- Identifying
Information
-
- Your name, present and permanent addresses and telephone
numbers including area codes. Include an e-mail address, but be
sure it is professional in nature. If this is a temporary e-mail
account, specify that it will only be functional until a certain
date.
- Career Objective
-
- Writing a career/job objective is optional. If you have a
specific job which you are pursuing, you may wish to write a brief
objective. If your resume is on disk, you may be able to change the
objective to tailor your resume to the job in which you are
interested. If you are interested in more than one career field and
are not able to modify each objective statement on your resume,
omit this section on the resume and include it in the accompanying
cover letter.
- Summary of Qualifications/Skills
(Optional)
-
- Instead of an objective statement or in addition to one, you
may want to include a section that summarizes your skills and/or
qualifications. This section will help you to focus your resume on
specific skills, achievements, or training that are important to
your potential employer. Be sure to support any claims you
make here in the resume.
-
- Examples of summary skill statements are:
-
- Excellent time management skills developed through working 25
hours per week while attending school full time.
-
- Developed leadership skills by serving as a community assistant
responsible for 40 residents.
-
- Knowledge of Windows 98 and higher, the Microsoft Office Suite,
PowerPoint, and Access.
- Education
-
- For each post-secondary degree (most recent first), list:
-
- Your degree (do not use abbreviations).
-
- Major, minor, and concentration.
-
- The name of what college/university and the city and state in
which it is located.
-
-
- Include your QPA if it is a 3.0 or better. If your QPA is less
than 3.0, you may want to identify only your major QPA.
-
- Also consider:
-
- Curriculum highlights and special projects.
-
- Certificates and licenses.
-
- Workshops and conferences you've attended.
-
- Study abroad experiences.
-
- If you have worked during college, consider including the
percentage of the college expenses you paid for.
- Experience
-
- Provide information that is relevant and positive; avoid a
boastful or dishonest resume; and accentuate your most marketable
skills and experiences. Quantify when possible. You can use one of
two formats:
-
- Functional: To emphasize skills and talents, cluster your
experience under headings that highlight these skills, for example:
leadership, research, computers, etc. This format can be helpful if
you have little relevant work experience.
-
- Chronological: This format emphasizes work experience. Begin
with your most recent job and continue on in a consistent
style.
-
- If you have career-related experience, you can divide your
experience into two sections:
-
-
- Additional Experience
-
- This allows you to put the most relevant items together.
Experiences may include full-time or part-time employment as well
as summer jobs, volunteer work and internships.
-
- Each entry should:
-
- Include your job title, the employer's name, city, state and
dates employed (month/year), related skills, responsibilities and
results of your actions.
-
- Highlight when an increase in responsibility occurred or you
received a promotion.
-
- Use numbers to quantify and specify information i.e., cash
sales of $9,000 or supervised four clerks.
-
- Do not be discouraged if you have never had employment in your
field. Instead focus on skills, accomplishments, and
responsibilities relevant to your field. Don't get bogged down in
details that are not of interest to potential employers.
- Activities
-
- Employers look for well-rounded individuals who involve
themselves with extracurricular activities. You may want to:
-
- Include both college and community activities, highlighting any
leadership roles.
-
- Identify organizations to which you belong, the role you play
in each, and your dates of participation.
-
- Emphasize activities closely related to your career goals
and/or the needs of the employer.
-
- Note: When you include religious or political activities,
carefully consider whether you want to identify specific
denominations or parties. The potential for bias may be an
issue.
- Honors
-
- List any honors that indicate your strong academic abilities,
i.e., honorary societies, scholarships, awards, and dean's
lists.
- Military Service
-
- Identify the branch of the service, locations, your rank, and
dates of service. Briefly describe your assignment, achievements,
and demonstrated skills in terms relevant to employers. Avoid using
technical military terms.
- Related Interests
-
- If you have space, you many want to briefly identify some of
your personal interests that relate to the company location and/or
position.
- References
-
- You may attach a separate sheet listing 3 to 5 references with
work addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses if available.
Remember to make sure you have permission from individuals before
listing them as references. See a Reference
Example.
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