Interviewer at screener said my resume was confusing... Forum

[MonsterTRM]

I've had 5 screeners, and the last one said my resume needed to be clearer that I was a finance major in undergraduate. I'm also a transfer student, so I'm guessing the fact that I have two law schools listed adds to the confusion.

Here's a link to a picture of my resume (I'm not sure how to post a picture) The part I'm concerned with is highlighted in blue. I've changed most of the school information.

http://imgur.com/key2bh6

Any advice or suggestions of how to change it to make my finance major more prominent would be helpful. I've run it by my career services person, and she didn't have anything to add... And the screener was the only one to make that comment, and the only one to not figure out that I was a finance major...

Thanks!

[thesealocust]

I don't find that confusing. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[rinkrat19]

Seems pretty standard. From an aesthetic perspective, I might indent Honors and Activities a little bit underneath each school so the school names stand out more.

ETA: you said the school info was changed, but on the off-chance that Nebraska is the correct state...it's abbreviated NE.

[IAFG]

I think 1) he couldn't be bothered to read a whole line and that's your fault 2) finance is more relevant btw your two majors and he might have meant it should have been listed first.

[Anonymous User]

Whenever an interviewer expresses confusion like that -- much as if they were doing with work that you had just submitted -- the onus is on you to seize the moment and say, "Please allow me to walk you through my resume..." or "Please allow me to clear up any confusion that you may have..."

Don't let them just hang there, confused, because otherwise they're just going to write you off.

[09042014]

Seems really confusing to me. Putting double major in there seems odd. I'd rework it.

Bachelors of Arts in Finance and Art, magna cum laude

Or something like that.

[09042014]

I think 1) he couldn't be bothered to read a whole line and that's your fault 2) finance is more relevant btw your two majors and he might have meant it should have been listed first.

Resumes should be easy to skim.

[MonsterTRM]

I think 1) he couldn't be bothered to read a whole line and that's your fault 2) finance is more relevant btw your two majors and he might have meant it should have been listed first.

I don't understand #1. What do you mean by that?

Also, for #2, I walked as an Arts major. I'm a double major, not a double degree. Even though I have all of the classes complete for a BS in Finance, my degree is a BA. I fought the school for a year, and they wouldn't budge... So that's why I have it listed first because it is my degree, and it was my primary major.

[bemusedcapybara]

Change it "Bachelor of Arts in Art and Finance, magna cum laude." The magna cum laude and highest honors seems repetitive and makes it too long, and magna is more impressive than honors in a major.

Also I really want to read your thesis, haha.

[MonsterTRM]

Seems really confusing to me. Putting double major in there seems odd. I'd rework it.

Bachelors of Arts in Finance and Art, magna cum laude

Or something like that.

I tend to agree with you. Originally, that line was:

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with highest honors in Art and honors in Finance, GPA: 3.82/4.00, May 2012

I added the "double major" today, but I could go back to how it was originally listed?

Thanks for all of the help!

[MonsterTRM]

Change it "Bachelor of Arts in Art and Finance, magna cum laude." The magna cum laude and highest honors seems repetitive and makes it too long, and magna is more impressive than honors in a major.

Also I really want to read your thesis, haha.

Glad you like the thesis title... I'd love to read it too, but too bad it doesn't exist. I changed the title around just a touch to read differently so I don't out myself

[Nelson]

Stop listing your UG GPA when you have the Latin honors on there.

[09042014]

Seems really confusing to me. Putting double major in there seems odd. I'd rework it.

Bachelors of Arts in Finance and Art, magna cum laude

Or something like that.

I tend to agree with you. Originally, that line was:

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with highest honors in Art and honors in Finance, GPA: 3.82/4.00, May 2012

I added the "double major" today, but I could go back to how it was originally listed?

Thanks for all of the help!

Doesn't magna cum laude basically mean highest honors?

Just put highest honors in Art under your absurdly long Honors bullet point list.

[Nelson]

Seems really confusing to me. Putting double major in there seems odd. I'd rework it.

Bachelors of Arts in Finance and Art, magna cum laude

Or something like that.

I tend to agree with you. Originally, that line was:

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with highest honors in Art and honors in Finance, GPA: 3.82/4.00, May 2012

I added the "double major" today, but I could go back to how it was originally listed?

Thanks for all of the help!

Doesn't magna cum laude basically mean highest honors?

Just put highest honors in Art under your absurdly long Honors bullet point list.

At my UG, Latin honors was just a GPA proxy while departmental honors was based on your performance on your thesis for that department. I still list both but it's a little dumb.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I would do:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance and Art, magna cum laude, May 2012.
Honors: Graduated with highest honors in Art, honors in Finance.

It's not terrible, but in general I think your resume is too wordy and it does make it cluttered and difficult to see the important information at a glance.

For instance, the whole line "Completed First Year Juris Doctor Curriculum" strikes me as unnecessary. Just put "Original School of Law, Aug 2012 – May 2013, GPA xxx." It will be clear that you transferred.

Under "Honors," put each one on a separate line. the long list of capitalized words separated by semicolons makes your eyes glaze over. If it's not important enough to put on a separate line, get rid of it. I don't even know what the hell Order of Omega, Beta Gamma Sigma are and I doubt they're going to get you a job. Top 100 Student is just kinda weird; Dean's List + magna gets the point across.

