resume style + resume substance = an interview!

by searud
(Washington, DC)

I have hired interns for several offices in politics/non-profits, and there are several important criteria I look for when reviewing resumes.

The first thing that catches my eye when looking at a resume is the style and formatting. A resume should be just one side of one page. Two pages might be acceptable; three is not. The format should be consistent; for example, if a candidate uses a bold headline followed by a subheadline followed by bullet points, he/she should use that format for each of the subdivisions on the resume.

Any obvious grammatical errors usually rules out the candidate for me. So do resumes written in all caps.

Next, I scan the resume and see how much relevant experience they have for the job to which they are applying. If they don't have any whatsoever, they are immediately eliminated.

In terms of academics, the candidate's school usually matters less than their final GPA, though I look at both. A GPA lower than 2.5 should not be put on a resume, because if it is, the candidate is not likely to be accepted. The school a candidate went to would never rule him or her out for me, although a lack of schooling might (i.e., some positions require a bachelor's degree, while others do not).

The best candidates' resumes will have both breadth and depth: in other words, they will have a lot of experience in the area in question, but they will have experience in a variety of fields related to the job. For example, someone applying to work in a political office should have political experience, but experience in related fields such as journalism or taking a leadership role in a school organization is helpful, too.

Overall, while the actual qualifications on the resume are of course most important, a carefully formatted and well-proofread resume will always win out over a sloppy, hard-to-read, poorly edited resume. A clean style and careful attention to grammar show that the applicant put time and consideration into his or her resume, and therefore will put time and consideration into his or her work.