NTU Career Tracks 2023

NTU Career Tracks 2023 > Career Skills & Advice > Resume Do’s And Don’ts

Resume Do’s And Don’ts

Do you know that nine in 10 employers use social media to hire talent? On LinkedIn, the largest and most popular professional networking site, you can find career opportunities, keep up with industry trends and get connected to like-minded professionals and thought leaders in your industry. Follow this guide to build your personal brand on LinkedIn.

Do you know that recruiters spend an average of less than 10 seconds on a resume? Increase your chances of securing an interview by customising your resume for each job application and making it relevant. Use your resume to your advantage and highlight your great fit for the role!

DO!

  • Tailor your resume for the position you are applying for.
  • Refer to the job description (JD) to identify the knowledge, skills and attributes (KSAs) required for the role.
  • Highlight relevant skills that you have acquired through internship, work experiences, CCA and volunteering experience.
  • Demonstrate how your KSAs match the JD using the STAR method.
  • Use strong action verbs and substantiate your experiences and achievements with quantifiable data.
  • Refer to the JD to pick out industry-relevant keywords that recruiters may be looking out for and include them in your resume.
  • Make sure your resume is easy to read. Keep it to one or two pages. Use bullet points and be concise with your statements.
  • The quality of your application reveals your attention to detail and level of professionalism. Proofread your resume to ensure that it is free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
  • Run your resume through VMock and enhance it further before sending it out.

DON’T!

  • Don’t use the same resume for all the jobs you apply to.
  • Don’t make claims (for example, good communication skills) without substantiating them with examples.
  • Don’t exceed two pages.
  • Don’t lie about your GPA, skills, or abilities.
  • Don’t write generic career objective statements and long paragraphs.
  • Don’t use an unprofessional email address.

CAO recommends the Resume Template on page 23 as it is professional, clean, simple and applicable for most jobs. It covers essential sections to help you kickstart your resume writing.

As there are thousands of different resume templates, there is no one best resume template or one gold standard. For the best result, always customise your resume to the job description and requirements.

WHAT IS THE STAR METHOD?

SITUATION
Describe the situation you encountered.

TASK
Describe the task you had to accomplish.

ACTIONS
Explain what you did to accomplish the task, how you overcame the challenge and why you did it.

RESULTS
State the positive outcomes from your actions, quantifying them where possible.

For example:
Led a team of six to organise a cycling event to raise funds for MINDS [Situation/Task]. Through active publicity and marketing [Action], 200 students participated and $5,000 was raised [Result].

If you can’t quantify the results, show that you understand the rationale of what you did.

For example:
Led a team of six to conduct research on usability of a new student website [Situation/Task]. Through 10 focus groups [Action], the qualitative and quantitative feedback of 200 respondents were analysed to improve user experience [Result].

FORMAT YOUR RESUME USING THESE TIPS

  • Include LinkedIn or portfolio URL at the header (optional)
  • Use past tense except for current experiences
  • Font type: Use a simple and clear font such as Arial and Garamond
  • Font colour: Black
  • Font size: 11 or 12
  • File format: PDF (1–2 pages)
Values are the qualities that give you a sense of purpose and keep your career satisfaction going.
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Attend CAO’s workshop on Optimise Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile to learn more. Make use of VMock Aspire offered by CAO at www.vmock.com/ntu to make your profile stand out.

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