Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Career Advice: Part 2

Write a Better Resume

With the Engineering Career Fair coming up, computer engineering alumnus Chris Bloomquist (BSCpE ’01), a technical recruiter at Robert Half Technology and a person who sees a lot of resumes from aspiring engineers, shares tips for writing a good resume.

Format it appropriately. Use a bulleted list rather than paragraph form.

Don’t create red flags. Some items on your resume could raise a red flag for an employer, causing him or her to throw out your resume immediately. Avoid these common resume mistakes:

  • typos;
  • making it too wordy or lengthy; and
  • including photos and personal information beyond your phone number, mailing address, and e-mail address.

Write a cover letter. If you’re not a local candidate, add a cover letter to your resume to tell the company why you want to work there and why you want to work in that city. If you’re going to be in the company’s town visiting, let them know.

See other parts of the Career Advice Series: