Writing your Resume

1
Writing your Resume

• Megan Bergeron
• Dan Bocchino

2
Getting Started

• Step 1
• Sit down and do a self assessment. Think of all
  of the things that youve done in the past four
  years (e.g. work, school, internships,
  extracurricular activities, etc.) Anything that
  you feel may be relevant to an employer or
  school.
• Step 2
• Draft it up!

3
General Tips

• Use standard size, white or off-white paper.
• Use 10-14 font size
• Choose one font style and stick to it
• Print on one side of the paper
• Avoid things like Italicizing, underlining,
  graphics, etc.
• Use Action Words whenever possible

4
Resume Content

• Personal Information (Name, Address, Telephone
  number, email address, website, etc.)
• Objective
• Education
• Experience/Employment
• Skills
• References

5
Personal Information

• Dos
• This information should go at the top of your
  resume.
• Make sure you include your permanent address and
  telephone number.
• Include email address
• Donts
• Use nicknames
• Give your website only if relates to your
  professional goals.

6
Objective
The Objective of your resume will let the
employer or school know exactly what your goals
are. This is the first step in assessing whether
or not you are a good candidate.

• Dos
• Be specific about what it is that you want.
• Make sure that your objective matches what you
  are applying for.

• Donts
• Give one generic objective for every place that
  you apply to.
• Be vague

7
Education

• The Education section of your resume should
  include all of the college level work that you
  have done to date.
• New graduates should list this section before
  his or her work experience section. Alumni who
  have been working should list that experience
  first.

• Dos
• Add your most recent education experience first
• Include degree (or expected date of graduation),
  GPA and academic honors.

• Donts
• List high school education!

8
Experience/Employment

• Dos
• List the most recent work experience first
• Give an overview of all that you learned from the
  experience
• List extracurricular activities (e.g. sports,
  clubs, etc)
• Give specifics of experience (e.g. position
  title, name of organization, location, etc)

• Donts
• List Hobbies or irrelevant information
• Dont add extraneous personal information (you
  may be a club team dodge ball champion, but they
  dont want to know about it!)
• List TOO much experience

9
Skills

• Dos
• Include transferable skills that you have
  acquired. These are especially helpful if you
  dont have a lot of work experience to speak of.

• Donts
• Emphasize skills and or jobs that you do not want
  to do in the future.
• (even if they are some of your strong points!)

10
Your References

• This section will generally conclude your
  resume.
• Do these on a separate sheet of paper, they are
  a part of the resume process.

• Dos
• Include the phrase References available upon
  request

• Donts
• List the References right on the resume, this is
  a later part of the job search.

11
Resume Checkup

• When youve completed your resume make sure that
  you
• Do a spell check
• Have someone proofread your resume for you
• Proofread it again
• How about once more
• Get outside opinions on what your resume. Its
  not about what you think it looks like, it about
  what other people think!

12
Top Resume Mistakes

• Typos and grammatical errors
• Lack of specifics
• Using a one-size-fits-all resume
• Focusing on duties as opposed to accomplishments
• Too long or too short
• Poor objective
• No action words
• Leaving off important information
• Too cluttered
• Incorrect contact information

13
Resume Resources for You!

• Career Development Center
• Drop your resume off today for review
• Meet with a career counselor
• Do it Yourself (with a little help)
• Microsoft Word
• Resume Wizard
• Resume templates

14
References

• http//www.jobweb.com/Resumes_Interviews/resume_gu
  ide/how_to.htm
• Hansen, Katharine, Resume Preparation Do's and
  Don'ts, Quintessential Careers (17 March 2005)
  http//www.quintcareers.com/resume-dos-donts.html
  
• http//content.monstertrak.monster.com/resources/a
  rchive/jobhunt/resumemistakes