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Résumé Guide

What is a résumé?

A résumé is defined as:

  1. Work history: a summary of somebody’s educational and work experience, for the information of possible future employers.
  2. Summary: a summary of something such as events that have happened

A résumé can include any experience, not just work experience. You can use volunteer work, organizations or activities in which you participated, or other types of experiences in your résumé.

For example:

  • Did you work a lot of small jobs in high school? That may show you are dedicated or a hard worker.
  • Did you help your student club in organizing an event? That may show you have leadership or great organizational skills.
  • Did you participate with your youth group or student club in reaching out to the community? Perhaps that shows you have some skills in working with people or are service-oriented.
  • Did you accomplish something unique, such as a high skill level in playing an instrument or sport? Perhaps that shows you are enthusiastic, determined or disciplined.

 

What should I put on my résumé?

Below are suggestions for headings and content for your résumé.

  1. Education
    • School, degree and dates or expected dates achieved.
  2. On-Campus Activities
  3. Experience, listed most current to least current
    • Company/Organization Name
      List the name of the place that you worked for (your internship will come first if it is the most present experience) followed by a comma and then the city and state.
    • Dates
      List the months and years or just years
      • Put the dates that you worked at each job to the far right and make sure that all of your dates are lined up!
      • If your resume is in English then the employer or admission’s officer will more than likely be reading it from left to right, therefore, it is important that they focus on your skills and not the amount of time that you worked at a specific place.
    • Responsibilities
      Do not write a paragraph, several sentences or a blurb to describe the skills and experience that you have or have had. Instead, be concise and use bullets.
      • Don’t have only one bullet, since it is like listing an (a) without a (b).
      • Don’t put more than 4 bullets.
      • Try not to list similar skill sets. For instance, if you have only worked doing customer service jobs, try to make each one different.
      • Market yourself!
  4. Skills
    1. This part is for computer or other specific skills related to your major, the job or school that you are applying for.
    2. You should keep Language Skills as a separate heading.
  5. Service Learning (educational component) and/or Volunteer Experience: This might come after education if you participated in on-campus volunteer projects.
  6. Rewards and Accomplishments
  7. Accreditation and Licenses (relative to the position or your field of interest)

 

Sample Résumés

Here are some résumé formats to get  you started.

 

Valuable Résumé Tips

Do not include an objective!
It takes up valuable space. It is obvious that your objective is to get the internship, job or get into graduate school or gain entrance to another opportunity.
Do not put “references furnished upon request” on the résumé!
It is obvious and necessary to the employer or admissions officer that you will need to provide references in order to get the job. For more information about references, see the Job References section.
Length
Your résumé shouldn’t be more than one page, unless you have more than five years of full-time professional work experience.
Font Sizes
Fonts sizes should range from 10-12 points, except your header (name), which can be up to 14 points. Keep the font simple and professional. I recommend using Arial, Times New Roman or Veranda. Use mostly anything but scripts!
Paper
Should be printed on white or off-white bond paper

 

References

  1. References should be listed on a separate sheet of paper, not on the actual résumé itself.
  2. You should always get verbal permission from the reference contact first.
  3. Remember to send them a thank you letter for being a reference for you!

 

E-mailing Résumés

1. It is best to send your résumé within the e-mail message to avoid transmitting viruses. You can transfer your résumé in to a plain text format so that you have a copy ready to send that will be readable by all e-mail systems.

2. If you are attaching your résumé use Microsoft Word and name your file something clear and concise, such as “Ginn-Julie-Resume.” Don’t forget to mention in your e-mail message that you have attached your résumé file.


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