A good resume is vital. It's your calling card to a prospective employer - one that lays out your qualifications and hopefully gets you a job interview. Remember, most employers will spend less than five minutes reviewing your resume. Follow these guidelines to make sure your resume gets you noticed.
Be sure to include these basics:
- Contact information: Full name, phone number, school and permanent addresses, email address.
- Education: School, degree, date of completion, honors, special course work. If you're still in school, provide your expected date of completion.
- Experience: In addition to work history, include relevant non-professional experience, such as internships, extracurricular activities and significant volunteer work.
- Skills: List any computer systems, office equipment and software programs you are experienced with.
- Other categories: If they are relevant, include publications, awards, leadership positions or other notable achievements.
The two most popular formats are:
- Chronological: To emphasize your work history, list your jobs and activities, beginning with your most recent experiences.
- Functional: To emphasize your skill sets, group your experiences under categorical headings, such as Leadership or Technology Support.
The key is to pick a format that presents your achievements effectively, and is easy to read and comprehend. See below for samples of a number of resume formats.
Tips for a Winning Resume:
- Keep it brief. Try to keep your resume to one page. There are cases where a resume might be longer but one page should suffice for students and recent graduates. Write lean sentences and use bullet points to be succinct.
- Provide meaningful descriptions of your experiences. When detailing your job history, use short sentences or fragments to demonstrate your relevant experience.
- Use strong action words. For example: "developed and implemented a new filing system"; "created two new membership programs."
- Use formatting to help you out. Capitalize and use boldface, italics or underlining to help organize the information.
- Proofread. Use spellcheck, doublecheck your contact information and make sure your formatting is consistent. Ask a friend or family member to proofread it as well. Check for errors that spellcheck programs miss (i.e. there vs. their; to, too or two).
- Custom fit your resume. Revise your resume for each job application to make sure it fits the opportunity at hand.
The final test: Take a look at your resume from arm's distance. Is it confusing and text-heavy? Or is it easy to find the information you need? Do whatever is needed to make your resume reader friendly.
Check out these samples of winning resumes:
For more information about writing winning resumes (and cover letters), check out these articles:
Barbara Crystal
Current Address: Brownlow University; Greenbay, CA 11222 Phone: 312/555-3492
Mailing address: 3455 Southpark Rd; Winnelow, CO 54039 Phone: 809/ 555-1212
EDUCATION
Brownlow University, Greenbay, California.
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology expected in 2008. Dean's List.
Winslow High School. Winslow, Arizona.
Cum Laude, June 2004.
EXPERIENCE
Residential Counselor. Talent Identification Center Summer Programs
at Whipton College.
Whipton, Missouri. June-August, 2005-2006.
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Supervised counseling groups of 15 junior high school-aged students.
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Acted as liaison between program administrators and parents.
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Assisted instructors during supervised study sessions.
Account Assistant. Greenbay Savings and Loans.
Greenbay, California. September, 2004-June, 2005.
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Managed weekend processing of account payments for corporate clients.
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Produced quarterly reports detailing account growth.
Office Assistant / Salesperson. B & R Plumbing Supplies.
Caterville, Winslow, AZ. June, 2003-August, 2003.
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Finalized sales, managed customer and inventory files.
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Duties also included typing and accounting, greeting customers and answering
phones.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Phi Beta Kappa, 2006
Junior Civitan of the Month, April 2003.
"Freedom is Me" Essay Contest, Honorable Mention. January 2003.
ADDITIONAL SKILLS
Experience with Windows XP, Mac OS, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and database applications.
Fluent in French; reading ability in Spanish and Italian.
Kathleen Ann Johnson
221 Vilhelm Avenue, #2 * Burbank, CA 40332 * (818) 555-1029
kajohnson@provider.com
EDUCATION:
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Northwestern University, M.A., English Literature, June 2006
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University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A., English Literature,
Summa cum Laude, graduate of Honors College
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Santa Clara High School, June 2000
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Education Programs Coordinator, Center for Pre-College Development
at the University of Chicago, May-August, 2006
Oversaw the coordination of classroom resources for an intensive summer
education program serving over 600 students. Duties included coordinating
the order and delivery of classroom supplies, hiring and training instruction
staff, coordinating all mass mailings.
