Use appropriate margins and font - use a one-inch margin size with single space. If you find you have too much white space, you can consider 1.15 to 1.5 and increase your margins if necessary, however stay under 2 inches. Font should be a clean basic font like Arial or Times New Roman. Font size should be kept to 10 and 12 points.

Use active language or power words such as “achieved,” “earned,” “completed” or “accomplished.”

Include work experience, achievement, education and skills most relevant to the employer. Spend time reviewing the job posting and identify key words the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. Essentially you’re customizing your resume to the job posting.

If you are just graduating college and have not held a professional position, you can replace the experience section with relevant coursework, academic achievements and other experiences like internships or extracurricular projects.

Include a strong objective or profile statement at the top of your resume that summarizes your key skills and strengths as it relates to the job posting.

If applicable, quantify your work performance with numbers such as profit, budgets, sales made, number of employees you managed, book of business managed, size of territory, loss ratio, customer retention, etc.

Proofread, proofread, proofread. Your resume should go through several rounds of proofreading to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Ask a trusted friend, colleague or family member to review.

Research the company you’re applying to at length. Know their culture, values and mission as an organization.

If your interview is virtual:

a. Make sure you have downloaded the application you will be using to your computer, test it and spend time using it and understanding its functionality.

b. Make sure your camera and microphone are working properly and your connectivity is strong.

c. Camera should be a little above eye level if using an external camera, recommend not having camera looking up at your face.

d. Proper lighting is important, if you don’t have a ring light use a space where you have lighting in front of you not behind.

e. Pay close attention to dates and times of your interviews and note any time differences if out of state.

f. Make sure you have the right meeting link and access code to the interview and keep it near by in case you have any connectivity issues.

g. Prepare a quiet and professional space to have your call.

h. Be ready and in front of your screen 10 minutes before your call, sign in to the meeting no more than 2 minutes before your start time.

Consider your answers to common interview questions and prep for job specific interview questions.

Have a list of insightful questions for the interviewer(s).