Identifying Information

Your name, e-mail address, present and permanent address and telephone numbers including area codes.

Objective

Writing a career/job objective is optional.  If you have a specific position, which you are applying, you may wish to write a brief objective.  You can change the objective to tailor the position.  If you are interested in more than one career field and are not able to modify each objective statement on your resume, you will want to omit this section on the resume.

Education

Start with the highest degree level and work backwards.  Include university name, the degree program, major, minor, and concentration, and date of graduation. 

Include your GPA if it is 3.0 or higher.  If your GPA is below 3.0, you may want to identify only your major GPA. 

Related Courses

Include a summary of course work within the major and outside the major, if they relate anyway to the Objective and/or position.

Skills

This section will focus your resume on qualifications important to your potential employer.  Include computer, foreign language, and transferable skills.

Experience

This is the heart of the resume.  Start with the most recent work experience and work backwards in chronological order.  Experiences may include full-time or part-time employment, summer jobs, volunteer work, and internships and cooperative education.

List the employer’s name, your job title, city and state

List related skills, responsibilities, and results of your actions.

Honors

List any honors, which indicate your strong academic abilities – honor societies, scholarships, awards, and dean’s list.

Activities

Employers look for well-rounded individuals who involve themselves in extracurricular activities.  List activities and organizations.

References

For resume purposes state “Available upon request” or “Furnished upon request”.

Have a list of your references with work addresses, titles, and phone numbers on a separate page.  Always make sure that you have permission from individuals before listing them as references.

REFER TO BUZZ WORDS

YOUR RESUME’S APPEARANCE

The appearance of your resume must invite the reader to carefully consider your qualifications.

Writing style – write your resume so key facts leap from the page.  Omit all personal pronouns. Avoid wordiness and do not get bogged down with details that are of no interest to the potential employer.

Content – Provide information that is relevant and positive; avoid a boastful or dishonest resume; accentuate your most marketable skills and experiences.  Quantify when possible.

Format – Prioritize information in your resume from the most important to the least important.  Have plenty of white space so the resume does not look crammed.  However, do not have too much white space visible.

Paper quality – print your resume on top quality bond paper at least 20-pound weight, size 8 ½” x 11”.  Suggested colors are white, off white, ivory, or light gray.  Darker paper may not photocopy or scan well.

Length – Limit your resume to one page.  However, references may be on a separate page.

Use graphics – such as CAPITALIZING, bold, underlining, italics, or bullets (·) will bring items to the reader’s attention.  However do not overuse graphics or they will lose the impact.  Do not use graphics in a resume that will be scanned,

Proofread, Proofread – An error-free resume is essential.

Production – Word processing using a laser printer is the best method.