Please give an example of what you DON'T like to see on a
resume:
Brown & Gay Engineers, Inc.:
DON'T:
*Use
nondescript job descriptions i.e.
XYZ Corporation
Administrative
Assistant
Fax, file, and copy correspondence.
Give the interviewer some idea of what your responsibilities were, projects
you worked on, what you did on a day-to-day basis.
*Fill the resume with social fraternity/sorority activities: It is okay to
list Social Chair, Delta Delta Delta, 1998-2002, but don't list information on
the 17 mixers that you organized! Extracurricular activities are not jobs. You
do not need to list all of the responsibilities associated with the "position".
Be brief, unless the activity is related directly to your employment goals.
*Don't include a section such as Hobbies, Personal Information i.e. status,
age, race, health, religion.
ChevronTexaco: Don't include long listings of computer
languages, etc., that you know. Don't really care what your HS GPA was. Don't
care to see long write-up's about non-industry related jobs (i.e. Head Waiter at
Red Lobster). Don't make a resume more than one page unless you are obtaining a
Ph.D.
Datum Engineers, Inc.: Don't care if you were on the Dean's
list or if you were one of the thousands "selected" to be in "Who's Who", or if
you joined a dozen honor societies (Golden Key, Gamma Beta Phi, etc), unless you
were actually involved in some way -- EXCEPTION: honor societies within your
major are important.
Dresser Wayne, Dresser Inc.: I don't like to see an
allusion to lots of work experience (e.g. 3 years of C++ and OO development
experience) if this work is strictly academic. The real world is different than
college. I would rather see a description of projects and how the student
participated in the project. College projects do not equate to professional work
experience. Don't embellish or overstate qualifications, as in our job
interviews, we quickly find out and then the student appears to be
untruthful.
DuPont: Resume Don'ts - totally irrelevant hobbies or
interests, e.g. knitting, horseback riding, making my own beer...
Enterprise Rent-a-Car: I DON'T like resumes with several
short term jobs unless they are internships.
Ernst & Young: Don't Like to See - a 4.0 GPA with no
extracurricular activities or leadership roles. We're looking for well-rounded,
intelligent people who possess leadership skills.
Guaranty Bank: I don't like resumes with goofy e-mail
addresses, like 2hot4u@yahoo.com or the
like. Simple e-mail addresses with your name are better for job searches - save
the cute ones for your friends.
Hope Lumber & Supply Company: I don't like to see typos
or statements such as "References Provided Upon Request"...kind of stating the
obvious isn't it.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics: Generic job objectives such as
Get a job with a high-tech company that maximizes the use of my knowledge.
Stuff like that is a waste of space on the resume. Everyone is looking for a
job. If you have to put a job objective, make it specific like: Writing C++
code for embedded flight software.
Kennedy Consulting: I also DON'T like to see that a person
is familiar with internet and email. I want to know what software you can
use to produce engineering drawings/calculations, not what software you like to
use in your free time.
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.: I do not like to see a
Microsoft word resume format that everyone else at the career fair has. It shows
that they didn't put much effort into it.
Klotz Associates, Inc.: Do not like on resume: Too much
detail on all of the programs they have been exposed to but do not really know.
Kurt Salmon: Don't use a fancy font that's impossible to
read and try not to have your resume extend past one page in length.
Lyondell-Citgo: I don't like to see middle names. It
reminds me of those child-stars on sitcoms. Do not submit a wordy resume telling
your life's story. You have 15 seconds to get your resume through the first
phase of acceptance.
Micron Technology: Don't put your picture or personal
information on your resume (hobbies, age, background, etc.).
Mustang Engineering, L.P.: Don't list marital status,
weight, religious affiliation
Don't do a complicated format with hard to find
GPA's & date of graduation.
Ryan & Company: I really dislike reading shopping lists
of honor societies like Phi Eta Sigma and other memberships that require no
involvement. Another dislike: people who list only 1-2 years of involvement in
an organization (e.g., a sorority or fraternity) that typically requires a
long-term commitment. If the experience wasn't valuable enough for you to
complete your membership, why is it on your resume?
S&B Engineers and Constructors, Ltd.: I DON'T like to
see a list of classes that a student has taken. All mechanical engineering
majors take the same core classes. If a student wants to put down specific
special elective classes that maybe only 5 students took, then that is
appropriate. But listing Calculus or Material Science on a resume isn't
impressive, just takes up room.
Smith & Associates: I DON'T like to see extraneous,
wordy information on a resume. Make it concise and to the point. In today's
competitive job market, recruiters get hundreds of resumes for each position
posted and do not have time to muddle through a lot of extra information.
Stewart & Stevenson: I would rather not see personal
information (age, marital status, etc.) or list of references.
Teague Nall and Perkins, Inc.: I see so many spelling
errors and typos on resumes. Some people don't run spell check, and that really
stands out even though we're not hiring for typing skills. If they can't check a
resume for errors, how are they going to put out an accurate set of engineering
plans to a client for a multi-thousand dollar project? A clear, concise, error
free, and visually pleasing resume shows us that the candidate spent time on it
and is taking their career-finding efforts seriously
TIC The Industrial Company: It is not professional to
refer to yourself in the first person, so don't use I.
Westin Engineering, Inc.: In my opinion, spelling and
grammar errors on resumes are inexcusable, especially considering the spell
checking tools that are available within today's word processors. Also, I would
suggest minimizing the use of acronyms to avoid confusion. In engineering, there
are a wide variety of fields. A common acronym in one field may mean something
completely different in another.
Anonymous: Don't list irrelevant summer jobs, such as
Worked at Burger King when I was in 10th grade.
