It is important to remember that the resume is designed to be a marketing tool for yourself. The purpose of the resume is to show the employer that you have the ability or potential to meet their needs such that they need to interview you. The format you select should present your qualifications in the best light possible to accomplish this goal. Please note that not all of the categories listed below are necessary on your resume. The categories listed on resumes do vary based on the experiences and strengths of each individual, but this is a good starting point.
Personal Data
* Include name, physical address, phone number, and e-mail address.
Objective
* Not required, but strongly encouraged to clarify skills and a short-term/long-term career goal. Remember that the most effective statements focus with your alignment with their needs, not your needs.
* Use phrases to indicate industries preferred, position desired or areas of interest.
* Avoid general statements and terms such as: “opportunity for advancement”, “a challenging position”, “a position dealing with people”, or “a progressive company”. Your focus should be on contributions to the company (why you would be an asset).
Education
* If you are a Recent Graduate, this is more likely to be listed first on your resume. If you are a Former Student with more work experience, it may be appropriate for this section to be towards the bottom of your resume.
* Regardless of where this category is on your resume, the section should begin with your most recent education.
* Provide name and location (city & state) of college or university; degree received, major & minor; month & year of graduation, and overall GPR (for Recent Graduates). Experienced Former Students need not include GPR.
* If you are a Recent Graduate, you may want to include relevant, specialized coursework if not known by employers (i.e. minor coursework or electives), but list no more than 4-6 important classes.
* Include schools from which you received a degree.
* Provide amount, if over 50%, of financial support provided through scholarships, grants, loans and/or employment.
* Include honors received, Dean’s List, class rank, awards, and scholarships if you are a Recent Graduate. Experienced Former Students may also list honors, but this listing should be limited to your most significant achievements. List these in a separate “Honors” category if there are multiple items to include.
Experience
* List full-time, part-time, internships, or co-op jobs.
* Include company or organization name, city and state of location, your job title, and dates (month, year) of employment.
* Describe your accomplishments and duties using phrases beginning with action verbs in present or past tense depending on the time of the experience.
* Begin with the most relevant experience first, then list the remaining experiences in reverse chronological order, with the most recent dates next.
* Quantify whenever possible, including percentage increases in staff retention, sales, productivity, market share, end of quarter profits, or other relevant statistics.
* Include those duties that reflect transferable skills, including communication, teamwork, training, recruiting, problem solving, conflict resolution, project management and others.
* Be specific when listing responsibilities and duties and avoid broad generalizations.
Leadership
* List your professional affiliations, associations/organizations, campus activities, and dates of involvement. For experienced former students, specific project teams or employer events led could also be included.
* Include any offices you held or committees you chaired.
* Describe your accomplishments and duties within these organizations.
* Be sure to quantify whenever possible, particularly when describing fundraisers, membership drives, programs or events.
Activities
* List activities, organizations that you are a member of, but have not had a leadership role in during your educational or professional experience.
* Include a brief description if the group or activity is not well-known.
Skills & Languages
* Include any technical skills such as computer software applications, hardware, laboratory skills and/or languages.
* List level of foreign language skills. Note that “fluent” indicates exceptional speaking ability and should only be used if you would actually be able to complete your interview in that particular language.
Other Categories
* These can be used to demonstrate valuable attributes. For example: publications and presentations, relevant projects completed, special training, professional licenses or certifications.
Resume Writing Tips
* Arrange categories/sections in order of relevance, presenting your most marketable information first.
* Use brief, descriptive phrases instead of complete sentences.
* Select action verbs that illustrate your skills and experience.
* Do not use personal pronouns such as I, me, or my.
* Focus on results, accomplishments, and skills that demonstrate you have the qualifications to be successful at the job. Highlight higher order skills as opposed to just listing daily tasks.
* Avoid repetitive phrases when describing your experience.
* Describe activities that employers may not be familiar with, especially those unique to Texas A&M University (if you are a Recent Graduate). Instead of using abbreviations or acronyms for organizations, write the entire name of the group.
* Have several people review your resume to check for spelling, grammatical errors, and readability.
Format Options
* Chronological Recommended for Recent Graduates, this format focuses on work history and experiences. List most relevant activities first, starting with the most recent. Remember to list internships and co-ops before part-time work, even if part-time work is more recent. This format can also accentuate where you worked which could be as attractive as what you did.
* Functional A functional resume focuses on skills developed through experiences. Typically, this format is recommended for Former Students with extensive full-time work experience.
* Combination This format incorporates aspects of both the chronological and functional resumes. It allows you to provide descriptive information about your work history while highlighting specific skills.
Appearance Checklist
* Spelling and grammatical errors provide the fastest route to the trash can for many otherwise powerful resumes. Have someone else proofread spelling and grammar for you. Do not rely on spell-check to correct errors! Spell-check will not differentiate between led and lead or between to, too, and two. The best rule of thumb is to read your resume backwards. That is when spelling and grammatical errors really stand out.
* Make sure the resume is concise and easy to read.
* Too much ink on a page may be an indicator that you have information that is not relevant to that specific employer. It can create resume noise that keeps the reader from seeing your obvious matches with their urgent hiring needs.
* Use a consistent font throughout the resume. Fonts such as Times, Optima, Helvetica, Courier, and Arial are professional in appearance and easy to read. The text in the body of the resume should be 10-11 point. Headings can be 12 point, with your name between 14 and 16 point.
* Use bold print to highlight each section or heading. However, avoid excessive use of underline, italics, bold, or graphics. This adds unneeded emphasis and may make the information difficult to read. Margins can be set at 1” on all sides. If you need space, reduce the top and bottom margins first. All margins should never be smaller than .7 or .8”.
* Always use high quality paper.
* Print the resume in black ink only and use a high quality text printer.
* Limit resume to one page, if a Recent Graduate. Often a second page is essential for extensive work and relevant details for experienced Former Students. The most relevant experience must be on the first page to increase the likelihood that it will be seen.
Here are some useful links and examples of resumes to help you as well:
http://www.free-resume-example.com/free-resume-builders.html
http://www.career.vt.edu/ResumeGuide/Index.html
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