Resumes

Watch this CareerTV segment with top employers providing resume and interviewing advice: 

A resume is a marketing tool written to persuade a specific employer that you have the experience, skills, abilities, education, personal qualities or potential to fill a particular position. An effective resume displays your achievements, experience, and attributes to the best advantage while minimizing any possible weaknesses.

The average first reading of a resume is 30 seconds, so your resume must be brief, targeted and easy to skim, while highlighting your skills. Despite the popularity of word processing resume templates, it is recommended that you create your own format and headings to best customize your resume to the needs of the employer. 

Criteria for Effective Resumes

• Individualize your resume by not using  templates).
• Write a readable resume with  not too much information.
• Use clear and professional font styles and font sizes (10-14 pts).
• Center text with adequate margins.
• Create visual impact using bullets, boldface, and font sizes to emphasize key words.
• Avoid  underlining and bullets  for scannable resumes.
• Print on high quality (16-25 lb.) white or off white bond paper on a letter quality printer.

Organization and Format

• Present strongest qualifications first.
• Utilize subheadings to arrange information, including identifying information, education and experience.
• Appropriate length is 1 page for every 5-7 years of work experience, and no more than 2 pages.

Writing Style

• Begin phrases or sentences with powerful action verbs link to Action Verbs.
• Draft and edit descriptions of work or other experiences in under five lines.
• Include keyword phrases of profession.
• Absolutely free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation, usage and typographical errors.
• Brief, succinct language with no unnecessary words.
• Formal and professional writing is necessary.

Marketing Focus

• Demonstrate the ability or potential to do the job; support your objective.
• Indicate knowledge of the field, typical issues or problems, solutions.

Content

Identification

• Include your name, and accurate information so an employer can contact you immediately.
• Current address; include permanent address only if relevant to employer.
• Telephone number to reach you, with employer-appropriate greeting for employer messages.
• Omit personal information:  racial, religious, ages, sex, marital status, national origin, health, or political affiliations, unless an occupational qualification.

Objective (optional for chronological resume)

• Be specific!
• Briefly indicate the sort of position, title and possible area of specialization.
• Language is employer centered,  not self centered.
• Avoid vague statements.

Summary of Skills, Accomplishments, or Expertise (Optional)

• Identify 3-6 skills that support the objective.
• Summarizes relevant work experience and accomplishments.

Education and Training

• List most recent degree first and work backwards; include GW degree in progress.
• Include type of degree, name of university, location, date or anticipated date of graduation.
• Major,  minor,  areas of concentration.
• Add GPA, if 3.0 or higher.
• Include honors, awards, scholarships, study abroad, professional education/ training / certificate courses.
• Omit high school after two years of college  unless linked  to impressive experiences or in area of targeted job search.
• Add  job relevant courses, papers, project or thesis titles.
• Optional: Add percentage of educational expenses earned

Professional Experience

• Include all paid, volunteer, intern or cooperative education experiences relevant to your objective.
• Start with most recent position when using chronological format.
• Include you position title, organization name, city, state, or country location (if not USA).
• Add dates position held. If you held several positions for an employer, list employer only once.
• List responsibilities in order of each item's reliance to future employer.
• Indicate transferable skills and adaptive abilities used on the job
• Cite specific accomplishments on your job. What problems did you face? What solutions did you find?
• List quantitative or qualitative indicators to describe the results of your accomplishments i.e., "increased sales by $50,000," "reduced staff turnover by 25%."
• Indicate learning/expertise developed  relevant to employers.
• Describe accomplishments in the jargon of the field.

Skills

• Computer skills: software applications, languages, hardware, operating systems.
• Language skills: specify level of fluency and ability to read and write as "basic", "intermediate" or "advanced."
• Other Categories to Consider:
  Community Service
  Leadership 
  International Experience
  Publications
  Professional Affiliations
  Certificate/licensure 
  Extracurricular activities: list of significant positions; include title, organization/ team and relevant responsibilities.
  Additional Information: hobbies and interests only if job relevant or extremely intriguing or unusual.

Close

• Do not include names of references, instead list names references on a separate sheet of matching paper, and provide your employer upon request.
• It is not necessary to write "References Available upon Request" at the end of your resume.

Links & Resources

Career Center's Complete Resume Handout

Request a program about resumes for your group, class or department.

back to top