The Path to A New Job with Washington State Employee Benefits Starts with Your Resume

Aside from your pay check, Washington State Employee Benefits may just be the greatest perk of being gainfully employed. In this economic climate, it’s important to be as marketable as possible. Employers base their first impression on the cover letter and resume you submit for the position. First and foremost, you must have the qualifications for the job you are applying for, but in addition, you must be able to highlight them in a way that will set you apart from other applicants. 

Want some tips for building your resume? Check out this guide from the world renowned MIT Career Center:

• Proofread to eliminate all spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
• Use action verbs and strong adjectives
• Make it future or present oriented, suggesting that "I am this kind of person, with these abilities, as my past record demonstrates."
• Avoid repeating words or phrases.
• Leave out unnecessary words, sentences, and phrases such as "Duties included / Hired to / Project involved."
• Avoid confusing language.
• Don’t use the first person I or any pronouns.
• Be consistent and use the same grammatical style throughout.
• Avoid self-flattering terms such as "highly skilled, outstanding, or excellent." Describe your accomplishments effectively and let readers decide for themselves that you are well-qualified.
• Be honest and accurate, but not overly modest.
• Convey through the style and content of your resume an understanding of your audience’s needs, priorities, hiring criteria, and vocabulary.
• Stick to 1 page; use 2 pages if you have an advanced degree or extensive experience (10+ years).
• Make the page easy to scan and graphically-pleasing: leave sufficient white space.
• Select a format that suits your qualifications. Don’t automatically follow someone else’s, which may not suit what you have to say.
• Underline, bold face, and use bullets to emphasize your credentials.