Resume Tips for Information Professionals (or anybody, really!)
By Susan Epstein, Librarian
FSU Career Center/Division of Students Affairs
A resume, when it documents your unique qualifications and reflects the position for which you are applying, can be a very valuable marketing tool in your job search. Employers utilize resumes to decide whom to interview and receive numerous resumes for one position; therefore, your resume should be well organized, concise and very clear (use 12 pt. type if possible and minimal graphics).
When sending your resume to an employer (as compared to meeting at a career exposition), introduce yourself with a personalized, professional cover letter stating why you are sending your resume and highlighting pertinent qualifications.
Writing an effective resume involves several necessary steps: identifying and documenting your attributes, skills and experience, learning about resume categories and how to organize your information, reviewing high-quality resume samples, and checking and rechecking the finished product for grammar errors and typos (employers always notice mistakes!).
The Career Center’s Resume Writing Guide can help you learn what’s included in a resume and various formats you may want to use, as well as featuring a list of positive-action verbs. A example of very good librarian resumes can be found at http://www.betasearch.com/r/lib1.htm. Both resumes are easy to follow and accurately describe the qualifications of the librarians. Several modifications I would make in the first resume (Jennifer Smith’s) are:
- In EDUCATION, switch “The University of Albany…” with “Master of Library Science” and “Babidean…” with “Bachelor of Arts, English”
- In LIBRARY EXPERIENCE, put the verbs in her current position in the present tense and switch “Instructed students…” and “Provided reference service…” in her intern position and
- Create a SKILL AREAS category with subheadings Technology and Foreign Languages (adding a bullet in front of “Reading knowledge…”).
In the second resume (Mary Manager’s), I would omit the OBJECTIVE section, changing SUMMARY to PROFILE. Typically a new library studies graduate would put EDUCATION before EXPERIENCE, but in Mary’s case, EXPERIENCE before EDUCATION is fine as she has substantial professional library experience. In the PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS section, I would add the dates of membership in the same format as in the EXPERIENCE section.
Remember: your resume is a document about your qualifications, but it also demonstrates your writing, organization and design skills — what will a potential employer think about your ability to effectively communicate your qualifications?