The resume is your primary sales tool. It allows you to present
your best characteristics and past successes to an employer in ways
which demonstrate your potential for further success. The resume
should show a sense of career direction, present your
responsibilities and achievements, and reflect examples of your
transferable skills.
The actual preparation of the resume forces you to analyze your
strengths and weaknesses, to clearly define your career goal, and to
relate your background to the position you are seeking. Your resume
will reveal your ability to organize and present data, the style and
level of your writing skill, how well you know yourself, and your
understanding of the job market and where you fit in.
There is no single prescribed format. If there were, everyone would
appear stereotyped, and this is what you want to avoid. You want to
come across as an individual with unique qualities who stands out
above your competitors. Creativity and individual considerations
are critical in developing the content and format of the resume.
There are, however, a number of components common to most resumes.
IDENTIFICATION
(do not use as a heading). This includes your full name, address,
phone number, email address, both temporary/campus and permanent
addresses if necessary. Be sure to include zip codes and area
codes. Do not include personal details such as height,
weight, age, marital status, race, religion, or health. These are
usually irrelevant or illegal as selection criteria. Also, do
not include a photograph with your resume.
CAREER OBJECTIVE.
The career objective should be a clearly defined, concise
statement. It can be the single most important part of your resume
since all the information that follows will be geared to support
it. You need to strike a balance between being overly specific or
too vague. Avoid ambiguities such as "seeking a challenging
position with a major company that will afford me an opportunity to
utilize my education and experience." This is meaningless.
Remember, it is critical to design your resume to suit the type of
position you are seeking. If you are considering several different
positions or one or more fields, you would be wise to write a
different resume with an appropriate objective for each career
field.
(Click here for more information on career objectives.)
EDUCATION.
List the highest-level degree first. Include the name of the
college, degree, major and date of graduation. If graduation is
more than a year away, you can say “Expected Graduation: xxxxx “.
For freshmen and sophomores, you can indicate the semester you
started to “present”. With regards to GPAs, the general
recommendation is, if it is 3.0 or higher (overall and/or in your
major) you may want to include it.
You should also include any concentrations, options, or minors that
you are pursuing as well as participation in an honors program or
study-abroad program.
The education section need not be restricted to formal degree
programs. For example, certificates, special educational programs
or workshops can be listed. However, it is not necessary to list
other universities that you attended unless you completed a program.
Significant courses related to a career goal which would not
typically be associated with a certain major should be profiled.
For example, if your major was History and you are applying for a
job as a Personnel Trainee, you may want to list job-related courses
taken outside your specialty such as Industrial Relations,
Organizational Behavior, and Personnel Management.
An alternative to listing course titles is to instead, present
“Educational Highlights”; things you actually learned in your
courses that would be useful for an employer to know. For example:
·
Developed editorial writing skills using a critical thinking model
to analyze social issues.
·
Studied the major theories of learning and their use in the design
of psycho-educational techniques.
·
Knowledgeable of current auditing practices within the public
accounting profession as well as operational auditing practices,
risk analysis and statistical sampling techniques.
·
Studied the physiological and psychological effects of
prescription, over the counter, and illegal drugs, theories of
addiction and methods of rehabilitation.
·
Gained a basic understanding of the nature of juvenile delinquency,
theories of causation, methods of treatment, and suggested methods
of prevention.
·
Developed laboratory skills in the following areas:
o
Gel electrophoresis and SDS PAGE
o
Biochemical assays
o
Protein purification and western blotting
o
Staining techniques and motility determination
o
Invertebrate analysis through dissection
o
Thin layer and gas chromatography
o
Infrared spectrophotometry
o
DNA isolation, restriction digestion, DNA purity and quantification
An
excellent resource for this kind of information is the course
syllabus which generally lists the objectives or learning outcomes
for the class. Just be sure that you accurately describe your level
of knowledge in a particular area and that you are able to discuss
each “highlight” that you present. (See
sample on page 16 and
the comparison between resumes on pages
17 and
18.)
