Office of Career Services

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• Resume Tutorial Helping You Prepare a Quality
  Resume

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Producing a Quality Resume
Producing a quality resume can be a relatively
simple process. The key is to approach the
process step by step. This tutorial will give
you the information to include in your resume,
how to organize the information, and then give
you some sample formats to follow as you organize
that information to produce an attractive and
informative resume. After producing a resume,
you will want to move onto the section on cover
letters to learn the basics of writing a targeted
and effective cover letter Career Resources also
has staff and career coaches available to
critique your resume or cover letter once you
have completed this module.
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Gathering the information
The first step is to gather the necessary
information to include on your resume. That
information will fall into the following
categories Contact information Your Career
Objective Education Work Experience Extra-curricu
lar Experience Other topics such
as Skills Awards and Accomplishments Interests
and Hobbies References As you begin, you can
draft the information on index cards, by hand in
a notebook, or as a Word document but for now DO
NOT worry about formatting, simply collect the
information Okay, lets get started.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
How can an employer contact you? Simply write
down your addresses (include local as well as any
permanent address you use), and the phone number
and website address that you REGULARLY
use. Remember Employers may keep your
information on file for a year or longer. If you
are using a cell phone or hotmail.com account now
but change to another number or account, you may
miss valuable emails. Our recommendation use
your osu.edu account regularly and simply forward
as necessary to other accounts. Your osu.edu
account is easy and professional. TIP When
conducting a professional job or internship
search, leave a professional greeting on your
cell phone and use a professional email address
-- stay away from cute email names such as
nuts4buckeyes_at_hotmail.com The next slide will
give you samples of contact information.
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CONTACT INFORMATIONsample formats
If you have two addresses SRIRAM
RATHAKRISHNAN rathakrishnan.555_at_osu.edu Permanent
Address Local Address 201 E. Shoreline
Drive 657 North Starr D Cleveland, OH
44144 Columbus, OH 43201 (216)
555-1234 [phone]
If you have only one address ELIZABETH
WILSON 657 Dreamweaver Blvd. D Columbus, Ohio
43201 [phone] wilson.1657_at_osu.edu
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YOUR CAREER OBJECTIVE

• You need to include a one sentence statement that
  answers the questions
• Why are you writing this resume? and What do
  you want?
• Stating your objective immediately helps the
  reader know exactly what you are looking for.
• Often the objective it is a combination of
• type of position you want internship or full
  time
• functional area in which you want to work
• industry in which you want to work
• skills you wish to apply

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OBJECTIVEsamples

• To obtain a marketing internship
• Seeking a full-time career position in the
  commercial insurance industry
• An internship where I can apply my computer
  skills in the areas of banking and/or finance
• To apply my leadership, analytical, and
  communication skills in management consulting
• To obtain an entry level career position in
  Transportation and Logistics

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EDUCATION INFORMATION

• List only those institutions where you received
  or will receive a degree along with the
  graduation dates. Once you are a sophomore or
  junior, you will not need to list your high
  school education.
• List your majors and also list Grade Point
  Average. You know your overall GPA because it is
  on your advising report, however you will need to
  do the calculations for your major GPA. For the
  most part, list your overall GPA but as you gain
  more coursework in your major and if it is better
  than your overall GPA, then you can use your
  major GPA.
• Also list study abroad under the education
  section. You may also find it to your advantage
  to list courses you have taken. You might even
  want to list significant projects you completed.
  Now is the time to begin that list and to keep a
  copy of each project in case you need to talk
  about it in an interview.
• TIP No need to put the range of dates you
  attended, just include your anticipated
  graduation date (and even then, no need to put
  the words anticipated or planned.)

