Resume Overview

The Resume

A resume is a focused summary of your education, work experience, volunteer experience, and overall skills. The major purpose of a resume is to organize your goals, skills, experience, knowledge and background in a manner that will interest the reader and help you secure an interview.

It serves as a written introduction to accompany your letter and/or application. A resume should give employers a sense of what you are capable of doing. Your bullets should be an illustration of the transferability of the skills you have. When your abilities and experience are organized on paper, they are easier to discuss and you will be more confident in your skills and background.

The Basics

• Make your resume concise and easy to read; it may only be screened for 5-10 seconds.
• Use brief action verb phrases, rather than complete sentences (see following list).
• Incorporate key words from your major and career field.
• Descriptions should be results-oriented; quantify when possible.
• Avoid personal pronouns (“I,” “me,” etc.) and do not say “responsible for.”
• Avoid using a resume template; create your document from scratch.
• Do not include a photo on your resume.
• Use a conservative font, sized at 11 - 12 points (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri, Cambria). * If a company is looking for creative candidates then you have more flexibility.
• Have well-organized headings and copy that encourage readability.
• Highlight parts of your resume with bolds and italic but don’t overdo it.
• Use a balance of blank space and margins and don’t try to cram the copy on the page.
• Check spelling and grammar for errors. The resume must be perfect!
• Print on resume paper, not white copier paper.
• If resume is to be e-mailed, save it as a PDF before sending and named  FIRST NAME LAST NAME
• Keep your resume to one page (two pages in rare instances). Ask a counselor for clarification.

Summary

• The summary is optional and summarizes your expertise described in the resume. As a college student typically this section is not necessary.

Experience

• Listed in reverse chronological order. 
• Highlight skills you have used and how you used them in a concrete way.
• Do not list your job responsibilities.
• If the job has a job description, your resume should display how you are qualified for it.

Education

• Name of degree-granting institution, specific degree and date received (month and year), major, minor or concentration, and GPA (if 3.0 or higher). Don’t include graduation year if you have been out of school for 10-15 years.
• If you studied abroad, list it in the education section.

Other Categories

• Professional certification and/or licensure, affiliations, professional associations, computer skills (systems and/or languages), technical/laboratory skills, leadership, language abilities.

Action Verbs

Use brief action verb phrases, rather than complete sentences.