RESUME WRITING INFORMATION

A resume is an individually designed one- or two-page summary of your education, experiences, and skills for potential employers as they relate to the type of employment you are seeking. It is a primary tool in your job search and may require hours of work to develop different versions. It should be an honest, concise, well-organized presentation of YOU - your interests, skills, abilities, and accomplishments.

A resume is not a biographical summary of your life, but rather a document, which highlights your qualifications for employment in a particular position or career field. Remember, resumes get you interviews, not jobs.

I. Getting Started

Think Before You Write:

• "What is the purpose of my resume?"
• "Who is my intended reader?"
• "What message do I want to send?""
• "What industry or job function am I seeking?"

Remember, your resume must be tailored for the purpose. A resume designed for a scholarship may look very different then a resume designed for employment. Your resume is your personal brochure, so think about the message you want to send.

If you plan to distribute your resume for on a broad scale (ie. career fair), design it with your generalized career industry in mind. If you are have a specific company or position in mind, tailor your resume to focus on the specific qualifications needed for each particular position.

Take Inventory:

• Brainstorm your past experiences: work experiences, volunteer work, honors, activities, classes you completed, schools you have attended, etc.
• Keep a master list to refer to when creating your resume. Simply cut and paste relevant information to your resume.

II. Creating the Document

Sample Headings:

• Basic Headings: Objective, Education, Work Experience, Honors & Activities, Computer Skills
• Additional Tailored Headings: Related Coursework, Related Experience, Volunteer Experience, Research Experience, Technical Skills, etc.

Basic Content:

• Contact Information: Include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address
• Objective: Tailor your objective to fit the job posting. Objective should contain the name of the position, the name of the organizations, and the skills you plan to utilize. If you have a cover letter accompanying your resume, you do not need an objective statement.
• Education: List the school(s) attended, location of school(s), degrees obtained, and graduation date. If appropriate, you can list your GPA, courses completed, study abroad, or minors/concentrations.
• Experience: List the name of the organization, the location, your title, and the dates you were present. Use bulleted statements to describe your skills, responsibilities, and experiences related to each position. Begin each statement with an action verb.
• Honors & Activities: List your memberships and honors and the corresponding dates.
• Skills/Computer Skills: List your skills and level of competencies of each.

Format:

• Font: Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Aria and use a 10-12 point font.
• Length: Your resume should not be more then one page, unless your industry allows multiple pages or if you have a masters degree.
• Templates: Do not use a resume template! It does not utilize the white space on the page.
• Margins: Standard margins consist of 1 inch margins on all sides. If you need additional space, you can change your top and bottom margins to .5 inch. Do not go smaller then .5 inch to satisfy most printer standards.
  

III. Rules of Thumb

Your resume should be:

• Tailored and targeted.
• Avoid high school information unless it 100% related to position.
• Neat, well organized, and easy to read.
• Consistent with formatting, font, and content.
• Consistent with grammar and punctuation.
• Appealing to the eye.
• Printed on quality, neutral colored paper.
• Results-focused...use #'s, %'s, and $'s.
• Updated and current.
• Free of spelling errors.

	IV. Sample Resumes

Sample Resume Format Sample Resume 1 Sample Resume 2 Sample Resume 3 Sample Technical Resume

All samples are in .pdf form.  If you do not have Acrobat Reader - you can download it by clicking on the logo to the right. For a list of action verbs click here

	V. Resume Assistance NEED HELP???  The Career Center can help you create a resume in addition to providing resume critiques.  For assistance, call 737-1604 to schedule an appointment. For a resume critique, simply drop your draft by the office or send it via e-mail to a staff member for a critique. Resumes can typically be critiqued and returned within 24 hours.  ONLINE RESOURCE Optimal REsume is a comprehensive, web-based application for students to create, present, and manage resumes that are 100% customizable by each student.