Road Block: Resume Writing

I'm sitting at Panera rewriting my resume, realizing that I barely remember what I did the summer of '10 and '11. This is kinda, really, sorta, bad...

How do you write the perfect resume? How do you know exactly what your future employers are looking for? Honestly, you really can't know. 

My university offers a "Resume Workshop" about once a month and I'm not sure if I trust it, what if they have NO idea what they are doing? How can they really? Every company, employer, interviewer, is looking for something different, it all depends on the context of the situation and even that person's mood at that very moment. 

So when is doubt what should you do? Google it! 

Best advice I found online: 

You are selling yourself to your employer - give them a reason to want to buy you over everyone else!

Wording: 

• use action words - "coordinated" sounds much better than "did" or "set up"
• companies now have search engines that look for words in your resume - use the right ones! 
• add numbers to your accomplishments - instead of saying "helped process new employees" say that you "helped process 15 new employees" makes it more concrete (unless the number is very low)
• Avoid using pronouns - "I" and "Me" etc. they don't like it 
• use PAST tense when talking about the past. duh! 

Formatting: 

• Be short - try to get everything onto one page - but DON'T make it too word heavy 
• have the main parts - contact info, relevant work experience, education, skills, objective
• use bullets - they don't want to read paragraphs 
• use effective titles, don't be boring 

Other Helpful Tips:

• make your resume stand out - people look at your resumes for ably 5-20 seconds or if your lucky a few minutes
• formats matter - don't copy one straight offline (everyone is) pick a few you like and take aspects of each 
• make sure it looks professional or whatever vibe you are trying to convey 
• create a generic resume and tailor it according to each job posting 
• DO NOT LIE 

All in all this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Hopefully this kick-ass resume will get me a few interviews. Which leads me to another road block, interview questions...