The Basics

What exactly is a resume anyway?
The main purpose of a resume is to help you make the first cut in the applicant screening process and to help you secure an interview.

A resume is a brief summary of your skills, accomplishments, experiences, and education. It is one of the most important tools you have for capturing the attention of potential employers. It should quickly and clearly tell employers that you're qualified for the positions you're interested in.

Here is an example of a very simple resume for a Business Economics major who would like to find an entry level position.

Note: Resumes are sometimes used for admission to graduate school. For the rest of this guide, when we use the word "employer" we are also referring to graduate schools.

What format should I follow?

There are actually hundreds of great ways to format your resume. While this can seem confusing at first, you can get a good feel for what format will work best for you by simply looking at examples - the more examples the better. You can find sample resumes in some of the resume guidebooks available in the Career Area (in the second floor Ponzio Center outside of the nurse's office) or you can look online. We've included some samples here to help you get started, but we strongly encourage you to look at more.

Despite all of the variation, there are some basic formatting guidelines that you should always follow to produce a clean, polished document that's easy to read:

• Be consistent - make style choices regarding fonts, date formats, bulleting, phrasing, etc., and stick with them throughout your resume
• Choose a font that is easy to read
• Use font-size, bold, all-caps, italics etc. to highlight different parts of your resume, but don't overdo it; keep it simple and consistent
• Print your resume on high-quality white, off-white, or other very light colored paper. If possible, use paper specifically designed for resumes
• Print on one-side of the paper only
• Leave plenty of white space

Beyond the above basics, your goal is to choose a format that helps your skills and experiences shine through and makes it obvious that you're a good fit for the position you're seeking. For more information on this, see the Tips section below.

What kinds of information should I include?

If you look at several sample resumes, you'll notice that there are many variatios in the categories of information provided. The following sections are usually included in a resume (We'll look in more detail at some of these sections later.):

• Contact information
• Objective or professional profile (or both)
• Education or training
• Experience (sometimes "Work history" is substituted)
• Special skills or activities

The following are also sometimes included:

• Achievements or accomplishments
• Summary of skills
• Certifications (especially in education or for first aid etc.)
• Awards
• Languages
  Volunteer experience
• Professional memberships
• Travel

You will probably not want to include all of these sections in your resume and you may want to include others not listed here. Make sure to include the information that will be most attractive to potential employers without making your resume so lengthy that it will lose the reader's attention.

Are you preparing a resume for a federal job? Federal resumes have specific formatting and information requirements. See our Federal Resume Guide and the federal resume books in the Career Area. See also the publication Applying for A Federal Job (OF510) from the federal Office of Personnel Management to see what information must be included in a federal resume.

What's the difference between a
"Chronological," "Functional," and "Combined" resume?

Chronological

Resumes are often in chronological order, meaning that the information contained in your "Experience" or "Work History" section is listed in the order the experiences occurred (usually starting with the most recent and working backwards). The resume for the CIS major mentioned above is an example of a typical chronological resume.

Functional

In contrast, a functional resume emphasizes your skills and accomplishments first and your work history second. Sometimes a functional resume better highlights your ability to do a job, especially if your previous job titles don't make it obvious that you have the experience requested. A potential disadvantage of this style, however, is that some employers prefer a more detailed, chronological look at your experiences. Here is an example of a functional resume for the same person above.

Combined

Although it has its place, a functional resume can sometimes make it difficult for employers to gain a clear understanding of your background. Therefore, we often recommend a happy medium: the "Combined" resume. The combined resume uses sub-headings in the "Experience" section that help highlight your major skills areas and organize your resume at the same time. These sub-headings also allow you to highlight your best experiences first...not just your most recent ones. Within the subcategories, your experiences are still listed in reverse chronological order making it easy for employers to read and follow. Here is an example of a combined resume.

How long should I make my resume?

Some experts insist that a resume should never exceed one page. Others say you should take as many pages as you need. Generally it's best to stay somewhere in the middle by sticking to one or two pages unless you have a truly unique situation (or you are applying for a federal job-- see above). Remember that employers are usually reviewing many resumes for each job; they don't have time to wade through too much material to gather the information they need. An employer might not have time to spend more than 3-5 seconds on each resume in a stack!

A rule of thumb is to try to get it to one page but if this is not enough to clearly and concisely tell employers why you are a great match for the position, go to two pages.

Hint: If you do go to a second page, make sure you use the full page and include plenty of white space. A full second page looks nicer than one with just a few lines squeezed in at the top. If you only need part of the second page, consider reformatting it to one page or make it two full pages by changing font size, adding whites space, etc.
Click here for an example of a 2-page resume for an elementary education major.

When should I make my resume?

You should have a completed resume before you start your job search - preferably well-before you graduate. Ideally you will start one during or after your freshman year and add to it throughout your student years. Resumes are very important for internships as well as jobs so having a solid resume well-before you start to apply for internships is very helpful.

Resume-writing is an ongoing process. It can take several drafts to prepare an effective resume. After that, you will probably revise your resume continuously during your job search and throughout your entire career to tailor it to various positions.

