I know one thing — when Princeton finds his purpose, he will need a dynamic resume if he wants to move from Avenue Q to Avenue A (the nicer part of town). If you’re like Princeton and just starting out, here are a few tips to help your resume get noticed:

Include a career goal. Many new grads try to keep their resumes “general” so they can apply to a number of different jobs. Show hiring managers that you have focus by incorporating a specific career goal in the resume. You don’t have to create a separate Objective section; you can weave your goal into a Qualifications Summary. If you have more than one objective, create a different resume version for each goal. Yes, it’s more work, but you should see better results if your resume is targeted to one goal.

Reveal your passion. One thing that new grads can offer is passion to succeed in their new careers. You’re not yet burned out like some experienced workers — wide-eyed and enthusiastic, you are willing to do what it takes to get the job done. Express your passion for your new career in your resume’s Qualifications Summary, as well as in your cover letter.

Don’t necessarily limit yourself to one page. That’s right, you may have heard that new grads should always have one-page resumes. But that doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s okay to develop a two-page resume if you need the space to adequately communicate your qualifications. Consider a two-pager if you have lots of relevant information like internships, school projects, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, jobs, multiple degrees, publications, technical skills, and public speaking. Just make sure that the most compelling information appears on the top of page one.

Emphasize education. If your related work history is minimal, your Education section should appear before Experience. Expand your Education section to include courses that are related to your goal, special projects, academic honors, and extracurricular activities. As your career progresses, you can move Education to the end of the resume and cut down on some of the activities listed.

De-emphasize unrelated experience. If you spent summers waiting tables and are seeking a chemistry lab technician job, it doesn’t help to go on and on about your food service duties. Include the positions to show that you worked while attending school, and highlight any stand-out accomplishments (like awards won or leadership roles such as training new-hires), but limit the space you use for unrelated jobs.

Incorporate keywords. More experienced professionals have keywords appear naturally throughout the resume. For example, job titles are often used as keywords when employers are searching resume databases, so an experienced pharmaceutical sales representative will have that keyword listed under Experience as a job title. If you’ve never held the job but want to enter the field, you have to find a creative way to incorporate the term or your resume may never be found. One way is to add the keyword to your Qualifications Summary — you can say that you are seeking a position as a pharmaceutical sales representative. This post provides more information on finding the best keywords for your field.

About the Author:
Resume expert Kim Isaacs offers real world, proven advice on resume writing, cover letters, career change, and job search strategies.
http://www.resumepower.com/blog/

Photo courtesy of Michael Schamis via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons. Thanks, Michael!