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Every fall recruiters come to Berkeley and hold mock interviews and review student resumes. Below are some of the comments they made after reviewing this year's crop of resumes.

Appearance

Employers said they like to see good formatting, including not too much information, concise but meaningful statements, and good space around descriptions.They expect well prepared resumes that are not burdensome or difficult to read.

Most employers preferred that you use bullets to highlight your most meaningful work experience and activities. It's not only easier to read, but it also showcases the experiences.

All agreed that a one page resume is best. If you have many positions or activities which do not fit on one page, describe the most important ones and summarize the others.

Content

Employers want easy to understand explanations of what a candidate did in their job. They like specific and action-oriented terminology.

One employer stated, "…Students needed help with ways to verbalize what they had done. Their descriptions of what they had done weren't as strong as they could have been. I encouraged them to think about better ways to kick up their job descriptions and use more powerful words on their resume." Here is where the use of specific and strong action verbs is helpful - the Resume and Letter Writing (PDF) section of the Job Search Guide includes a Verb List.

Employers are also impressed with statements about accomplishments and achievements and what you learned from the experience. One employer noted, "In addition to listing what you did at an internship or job, also highlight what you learned or the skills you developed, e.g., presentations to management, managing difficult clients, etc., especially soft skills, which are transferable to any job."

Some Mistakes to Avoid

• Leaving off the dates while listing jobs. "Encourage students to include dates, even if they did not work there for a long period of time."
• Not including complete contact information.
• Giving too much information. "By slimming down the content, it makes it easier for interviewers to focus on the important stuff."
• Not including part time work, volunteer activities or other jobs that they think aren't related to the position they are applying for. "It is very important to list any and all work experience even if it is not relevant to the position for which they are applying."

Final Words

Employers' overall feedback indicated that students' resumes were strong and they especially liked those where students took time to craft a well written document. As one employer stated, "I was especially impressed with those resumes where you could tell students put a lot of work into it."

Additional Resources

Making the First Cut

Common Resume Pitfalls

Getting Your Resume Ready for Today's Recruiting Needs