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Resume Basics
For basic information on designing, creating and sending a resume, you can consult the Career Center's resume handout or refer to a resume writing book in the Career Resource Room (CRR). You may also want to consider attending one of the Resumes & Cover Letter workshops scheduled throughout the year.
Be thoughtful and focused as you develop your resume. Once you are satisfied with what you have written, you should proofread it for grammatical, spelling, punctuation, usage and typographical errors.
If you are looking for assistance with your resume (or a cover letter) you have a number of options. During drop-in consulting, a Career Consultant will meet with you for twenty minutes to help you create a new resume or help you revise an existing resume. Drop-in consulting hours are Monday through Thursday, 1-5pm and Friday, 1-3pm (during the summer, they are Monday-Friday, 1-3). If more time is needed, you can set up an individual half-hour or hour long appointment with a consultant.
RESUME CRITIQUE SERVICE
To have your resume and cover letter critiqued, you can use the Center's 48-Hour Critique Service. You may submit your resume and/or cover letter by stopping by the Career Resource Room with a copy of it, or by filling out the online request form.*
After two business days, your critiqued resume will be available for pick up in the CRR, or it can be electronically scanned and e-mailed back to you. Critiques can only be scanned and emailed back to GW email accounts. Please supply your GW email address at the time of submission.
NOTE: All undergraduate and graduate students in GWSB, and all graduate students in ESIA, SPPPA & Law should consult with their respective school's specialized career centers for resume assistance.
*Please note that if you submit the resume after 4pm on any certain weekday, the critiqued version will not be ready until two business days after the next business day. For example, if it is received after 4pm on a Monday, the resume will be ready on the following Thursday; after 4pm on Tuesday, it will be ready on Friday; after 4 on Wednesday - Monday, Thursday - Tuesday, Friday - Wednesday.
CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE RESUMES
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 in length 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 do not use them. They do not typically allow the flexibility to individualize your resume.
APPEARANCE
- individualize your resume (do not use templates)
- is inviting and easy to read; not too much information
- uses clear and professional font styles and font sizes (10-14 pts)
- centers text; has adequate margins
- creates visual impact using bullets, boldface, and font sizes to emphasize key words (no underlining, bullets, etc... for scannable resumes)
- printed on high quality (16-25 lb.) bond paper
- print is letter quality
- white or off white paper is generally preferred
ORGANIZATION AND FORMAT
- presents strongest qualifications first
- appropriate format includes keyword phrases of profession
- appropriate length: 1 page for every 5-7 years of work experience (limit to 2 pgs)
WRITING STYLE
- absolutely free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation, usage and typographical errors
- brief succinct language; no unnecessary words
- begins phrases or sentences with powerful action verbs (See pg. 31 of Career Guide)
- short descriptions mostly under five lines
CONTENT
Contact Information (how can employer contact you immediately for an interview)
- current address (include permanent address only if relevant to employer)
- telephone number where you can be reached 9-5pm
- be sure outgoing message or e-mail addresses are professional
OBJECTIVE
(Optional for chronological resume. Encouraged for functional resume)
- be specific!
- briefly indicates the sort of position, title and possible area of specialization
- language is focused, employer centered not self centered, avoids vague statements
SUMMARY OF SKILLS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS or EXPERTISE(optional)
- identifies 3-6 skills that support the objective
- summarizes relevant work experience and accomplishments
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
- work from most current degree backward
- include type of degree, name of university, location, date or anticipated date of graduation
- major, minor or areas of concentration
- add GPA, only if 3.0 or higher
- include honors, awards, scholarships
- include study abroad, continuing professional education or training and certificate courses
- omit high school if you have completed more than two years of college unless school is needed to reference impressive honors or job relevant extracurricular activities or if you are returning to area for employment
- job relevant courses, papers projects; include paper or project titles
- percentage of educational expenses earned
- optional: may include job relevant courses, thesis titles
- optional: Percentage of educational expenses earned
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (can include all paid, volunteer, intern or cooperative education experiences relevant to your objective). Start with most recent when using chronological format.
- include organization name, city, state, or country location (if not USA)
- title held
- dates position held. If you held several positions for an employer, list employer only once
- list responsibilities in order of each item's relative value to the 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 contribution or accomplishments i.e., "increased sales by $50,000", "reduced staff turnover by 25%
- indicate learning and expertise developed on the job, relevant to your career objective (optional)
- describe accomplishments in the jargon of the field.
MARKETING FOCUS
- demonstrates the ability or potential to do the job; supports your objective
- indicates knowledge of the field, typical issues or problems, solutions
- omits racial, religious, ages, sex, marital status, national origin, health, or political affiliations unless a bona fide occupational qualification
- names of references should not be included
Additional 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, name of organization or team and relevant responsibilities)
- Additional Information (include hobbies and personal interests only if they are job relevant or extremely intriguing or unusual)
Be sure to also take advantage of our Mock Interview service to further prepare for your job search.
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