By Violet Vasquez/reporter

On average, only eight seconds is spent reading a resume, so it is important to make the top eye-catching, a career adviser told TCC students last month.

Miste Anders-Clemons from Career Centers of Texas presented See It, Believe It and Achieve It: Mind and Matter to the Women in New Roles Network March 14, explaining what makes a strong resume.

“Having more than one resume would be useful,” she said.

An individual who has had experience in five different fields could have five different resumes and be prepared for any type of job, Anders-Clemons said.

Not all businesses contact an applicant by phone, so it is important that everyone has an e-mail account, even if used only for job searching, Anders-Clemons said. Something to look out for on the e-mail is the name on the account. She warned students to make sure the name is not vulgar or childish.

A resume’s objective should be personalized for the position that one applies for, Anders-Clemons said.

A bullet format works for the summary of qualifications because employers do not like to read in paragraph format. The resume looks best when the summary of qualifications is in complete sentences and the applicant avoids abbreviations, Anders-Clemons said.

Applicants can omit dates in the education section if more than two years have passed since receiving the diploma or degree.

References, if included, should be on a separate paper with a mixture of professional and personal contacts. The basic resume should be only one page.

Anders-Clemons said applicants should have a “personal commercial” ready for an interview. That verbal commercial should detail skills, education and other qualifications one can offer to the company.

“Practice your commercial three times a day so that you memorize it and make it sound natural,” she said.

In the first 30 seconds, the job interviewer will make eight to 10 assumptions, so applicants should dress to impress, Anders-Clemons said. Women should avoid nail polish and wear minimal jewelry and covered shoes. Neither men nor women should chew gum or leave a cell phone on.

“No matter what your age is, it is important to follow these rules,” she said when asked if all rules apply to the younger generation as well.

Anders-Clemons earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State Polytechnic University of Pomona and completed one year of graduate study in sports psychology from JFK University in Pleasanton, Calif. She has more than five years of experience in career development and has been termed “The Resume Guru.”

The seminar was hosted by the Women In New Roles program, designed to assist in the transition of returning to school.