Resumes
Building a professional resume is essential to success for many things throughout your college career and after graduation. Resumes are used to apply for scholarships, student organizations, student employment, internships, and jobs. This guide covers some of the important aspects that go into the creation of a resume, but it is always a good idea to have your resume reviewed by the Pancratz Career Development Center's staff.
Structure and Outline
Your resume should be well thought out and well written. Just like many of your academic papers a good place to start would be to develop an outline. Some sections you could include on a resume are:
- Name and Contact Information - This should be a prominent feature at the top of the page. Include your name, address, phone, email, and LinkedIn site.
- Education - This section should include any degrees you have attained or are pursuing, the academic institution which you have attended/are attending, graduation dates, GPAs, academic awards (i.e. Dean's List) and any coursework relevant to the position.
- Work Experience - This section should list your places of employment or internships in reverse chronological order. Be certain to include your specific job title, location, dates of employment and a bulleted list of developed skills and abilities. Wherever possible, quantify results and accomplishments (i.e. Led a team of three account executives and two support analysts. Produced $5 million in new revenue, exceed company goal by 75%
- Campus and Community Involvement - This section should summarize extracurricular activities. Examples of this include student and/or community-based organizations you belong to, as well as any volunteer service work you've completed.
- Skills and Certifications - If you've received professional certification for a particular skill related to the position for which you are applying, list it in this section. If the job description is asking for knowledge or proficiency of a computer software, you could also include those details.
Things to Remember
- Allot Time - Expect to put work into this document. It is ever-changing and will need to reflect your skills as they pertain to each job. You will need to develop, revise, critique and repeat.
- Get Feedback - Family and friends can be great resources to help review your resume. The professionals of the Pancratz Career Development Center can also give professional help and advice.
- Keep in Short and Easy to Read - Resumes should be uncluttered and visually appealing.
- Include Keywords - Use verbiage and keywords found in the job description. Many larger companies use keyword searches to select the first round of resumes to review.
- Be Specific and Quantify Information - Contextualizing information is important. For example, instead of telling the employer you supervised employees, give them the number of employees to provide stronger context and impact.
- Tailor It - Each job requires different qualifications and skills. Include information that is specific and relevant to the position.