RESUME GUIDELINES

RESUME OVERVIEW

A resume is a brief, informative summary of your abilities, education and experience. Most hiring managers spend less than a minute reviewing each application. This means your resume will most likely be skimmed rather than read line by line. It should quickly persuade the reader that you are a competitive candidate worth bringing in for an interview.

CONTENT GUIDELINES HEADING Every resume begins with personal contact information. The heading should include a name, current address and/or permanent address, phone number and a simple, professional email.

OBJECTIVE If used, an objective should provide clarification for the reader. A good objective statement is shot and indicates the type of position being sought, the industry and when the individual could begin.

EDUCATION For most students, the education section goes near the top of the page, before any work experience is listed. Items included in the education section are the school's name, city and state of the school, degree (written out, not abbreviated), major(s), minor(s) and month/year of anticipated graduation. Study abroad experiences can be listed in this section as well as GPA, if it is 3.0 or higher. If a student has minimal work experience, relevant coursework can be listed. Students who have financed a large portion of their education, may include a statement such as, “Personally financed 100% of college tuition."

EXPERIENCE Experience may include part-time jobs, internships, student teaching, work-study employment or long-term volunteer work. For each position, the following information should be included: the name and location (city, state) of the company, title, dates of employment. Under this information, bullet points that begin with an action verb should be used to briefly describe the duties at the position and your accomplishments. Experience should be listed in reverse chronological order. Students with who have had relevant experience in the past, but now have a part-time job in an unrelated field, might divide this section into two separate sections – “Related Experience” and “Additional Experience.” This allows students to put their most relevant experience at the top of their resume under "Relevant Experience and the less relevant information lower on the page under "Work Experience.”

LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ACTIVITIES & HONORS/COMMUNITY SERVICE/ETC. Students can add a section that describes their extracurricular activities and any honors received during college. This category allows students to summarize their role in campus organizations, community service projects, sports or club affiliations and provide any information that might help you demonstrate your qualifications to an employer.

SKILLS This optional section lists specific skills relevant to the position being applied for such as foreign languages, computer skills, and/or research skills. Relevant certifications or training may be listed in the skills section or in a separate section titled “Licensure” or “Licensure and Certifications.”

REFERENCES References should not be included on a resume. Most employers prefer that you don't waste valuable resume space with a line that says "References available upon request." You should have references listed on a separate sheet of paper that you can give to an employer upon request.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

Be Specific – Employers need to understand what you’ve done and accomplished. For example: “Worked with employees in a restaurant setting” vs. “Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in annual sales” Both could describe the same person, but the second description’s details and specifics will more likely grab an employer’s attention.

Highlight Accomplishments instead of duties – Instead of “worked with children in a daycare setting” which focuses on duties, try “developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10 minute holiday program”

Consider Multiple Versions – Different positions require different skills and preferred experiences. You want your resume to highlight those specific skills/experiences. Employers may not take the time to review a resume that is too general and has no focus.

Don’t undersell yourself – All of the experiences that you have had in college are important. These include part-time jobs, student organizations, leadership experience, relevant class projects, and more!

Make it your own – There is no exact formula for the perfect resume, include sections that highlight your individual experience. Put the most relevant and recent information first.

PROOFREADING CHECKLIST

o One page in length, 10 – 12 pt font, margins .5 – 1” o Consistent in formatting, font, and organization of content o Bullet points for current positions are in present tense, those for past positions in past tense o Action verbs are used to start each bullet point o No personal pronouns "I" or "me" or personal evaluations "developed leadership skills" o High school information is excluded after first year in college o Irrelevant phrases such as “duties included” are removed o When possible, uses numbers to quantify information o Has been proofread by at least two people (one being your Career Coordinator) o Information within each section is in reverse chronological order (most recent first) o Every position includes company, title, city/state, and dates employed o No grammatical or spelling mistakes o Personal information is removed o Printed on resume paper if submitting a hard copy o Easy to skim – not too busy o Has been reviewed by at least two other people including the Career Management Center