Resume? When did I ever stop...?

As the New England career fair looms closer, I've been thinking more and more about the whole application process.

Thus far, my experience with jobs and interviews and employers has been restricted to part-time positions at the local library, and the local grocery store. In both cases, a resume was not required, and the interview was informal and low-stress.

This time around, though, things are way more intense. The game is high-stakes, and the prize is a possible position, a career, a yearly salary...............essentially everything you've ever been taught to expect out of life. So don't mess up.

So lately I've been working on making my resume pop. Although I won't be applying for real positions quite yet (I'm stalling for two years, remember?) , I figured the regional job fair would be good practice- and who knows, maybe it'll help me get a summer job to pay for books for this upcoming fall! I'd made up a resume a few months ago, at the suggestion of my father, but I decided to do a major overhaul. And that's where I hit a brick wall.

Consulting the internet, I quickly realized that there is no expert on resume form or etiquette. While some sources recommended brief descriptions, others emphasized a wordier approach. Some spoke praise of unique fonts and formatting, while others swear by the tried-and-true 12 point Times New Roman. My father had suggested I list high school achievements, while many sources warned against doing so. But most puzzling was the argument on objective statements. While some sites and "experts" stressed the importance of objective sections, others pointed out they simply waste space and limit options.......why the heck can't anyone agree on the matter?!

When all is said and done, I think my new resume is attractive, readable, and  a good reflection on my achievements and employment record thus far. I ended up avoiding an objective statement, as I had no real objective in mind. Hopefully my resume will change and become stronger as I gain more experience and hold more positions, but overall, I'm happy with what I've done.



Still, reading all about resume styles and approaches helped me realize that there are a lot of different rules, formats and opinions on how they should look. So, readers- what's the best resume-related tip you ever got? What about the worst?