1. Keep it one page until you have at least 5-10 years of career experience. ONE PAGE.
If you are a college student (and not an older adult), your resume should be kept to one page with virtually no exceptions. Job openings for entry-level environmental positions can receive hundreds of applications, and hiring managers must weed through many resumes. The best way to capture their attention is to maximize your use of a single page, and make it a highlight reel of your most impressive or relevant accomplishments. Use precise statements formatted into bullet points, and use 3-5 bullets points for your most important experiences. Unrelated jobs can often be described with just 1 or 2 bullet points. Things such as your high school name (if you have college degree), older job experience, a list of college courses/skills, and other items can be eliminated to save space if necessary. You may have to play around with formatting and font size (within reason) as well. Make sure you save your resume as a PDF too to preserve your formatting. Opening your resume Different word processing software might make your resume appear over 2 pages.
This is the number 1 tip for a reason, it is important!
2. Use a variety of action verbs
The environmental field, particularly environmental consulting, is very action-oriented. Delineating wetlands, securing permits, collecting soil samples, testing water quality, writing reports… there are defined tasks and defined work products. Action words help to establish the capabilities within your environmental “toolbox” and give your resume an exciting rhythm. Even if you don’t have a lot of environmental experience, action verbs can be used to confidently define your contributions in previous positions. You should avoid passive voice. “Responsibilities included management and organization of customer records” is much weaker than “Compiled a database of customer records”.
3. Use numbers in your job descriptions
This is a common tip, but I think it is truly important. Numbers make your job experiences more concrete and give them depth. They show your “value add” and are eye-catching. Even if it something as simple as listing the number of soil samples you’ve taken, the number of streams you’ve surveyed, or the number of staff you managed as assistant manager at a fast food restaurant. Try to insert numbers wherever you can.
4. Take relevant free or paid trainings
There are so many ways you can further your education and job preparedness past college classes. Free courses are offered online in a variety of topics. Online courses are not going to make you eligible for any job by themselves, but they show motivation and interest outside of the classroom. If your resume is looking a little sparse, it can also help to fill in some extra lines. Paid trainings, such as the 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training, go even further to show potential employers that you are serious about a career in the environmental field. While employers will pay for HAZWOPER and other necessary trainings if you get hired, having them already can get you hired.
5. Only include your address if you are local
A mailing address on a resume is old fashioned and not necessary in this modern world. If you include an email address and a cell phone number that is all the information that should be needed to contact you. Additionally, showing the hiring manager upfront and at the top of your resume that you are not a local candidate will create a negative bias towards you. Companies prefer local candidates. However, if you are local, it can’t hurt to include your mailing address and might make your resume more favorable.
6. Have a few different resumes for different job types
Some people will advise you to customize your resume for each job posting. I think that is largely impractical and unnecessary, especially for less experienced candidates applying for a large number of positions. I recommend that you customize a resume for each “type” of job you are interested in. For example, during my early job hunts, I had a resume for natural resource jobs, a resume for hazardous waste jobs, and another resume for GIS jobs. Each resume should emphasize your skills and experience that are most relevant to that job. You can review job posting descriptions and requirements to help give you an idea of the right things to include.
7. Eliminate objective, interests, and other unnecessary categories – leave it for the cover letter
I’ve seen people online suggest including these things. Again, I find this old fashioned and unnecessary. I believe that hiring manager are looking for a simple and short resume that highlights your applicable experience and education, particularly for entry-level positions. Your cover letter is great place to go more in-depth into your career goals, relevant interests, and other things that make you a good fit for the job. Additionally, references should be listed on a separate document. Remember, keep your resume to one page for recent graduates and early career professionals.
8. Include a link to your professional-looking LinkedIn Profile
Some might disagree with this one, but I’m a fan of including a LinkedIn profile if you have one worth seeing. It gives you the ability to show off networking efforts and expand on things listed on your resume. There are no size constraints on your LinkedIn profile. Furthermore, LinkedIn is a great way to research jobs you are interested in (and the people who currently hold them). It can give you insights into a company and the background necessary to be hired.
9. Make it stand out (tastefully)
I like adding just a touch of color to a resume. A small colored border along the left side of the page, or something similar can work. It makes your resume stand out and be more memorable. It also makes you look a bit creative and shows that you have document formatting skills. Being able to create a well-formatted and visually appealing report is important in consulting fields.
10. Finally, have people review it!
This is a must! Have your mom review it, your friend, or your college’s career services. People online will also review your resume, including Subreddits like r/resumes, r/environmental_careers, and r/geologycareers. Just make sure you delete any identifying information before you post it online for review. Reviewers will help you catch errors, eliminate unnecessary details, and make improvements to descriptions and formatting. You want errors caught and corrected before it reaches the hiring manager’s eyes, and you can’t just rely on your own proofreading. There is too much at stake. There’s nothing better than describing yourself as detail-oriented and having typos in your resume…
This template and the tips are generally targeted toward recent graduates or early career professionals. Experienced professional may need to make modifications and should feel free to add a second page. Also, your cover letter is just as important as your resume!