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EDUCATION INFORMATIONsample formats
Basic Information THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY,
Columbus, OH Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration June 2006 Major Marketing
Major GPA 3.1
Including the Fisher College of Business The
Ohio State University Columbus, OH Fisher
College of Business June 2006 Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration in Accounting
GPA 3.71/4.00 Honors Accounting Program
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EDUCATION INFORMATIONsample formats
Including information on study abroad The Ohio
State University, Columbus Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration September
2005 International Business/Finance (Major GPA
3.5) Minor in Spanish El Colegio de
Postgraduados en Ciencias Agrarias, Texcoco,
Mexico Agricultural Trade and Rural Development
Study Abroad Program June - August 2004
Including information on coursework THE OHIO
STATE UNIVERSITY, Columbus, OH Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration June 2005
Major Marketing Major GPA 3.1 Relevant
Coursework Promotional Strategy Consumer
Behavior Marketing Research Managerial
Marketing
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EDUCATION INFORMATIONmore sample formats

• Including information on projects
• THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Columbus, OH
• Fisher College of Business
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
  December 2005
• Transportation and Logistics GPA 3.71/4.00
• Classroom projects
• Integrated Logistics Systems A Case Study of
  Limited Brands
• The Financial Impact of Homeland Security
  Legislation on Import Trade
• Hard Times, Hard Tomatoes Logistics Challenges
  in the Produce Industry

TIP As you draft your information, list
everything you can think of and then select the
information that best describes your skills and
abilities.
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EXPERIENCE SECTION

• List your experience in reverse chronological
  order with the most recent experience listed
  first you break up your experience into
  sub-sections, for example, have a Related
  Experience section and then an Other
  Experience section then have it be in reverse
  order within each section
• Be consistent with formatting if you list the
  company first and then the city, do it that way
  with each position
• Use bullets and describe your job duties in
  detail try not to have brief three word
  descriptions (such as handled cash
  transactions)
• Use numbers and quantify whenever possible
• Value the work you have done and remember
  experience is not only work experience

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WORK EXPERIENCE
You now need to let the reader know the types of
jobs and internships you have held. The main
points to include are name of the company,
location position title, dates duties and tasks
you preformed When discussing your duties and
tasks, you want to use ACTION VERBS that really
convey an idea of the work you did. Use the
present tense for any job you are currently doing
and past tense for jobs in the past. Some action
verbs are Administered Analyzed Authorized
Coordinated Developed Directed Established
Handled Initiated Managed Organized
Oversaw Planned Produced Scheduled
Supervised And there are many more!!
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WORK EXPERIENCE sample formats

• A1 Marketing Group, Columbus, Ohio
• Marketing Assistant, September 2003 to June 2004
• Reviewed restaurant product lines and wrote
  summary comparison report
• Analyzed demographics of restaurant patronage
  and created typical profiles
• Organized fund raising event including creating
  mailing list and handling registrations
• Solicited feed back from event participants and
  submitted recommendations for improvements

• Merck Co, Inc. West Point, PA
• Materials Management Intern June December 2004
• Planned daily Teamster road Work Operations for
  the West Point Plant Site Logistics Department
• Prepared and maintained the required records
  for a D.O.T. inspection of Teamster Operation
• Performed a cost analysis of the Merck fleet
  operations
• Rectified department warehouse inventory
  discrepancies by conducting cycle counts
• Served as co-chair of the 2000 Fall Merck
  Internship Community Service Committee

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WORK EXPERIENCE additional tips
As you gain more experience, you may want to use
different categories to separate and highlight
your experience. Some examples of different
names for the work experience section of your
resume Internship Experience Related Experience
or Relevant Experience Marketing Experience (or
Finance Experience, Accounting Experience,
Logistics Experience, etc. Professional
Experience Other Experience (for the other jobs
you have held) TIP When you list your
experience DO NOT emphasize the dates just put
the date after the job title instead emphasize
where you worked and what you did. If you use
different categories, your experience may no
longer be in chronological order and there is no
need to draw attention to that.
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EXTRA CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE
Often you will develop skills and make
significant contributions in areas that are not
actual work positions. For example you may be
extremely active in a professional fraternity, in
a sorority, in student government or another
student organization. We recommend that you
treat these experiences as seriously as any job
and therefore format them to emphasize your
contributions. This is particularly valuable when
you have not yet had time to do an internship but
you have devoted considerable time to campus
activities. You can also use unique categories
titles for these such as Leadership Experience
Campus Involvement Community Activities Extra-Cur
ricular Activities
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EXTRA-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE sample formats

