THE ANATOMY OF A RESUME
Your resume will create the first impression of YOU. Consider the appearance, style and content. This sheet of information
will convey your
qualifications, experience, and interests. If at all possible, it is recommended to keep your resume to
one page. It must be free of typos
and check the grammar.
NAME
For personal identification purposes. It must clearly state your complete name. Be consistent with the name which will appear on other
documents, e.g. certificates, and high school/college transcripts. Suggestion is to use upper case letters and bold.
CAMPUS or PERMANENT ADDRESS
Include both addresses if necessary. When using a campus address indicate date when you may be reached at home (e.g., "After May xx, 199x").
Remember to include your zip code, apartment number or other identifying address marks. It is not recommended to make this section in upper
case letters or bold.
PHONE NUMBER and EMAIL ADDRESS
Telephone number should include area code. Some individuals like to include their pager number or their e-mail address, this is optional.
OBJECTIVE
This is the heart of the resume. If it doesn't beat, your resume can't live. Be proactive what you can you for the company not what you want
the company to do for you. It is best to use only one objective. Do not let it be confused with your long-range goals.
EDUCATION
Limit to college. Include the name and location of college attended, the degree earned, and the date earned. GPA is optional, but should be
indicated if above average usually. Indicate minors or academic concentrations in addition to the major field. For a new graduate, if you
earned a sizable percentage of your expenses through part-time/summer employments, the employer would like to know.
SKILLS
Define your skills and abilities. This is the area that will make you marketable for those involved with technology type skills.
RELATED EXPERIENCE
This could be your co-op/intern experience, clinicals, student teaching experience, etc., anything that you have had in the area that you are
pursuing.
WORK EXPERIENCE
This is the resume's bloodstream. Include the job title, name of the company and location, and dates. Briefly describe responsibilities in an
active manner. This section could include the co-op or internship experience rather than in the Related Experience section.
HONORS AND ACTIVITIES
Optional. This identifies a well-rounded individual. Awards, leadership, volunteer activities and supervisory responsiblities are of particular
interest. This can be divided into two sections; one section for the honors and one section for activities
INTEREST
Optional. Great to use if you have extra white space to fill. Include hobbies and vocational pursuits; reveal your athletic side, etcetera.
Many interviews begin with employers inquiring about your interests.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Optional. Community activities and organizations can demonstrate your ability to work with others and share your talents. This could be
included in the Honors and Activites section, saves on extra usage of lines.
LANGUAGES
Optional. Are you fluent in another language besides English? This could be indicated somewhere on your resume.
MEMBERSHIPS AND COLLEGE ACTIVITIES
Optional. Indicate your current professional affiliations, sorority, fraternity and other organizations.
CERTIFICATION
Some trade schools will issue a certificate rather than a degree. The certificate could be included in the education section or training
section.
REFERENCES
Best to simply indicate "Furnished upon request" or "Available upon request". Have a reference sheet of names and information available if
requested. Setup the reference sheet the same format as the resume; name, address, phone number(s).
A FEW RESUME DO's
Use high quality paper. White bond, off white, light grey or beige. Avoid distastful, bright or ugly colors and low quality paper.
Standard paper size is 8 1/2 x 11 inches.
Typing should be PERFECT. No grammar or typo errors.
Be consistent with your layout and composition. Be sure that headings, columns, spacing and capitalization are consistent.
Use past tense for previous activites, and experiences. Present tense refers to on-going or current activities.
Bullet marks or dots are effective in drawing the employer's attention to competencies, accomplishments, or achievements.
Use ample margins and make sure they are uniform. Use indentations and tabulations for best use of space and emphasis of key points. White
space is used for eye appeal for easy reading.
Font size is very important. Recommendation is no less than 10 point or no larger than 12. Employers like to see the same size font through
the entire resume and use the bold, underline or bullets to emphasis certain words, sections or phrases.
Proof read your resume. For the final copy, have several people read your resume for both content and grammar/spelling.
LAST but not LEAST -- constantly update your resume. Never send an old resume to which you could or should add recent information.
A FEW DON'Ts
Federal and state governments have issued guidelines prohibiting employers from asking for certain information, e.g. race, sex, age, ethnic
background. This information can be discriminatory.
Don't use italics or scripts.
Don't include photographs.
Don't use ditto copies, carbons, or photo reproduction copies.
Don't forget to record your name and page 2 on the second page.
Don't use personal pronouns.
Don't exaggerate. Avoid the fruity-tootie and flowery words.
Don't use abbreviations. Try to always spell the word completely.
Don't use poor quality paper.
