Resume: Do's and Don'ts
September 14th, 2023
At Katapult Network, we understand that people are more than just a resume and jobs are more than just a list of tasks. We're a recruiting company that takes a human-focused approach to the job search where we're able to match college graduates with entry-level, professional jobs. Whether you're a job-seeker looking to start your professional career or a hiring manger seeking to build your future leadership at the entry-level, we're excited to be your partner in navigating the search process.
Resumes are still the most common way that businesses decide whether or not you are hirable. They are one way to see whether or not you would be a good fit for a position, but in our opinion, they’re not the best. We at Katapult strongly believe that you are more than your resume. Yet we still want to aid you in pulling yourself over that ledge towards your first job out of college, and having the perfect resume will give you a nice boost. Here are the best do’s and don'ts based off of the resumes that we’ve seen and worked with.
Do's:
1. Consider all of your jobs when creating your resume. You never know which ones could make a hiring manager give yours a second look. You might discredit a customer service job you had that actually looks like valuable experience when placed on your resume. However, this does not mean you should have a job listed that you held when you were fifteen for two weeks. Pick and choose carefully.
2. Put your hard skills onto your resume. Examples are technical skills that you need to perform certain tasks such as knowing Adobe Premier, Photoshop or Excel Spreadsheet. If you feel you don’t have many hard skills it’s time to start learning.
3. Keep your formatting consistent and readable. Oftentimes people think that having colorful fonts and a flashy look will make it more noticeable, but it is read more as a distraction. Your content is what matters. Choose a format that lists your experience from either most current or most relevant to least.
Don'ts:
1. Put your picture on your resume. You could be the most attractive person on the planet, yet your picture could still be looked at in the lens of bias. This bias could be based on your race, age, gender or other factors. You don’t want to give them any excuse to ignore your skills!
2. Waste space by putting soft skills on your resume. Anyone can say that they are a hard worker or a positive person. This common mistake may be detrimental to you getting the job. Hiring managers see the same stuff over and over on resumes and that includes soft skills that everyone claims to have. If you want your resume to stand out, do not be a part of that group of resumes.
3. Make spelling or grammatical errors. A good rule of thumb is the 3:3 rule. First you should look through your resume a minimum of three times yourself for any errors you may have made. Then have three people proofread your resume afterwards. You may think that a spelling error will never happen to you, but you should always be wary.
Remember that you have so many soft skills and attributes that your resume will not get across to hiring managers. Make sure that you follow these do’s and don’ts so you can try to breach that gap. If you do, you will have taken your first steps towards crafting an impressive resume that will aid you in landing the job you’ve been working so hard to get. You are a force to be reckoned with and you CAN do this. Go out and take your piece of the workforce.
