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Resume Writing

The resume is intended to secure the interview, which in turn is intended to secure the position. It should concisely highlight your career goals, educational background, work experiences, special skills, accomplishments, and activities in a manner that will market you effectively.

Heading

Assure that employers can call, mail or e-mail you with relative ease. Avoid listing a work number, because it is often awkward or difficult for an employer to contact you at a place of employment. Make certain that your e-mail address sounds professional.

Objective

Your career objective should be succinct and should show career focus, possibly emphasizing a couple of your strongest skills. You can always change it to fit a particular position. Avoid using personal pronouns (I, me, my).

Example
To obtain a position as a public relations specialist, where value will be added through excellent communication skills, strong interpersonal qualities and extensive experience in program development.

Education

List only your college education, placing your most recent school first and working backwards chronologically. Include any degree earned, major, minor, and graduation date. Listing your grade point average is optional but recommended, especially if it is at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Indicate what kind of maximum grading scale was used at that institution. Mention any special graduation honors.

Example
XYZ University, Chicago, IL
Bachelor of Science, Biology, May 2003
Overall GPA: 3.75/4.00

• Magna Cum Laude Graduate

Certification

List any certifications that you have attained, as well as licensing examinations that you are scheduled to take. You may mention the dates associated with those items.

Example
Illinois Type 03 Elementary Education K-9 Teaching Certification

Honors

Indicate any scholarships, awards, or honors earned during your college career.

Example
Dean’s List of Honor Students (3 semesters)

Activities

These are good indicators of your leadership, professional interests, contributions, and social skills. Include those affiliations of which you are/were a member at school and/or in your community. List the offices that you held with those organizations. If applicable, mention highlights of accomplishments that you have achieved in those organizations. If you prefer, you may list the dates that you were associated with those activities. Avoid listing those associations that have a radical or harsh political or social tone to them, because prospective employers may perceive that you have extreme, inflexible convictions.

Example
Communications Chairperson of Business Students Association, 2001-2002

• Established a mentoring program for freshman business majors

Presentations

List any out-of-class presentations that you have conducted, including where and when there were performed.

Example
“The Effects of Primary Colors in Print Advertisements”

• Poster presentation delivered at Collegiate Enterprisers Annual Conference in Oak Brook, Illinois, 2002

Skills

Mention any special abilities that you possess, such as computer proficiencies, instrumentation competencies, or foreign language flounces.

Example
Computer Proficiencies:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access

Experience

List your experiences in reverse chronological order. Include full-time jobs, part-time jobs, co-ops, internships, volunteer jobs, clinicals, practicums, field experiences, etc. List organization names, cities, states, dates of employment, job titles, responsibilities and accomplishments. Use action words to describe your responsibilities and achievements, and be cautious to use the correct verb tense. Create phrases that are brief, but make them meaningful and at least five words long. List items that highlight relevant skills, special training, high-level accountability and achievement. If applicable, mention quantitative illustrations of contributions and accomplishments. When listing your responsibilities, use aligned bullet points instead of a paragraph format.

Example
XYZ Company, Tinley Park, IL
Crew Manager (March 2000 - Present)

• Select, train, and supervise a staff of 15 assembly line employees.
• Manage a monthly departmental operating budget of $125,000.
• Resolve employees’ issues effectively through open communication.
• Earned "Employee of the Month" recognition, September 2001.
• Promoted from Assembler position, based on performance, May 2002.

References

A simple overall statement will suffice (e.g., Available upon request.). However, you probably should have a set of references ready on a separate page, in case they are requested. You should have at least three professional references who can speak of your work ethic objectively, such as current or former supervisors or instructors. It is common courtesy to ask permission before listing someone as a reference. List names, job titles, company names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Miscellaneous

If you need to include some information not applicable to any of the sections above, then list another heading (e.g., Clinical Experiences, Publications, Presentations, Licenses, Certifications, Additional Training, Professional Development, Conferences, Seminars, Workshops). Arrange the sections in the order that markets you best, with your greatest selling points ideally in the upper two-thirds of the document. Make certain that your section headings are distinct. Use italics, bold facing and bullets to add variety and to place emphasis in certain areas, but do not overuse them to the point that your text looks too busy. Keep the content and formatting consistent. Make certain that all spelling and grammar are flawless by having other people look over it carefully. Use page margins of about .4”-.5” for the top and bottom, with .7”-1.0” for the left and right sides. For ease of readability, always use a computer, an 11- or 12-point font size, a basic font type and a laser printer. Copy your resume onto high quality paper of a neutral color, such as light gray or cream. An employer typically reviews a resume initially for only a minute or two, so it is important to thoroughly sell your skills and experience in a succinct way.

Resume sample (PDF)

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