Resumes
The resume is your primary marketing tool. Its purpose is to get you in the door. There are many right ways to write a resume. It is not an exact science with a universal formula. Streamline your resume to show employers how you can meet their specific needs.
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How to Craft a Resume
Gather Information
Make a list of your previous jobs
- Your title or position
- Name of the organization
- Your responsibilities and skills used
- Any notable achievements (quantify/qualify when appropriate)
Collect your paperwork
- College Transcripts/Diploma
- Certificates/Endorsements
- References (including names, phone numbers, and email addresses)
- Workshops you’ve attended and presentations you’ve made
Identify Your Target
Write your resume in a way that targets a particular job or type of job.
A specific job description will provide the framework. Create a resume that clearly focuses your skills towards the type of work you are seeking. Keep in mind that your may need to revise it when you see an actual job description.
Information to Include
- Your name, phone number, and email
- Highlights of qualifications (relevant skills/knowledge)
- Education and GPA (usually GPAs 3.5 and above)
- Relevant coursework to the job your are seeking
- Related experience
- Additional experience
- Honors and awards
- Languages
- Publications and research
- Military experience
- Professional development (memberships, conferences, etc.)
- Activities/Service (volunteer, service learning, team membership)
Dos and Don'ts
Do
- Have someone read your resume and give you feedback
- Give a copy of your resume to each of your references
- Take copies of your resume to your interview
- Change keywords/phrases to fit the job description
- Emphasize your positive points; omit any negatives
- Leave plenty of white space; keep it brief and to-the-point
Don’t
- Include personal information (marital status, age, religious and political affiliations, pictures, etc.)
- Be wordy
- Include anything that’s not true (shine the best light on yourself, but don’t lie)
- Refer to high school achievements if you’ve finished college unless very impressive or related to the job you are seeking
- Cram too much information on one page
Our Top Tips
Tailor Your Résumé
Integrate specific keywords from the job posting throughout your résumé in key places, e.g., career summary, skills section, accomplishment bullets, and job titles.
Write with Recruiter's Needs in Mind
Highlight your return on investment (ROI) by making your résumé results-focused, relevant, visually appealing, quality oriented, and succinct.
Write Tight, Easy to Skim
Top- and left-load the most important information (F-shaped pattern). Write in first-person, omit personal pronouns, limit articles (a, an, the), and prepositions (of, by). Include periods at end of phrases.
Include Career Summary
Omit the objective statement and replace with a 3–5-line, keyword-rich career summary that highlights your unique value, academic and professional background, certifications, experience, and skills as relevant to the position.
Emphasize Achievements, not Tasks
Write bullet points in results-action format to highlight your accomplishments – what difference did you make? What was your impact? Use action verbs to begin bullet point phrases. Quantify and lead with results when possible.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – Online Applications
Follow application instructions. Avoid using templates – start from a blank Word document. Upload in Word, not PDF (unless otherwise instructed). Avoid text boxes, columns, and tables. Do not put anything in a header or footer. Use an ATS-friendly font e.g., Calibri, Arial, Garamond, Tahoma. Include month and years for all dates, and format consistently.
Focused and Clear
A clear, crisp résumé will make it easy to see who you are and what skills you possess. Use skill-based keywords found in the job description to describe your skills in your résumé.
Accurate
Proofread, proofread, proofread! Errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, dates, and contact information reflect poorly on you and can eliminate you from the applicant pool. Delete comments in margins if your résumé was reviewed.
Appropriate Length
The length of your résumé should reflect the extent of your relevant experience. Most traditional-aged undergrads and recent graduates will have a 1-page résumé. If you are a graduate student, non-traditional student, or undergrad with significant, relevant experience, your résumé can be 2-pages. The second page should be at least ½ page, ideally ¾ page.
Formatting and Trends
- Use a professional font that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri
- Using larger font sizes for your name and section headings can help the reader identify sections
- Using horizontal lines and shading to separate sections can make a resume more readable
- Proper and consistent font size and line spacing are crucial to creating a professional-looking resume that is easy to read
- Dynamic phrases are the language of resumes, not sentences, and therefore do not require periods at the end. However, if you choose to use periods, be consistent
- Action verb tenses should begin each dynamic phrase used to describe your work experiences
- Size page margins consistently and appropriately (.5 to 1.0 inch)
- The rule of a one-page resume is no longer absolute. Many employers are indicating that they would rather have a complete picture of the applicant’s skills than try to read between the lines
Resumes and Online Applications
When submitting your resume by email, attach your resume as a PDF. This will ensure that formatting will not be changed when the reader opens the file on their computer.
Tips for creating an ATS friendly resume
When applying for jobs online, you may have to submit your application through an applicant tracking system (ATS). With an ATS, your resume is scanned by a computer that looks for relevant skill keywords found in the job description.
- Follow the application instructions. If you have questions about the instructions or about how to submit your application correctly, contact the employer (unless they say not to)
- Include specific key words and phrases from the job description in describing your skills, experiences, and abilities
- ALWAYS proofread and spellcheck your documents to make sure they are error free
- Spell out dates and locations (e.g., May 2019 instead of 5/19)
- NEVER use pictures or graphics on your resume
- Do not create your resume using a template from software. Create your resume from a blank word processing document