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HBCU Careers Magazine
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References
Typically, you will include your references as a separate document, and it is customary to simply indicate
“References Available Upon Request”. However, if you run out of room you may omit this statement
entirely.
10 Tips to a Great Looking Resume
The overall appearance of your resume is almost as important as the content. A resume that looks sloppy
or contains typos or grammatical errors will generally be rejected by an employer. The following are tips
on how to create an aesthetically pleasing resume.
• Use traditional font such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Select a readable font size. Never use anything smaller than a 10-point font size for the body of your
resume.
• Individualize your resume, but don’t overdo it. You want your resume to be distinctive, but always
remain streamlined and conservative for easy readability.
• Be consistent with formatting in terms of vertical line spacing, bolding, italicizing, indenting, etc.
• The margins on all sides of your resume should be no smaller than 3/4”.
• Make sure your resume looks aesthetically balanced from top to bottom and left to right.
• Make sure the tense of your action verbs is parallel and consistent. For example: Use the present
tense if you are describing a current experience such as manage, create and develop. Use the past
tense if you are describing a past experience such as managed, created and developed.
• Print your resume on quality 8 1/2 x 11 bond paper in white or a conservative
• Have others review your resume. If possible find out if your career services office will critique your
resume.
• Proofread your resume. NOTE: Simply putting your resume through “spell check” is not enough! You
need to print your resume and carefully proofread it.
Since employers are interested in results use quantifiers when possible to describe
your skills, experience and achievements. Quantifiers are words that describe
your accomplishments in measurable amounts using numbers, dollar amounts or
percentages.
Weak statement with no quantifier:
“Helped with advertising campaign for XYZ University Gazette”
Stronger statement with quantifier:
“Organized and promoted advertising campaign for XYZ University Gazette using direct
mail and communication skills which resulted in a 47% increase in the number of
advertisers”