A resume is a marketing tool, designed to positively present you to a potential employer. As a snapshot of your unique experience, skills and qualifications, it provides a glimpse into who you are and what you have to offer. There is no "one way" to write a resume, but there are some important parts to include, and some particular ways to present yourself will help you stand out from the rest of the applicants.

How to Focus a Resume

Focus on a specific job objective and present those aspects of yourself that are most relevant to that objective. Present yourself at your highest level of competence, emphasizing your strengths and playing down any limitations. Link your skills and objectives to the needs of a potential employer.

Why Write a Resume?

• To advertise yourself
• To be considered for an interview
• To create a first impression when you cannot meet face-to-face
• To leave as a calling card after face-to-face contact
• To make a personal statement reflecting the uniqueness of you
• To define your experience and education in relation to a particular position

What's in a Resume?

Heading

• Name (avoid nicknames)
• Address (street address, city, state, zip)
• Telephone (and area code)
• Email Address

Make sure employers can reach you, someone, or an answering machine at the number you have indicated. If necessary, include both present and permanent address and phone.

Objective

• What you want to do
• Where you want to do it and/or what skills you want to use

This acts as a thesis or statement for your resume. All other information will support this statement. It must be as specific as possible without pigeonholing yourself. Avoid vague or unrealistic statements which do not identify the job you want to do, and make sure it is geared toward the position you want now, not future goals.

Demonstrated Expertise

• Skills statements identifying proven aptitudes which directly support the objective
• Develop from the intersection of your skills and the job description

Education

• Institution
• City/State
• Degree, major, and date awarded or to be awarded
• G.P.A. if it is high (major G.P.A. only if substantially higher)
• Foreign study, if applicable

List course work if employer requests it or if indicating it will substitute for lack of work experience related to a specific position. You may also include course work different from that within your major if relevant to a particular positions. For example, a psychology major who took business courses and is applying for a management trainee position may want to include those courses. Do not include high school information.

Experience

• Job title
• Name of employer
• City, State of employer
• Description of skills used in position

With the exception of your current position, start each phrase with a past-tense action verb to describe experience. Include scope and numbers wherever possible. Avoid beginning descriptions with the phrases/terms, "I," "responsible for," "assisted," and "duties included." Include internships, practicums, and volunteer experiences that support your objective.

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Position title or a descriptive title the interviewer will understand
• Organization name
• Dates of participation/membership
• Description of skills used in position

Highlight activities in which you have truly been active and developed your skills. Use past-tense action verbs as in EXPERIENCE section. Describe religious, and political affiliations with sensitivity to how they might impact an employer's view of your ability to do the job.

Specialized Skills

• Computer skills: hardware, software, programs, Internet
• Language Skills: specify languages and level of fluency
• Additional skills that are relevant to the position for which you are applying.

Awards/Honors

• Award title
• Purpose awarded for
• Date awarded
• Organization awarded by

(Do not include need-based scholarships)

Other

• Job titles

Use this section to list briefly the titles of all other jobs you have held that do not directly relate to your objective, but that you want to include to show you've previously held responsible positions. See attached Erica E. Example resume.

How is a Resume Presented?

Format

Resumes can be either functional or chronological. A Functional resume is designed to outline and emphasize transferable skills relevant to the position for which you apply. Functional resumes are recommended for the graduating college student whose work experience or education is not extensive enough to demonstrate abilities and/or achievements. A traditional chronological resume emphasizes employment history rather than specific skill categories and is designed for the person with experience in the workforce. When using the chronological format list experience in order from most recent, back.

Categories

All resumes do not contain the same categories. Choose or create categories that best fit your experience. For example EXPERIENCE may also be titled EMPLOYMENT, INTERNSHIPS, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, etc.

Order

Place categories in the order that best supports your objective, i.e., if your experience is better evidence of your ability to do the job in your objective, place it before education, or vice versa.

Language

Omit all personal pronouns, I, we, my, etc.

Length

Anything over one page runs the risk of not being read. New college graduates should limit their resumes to one page. Brevity is critical, use action verbs to begin short descriptive statements.

Layout

Methods of highlighting important information include use of various type fonts, underlining, bolding, and use of white space. Be careful to avoid using more than one accentuator at a time. Use white space also to separate sections and new information.

Fonts

Use clear, easy-to-read, traditional styles of type.
Always use laser printer.

Paper

Choose high quality heavy bond paper in a color appropriate to the culture of the profession you are pursuing. Conservative employers prefer white, or off- white.

Cover Letter

Unless you are personally handing a resume to an employer, you must always include a cover letter. See COVER LETTER handout.

References

Make the names, titles, addresses, and phone number of your references available on a separate sheet of paper entitled "REFERENCES", not on your resume.

Print out a copy of your references on the same type of paper used for your resume and cover letter. Do not send it with your resume in the mail, but make it available during an interview or upon request.

Be sure and ask permission to use someone as a reference before you give a potential employer their name and address.

Final Questions Before Submitting a Resume

• Did I ask my references if I could use them, and have I provided them with a copy of my resume?
• Upon first glance, do I want to read this resume?
• Is this resume relevant to my career objective?
• Does the resume answer the question, "How am I qualified for THIS position?"
• Is my resume organized to point out my strengths at first glance?
• Do I emphasize my skills through examples of my accomplishments in using them?
• Do the descriptions contain specific information with action verbs?
• Is the resume free of typographical errors?
• Does the resume include everything I have done relative to this position?
• Is this resume brief, informative, concise, clear and focused?

How to Write an Electronic Resume

By Joyce Lain Kennedy, author of Electronic Resume Revolution)

Learn to Think Nouns, Not Verbs

Action words like accelerated, arbitrated and launched are out. In scannable resumes, nouns are dominant. Computers search for descriptive words such as Human Resource Assistant, Editorial Assistant, or Management Trainee.

Use Labels or Keywords

Keywords are an extension of the noun concept and are also called buzzwords or descriptors. Keywords are words employers search for when trying to fill a position. They are the essential characteristics required to do the job: education, experience, skills, knowledge and abilities. The more keyword marketing points you present about yourself, the more likely you are to be plucked from an electronic resume database now or in a year from now.

Less is More

Avoid decorative, uncommon or otherwise fussy typefaces. Don't underline - it may muddy up into a blob in a scanner's eye. Stick to white or beige paper. Steer away from italics.

Keep the Design Simple

Avoid graphics and shading -- the equipment is set to read "text" not "graphics." If you use complex tables with leader dots (...), computers may trip over them.

Minimize use of Abbreviations

Except the more common ones like BA (Bachelor of Arts). Do, however, maximize the use of industry jargon.

Put Name First and Contact Information on a Separate Line

Use White Space

Computers like white space. They use it to recognize that one topic has ended and another has begun.

Use Common Language

Not all systems have a full-fledged synonym table so try to maximize the "hits" between a position search and your resume by using words everyone knows.

A One Page Resume is No Longer a Hard and Fast Rule

Three pages, maybe four, are about the maximum an electronic resume should be. Here are some benchmarks: new graduates - one page; most people - one to two pages; senior executives - two to three pages.

Send Your Resume in the Body of an Email- Not as an Attachment

Attachments run the risk of virus infection. Email your resume directly! Employers prefer this to snail mail.

For more on electronic resumes

• See http://www.rileyguide.com/letters.html
• Electronic Resume Revolution by Joyce Lain Kennedy
• Career Xroads 2000 by Gerry Crispin