English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

As you revise your resumes, Jeremy and I want to draw your attention to a few things:

1. Resume drafts were not graded. We assigned provisional grades that indicate what a draft would receive if it were turned in as a final version without changes. (The purpose of drafting is to help you produce the best work that you can for the final version.)
2. We cannot mark or comment about every possible beneficial revision to your draft. Do not assume that all that is required for a perfect document is to fix only what we have marked. You are responsible for addressing our comments as well as incorporating the principles outlined or discussed in any of the readings.
3. Objective statements (if included) should reflect the specific job and company. We suggest using the company's language and identifying what it values (this is why research is a benefit). While it is understandably tempting to focus on your reasons for wanting the job, the objective statement must reflect their reasons for wanting you. Write your statement from the reader's perspective. It should state what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.
4. Be specific about the benefits of hiring you, but do not limit yourself to only one task (e.g., "I want to make break pads.").
5. Shoot for three bullet points when providing illustrative examples of something (such as your accomplishments at a job). Any less seems unimpressive; any more and no one will read beyond the first few. Also, keep the number of points the same for entries of the same type (such as each work experience). Of course, there will be times when more or less than three bullet points is appropriate, but this is a good rule of thumb when providing illustrative examples.
6. Never have a list with one bullet point; that isn't a list.
7. Use parallel action verbs to begin bullet list items.
8. Offer concrete examples of things you have made or done (using numbers to quantify where possible). For instance, "Improved efficiency of biofuel automobile engines by 35%" is concrete. "Worked on car engines" is not. Even if you feel that you do not have enough individual experience, you can point to concrete things you have done as part of a team or group.
9. Revisit "Evaluating Your Resume's Design" and make sure that your resume is using space effectively. Many of the draft resumes we saw did not have a clear structure, which made them less accessible than they could be.

Note: We have pushed back the deadline for final drafts to Friday, February 20, at midnight. We did this to give you enough time to revise your work properly.