Making Your Job Application Stand Out

By: Maggie Onder

Looking for a job or internship can be a stressful process. To make it a little bit easier, below are some great tips to help you through the process.

Resume Formatting

On average, a recruiter spends seven seconds looking at a resume. That statistic means your resume needs to fit certain criteria to be looked at more closely. Formatting is a key aspect of a resume that can often be overlooked. When done properly, it can increase readability and the chance a recruiter will look closer at the content of your resume. 

Your resume should not be more than a page unless you have 10+ years of experience. Recruiters will often not look past a page even if you include it.

Section headers should clearly differentiate each section to separate out different aspects of your life such as education and work experience. Your sections should go horizontally across the page as columns tend to dilute the efficiency of spacing. 

It is also important to keep in mind that many resumes go through automated systems before they ever reach a human eye. These automated systems often filter out colors, pictures, and fonts. Unless you are applying for a graphic design position, it is smart to keep your resume in black and white and in Times New Roman with a font size between size 10 and size 12.

A helpful Boston University-approved template to follow can be found here.

Resume Content

Content is also critical to a resume. After reading about the experiences on your resume, one should be clear about the duties you have had previously and the impact of those duties.

A great way to talk about this experience is through bullets point. Each experience mentioned on your resume should have two to three bullet points describing what you did during your time there. These can be one to two lines each. 

These bullet points should start with a strong action verb that shows your active role in the experience. You should then go on to talk about duties at the organization and the impact those had. Whenever possible, you should qualify and quantify. What this means is that you should both state the impact of what you are doing and apply numbers to the experience. Numbers are both eye-catching and a great way to show objective value to a potential employer. For example, if you have previously managed a social media profile you may have “created social media content and expanded influencer outreach which increased followers by 25%.”

As bullet points are not complete sentences, do not finish the bullet with a period.

Cover Letters

Cover letters are a great way to personally address a company. While resumes are more generally talking about your experiences, cover letters should be tailored to each individual company.

One way to think about the cover letter is to split it up into three different sections. 

The first section should be why you are interested in the company, how you found the job, and your background. You should not introduce yourself by name in this section, simply your educational background and interest.

The second section is when catering to the specific job you are applying to becomes absolutely crucial. You should look at the job description and see who they are looking for in a candidate. The skills stated there should be used to choose how to portray yourself and what qualities and abilities you highlight. This should be a place where you apply yourself and your experiences to the idea of the candidate they are looking for rather than restating your experiences

Your third section should be looking into the future. It should thank the hiring manager for their time and consideration, and it should also include contact information in case the manager wants to reach out.

Interviews

Your resume and cover letter did their jobs, and now you are at the next stage. Interviews can be both exciting and frightening. Here are some tips to make them a little less stressful.

Dress professionally. A suit or formal blazer can go a long way to improve both a hiring manager’s perception of you and your confidence going into the interview. If you do not currently own a suit, thrift stores can be a great option to find nice clothing on a budget. Another great resource for Boston University students is the professional clothing closet. This provides students with free professional clothing that they keep for themselves.

You should research the industry and the company ahead of time. A baseline knowledge of what you are walking into will help you feel more prepared, will ensure you come across as professional, and will lead to you asking smarter questions in the interview.

Another great way to prepare for an interview is to look up common interview questions and prepare answers. If you have already thought through answers ahead of time, it is less likely you will be caught off-guard or be unable to answer a question.

Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer. A thoughtful question that shows you have done your research and are interested in the company culture can make you stand out to a hiring manager. Avoid asking about benefits or salaries in this process, but do try to get information about what working at the company would be like. This is your chance to interview them as much as it is their chance to interview you.