What If I Have No Experience?
Not to worry. Well, at least don't panic. Remember that internships, volunteer work, and extracurricular activities are all fair game for the Experience section. If you haven't been active in any of these three areas, you'll need to place a lot of emphasis on your Education section. That's fine as long as you've performed well academically and engaged in some interesting class projects. Realistically, though, even if you're a straight-A student, it behooves you to start getting involved outside of the ivory tower if you hope to be able to compete for jobs with your peers.
Elevator Going Up
Promotions are usually interpreted as evidence of high quality performance. You can demonstrate your promotion within an organization by creating two separate entries under a single employer heading-there's no need to list all the employer information twice. Another option is to merge the two descriptions under your current title, and to indicate at the end of the listing that you were promoted from your original position. If you were promoted more than once, or faster than is customary, this should also be indicated (e.g. "promoted twice within 9 months").
Title or Name of Organization - Which Comes First?
The answer depends on which piece of information you believe will have the greatest impact. If you worked at a well-known organization as a gopher then you're better off listing the organization first.On the other hand if you were a vice president at a small company that nobody's ever heard of, go with your title first. The annoying part is that once you've selected the sequence for your first job, you must stay consistent throughout the rest of the resume. Otherwise employers won't know which to expect first, title or organization name, and this will surely aggravate them.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Listing dates of employment is a regrettable necessity unless you want to make it obvious that you're trying to hide something. At least you have some control over how conspicuously the dates appear. If your career progression has been logical and steady, and you have no major gaps in your experience, then you can list your dates of employment in a prominent location. However, if you've had a series of short-term jobs, taken time off to study in a Tibetan monastery, or have been out of the work force for a long time, your task is to bury dates so they receive as little attention as possible. Try placing them at the end of your description so they blend nicely into the rest of the text.
EXPERIENCE: Avon Products, Inc. Marketing Intern Provide administrative and technical support to the Planning, Analysis, and Research team. Assist with the coordination and moderation of focus groups conducted nationwide; handle logistics; collect qualitative data to be used in forecasting. Contributed to the development of a database designed to store information collected during quantitative and qualitative clinics. Maintain database, clean data, and classify information to be entered. 1994-Present
Covering Up Gaps
Although it is quite common to list the month and year of one's employment start and end dates, at times it is more advantageous to list only the year. For the sake of argument let's say that you started working at Taco Bell in June of 1993 and left your job in February of 1994. Five months later you started a new job at the Gap where you are presently employed. By using the "year only method" the employer will have no idea that there was a five month gap. On your resume it will appear as though you were employed continuously from 1993 through the present. Of course, if you're asked about specific dates you should always be honest.
How Far Back and How Much?
Recent experience carries the most weight, but if there's something you've done in your past that you feel warrants mentioning, then by all means mention it. How many jobs should you list? That depends largely on the length of your job descriptions and the amount of information in your other categories. Assuming an average-length description, you probably won't be able to fit more than four to five jobs on a one-page resume, so be selective.
If you held a variety of odd jobs throughout college that don't require individual descriptions, you could lump them all together under one heading such as ''Additional Experience.” At least in this way you are demonstrating to the employer that you have worked steadily while going to school, and have been exposed to a wide range of experiences. You also are conveying a positive impression about your work ethic.
Two-Page Resumes
If you absolutely must go to a two-page resume, make sure your name appears in the upper right corner of the second page, in case the two pages are separated. A debate still rages about whether the pages should be stapled. If they are, just pray the employer doesn't cut herself on the staple. The fact is, though, that you really don't need a two-page resume unless you have a tremendous amount of experience, say ten years' worth, or are seeking a position in academia or non-profit where more detailed job descriptions are the norm. Your resume might also require a second page to accommodate lists of publications, presentations, and research projects.
