​
 

*  Education (schools/universities attended, classes related to your career goal, certifications, special training)
 

*  Experience (paid/unpaid, part/full-time, internships, military)
 

*  Volunteer Services (any type of volunteer activity through church, school, civic groups, and community)
 

*  Activities and Honors (student organizations, professional associations, scholarships, academic achievements, sororities/fraternities)
 

*  Important Career-Related Skills (computer proficiency, foreign languages, problem solving, critical thinking, communication)
 

*  References (employers, co-workers, community leaders, instructors, organizational leaders, etc.)

 

STEP 2–Organize Section Headings for Resume Draft
 

Name & Contact Information (Required)
 

• Include your name, phone number, address, and email.

• If you use your cell phone as your contact phone number, be prepared to handle a professional conversation wherever you may answer your calls.

• Your phone number should be listed using one of these formats ONLY: 785-555-5555, (316) 555-5555, 785.555.5555 

• Your email address should be professional.

• Your name is generally bold and a few points larger in font size than the rest of the resume.

• Be consistent with the name you use across all of your materials including resume, cover letter, reference, and online application.

 

Objective (Optional)

A well-crafted objective indicates that you are clear about opportunities available with an employer and that you are clear about the position you are seeking.  Objectives can be a liability if they do not match the position for which you are applying.  Employers expect applicants to customize their resumes for each position.  Many job applicants are leaving out the objective all together to allow room for more significant information.

​

Education (Required)

For high school graduates that do not have post-secondary education, include:
 

• High school name, city, and state

• Month and year of graduation

• GPA (typically if above 3.0)
   

For post-secondary education degrees and certificates, include:
 

• Degree (i.e., Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts)

  • List your most recent degree first (Ph.D., Master’s, Bachelor’s). 

• Major(s)

• Minors, concentrations, or areas of emphases

• University name, city, and state

• Month and year of graduation

• GPA (typically if above 3.0) 

Experience (Required)

The experience section should communicate what you accomplished in past paid or unpaid work experiences.

​

• Include the position title, employer/organization name, location (city, state), and dates with months and years.

• Typically your experience is written in reverse chronological order with your most recent experience first.

• Highlight transferable skills and abilities rather than describing work duties and responsibilities.

  • Ex.) “Interviewed, hired, and trained new team members”​

  • Ex.) “Led closing of store by assigning roles at the appropriate time, balancing the cash registers, and securing all cash”

• Describe your experience in a result-oriented fashion.

• Whenever possible, use concrete information to qualify and/or quantify your experience. 

  • Ex.) "Increased sales by 25% over a three month period" or "Taught a class of 300 students"​

• Do not use full sentences to describe your experience; use short phases starting with an action verb.

• Consider the type of position for which you are applying and use the words listed in the position description when describing your experience. 

• Generally new college graduates will not include experiences from high school or earlier.  However, if you have relevant experience (i.e., you owned your own business) or if you are earlier in your college experience, it may be appropriate to include experiences from high school.

• Include around 2 to 5 bullets to describe each experience.

• Use present tense when describing current positions.  Use past tense when describing your past experiences.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Volunteer Services (Optional)

This section can include volunteering for campus or community activities, professional organizations, charitable events, or relevant interests. 

​​

​Activities and Honors (Optional)

​

This can include scholarships, honor roll, dean’s list, competitive awards, and so on. 

​

When you choose to include activities and honors, be aware of “hot buttons.”  A hot button is an activity or interest to which some employers may have a strong positive or negative reaction, such as religious or political affiliations.  When you have an activity or interest that is a “hot button,” it is often times best to leave off the activity or interest.

​

Important Career-Related Skills (Optional)

This section is included to highlight particular abilities.  Frequently, technical skills, laboratory skills, certifications, and proficiency in a foreign language are found in this section.  Items in this section should relate to the positions for which you are applying.

​

References (Required but separate from the resume)
 

Resumes and cover letters win interviews; excellent references can win job offers.  The statement “References Available Upon Request” at the bottom of a resume is not needed as this is a given in the job search process.  Reference names and information are generally listed on a separate page, however.  For reference information, include the name, title, phone contact, and email address if you need to include it on the resume.  If you are being considered for a job, it is likely that the potential employer will speak with your references.  Follow these simple rules for references.

​

• Who–Current and former bosses, professors, advisers, volunteer coordinators, co-workers, and subordinates who have first-hand knowledge of your work and abilities.  Roommates, friends, and family members do not make good professional references.

​

• What–Call or meet with the potential references to explain that you are in a job search, and ask whether they would be willing to act as a reference for you.  Provide a current copy of your resume to your references so they will be familiar with your experiences.

​

• How Many–Generally three to five provided references is sufficient. 

​

• Where–Make a separate reference page with your name and contact information at the top.  When delivered with your resume and cover letter, the three documents should be complementary and professional.  Information to include for references: 

  • Name

  • Current title

  • Agency or organization with which they are currently affiliated

  • Address

  • Preferred phone number(s)

  • Email address

  • You may also want to note your relationship to the individual

​

• When–Provide your reference list to a potential employer only when requested and make sure to thank your references at the completion of your job search.

​

​

STEP 3–Format the Resume

There are many different ways to write a resume and many different opinions about what is good.  Your opinion is important too, so be sure to create a resume that reflects who you are while also targeting the employer’s needs.

Pass the 15-second glance test.  Employers see hundreds of resumes, and they skim first.  If this first test is passed, they may look at your resume more thoroughly.
 

• When ordering information and sections in your resume, prioritize according to the needs of the employer.  Put the most important information toward the top and to the left.

• Choose a format and headings that effectively communicate the combination of skills and abilities that highlight your qualifications for the position and provide insight into you as a unique person.

• Length of resume varies according to field of interest and level of experience.  Generally, an undergraduate with little or no professional experience will have a one-page resume.  Experienced workers may have two pages.

​