I’m writing this post because this is what I follow when formatting my resume. I also use this to know what I should look for in a candidate’s resume.

This will hopefully help students write their own resumes.

Disclaimer: This is NOT what Bank of America looks for in resumes – this is MY PERSONAL advice for jobseekers, particularly for finance and accounting.

KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid

Don’t use any fancy colors to pop out on your resume. Black and white is your best bet.

Aim for the middle

If you’re writing a bullet and it requires two lines, aim for the second line to reach the middle of the page. It’s a waste of space to use an entire line for one or two words.

Highlight your impact

When writing a bullet point, aim to write accomplishments or an impact you have had. Listing your responsibilities is cool, but your impact is much cooler.

Don’t be too bold

Don’t bold a bunch of text together. Italicized, bold, and regular text can be used to separate words from one another. For example, you may want to bold your company’s name and italicize your position.

Insight series

I see people wanting to add in insight series or other discovery programs on their resume. Congrats for sitting through an event and talking with people, I guess?

I’d only add it if you’re interviewing for that specific firm. For example, if you’re interviewing for Goldman, add in that you attended their insight series. This can maybe help.

Tailor your shit

One resume will not work with every job posting. If a job requires strong Excel skills, add bullets across your positions that can demonstrate that. Highlight certain skills depending on what the job requires.

Maintain order

Education should be the first section, followed by work experience, leadership experience, volunteer experience, and skills & interests. That’s the typical order I see. You can also add in projects you’ve worked on.

Consistency is key

For any position you have, do your best to have the same number of bullets for most of your positions, if not all. It looks cleaner.

White space

The more white space there is, the less I assume you’ve done in your college career. When a student is involved in many things (internships, clubs, fellowships, etc.), their resume will be completely filled up.

One page

Keep your resume to 1 page for the sake of whoever is reviewing it. You’re only in college – your ass should not have 2 pages.