Significant projects done for a class can also be presented on the
resume - either as its own category or under “Education” or
“Experience.” (See resume samples on pages 19
and 20.)
A
note about high school information:
Generally, college juniors and seniors do not include high school
information. Exceptions can be made for individuals who want to
work in their home area and wish to note that they attended
secondary school in the region. Also, students pursuing careers in
elementary or secondary education may want to include high schools
on their resume, especially if they want to teach in that particular
school district. However, keep in mind that this may
not always be considered a “plus” by the prospective employer.
EXPERIENCE.
In any experience section, positions are usually sequenced
chronologically (most recent first), but can be in order of
significance (most important first).
If
you have experiences which directly relate to your career
goals, a "Related Experience" section should be included. It is
important to note that not all students will include such a section
in their resumes. Related experience does not necessarily have to
be paid employment and could include student teaching, internships,
summer management traineeships, or volunteer experience.
A
significant amount of community service may warrant its own section,
and the same can be said for extensive international experience.
(See sample on page 14.)
For each experience, indicate the function (position title),
organization, location (town, state), and dates (month & year),
followed by a description of the position.
If
you have un-related experiences, you can include an "Other
Experience" section if you feel it adds value to your
qualifications. If you have no related experience, prepare a simple
“Experience” or “Employment” section which presents part-time or
summer jobs in the same manner as above.
Descriptions should be specific
and include responsibilities, accomplishments and skills used. Be
sure to include information that is relevant to the position you are
seeking.
Education majors should describe their student teaching experience
in detail including grade level, subjects, teaching methods,
classroom management strategies, use of technology, etc. (See
samples on pages
11 and
12.)
When describing "un-related" experiences, try to identify skills
which are transferable to your career goal. Accentuate your most
marketable skills and accomplishments. Eliminate minor details.
Avoid statements such as "Duties included" or "Responsible for". Do
not use complete sentences. Use concise phrases beginning with
action verbs. (Click for a list of action verbs.) Your resume
becomes more precise and therefore more meaningful to employers
through the use of these action verbs. "Established",
"coordinated", "developed" have much more impact than the weaker
"worked with". Whenever possible, use numbers, percentages or
dollars to quantify and clarify information.
Descriptors may also include observations and knowledge acquired,
especially when describing an internship where your actual
“hands-on” activities may be limited.
Explain all relevant background in a way that will mean something to
a prospective employer.
OPTIONAL CATEGORIES.
Your particular list of accomplishments may make it desirable for
you to add one or more of the following categories to your resume:
SPECIAL SKILLS and/or INTERESTS.
Higher-level skills and interests such as bilingual ability,
computer knowledge, artistic ability, international or extensive
travel, etc., can be assets. Skills developed through activities
could also be highlighted. For example:
Leadership Skills
§
Chaired a special-events committee that planned annual fundraisers,
educational and cultural programs.
§
Represented 2,500 students on committee involving university
policies and procedures.
§
Appointed to Haven League and served as an LHU ambassador
§
Supervised 20 student volunteers participating in a Habitat for
Humanity Collegiate Challenge over Spring Break.
Organizational Skills
§
Assisted in registering 21,000 runners for the March of Dimes “WalkAmerica”.
§
Selected and collaborated with professional convention planners and
caterers for events.
§
Organized fundraising dinners for charitable causes on limited
budget.
§
Coordinated arts and craft activities for the annual Children’s
Festival.
Include any "extras" that you know will enhance your qualifications
for the position.
ACTIVITIES and/or MEMBERSHIPS.
Collegiate as well as civic activities and professional affiliations
should be included if you feel that they will reflect positively on
your candidacy. Leadership positions or other responsibilities
should also be shown in conjunction with an activity.
HONORS and/or AWARDS.
