With the job market currently at an 8.2 percent unemployment rate, it's imperative that job applicants have a resume that gives them a competitive edge. 

After our friend Alice, a hiring manager at OPENonline, gave us advice in a previous article on job seeking, our readers emailed us a bunch of follow-up questions! So we asked Alice to provide more insight into the best practices in pursuing a new job. This month, we're tackling the piece of paper that either makes or breaks an invitation to interview for a coveted position: the resume.

Go for it, Alice!

In recent months, we've been expanding our team and recruiting for many new positions and with this comes an influx of resumes for us to review. It’s safe to say we've have seen every type of resume imaginable in my years of performing job recruitment. Due to my exposure and perspective, I have developed a few simple resume dos and don'ts:

• DO: use simple, consistent formatting. Be sure the font is the same throughout. Use bold or underlining when necessary to highlight specific items on your resume, but use these sparingly and only when necessary. It’s okay to use a sample resume to get started so you’ll have a consistent format, but be sure to fill in or delete all unused pre-formatted fields (for example fields such as [name], [address], etc. should all be filled in or deleted).
   
• DO: make sure to check grammar, punctuation, and spelling. There is really nothing worse than misspellings in a resume. I can’t stress this enough!
   
• DO: BE HONEST! Please confirm that ALL information is accurate. Inaccuracies can come to light during the interview process and dishonesty is almost always a deal breaker -- even if it was a careless mistake.

• DO: include your contact information on your resume and be sure you’re providing a current address, email, and phone number.
   
• DO: include the names of the companies where you have worked.
   
• DO: ALWAYS include the dates of employment for all positions.
   
• DO: separate all positions. The only exception to this is if a company where you worked was sold or merged but you remained in the same position. I then recommend listing these together to show the entire duration of the position, but a brief comment to explain is appropriate.
   
• DO: use bullets to describe your duties associated with each position. Give enough detail to describe functions, but don’t go overboard.
   
• DO: include an objective that is relevant to the position you are seeking and your qualifications. Keep it short but remember this is your opportunity to describe yourself, your qualifications, what you will bring to the company as an employee, and what you are seeking in employment. This is an important part of your resume. Spend the time needed to make this effective!
   
• DO: briefly describe outside interests, association memberships, and certifications, but only if they are relevant.
   
• DO: include a brief yet accurate summary of your education and GPA especially if you performed well in college. This reinforces responsibility and determination.
   
• DO: include specific demonstrated successes if they are relevant and warranted for the position.
   
• DO: send your resume in a widely used format, such as Microsoft Word or PDF. If your resume is sent in another format and the recruiter can’t open it or readily review your qualifications, they likely won’t consider you for the position.
   
• DO: take your time! Review everything before hitting send on that email and REMEMBER TO ATTACH YOUR RESUME!
   
• DO: consider whether your email address relays a professional image. For example, I’ve received resumes with email addresses alluding to being a foxy felon, a striving maniac, a Salem witch child, and having a lawless history. These email addresses may be considered catchy and fun to their owners, but the addresses themselves set a poor tone (and are the first thing the recruiter sees) when applying for employment via email. Similarly, overly provocative or addresses containing swear words, etc. are unfitting when emailing resumes and seeking employment.
   
• DO: if applying by mail or in person, print your cover letter and resume on presentation paper and present them in some type of folder. It’s all about first impressions!

• DON’T: try to use fluff or excessive “big” words to try to impress. It is better to be direct and to the point. Remember recruiters are very busy, less is better while still getting the point across.
   
• DON’T: provide references on your resume.
   
• DON’T: categorize and summarize experience as the main content of your resume with a bulleted list of employers, titles, and dates of employment below. This style of resume makes it very difficult to determine 1) how long specific duties were performed and 2) at which positions the duties were performed. 
   
• DON’T: list a different position title in your objective statement other than the position for which you are applying.
   
• DON’T: have empty pages at the end of your resume. This sends a message that you were careless and didn’t thoroughly review your resume before applying.
   
• DON’T: send your resume in bulk. It is extremely tacky to see that your resume has been sent to multiple email addresses at once.

• DON’T: if applying by mail or in person, handwrite the address on your envelope or any portion of your presentation package.

Your resume is an extremely valuable opportunity to showcase your qualifications! You should approach it seriously and create it with great care. Take your time and make sure you include only necessary and pertinent items that describe your previous experience and other relevant qualifications. Challenge yourself to include what is needed with the minimum amount of words and space used, while still being creative and providing the facts a recruiter or hiring manager would need to consider you for the position.

Finally, put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes, realizing that they often receive hundreds of resumes in response to a posting. The resumes that provide a clean, simply formatted, and straightforward representation of experience and qualifications are very much appreciated!

Good luck out there!

-Alice

This post was sponsored by OPENonline.