Reflection of Workshop:
To revise my resume, I need to go over it with a few different combs. My unrevised resume is almost 2 pages long, so I need to go through and find ways to be more concise. There are some pieces of information that are not as important as others and could be considered “fluff”. The biggest portion of my resume is my RA work description. I can definitely simplify and cut it down. My groupmates also suggested rewording my objective so that it only takes up one line. There are also a couple of lines that use “I” so I will need to use another comb through to make sure they are all gone. Punctuation consistency was also an issue that I need to attend to. I imagine that all of these edits and revisions will lead to some reformatting and even some condensing.
As a peer reviewer, I tried my best to offer suggestions even on the micro-level because sometimes the little things matter. The big things are easier to see as the writer, whereas the smaller things are easy to overlook. Receiving advice, I was able to find effective ways to make my resume shorter, more concise, and more condensed.
Reflection of Process:
I recently went through my resume as I applied to graduate programs. While I don’t think my resume was terrible, I definitely could have used the information and insight that I gained from this project to make it better. When developing my resume, I find myself trying to remember every little thing that I have accomplished that might be good to add. I now realize that my resume will be better off if I highlight the important things that add to who I am as a candidate. In the future I will also make sure to update it every few months to make sure that things are still relevant. I haven’t done that in the past, I have just relied on my memory as I applied for new positions and opportunities. It was really fun to see the different formatting options that everyone chose to use. I think that while formatting is tedious, and oftentimes frustrating, it provides another way for hiring committees to see a slice of candidate personalities. I never truly realized the power that paper documents had at creating a first impression for employers. Overall, I think I learned how to best utilize the space on the paper to layout the pertinent experience I have that makes me a qualified applicant.
