BUILDING YOUR RESUME tools and tips for creating the best resume WHAT IS A RESUME? • A summary of your abilities and • Your marketing piece, curated to • Your first impression to an employer. accomplishments relevant to your speak to your audience. • Remember: the resume does not get you intended audience or career goals. • A demonstration of your qualifications the job—it gets you the interview. In other • An outline of your education, for the type of position and employment words, you don’t have to include every detail. experience, skills, personal attributes you are seeking. Leave something to talk about at the interview. and other background information. • Your opportunity to stand out from other applicants . TYPES OF RESUMES Master Resume Includes: Activities, Art- Related Experience (The It is important to always have one master Name and Contact Information, Education, artist resume includes minimal descriptions. resume for your personal files that is a record Professional Experience with job descriptions Instead, it is a chronological list of artistic of all of your current and past experiences and and duties, Skills, Exhibitions (optional), accomplishments). Similar to Teaching CV, accomplishments. Awards, Honors, etc. Each section below your but shorter (see Teaching CV below). name should be listed in reverse chronological This master resume should never be used order, with the most recent experience first. Teaching CV for any official position, but kept more as a The professional resume is designed to record for yourself. The key to developing an highlight skills and work experience, so it is The Latin name for resume, Curriculum Vitae, outstanding resume is to tailor it to suit the more descriptive than an artist resume for is used most often in academic contexts. specific position or opportunity for which you galleries (See artist resume below). Length: are applying. Choose carefully among the Usually longer than a professional resume, experiences and skills you have from your short versions may be 2 – 3 pages, long master resume, including those that match the Artist Resume versions for advanced professionals may be 4 qualifications listed. Leave out experiences For galleries and competitions. or more pages. that are unrelated. Length: Format: 1-2 pages, depending on stage of Follows the format of the Professional Professional Resume career and content Resume, but not as descriptive. For employment and internship opportunities. Format: Includes: length: Follows the format of the Professional Name and Contact Information, Education, 1–2 pages, recommended 1 page Resume, but not as descriptive. Teaching Experience, Related Experience, if still in school. Includes: Skills, Exhibitions (Solo, Group), Performances, format: Name and Contact Information, Education, Bibliography (Articles or Reviews about you), Start at the top with your name and contact Exhibitions (Solo, Group), Performances, Publications/Reviews by Artist, Collections, information in a larger type face. Choose Bibliography (Articles or Reviews about you), Awards, Commissions, Residencies, fonts and sizing wisely, as this will become Publications/Reviews by Artist, Collections, Fellowships, Grants, Competitions, Lectures, your brand that carries from your resume Awards, Commissions, Residencies, Exhibitions Curated, Affiliations, Memberships, to your cover letter and other professional Fellowships, Grants, Competitions, Lectures, Independent/Volunteer Projects. materials. Stick to fonts that are clean, and not Exhibitions Curated, Affiliations, distracting or hard to read. Memberships, Independent/Volunteer Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development / 1300 W Mount Royal Ave / Baltimore, MD 21217 / 410 225 2420 / 410 225 2528 / [email protected] HOW TO BUILD YOUR RESUME Style Content Create a hierarchy and structure with your layout. Consider your audience when formatting your content and layout. Potential employers will likely spend an average of 10 seconds on For example, if you are applying for a skills based position, your resume, so make sure any relevant skills or experience are easy put your skills section near the top of the resume. to spot! Use bold or larger typefaces to distinguish headings and put Use action verbs to describe your experiences. those sections of the resume that are most critical for the employer Avoid using the same verb twice. See the helpful list of action to read at the top. verbs later in this document as a good place to start. Choose a style and format for listing employers, titles, dates and Organize your responsibilities under each position locations and stay consistent throughout the document. in order of importance. This helps the employer locate information quickly and simply. Use font Use past tense for jobs which you are no longer working (Created). size, capitals, bold, italics and bullets to categorize, but don’t overdo it! Use present tense for current positions (Create). When printing your resume, be sure to use a high Be concise when describing your experiences. quality laser printer. Use bullets or short paragraphs that are descriptive and relevant to the position. Organization Be specific with your information and include numbers Grammar and spelling and dates whenever possible. Proofread and edit your materials several You do not need to include months with years unless a position times to eliminate all errors. was held during one year for less than six months. Use spell check or apps like Grammarly, especially when Aim to have the most relevant information in using InDesign (Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling). the top half of the page. Have someone proofread your resume for you. Once your resume is perfected, save a copy as an Adobe They may catch mistakes you missed! PDF file to capture all fonts and retain formatting. The Career Center staff can give you advice and When submitting a resume electronically or posting it on your website, tips to improve your materials. always use the PDF version unless instructed otherwise always follow the employer’s application instructions. COMMON MISTAKES Writing your resume as a narrative. full history but a marketing piece for the parts Spelling and formatting errors. Do not use first person pronouns (“I” or that are relevant. All it takes is one mistake to deter an employer from calling you. Always spell check and “me”) when listing your responsibilities (See Not doing a photocopy test. examples in resume sample in this packet). Make a black and white photocopy to ensure it proofread to catch errors. Using a generic resume for all is readable after copying. It is safe to assume Punctuation, capitalization and font of your applications. an employer will likely always view your resume style are not consistent long-winded Instead tailor your resume to your audience as a black and white photocopy. descriptions. Break up descriptions into bullets and be sure your skills line up with the position Including too many pages in your resume. to which you are applying. Resumes should be 1 – 2 pages in length, or short paragraphs. Listing your references. depending on the stage of your career. We Not listing degree. Do not include names and contact information recommend one page for students. Always Always include the degree in addition to of your references on your resume. You only completely fill the page — no half pages. If you your major or program. Ex. BFA Candidate need to include references if requested by the cannot fill two full pages, edit and condense in Illustration, expected 2020. the information to fit on one. employer or organization. You do NOT need Missing information. to use the phrase “references available upon Listing experience in chronological order. Make sure to be consistent throughout your request.” If references are requested, they Always list experiences with your most recent resume. Each item should include the same should accompany your resume as a separate experience first, in reverse chronological order details including titles, locations, organization document with your letterhead at the top. (2019, 2018, 2017…). names, and dates. Not tailoring to audience. Including your high school experience. Do not list skills or copious details that are not Only include high school experience if it is relevant to your audience. A resume is not your specifically relevant to your audience. Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development / 1300 W Mount Royal Ave / Baltimore, MD 21217 / 410 225 2420 / 410 225 2528 / [email protected] ACTION WORDS Use these action words to put power into your language when you write your resume. Accelerated Counseled Identified Ordered Repaired Actively Created Imagined Organized Represented Adapted Decided Implemented Originated Researched Administered Delegated Improved Participated Restored Advised Delivered Increased Performed Reviewed Analyzed Demonstrated Influenced Persuaded Revised Appointed Designed Initiated Pinpointed Scheduled Appraised Developed Inspected Planned Selected Arranged Devised Installed Predicted Served Assembled Directed Instructed Prepared Set-Up Assisted Displayed Interpreted Presented Sketched Audited Distributed Interviewed Printed Sold Budgeted Dramatized Invented Produced Solved Built Edited Investigated Proficient Spoke Calculated Effected Launched Programmed Streamlined Chosen Eliminated Lead Promoted Structured Circulated Entertained Lectured Protected Studied Classified Established Listened Proved Supervised Coached Estimated Located Questioned Supported Collected Evaluated