When you haven’t updated your resume for a long time or you haven’t started one, it is quite difficult to start with. You can get A Guide to: Resume Writing from our Career Services Center at Room B201 of Batavia Campus, and the guide will show you the formats you can use, the information you can and cannot put in, plenty of vocabularies you can choose, and two samples of the resume. But here are some tips I’ve learnt from my CEP class.

• No errors in grammar and/or spelling.
• Have a full but not overcrowded page that can be easily scanned.
• Highlight the most important information.
• Have the information related to the career and/or the job you’re applying.
• Make sure all information is clear.
• Organize it well with sections like education, experience, honors, skills, references, etc.
• Get help from a professional from the relating careers.
• Always refresh your resume when you’re in a new position or learn something new.
• Proofread, proofread, and proofread.

You’ve found a new job and been getting ready to send your resume, do you need a cover letter? The answer is always a “yes”! Skip a cover letter, and you’ll miss an opportunity to sell yourself. A cover letter can let you reveal your personality and build the rapport. You also can get A Guide to: Writing a Cover Letter from the Career Services Center, and the guide will show you the format you need to use, the information you need to put in, and a sample of a cover letter.

• No errors in grammar and/or spelling.
• Have a business format for the cover letter.
• Identify the position you’re applying and explain why you’re interested.
• Determine several strong skills you own and tell how they can apply to the job.
• Show that you know enough about the company in the company’s “voice”.
• Thank the readers for taking time and describe how you’ll follow up in the end.
• Keep it short and sweet.
• Ask someone to read it.

Your resume and cover letter say a lot about you. They determine whether you’ll be called in for an interview or not. Be so good that they cannot ignore you.