Your resume is your first impression for a potential employer, be sure it's a positive one. To see examples, navigate to Handshake. On your profile, under "Career Center" click, "Resources".
Necessary Content:
- Name and contact information—local address, cell phone number, e-mail address, and personalized LinkedIn url
- Education—include the university name, degree, major, minor, GPA, and expected graduation date
- Experience or leadership/extra-curricular involvement—include employer name, position title, location, dates of employment, and major responsibilities or list your community service and club membership here (be sure to include dates)
- Other skills and qualifications—list computer skills/applications and other skills the position description outlines (e.g. experience with Adobe InDesign)
Optional Content:
- Coursework—courses that are relevant or required for your field
- Objective—include only if you’re sharing at a career expo; omit if applying for a specific job
- Publications or presentations—if you have published work or presented at a conference
Resume Tips:
- Include your contact information (only one phone number, mailing address, and e-mail address is necessary)
- Make your document visually appealing (is the important information easy to find?)
- Use action verbs (managed, oversaw, organized, developed, analyzed)
- Use bullets to organize information
- Write in full sentences
- Have someone proofread your resume (someone in the career services office is always willing)
- Include dates on everything (except your objective and skills) in reverse chronological order
- Organize with subheadings (education, work experience, honors/awards/leadership, other skills/qualifications, relevant coursework)
- Use numbers when possible (increased sales by 20%, an avg. attendance of 30 members, etc.)
- Keep your resume to one page
- Don't include high school information (sports, awards, etc.). It is OK during your freshman year, but after that omit it
- Include all experience (especially on a family farm or as a restaurant server)
- Try using Times New Roman, Ariel, or Calibri font
Writing a Cover Letter
- Address a person (e.g. Dear John Doe:)
- Include person's name, title, address
- Highlight your qualifications (refer to job description)
- Thank person for his/her consideration.
- Include salutation (Respectfully or Sincerely).
Want more help writing or polishing your resume? Contact Allie Hutchison in the Career Services Office or schedule an appointment.