This category deserves inclusion if you have several achievements
that distinguish you from the average person. For example:
consistent or recent inclusion on Dean's List; awards or
scholarships for academic achievement; other special recognition by
campus; community, or national organizations. If you do not have
enough items to justify such a category, you can have a combined
section such as "Honors and Activities" or distribute the data under
another appropriate heading, i.e. "Education".
REFERENCES:
This is the last section of the resume and should simply indicate
that references are available and/or how they may be obtained.
Example: "References Furnished Upon Request." Or, "References
available from the Career Services Office, Lock Haven University of
PA, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-484-2181". Then, prepare a separate
sheet that says “References for your name” at the top
followed by the name, title, organization, mailing address,
telephone number and email address for each of your references. Be
sure you have their permission to use their name as a reference.
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION
·
First recommendation:
Do NOT use a resume template! They limit your ability to put your
best foot forward and highlight your key qualifications. They also
wind up looking all the same and employers do not like them.
·
Usually, a one page resume is sufficient for a new college graduate,
but there are always exceptions. If two pages are necessary, be
sure to include your name on the second page.
·
Experiment with the arrangement of headings, captions, and text to
find the best overall appearance and readability. Be consistent in
the use of indentations, underscoring, bolding, and capital letters.
·
Do
not use the first person "I" in the text. Use incomplete sentences
beginning with "action verbs". Be sure to use the correct tense.
·
Avoid the use of slang. Do not abbreviate.
·
Use font size 10 - 12, depending on the font style.
·
Proofread and check for spelling and grammatical errors. Don’t rely
on Spellcheck!
·
Have someone else read it and critique it as to content. If
possible, have someone in your field review it for accuracy.
·
The quality of the printing is important. It must be clean, neat,
and easy to read. For best results use a laser printer. Use good
quality paper. Variations to the traditional white paper could be
cream, light gray or light blue. When you buy your paper, purchase
enough for your cover letter and get matching envelopes.
Remember:
Your resume is your distinctive advertising brochure. It should be
a reflection of you, your personality, creativity, and ability to
express yourself. An effective resume is the key that opens a door
for an interview.
ALTERNATIVE TYPE OF RESUME - FUNCTIONAL RESUMES
An alternative to the traditional chronological
resume is to produce a resume reflecting "functional skills." The
functional resume goes beyond simply outlining education and
experience. It enables you to focus on your transferable skills -
those aptitudes and talents that can be applied to a number of
situations. This style de-emphasizes chronological listings and
emphasizes qualifications, skills and related accomplishments.
Skills are organized into categories that tell employers what you
will be able to do for them. Specific evidence reflecting each
skill should be provided.
When to
Consider a Functional Format
Among
jobseekers who should consider a functional format:
-
College students with minimal experience and/or
experience unrelated to their chosen career field.
-
Job-seekers whose predominate or most relevant
experience has been unpaid, such as volunteer work or college
activities (coursework, class projects, extracurricular
organizations, and sports).
-
Those with very diverse experiences that don't
add up to a clear-cut career path.
-
Career-changers who wish to enter a field very
different from what all their previous experience points to.
-
Those with gaps in their work history, such as
homemakers who took time to raise a family and now wish to
return to the workplace. For them, a chronological format can
draw undue attention to those gaps, while a functional resume
enables them to portray transferable skills attained through
such activities as domestic management and volunteer work.
-
Military transitioners entering a different field
from the work they did in the military.
-
Those who performed very similar activities
throughout their past jobs who want to avoid repeating those
activities in a chronological job listing.
-
Job-seekers looking for a position for which a
chronological listing would make them look "overqualified."
-
Older workers seeking to deemphasize a lengthy
job history.
Functional Resume How-Tos
Functional resumes rely on strategically grouping
key skills into different categories to demonstrate a candidate's
qualifications and expertise for a particular job. This skills-based
focus allows you to emphasize your strengths and soft-pedal a flawed
or absent employment record. See resume samples on pages
21 and 22.
Sample Skill Categories with Corresponding
Action Verbs
Communication / Interpersonal Skills
