Resume and LinkedIn Tips
Resume
Personal Information
Don't put down your physical address. Just city, state, and zip code is fine.
Email address: get one that is firstname.lastname@domain.com (or something along that line). It's fine to use your school's email address, as long as you have access to it after graduation and it shows your name. az2532@nyu.edu is as bad as benlovesjlo@gmail.com. You make it hard for the recruiter, you make it hard for yourself.
International candidates: Use an English name, studies have shown resumes with foreign names have resulted in lower response rates.
If your name sounds international, put down your visa status so that you don't waste time with roles that don't sponsor work visas.
Good habit to save your resume with your first and last name as file name.
Content and Relevance
Most of you don't need a summary statement. If you insist on having one, it should not be longer than two lines. "I am hard working, curious problem-solver, who can work in teams" tells me nothing. If you insist on having one, 2 lines AT MOST.
Don't include your GPA if it's not above 3.5+ (or whatever cut off that profession requires).
Most of you talked about what you DID when companies care about what you ACHIEVED (how does what you did help the company or your clients?). Ask ChatGPT how you can quantify / make it more impactful. It might seem cringy, but after quantifying, even you will find your resume more impactful.
Despite the urge to impress, do not put down things that you cannot discuss during interviews. The interview is free to ask you anything you put on your resume (including your hobby, books you read, etc.)
Tailor your bullets to the job description by matching keywords. A lot of AI / robots "read" your resume, they don't know what you actually did, they are just pattern matching.
Coursework needs to be relevant. One advanced math course, but do you need to list your entire upper-division math courses on your resume?
If you are graduating college this year or next year and you did not attend a magnet public school (Stuyvesant, Bronx HS of Science, etc) or an elite boarding school (Andover or Choate Rosemary Hall), do I really care about which high school you went to and what you did in HS?
MBA is not a designation. Do not put it behind your name. Same goes for designations that are not recognized by the profession of your interest.
Format and Layout
PDF your resume. MS Word format gets messed up on the receiving end because of potential version differences.
Use active voice. Passive voice is wordy. "I did x" (3 words) is better than "x was done by me." (5 words) Always think about improving the words-to-information ratio: how to say the same thing with fewer words. Ask ChatGPT for help.
Make sure things align. Have consistent formatting.
Search for double spaces and replace them with a single space.
You need to have spacing between each job exp on your resume.
Resume needs to fill an entire page. Leaving a 1/4 of a page blank is bad.
If you have 1-2 words dangling on the next line for a resume bullet, try to shorten it using ChatGPT "make it shorter". There has to be a way.
Less is more powerful. Don't cram so much text onto the page. I can guarantee not all of them are relevant for the field you are pursuing.
None of you should have a two-page resume. NONE.
Personal Touch and Hobbies
Include a few hobbies to show your personal side. In a small team profession that is research, sell-side, or buy-side, you need to pass the “airport test.” Just stay away from controversial hobbies. Sports teams are not a hobby. For example, you never know whether listing “Green Bay Packers” can hurt your candidacy for a Chicago-based job.
LinkedIn
Building a Strong LinkedIn Profile
A strong LinkedIn profile is to scale your personal network nonlinearly. If you don’t have a profile, start one now.
General tips:
Use a professional headshot. No selfies. Also, use a colored photo, unless you work at Blackstone.
LinkedIn is a professional network, so I don’t recommend posting personal content, political views or other controversial topics there.
Be concise: Always think about how to say the same thing with less words.
“About” section:
Fit your tagline so others don’t have to click “see more.”
No fluff: “I am a hard working professional who is detailed oriented and has critical thinking skills.” tells me nothing.
Instead, make the tagline more concrete: “Tech product manager with 5 years of experience generating $xxx millions of revenue and managing x number of people across y numbers of functions.”
“Activity” section: Your connections can see your every Like and Comment. Be careful with what you say and like.
“Experiences” section: This section is the major reason why LinkedIn meme accounts exist and thrive. Do’s and Don’ts:
Do not list pre-college or campus jobs unless relevant.
Similar to resume, each full-time and internship experience should have 2-3 bullets at maximum. Highlight quantified accomplishments instead of listing your responsibilities.
“Education” section: Don’t list your high school, unless maybe you are the Stuy- or Exeter / Deerfield- type (FYI - I am not.)
Miscellaneous sections: the key is to focus on relevancy
Professional designations: List only relevant ones. MBA is not a designation.
Recommendation for your campus job at the music library doesn’t matter anymore, hide it.
Organizations: Selectively show, don’t show like 200 organizations that don’t relate to your professional pursuit
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