As the school year and graduation festivities end, many graduates may find themselves without a job or direction on how to find one. Whether looking for a summer job or your first professional entry-level position, there are many things to consider when creating your resume. A resume highlights skills, accomplishments, knowledge and experiences.

Getting Started

Before creating a resume, collect all information on previous job history, educational background and skills, as well as other accomplishments that will relate to the position for which you are applying. Make sure you tailor your resume to fit each position.

Using Keywords

If a resume does not contain keywords similar to the ones in the job announcement, chances are the resume will find itself in the ‘no’ pile early. Study the job description posted by the employer or the organization’s human resource division and make sure to use some of those keywords in your resume.

Length

A resume should be long enough to relate all relevant information, but keep in mind, it is designed to get you the interview, not the job. You can go into more detail about yourself in an interview. Plan to keep your resume to one or two pages.

Integrity

An employer will vet a potential employee to make sure references, social media presence and other sources don’t have any discrepancies with what is written in the resume. Make sure your LinkedIn profile and resume reflect similar skills, accomplishments and experiences. It is just as important to update a LinkedIn profile, as is a resume.

Available Resources

Customers who have an Idaho Career Information System (CIS) account through a public school organization, or access to IdahoWorks are able to take advantage of the Resume Builder feature within the system. The Resume Builder will ask for your work history, educational background, skills and other pieces of information and then automatically generate a resume. This tool is a great way to ensure that your resume is properly formatted and is not missing important pieces of information. 

If you are a recent college graduate, chances are, your institution’s career center has great resources available to students that are little to no cost.

The Idaho Department of Labor also has a team of workforce consultants around the state who can help you outline, create and proofread your resume. These experts are knowledgeable on the types of resumes as well as styles and content. Receiving unemployment insurance benefits is not necessary to request help on your resume. Many of the local offices also have resume writing workshops. Visit the calendar of events for details.

For more information on resume crafting, visit the Idaho Department of Labor’s job seeker page.

Inessa Palnikov, Inessa.Palnikov@labor.idaho.gov
User services coordinator, Idaho Career Information System