Resume Content

As mentioned above, resumes vary a great deal in the categories of information they include. Here are tips and details on some of the most common categories:

Contact Information

Look at a variety of samples to get ideas on attractive ways to format your contact information. Always include your name, current address (permanent address, if different), daytime phone number, and e-mail address (avoid e-mail addresses that could turn-off employers).

Objective or Profile

The objective is a brief (1 to 2 lines) introductory statement that tells employers what you are looking for. It goes at the top of your resume after your contact information.

It can be very specific:
Objective: To use my natural history skills and education in a position as Summer Naturalist with Northwoods State Park.

Or more general:
Objective: To use my strong communication skills and my background in environmental education in a position involving natural history or a related field.

Ideally you will want to use an objective that specifically targets the job you are applying for and you will change your objective with each resume you send. However, you may opt for a more general objective if you need to use the same resume for several employers (at a job fair, for example) or if you'd like to be considered for more than one job at the organization you are sending the resume to.

Hint: Whether you decide to be specific or general, use the objective not only to provide the facts about what you are seeking but also to briefly emphasize your skills/background as in the examples above.

Some people skip an objective and include a "Professional Profile" or a "Summary of Qualifications/Skills" instead. Many include both if space permits. A profile is an especially helpful way to sum up how your diverse skills and experiences can come together for a specific job. It should always reflect the qualifications/skills the employer is looking for. Below is an example of a professional profile for someone who is seeking writing jobs.

Education

Include information on all of your college degrees including your degree in progress. Include the following information for each school

• Name and location of institution
• Degree earned (or degree in progress)
• Major, minor, and/or area of concentration (you can leave out minor or area of concentration if it does not support your goal
• Date or anticipated date of graduation
• GPA only if 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale
• List of coursework highlights -- especially if you don't have a lot of experience in your field.(If your list includes courses which are unique, include a phrase that briefly describes the course.)
• Scholastic honors or awards
• Include internship, research projects etc. either here or in your "Experience" section - whichever works better for your specific situation (for example, if you have no experience in your field, you may opt to list your internship under "Experience"; if your Experience section is full, you may want to list your internship under education

In general, don't include high school information unless you have a powerful reason to do so (like you were valedictorian of your class or you are applying for a job that specifically requests this information).

Experience

List your previous work (or other) experiences in reverse chronological order.For most resumes, you can include more than just paid work experiences here (see tips below). For each experience, provide

• a title
• name of organization
• location (usually just city and state)
• time period (using a month/year or season/year format)
• a description of your duties in either bulleted or paragraph format (be brief but provide enough detail to make it obvious that you have valuable skills)

You may want to group experiences together under descriptive sub-headings that reflect your main skill areas (see example below). By creating sub-categories, you can actually list your best experiences first. For example, in the sample below, the student applying for a natural resources job chooses to list her fisheries job first although her most recent experience is actually working at Wal-Mart. Within each category however, the experiences remain in chronological order:

Example:

Special Skills/Certifications/Association

These sections are used to highlight any additional unique qualifications or miscellaneous skills. You may decide to use one two or all of these sections depending on the situation. For example, you may want to list your computer skills under the "special skills" section. (Even though your computer skills may not be all that "special," for most jobs it is important that you have some computer skills and this is a way to mention them without over-emphasizing them.) If you hold any certifications or you belong to any professional organizations, be specific and include dates as appropriate.

Place these sections on the resume based on the level of importance an employer will give the information. (Usually toward the end, but if a certification is required for a specific job - as in teaching - put it towards the beginning.)

Tips for a Great Resume

Become a mind reader

Always organize your resume from a prospective employer's point of view. Imagine that you're the employer and you're faced with a stack of resumes. What traits and skills are you looking for in that new employee? You can gain this perspective by reading about the organization (on the internet or in their publications) and by carefully reading job announcements. Keep these traits and skills in mind during every step of your resume development.

Format your resume to match the position

After you determine what the employer is seeking, decide what he or she would like best about you, and create a format that emphasizes those qualities. Sometimes changing the order in which you present your information can make a huge difference in how you look to an employer. For example, if you have an education that really matches the job you're seeking but you lack experience, you will want to put your Education section first and your Experience section later. You will also want to include details in your education section such as a list of coursework highlights, special projects etc. On the other hand, if you're a seasoned employee with great experiences, you'll want to emphasize your "Experience" section first and may decide to save space on your resume by keeping your education section brief.

Hint: Carefully reading job announcements is essential to good resume-writing. Many successful job-hunters create a new resume for every job they apply to. They make small changes in format and emphasis in order to respond to the specific qualities that the employer is seeking. They also borrow words to include in the resume from the job announcement itself. If you are not yet applying for specific jobs, you can look at announcements of the kinds of jobs you'll be applying for in the future to give you clues on how to write your resume now.