Teaching Assistant, Northwestern University, 2004-2005
Designed and taught discussion sessions for several English Literature
courses; provided one-on-one tutorial work with students; graded homework
assignments and exams.
Administrative Assistant, N.E.H. Summer Seminar and Institute
at Northwestern University, April-August, 2003 and April-August, 2004
Oversaw the arrangement of all administrative requirements for two summer
education programs for high school and college teachers. Duties included
arranging accommodations for the seminar members and instructors, ordering
academic materials and textbooks and arranging for use of library facilities
(library privileges, media center, etc.) by program participants.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Volunteer Docent at the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
in San Marino, California, 2002-2003
•Catalogued collections of literary manuscripts
•Assisted patrons with research
Intern, Development Department of Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago,
Illinois, February-May, 2006
•Assisted in preparation of materials for grant applications
•Data entry and clean-up
•Dispatched and filed departmental correspondence
HONORS AND AWARDS:
National Merit Scholar, 1996-2000
Regents' Scholar, 1998-2000
Phi Beta Kappa, 2000
Dean's List, 1996-2000
Computer Skills: Microsoft Word, Filemaker Pro, Internet Explorer and Netscape, some familiarity with Raiser's Edge.
Francis M. Clearer
710 East Middlebury Road
Antipodes, Florida 95064
333-555-9049
fclearer@email.com
OBJECTIVE
To obtain a challenging position in the field of physical therapy that
would enable me to contribute to an organization by utilizing my clinical
and educational experience.
EXPERIENCE
New Vision Medical Center,
Hinterlands, FL
March 2006 to present
Assisting physical therapists with patient care, including therapeutic
weight-training, transportation and other duties as requested.
Fitness Fantastic,
Framington, FL
Winter 2006
Provided part-time support to fitness staff; served as personal trainer
on an itinerant basis; assisted with event planning and coordination.
Children's Hospital,
Loma Linda, CA
Fall 2005
Volunteer recreational leader: provided staffing for patients' recreation
programs; assisted in the transportation of students.
EDUCATION
State University of Florida,
Tallahassee, FL
Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy
Minor in Sociology
Degree awarded in May of 2006
Community College of Compton,
Compton, FL
Associate of Arts in General Studies
Degree awarded in June of 2004
SPECIAL SKILLS
Certified in CPR & first aid
Computer: MS Word, MS Excel, Internet, 55 wpm
Languages: Fluent in English, Spanish, and Korean
HOBBIES
Softball, swimming, tennis, chess, reading, and music
Derrick M. Fortescue
45 Chestnut Avenue
Millbridge, MA 12345
(212) 123-4567
EDUCATION
Boston University, B.S. Electrical Engineering. June, 2006
National Merit Scholarship Recipient
Senior Thesis: Electronic Bombardment of Hyperflorescent Matter
Cambridge University, England, June-August, 2005
Summer Exchange Program, emphasis in Physics and Chemistry
Center for Advanced Studies, University of Cleveland, June-August,
2002
Accelerated College Prep Program, emphasis in Writing Composition
SKILLS
Engineering
Thorough knowledge of electric and electronic circuit analysis
Theoretical knowledge of analog and digital logic design and power
systems
Computer Languages
Programming knowledge of C and Perl
Software
Experienced with Windows, WordPerfect, Microsoft
Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and Novel Netware
Hardware
Practical knowledge of computer and network assembly, function and technical
trouble-shooting
Internet
Knowledge of TCP-IP protocols and HTML programming
EXPERIENCE
The Computer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA
Computer Consultant and Technician 2006-present
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Implemented upgrades for computer lab computers
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Installed and maintained computer hardware
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Provided computer and network technical support for students and staff
Jiggy's Beef Barn, Millbridge, MA
Counter Clerk, 2002-2003
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Provided quality customer service
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Oversaw stocking and reordering of supplies
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