Writing an Effective Resume
WHAT IS A RESUME?
A resume is a brief summary of your education, work experience, and activities. Your resume should focus on those aspects of your background which are most relevant to your current career objective. It should be easy to read, concise, and accurate. Details and specifics should be saved for an interview.
HOW DO I BEGIN?
Before you begin writing your resume, brainstorm a list of all your past and present jobs and all of your significant activities and volunteer experiences. List your main responsibilities for each one. Be sure to emphasize any outstanding achievements or specific responsibilities that relate you your job objective. Later, depending on space, you may have to omit some of your less relevant jobs or activities.
GENERAL RESUME GUIDELINES
Place relevant information toward the top of your resume. Sections most relevant to your objective should be at the beginning of your resume. Within sections, try to place the most relevant information first.
Emphasize your strengths. Don't worry if you do not have relevant experience yet (you are just starting out, after all!). But do try to show employers that you are hard-working, energetic, and enthusiastic. Emphasize general skills such as technical, interpersonal, organizational, and administrative skills.
Be consistent. Make sure you use bullets, bolding, underlining, and italics in a uniform style. Use an easily read font such as Times New Roman or Arial (10, 11, or 12 point). Try to keep your top and bottom margins even.
Do not use full sentences. Write in phrases starting with a capital letter. Do not use first person pronouns: I, mine, my, me, etc. Avoid acronyms such as GPHS or WSU.
Use "action" verbs to describe your accomplishments. Avoid phrases such as "responsibilities included" and "duties assigned". See the "Action Word List" for suggestions.
Keep it short. Unless you have significant experience in the field you wish to enter (which most high school students do not), your resume should be on 1 page.
Proofread!! Use spell check. Print a draft of your resume, have several of your friends or teachers proofread it. Read top to bottom and left to right to catch all errors. It should have absolutely no mistakes! Then, bring your resume to the counselor's office for a final critique.
Use quality paper. When you send your resume to employers, have your resume copied on good quality, medium weight paper. White, beige, or pale gray are the most professional.
POSSIBLE RESUME SECTIONS
Contact Information: Include your name, present and permanent addresses, phone numbers with area codes, and email address. It is crucial that this information is accurate and up-to-date at all times! Do not make it difficult for an employer to reach you; the job might be filled in just a few days.
Objective: It is suggested that you include an objective describing the type of position you are seeking (i.e. full-time, part-time, summer only, etc.). If you are interested in more than one type of position, list them all. Employers are often hiring for several positions at once, and resumes without objectives may not reach the appropriate person. You may keep the objective general or include more specific information if you are interested only in a particular type of job:
|
Type of Objective |
Sample |
|---|---|
|
General |
To obtain a summer position at Washington State University. |
|
Specific |
To obtain a summer position in civil engineering with an emphasis on water resources and environmental issues. |
|
For more than one type of job |
Seeking an summer or part-time position or internship in the social services field. |
Education: For high school students, include the name of your high school, location (city, state), and graduation date. College students should replace their high school information with college information, including degree, major and anticipated graduation date, name of university, and location (city, state).
The education section may also include: (1) other colleges you have attended; (2) overall GPA (general guideline: include if greater than or equal to 3.0) or major GPA if it's significantly higher than overall GPA; (3) study abroad; (4) Honors / Awards (include dates received); (5) Course highlights – especially if you took courses that directly relate to the job for which you are applying; (6) indication that you are responsible for financing a certain percentage of your college expenses.
Honors (if not listed in Education Section): List scholarships, academic awards, honors, along with dates received.
Course Highlights (if not listed in Education Section): It is more effective to describe projects and accomplishments rather than just to list classes. Include only upper-level courses that are most relevant to your major or the job for which you are applying. Use descriptive titles, not course numbers.
Skills: If you have knowledge of computer languages, computer software, operating systems, etc., list them here. Also, if you have drafting skills, are fluent or proficient in foreign languages, or if you have any other work-related skills that may increase your chances of being selected, list them here. If you have ever obtained a security clearance for a previous job, include that as well.
Experience: This section may include paid jobs, internships, and significant volunteer jobs. List most recent experience first. Include job title, employer, city, state, dates employed, and description of duties.
Use action words in your description. Avoid the phrases responsible for and duties included. Be specific about your accomplishments in terms of dollars, percentages, dates, etc. Think about the skills you acquired in the position. Consider how your work impacted the department or organization. Mention promotions.
Activities: Most recruiters say that they seek well-rounded individuals to work in their organizations, so consider a section such as this to highlight your extra-curricular activities. Include involvement in professional societies, student organizations, community organizations, athletics, etc. If you held a position with responsibility, be sure to include details such as number of hours invested, projects completed, and any skills you may have developed. Your resume will be greatly enhanced by showing involvement in extra-curricular activities, so if you are not yet active in these, get involved now!
Interests: If you're not currently involved with any organized activities, you may want to list 2 to 4 interests. Try to be specific. For example, "travel, music, and sports" is very general; "classical jazz and sailing" is more specific.
DO NOT list social security number, marital status, height, weight, or anything else that has no relevance to your qualifications.
References: Only include this statement if you have room on your resume. List only as "References: Available upon request." Specific names should not be listed on your resume. Prepare a separate sheet of names and contact information of references to be given to an employer when s/he requests it. See Tips on Writing a Reference Sheet.