finally, write clear methods on how recruiters can best reach out by including your phone number and email.
The semi-creative and full-creative resumes require an understanding of design elements. Sarah explains how when using those formats it is important to know design tips and resources. It is important to make your resume reflective of how you are, creating a consistent color palette will help enhance and show your personal brand. Sarah recommended using sans-serif fonts because they are more legible. However, it is important to remember to not over-design. Don't let aesthetics get in the way of providing important information.
For design and content resources, Sarah lists lots of great resources! For design resources, Canva has a large selection of templates that are great for semi-creative resumes. All UMD students have free access to Adobe Creative Suite and LinkedIn Learning to help you design a full creative resume.
To end the presentation, Sarah recommends reaching out to your mentorship pod for feedback or someone on the AMA Executive board. The Office of Career Services also frequently has resume reviews by OCS staff or even employers. Sarah advises members to take advantage of these resources!
After the presentation, three members of the AMA Executive Board, Samara, Luca, and Gabby review members' resumes! Anjali, a member of our AMA Executive Board brings a group out into the hall to take free headshots! Thanks to Sarah, Samara, Luca, Gabby, and Anjali, our AMA members are ready for application season!
If you have any questions about resume building please feel free to reach out to our amazing AMA Executive Board, or check out events by OCS on HireSmith!
- Layla Shulman