Next Steps to a Great Resume
- Does your resume pass the test? Compare your resume to the
tips below.
- Is the objective statement clearly focused on a specific position?
- Is the content tailored to support the skills needed to do your objective?
- Is your resume easy to read with a clean font, layout, and design?
- Did you provide specific accomplishments, skills, and results that demonstrate your abilities vs. just listing duties or tasks? (i.e. “Created a training program to enhance overall customer service” instead of “Provided excellent customer service”)?
- Did you include a Related Coursework and Related Projects section, if applicable?
- Have you correctly listed your anticipated degree as Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) or Master of Archives and Records Administration (MARA)?
- Do your sentences start with action words and is the verb tense correct?
- Did you limit the length to one or two pages and go back only 10-15 years in your experience?
- Is your resume free of spelling, grammar, and formatting errors?
- Do you feel good about your final draft resume? It is a representation of you.
- Further Reading:
- Review General Resume-Writing Books
- Resumes for Dummies, 8th ed., by Laura DeCarlo, For Dummies, 2019, available as an ebook through King Library.
- How to Write the Perfect Resume, by Dan Clay, [n.p.], 2018.
- Knock ‘em Dead Resumes, 12th ed., by Martin Yate, Adams Media, 2016 (note: King Library has the previous edition of this book available as an ebook)
Would you like a resume critique?
If you followed the tips in this section and your resume passes the final checklist above, then you may wish to email your final draft resume (not your first effort, please) to Carrie McKnight, iSchool Career Center liaison, for review and feedback. Please allow 7 business days for Carrie to respond.