• Alpha Kappa Psi, The Ohio State University
• Publicity Chair, Career Day Job Fair, September
  November 2003
• Worked with team members to organize publicity
  campaign
• Created fliers, overheads, and newspaper ad to
  promote event
• Spoke in targeted classes encouraging students
  to attend
• Over 1400 students attended the 2003 Career Day
  Job Fair

• LEADERSHAPE TRAINING INSTITUTE Columbus, OH
• Co-Coordinator-The Ohio State University
  (September 2003 - Present)
• Oversaw all aspects and logistics of the event
  including selection of participants
• Coordinated and conducted orientation meetings
  and reunion events
• Collaborated and promoted Institute to over 60
  organizations via network of personal advertising

• You can simply list your involvement in various
  organization and elaborate in the interview
• American Marketing Association, 2002 to present
• Membership Chair in 2003-2004
• Programs Chair in 2004-2005
• Finance Association Member, 2004
• Mount Leadership Scholar, 2002 2004
• Team leader of 2002 Race for the Cure Service
  Project

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OTHER INFORMATION TO INCLUDE
You may want to include other categories of
information such as Computer, Language,
Skills Honors, Awards, Accomplishments Interests,
Hobbies, Travel Any of these are good to list and
especially if they help convey more about you and
why they should interview you. List computer
skills if you have a variety of skills and you
think they will be helpful on the job (a
marketing major that knows several types of
desktop publishing and graphics programs). List
travel if you have traveled extensively and you
want to convey your ability to relocate or travel
on the job. List hobbies and interests that
help demonstrate that you are a team player
(sports), that you interests outside school (play
an instrument, are a photographer, enjoy home
improvements)
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OTHER INFORMATIONsample formats
Skills Computer Microsoft Office including
Publisher, PageMaker, PhotoShop Web Design
Dreamweaver, FrontPage, Macromedia
Flash Language Fluent in Spanish, Intermediate
ability in French Photography Proficient in
darkroom techniques as well as digital
photography

• Awards and Honors
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
• Graduate Summa cum laude at The Ohio State
  University
• American Business Womens Scholarship
• Fisher College of Business Pace Setters Award
  2004

Interests Playing music (bass guitar),
tennis, snowboarding, disc golf, mountain
biking, gourmet cooking
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REFERENCES
References Available Upon Request This is
often seen at the bottom of your resume but you
do not need to include this wording on your
resume. Most employers know that if they want a
list of your references, you will provide them.
But you may want to develop a list just in
case. You should have 3-5 people who can talk
about your skills and it can be a variety of
people professors, supervisors, organization
advisors, volunteer coordinators, coaches. You
want to list people who have seen you at work and
can talk about your abilities. You will not
include personal or family friends unless
specifically asked to do so by an
employer. Before you list someone, ask their
permission and give them a copy of your resume.
Also ask which address they would like you to use
and make sure you have complete mailing, phone,
and email information. You will list your
references on a separate piece of paper with your
name at the top and a notation References For.
Once you have a reference page, you should take
it to interviews just in case they ask for your
references. If they do ask, you will appear
extremely prepared. However, do not offer the
references if they dont ask as it may appear a
bit presumptuous on your part.
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REFERENCES Sample

• References for
• Tiffany Washington
• Dr. Elizabeth Jones-Richman
• Professor, Marketing, Fisher College of Business
• 555 Fisher Hall 2100 Neil Avenue
• Columbus, Ohio 43210
• 614-292-5555 jones-richman.1_at_osu.edu
• Robert Van Hoesen
• (formerly Manager of Bon Vie Restaurant)
• Senior Operations Manager, Wendys International
• 4288 W. Dublin-Granville Rd Dublin, OH 43017
• 614-764-8401 rvanhoesen_at_wendys.com

