Every resume needs to include certain categories of information, as identified in the other sections of this toolkit. Your resume should provide answers to these questions:

• Contact information—What is your name and how can you be reached?
• Objective—What do you want to do?
• Experience —What can you do?
• Education—What have you learned?
• Employment—What have you done?

Contact Information
The header of your resume should include your name, address, phone number, and email address, if you regularly use it. When submitting a paper version of your resume, it is visually appealing to use a large font for your name. Include both a local and permanent address and a phone number so that an employer can easily reach you. This is especially important for graduating students.

Job Objective
Although optional, a job objective statement shows employers the direction you want to go, your work preferences, and serves as a focal point for employers to review and analyze your resume. It allows employers to immediately identify the kind of position you want. If you are looking for jobs in a number of different fields, you need to have a different job objective for each position. To address this, prepare some resumes without objective statements. Or tailor each resume to the specific job you seek.

Do not write an objective that is vague and meaningless—if it isn’t specific, don’t include one. It may contain up to four parts:

Education
In this section, include any information about your degree(s), including where and when you graduated;date(s); major, minor, or concentration; certification; and academic awards and honors. Make sure you use the official names for schools, degrees, and majors/minors.

Include all honors, special awards, and recognitions. While commonly known awards, such as Phi Beta Kappa, do not need an explanation, lesser known awards should be briefly explained.

Include your GPA if it is an asset. If your GPA is not strong, focus your resume on non-academic strengths and skills. A general rule of thumb is that if your GPA is a 3.0 or higher, include it. If the GPA for your major is strong, you can just put that down but make sure you specify that it is only for classes in your major.

If you are calculating a major GPA, make sure that if employers ask for your transcript, they will be able to follow your calculations. If not, they will assume you falsified your resume! GPA is calculated as follows: 3.15 can be rounded up to 3.2. However, 3.14 cannot be rounded up. If you do not have a lot of relevant experience for the position you are applying for, it is a good idea to list courses and class projects of interest to the employer.

Employment History
The way you structure the “experience” section will depend on what you are looking for and what you have done. This section lists in chronological order the positions you have held, names and locations of employers, and dates employed. You should also list responsibilities, achievements, significant contributions,
and demonstrated skills.

Try to describe your experience in the most interesting and brief way possible. However, don’t sacrifice clarifying details about important accomplishments for the sake of brevity. Remember to use active verbs to describe your work experience. Be hard on yourself, and, if necessary, discard “good” material that will have no meaning for an employer. To assist you in writing this section, refer to the list of action words in this toolkit.

Descriptions such as “responsibilities included developing course material” can be phrased more persuasively as “developed course materials.” Descriptions do not need to be phrased in full sentences. The questions in an employer’s mind are “Why should I speak with this person? How are they different from all the other applicants?” Try to answer these questions in each of your descriptions.

You should also include independent study or volunteer work if it is relevant to the job you want and provided you with significant skills and experiences. If you do include your volunteer work, do not describe it under a heading which implies you were paid. In some instances, you may want to divide your experience into sub-sections. For example, if you are seeking a teaching job, and have both a teaching and business background, two separate headings—one “Teaching Experience” and “Additional Experience” may have more impact than a single heading.

Skills and Abilities
This is the place to put important and/or interesting information that does not fit anywhere else. With the advance of technology, it is increasingly important to include a section on computer skills. This should include any of your knowledge of computer programs, hardware, software, database knowledge, and/or
Internet functions. If you have any other notable skills, such as foreign languages, musical talents, or writing skills, include these here.

Activities and Honors
If you have received any awards or honors, or been involved in campus or community organizations, such as athletics, clubs or student government, you should mention them in this section. Identify any leadership roles that you had in these organizations. If you have too many organizations to list, choose the ones that have the strongest connection to the type of job you seek. Don’t pad this section with organizations you joined “in name only.” Employers may ask you about these involvements during an interview.

References
Simply indicate that references are “available upon request” in a paper version of your resume. You should know at least 3 people who can serve as your references. Ask in advance for permission to use them as references. Use faculty and employers as references, not personal acquaintances. Do not include their names, addresses, or phone numbers on the resume. You may send a separate sheet with this information along with your resume, or wait until the employer requests references.

 

By CESER, the Center for Employment Education and Research