OPINIONS… BY LEIGH ESKIN Employer Resumes

Employers– Giving Feedback! 111 Employers completed the survey  46% were HR representatives  54% were other managers with hiring power 76 respondents were from SeminoleFutures 35 respondents were from Engineering Day

How important is the format and layout of a resume?

Suggestions for students with many job-relevant experiences on their resume

Suggestions for students with many job-relevant experiences on their resume (Continued) “No extra “fluff”, get right to the point” “Eliminate clutter, make the information relevant” “Personalize resume to suit the company and keep it to one page” “The resume should have all the relevant information for the job you are applying for” “Keep resume to one page! Front and back acceptable “If it is all RELEVANT, then 2 pages is fine!”

Which of the following is NOT something you want to see on a resume?

Comments “Alright to use bold, Italics, Capitalization, Underline, and Parenthesis as long as you don’t have all of them” “Balance the page visually (equal margins to frame the page)”

Do you want to see a relevant coursework sections? Yes  40% No  17% Depends  43%

What is your preferred way of organizing dates? September April 2011 (81%) 9/11- 4/12 (13%) : (2%) Winter Spring 2012 (4%)

What Resume format do you prefer?

Which of the following describes your view of a Career Objective Statement?

Which of the following describes your view of a Career Objective Statement? (Continued) “Not necessary, assume employee's objective will be for job” “Applicant needs to tailor resume to our job” “If used, be able to talk about it in depth” “Attach a cover letter” “Should identify career interest- objective, career in public accounting, no fluff” “Only use if specific to job” “Should be relevant to position” “When out of college looking for first job a statement is not needed” “Avoid generalizations”

Which of the following describes your view of a Summary/Profile of Qualifications?

Which of the Following do you prefer to see

Should the following skills be listed on the Resume?

Do you want to see unrelated interests?

What would make you reject a resume?

Your preferred method of receiving resumes

Would you like to see additional certifications?

How long do you spend initially reviewing resumes?

Which of the following URLs should be on a resume?

How Important are the following design elements

Differences between HR Representatives and other Managers 1. HR representatives preferred a 1- page resume with less white space, while other managers prefer a 2-page resume that highlights all experiences 2. HR representatives preferred the Chronological resume while other Managers preferred the combination resume 3. Managers tended to find the Objective and Summary statements more helpful than the HR representatives 4. HR representatives preferred the Objective while the Managers preferred the Summary/profile 5. HR recruiters preferred resumes to be sent in a word document or a website application while other managers preferred PDF attachments

Differences between recruiters at SeminoleFutures and Engineering Day 1. Engineer recruiters were divided between a 1-page resume with less white space, and a 2-page resume highlighting everything 2. These recruiters were also divided on whether to include a career objective and a summary. Seemed to like both options equally 3. The engineer recruiters preferred to receive resumes in a PDF format, whereas the SeminoleFutures were divided between PDF, Word, and website application 4. Resume paper appeared more important to the engineering- day recruiters than at SeminoleFutures 5. Simplicity of design was more important for the recruiters at Engineering-day than at SeminoleFutures 6. SeminoleFutures= Dates and identifiable skills more important, Engineering Day: GPA and relevant major more important.

Overall Consensus! The HR reps, other managers, and recruiters at SeminoleFutures and Engineering Day seemed to have consistent responses!!  Layout was very important!!  Recruiters did not like capitalization  Dates were highly preferred to be written out (April, 2010)  Chronological or Combination resumes were preferred  Employers were split between finding Objective/Summary statements helpful and not helpful. Rated fairly equally  Skills such as computer skills and language skills were preferred to be included on a resume  Unrelated interests (running marathons) were preferred not to be included on the resume  Misspelled words was rated by almost every employer to be a reason to throw out the resume.  LinkedIn is a URL employers like to see on a resume  Resume paper, expression of personality are somewhat important. Simplicity is very important

What advice would you offer students? Reach out to the career center resources!! * Quantify your experiences, be specific Provide a Cover Letter if requested! ALWAYS a plus Always have someone proofread your resume! List community service organizations and relevant skills learned. People skills are important too Try to be as detailed as possible while keeping the resume clear and concise. Use results-driven examples, keep to one page! Numbers! Quantifiable Achievements

What advice would you offer students? GPA is very important to have; it’s okay to ask resume questions at job fair Show qualifications pertinent to the position, and key accomplishments that have been achieved. Answer 2 questions prior to applying for position. What are you passionate about? What do you want to be the best in the world at doing? Take the time to describe what your objective is, and how that would contribute to the organization you are seeking a career with Limit to one page, quality paper

What advice would you offer students? Do not use complete sentences, use bullets! Attention to detail is key, consistent design Be honest, give clear concise goals Emphasize leadership opportunities, minimize unrelated job experience Less is more What jobs, skills, classes ect. separate you from other candidates? How would you contribute to our organization Keep it simple; recruiters want to be able to understand your experience and see how it relates to the applied for position. Don’t want to work hard to figure out what you’re applying for