Your resume shouldn't be everything you've ever accomplished. It's a selection of relevant information.

[Birdnals]

It also is weird that you listed your art thesis instead of the finance thesis. Or even that you listed your thesis at all since nobody gives a shit about an art thesis.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I would do:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance and Art, magna cum laude, May 2012.
Honors: Graduated with highest honors in Art, honors in Finance.

Alternative:
Bachelor of Arts, Finance and Art, magna cum laude, May 2012.
Highest honors in Art, honors in Finance.

(Though I also wouldn't see anything wrong with putting your GPA in parentheses after the magna cum laude.)

[bk1]

B.A., Art and Finance, 2012, magna cum laude

Lump in the honors and highest honors in your majors into the rest of your "honors" category. Shorten "Candidate for Juris Doctor" to "J.D. Candidate" for consistency's sake (abbreviating degree names).

I don't think it's confusing but it is way too crowded at the moment. As noted above, resumes should be easily scannable such that interviewers can find the important points at a glance. That is difficult with the way your resume currently is.

[Anonymous User]

Why don't you try this:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance (honors) and Art (highest honors), May 2012

That's similar to what I do.

P.S. is your thesis really called "Socialist Circus Art: The Case of the Sad Russian Clown"? If so, I would take it off. I never interviewed law students, but if I saw that thesis, I would make negative assumptions about you off the bat.

[bemusedcapybara]

It also is weird that you listed your art thesis instead of the finance thesis. Or even that you listed your thesis at all since nobody gives a shit about an art thesis.

Nah, thesis = instant interview conversation topic, regardless of the topic.

[BVest]

Also, for #2, I walked as an Arts major. I'm a double major, not a double degree. Even though I have all of the classes complete for a BS in Finance, my degree is a BA. I fought the school for a year, and they wouldn't budge... So that's why I have it listed first because it is my degree, and it was my primary major.

The problem is that this explanation is even more confusing and that anyone who has not fought this fight will not understand it. It's inside baseball. Omit it. Frankly no one except a Creighton finance major knows that the Finance is supposed to be a BS at Creighton and few people would understand that Creighton distinguishes between a primary major and a secondary major.

Assuming the finance truly was a second major, I see no problem doing this:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance (honors) and Art (highest honors), May 2012

[splitmuch]

Also, for #2, I walked as an Arts major. I'm a double major, not a double degree. Even though I have all of the classes complete for a BS in Finance, my degree is a BA. I fought the school for a year, and they wouldn't budge... So that's why I have it listed first because it is my degree, and it was my primary major.

The problem is that this explanation is even more confusing and that anyone who has not fought this fight will not understand it. It's inside baseball. Omit it. Frankly no one except a Creighton finance major knows that the Finance is supposed to be a BS at Creighton and few people would understand that Creighton distinguishes between a primary major and a secondary major.

Assuming the finance truly was a second major, I see no problem doing this:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance (honors) and Art (highest honors), May 2012

Why put the major honors on at all? Magna is the impresaive part. Puttingvthe majors honors on makes it seem like you had a 4.0 in art and only a 3.6 in your relevant major. Just put magna.

[Anonymous User]

Also, for #2, I walked as an Arts major. I'm a double major, not a double degree. Even though I have all of the classes complete for a BS in Finance, my degree is a BA. I fought the school for a year, and they wouldn't budge... So that's why I have it listed first because it is my degree, and it was my primary major.

The problem is that this explanation is even more confusing and that anyone who has not fought this fight will not understand it. It's inside baseball. Omit it. Frankly no one except a Creighton finance major knows that the Finance is supposed to be a BS at Creighton and few people would understand that Creighton distinguishes between a primary major and a secondary major.

Assuming the finance truly was a second major, I see no problem doing this:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance (honors) and Art (highest honors), May 2012

Why put the major honors on at all? Magna is the impresaive part. Puttingvthe majors honors on makes it seem like you had a 4.0 in art and only a 3.6 in your relevant major. Just put magna.

So just put Bachelor of Arts, Finance and Art (highest honors)? That's stupid.

That's arguably deceptive (because it makes it look like you got highest honors in Finance too) and confusing (because it kind of makes it look like you majored in one major: Finance and Art and got highest honors in it).

There's no problem with putting (honors) after Finance; it's not like honors is anything to sneeze at. If you really are that concerned, you could put:

Bachelor of Arts, Finance (honors) and Art, May 2012

[Birdnals]

It also is weird that you listed your art thesis instead of the finance thesis. Or even that you listed your thesis at all since nobody gives a shit about an art thesis.

Nah, thesis = instant interview conversation topic, regardless of the topic.

If the person is an art enthusiast (they won't be) they will see he was an art major and the conversation will happen organically from there. It is a completely unnecessary line on his already cluttered resume.

If the thesis had something to do with a type of law he wanted to practice, then maybe. But as it is, unless he is gunning for big clown art law, it is just another thing that interviewers won't give a shit about and distracts from his other notable achievements.

[splitmuch]

No. BA, Arts and Finance, magna cum laude. Why break it down by major when he/she graduated magna overall? Its extra info that adds nothing.

Edit to add that my interpretation of the original resume is that OP graduated magna cum laude overall, highest honors within the arts major, and honors within the finance major.