Don't let a lack of work experience
hold you back

You may not have worked in the field but that doesn't mean you don't have experience. Think back over the last five or more years and consider all of the experiences you've had that have given you useful skills. Don't just think about paid work experience, include everything, such as:

• All paid employment (summer, part-time, full-time, work-study etc.)
• Volunteer/service learning
• Internships
• Supervision in any role, paid or unpaid
• Participation in organizations (either community or extracurricular)
• Organizational leadership roles
• Mentor/tutor/advisor/instructor positions,
• Residence hall roles,
• Orientation leadership
• Research (including senior capstone)
• Study/work/travel abroad

All of these can be integrated into your resume to show that you have the skills you need. Make sure to use the heading "Experience" for this section of your resume. (Because you are not limiting it to your "Work Experience" or "Employment History," you can include any valuable experience here.) Create titles for your experiences as you would for any job. Under these entries, list your duties as you would for any job. For example, if you are served as an orientation leader, you may create an entry like this:

If you completed a substantial research project, you might show it like this:

Example:

If you are concerned that your employer will want you to differentiate between paid and unpaid employment, feel free to add the word "(volunteer)" in parentheses after your job title like this:

Example:

Understand what all employers want

While every job may have different requirements, employers all want someone who is easy to work with, who gets along with others, and who communicates well. Even if you have no related experience, a good resume will demonstrates some of these basic traits.

• Ability to communicate well in writing and in person
• Flexibility-someone who's easy to work with
• Intelligence
• Good interpersonal skills
• Willingness to accept responsibility
• Self-knowledge
• A proven work ethic (even in an unrelated job)
• Initiative
• Ability to handle conflict
• Leadership
• Imagination
• Goal achievement
• Organizational skills

Don't make a laundry list of these characteristics in your resume. Instead try to demonstrate them throughout your resume. Here are some examples of bullets you could use in many job descriptions to demonstrate some of the above:

Example:

Use active language

Using active words makes your resume easy to read and helps your experiences sound more...active.

For example, when describing your duties,
instead of this:

Try this:

Depending on the level of experience you have and the nature of the job you want, you may want to leave out some of the detail above, but don't sacrifice detail that could help you get the job.

Click here for a list of action words to help you get started.

References

What's a reference sheet?

In addition to a one or two page resume, you will also want to develop a one page "reference sheet" that lists the names and contact information of three or more people who can attest to your abilities, work style, and sometimes your academic performance. Click here to see a resume that includes a reference sheet.

You can make an attractive reference sheet by formatting it exactly as you did your resume so that the two documents look like they belong together. All of your contact information should appear at the top as it does on your resume.

How do I pick people to list?

Students and recent graduates typically compile a list of 3-5 references consisting of one or two employers, one or two professors, and sometimes a personal reference (someone who can attest to your personal qualities but is not necessarily a work reference).

Always, always ask permission of the people you list. Don't risk a reference being surprised by a call from a potential employer. If it's been a long time since they've given permission, give your references call to let them know you would like to continue listing them and to remind them of what you've been doing lately in the area of school/work.

Can I provide references later?

Some people skip a reference sheet and add a line to their resume that says "References Available Upon Request." Unless the job announcement specifically requests references, this is acceptable. However, we recommend including a reference sheet with your resume because this list of carefully chosen names can actually help you look like a strong candidate, even before any of your references are called. For example, if your recent employers are listed, it tells the reader that you probably did well in your work. If you list a professor or two, you are showing that you are confident that your professor will say good things about you because you were a good student. Your references and the organizations they represent can also help remind employers of the kinds of people and agencies you've been associated with.

What if I'm not confident that my professors or employers will say good things about me?

Don't list them. Include only those people who you know think highly of you and your work. At the time you ask permission to include them, most people will tell you whether they can provide a good reference. (This is another reason why it is extremely important to ask permission.) However, if you have any doubts, don't be afraid to ask your references. Ask in a way that gives them an easy-out. ("Would you be comfortable providing a good reference for me or would it be better for me to find a professor who knows me better?")

What about letters of recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is a letter written by a previous employer, professor, or another contact who can tell prospective employers (or graduate schools etc. ) more about you. A letter can provide a wonderful, anecdotal description of what it's like to work with you. In general, however, you do not send letters of recommendation unless the employer requests them (this would usually be mentioned in the announcement). You can take some liberties with this if you have a great letter to share, but be careful. Some employers really frown upon receiving anything that was not specifically requested.

It's good to have a few letters of recommendation on hand because you often need them on very short notice. Therefore, think of some people who could write good letters for you and ask ahead of time for a letter that you can use as needed. Giving the writer plenty of notice ususally results in a much better letter because the writer has more time to write a thoughtful, thorough recommendation. You may want to make a habit of requesting one every time you leave a good job experience, or when you connect with a professor who thinks highly of your work. Ideally you would like a few copies of the letter printed on the letterhead of the writer. However, if you need to make a photocopy of the letter in a pinch, this is generally OK.

In some cases, you will be required to have people send letters of recommendation directly to the employer/graduate school. In this case you can't use the take-along letters described above. Make sure to stay on top of any deadlines and give the writer as much time as possible. You can also make it more convenient for the writer by providing him or her with a stamped, pre-addressed envelope.