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PUTTING IT ON PAPER
Once you have the information collected, then
begin to actually word process the resume. While
templates can be easy, we have rarely seen many
that work well as they often force you to do
things contrary to our advice. Rarely will a
template work if you have lots of information to
put on one page. If you have decent word
processing skills, just format it as you go. If
you dont have good word processing skills, maybe
now is the time to develop those skills! You
should strive to keep your resume to one page. Be
sure to proof read your resume! Be sure your
printer creates a good crisp copy -- no smears.
Print it on white, cream, light gray good
quality paper. Have some extra paper for the
cover letter And come into the Career Services
Office to have someone look it over. We have
career coaches that will see you on a walk-in
basis. Check the Career Services website at
http//fisher.osu.edu/career/careercoach/ for
dates and hours.
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COVER LETTERS

• Good cover letters have the following qualities
• formatted as a professional business letter
• well written with no grammatical or spelling
  errors
• written to a specific company or organization for
  a specific position NO MASS MAILINGS PLEASE
• contains detail that makes the reader want to
  read your resume more closely and interview you

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Before you begin . . . .

• Collect information that will help you write your
  cover letter
• Try to have a job description so you know the
  skills they are looking for if you cant find a
  job description for that job, have you found
  descriptions for similar jobs?
• Do some research on the company -- look at their
  web site, look through their literature. Why are
  they a good organization to work for?
• Make a list how your experiences match their
  qualifications
• Make sure you have the persons name and his/her
  title spelled correctly. If you dont have a
  name, address the letter to the title such as
  Dear Internship Coordinator (stay away from
  Dear Sir or Madam)
• Then write a cover letter with three good
  paragraphs

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COVER LETTER Paragraph 1

• In the opening paragraph, you want to
• Explain the position are you applying for
  either you are applying for a specific posted
  position or if you have done your research you
  know the position that interests you
• Let them know how you found out about the
  position. . . . the Tax Staff Consultant
  position (108454) posted on Fisher Connect on
  9/6/2005. or The Financial Development Program
  listed in the careers section of your web site.
• Tell them why you are interested in their
  company. What is it about their services or
  products that attracts you? You will notice that
  at this point it is about the company or
  organization!
• Be direct, detailed, and specific so there is no
  doubt in the readers mind as to what it is you
  are writing about and why they should take the
  time to read your letter. They also have enough
  information to pass it along to the next
  appropriate person.

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COVER LETTER Paragraph 2

• In the first paragraph you talked about the
  company, now tell them why should they be
  interested in you now it is about you!
• Throughout this paragraph be detailed in your
  statements.
• Explain how your experiences match their
  requirements.
• Dont just make vague statements such as I have
  excellent communication skills -- back up those
  statements with concrete evidence -- that I
  developed in the two years I was with Banc One in
  their customer service call center.
• You really thought about your skills and
  abilities as you wrote your resume, now think how
  can you add value to their company.
• Dont just restate your resume but find new
  things to talk about. This section of the cover
  letter can contain information not suited for the
  resume. For example, I have excellent time
  management skills that I developed by balancing
  work (30 hours a week), school (full-time courses
  with a 3.4 GPA), and involvement in my sorority
  (with leadership positions the last two years).

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COVER LETTER Paragraph 3

• This paragraph talks about next steps
  specifically steps you will be taking.
• Restate your interest in the position and in
  their company
• Let them know how they can reach you especially
  if there are any extenuating circumstances. I
  will be in Tempe, Arizona, January 1st through
  5th but you can reach me on my cell phone at . .
  . .
• But you should be the one to indicate how you
  will follow up I will contact you the week of .
  . . .
• Then
• Make sure you follow up as promised which may
  mean that you make sure you have a telephone
  number BEFORE you indicate that you will call
  them.
• Check your voice mail greetings are they
  professional enough for your future employer to
  hear?

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FINAL ADVICE

• Dont forget to sign your cover letter
• Proof read it once again and then again
• Keep good records as you conduct your search so
  you know when to follow up, who to talk to, whom
  to thank
• Start your job/internship early, look for good
  samples, network, and use your career services
  office
• Like everything else, practice does make perfect
  begin to search out internships and jobs that
  interest you
• Make full use of career services you will
  rarely have so much career advice available from
  people who want to help you be the best you can
  be we want you to be an extremely well
  qualified undergraduate as you conduct your job
  or internship search.