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Resume Tips

Resumes are an important part of life after college. But the first step to having a good resume to present to future employers is building it up during college. Get involved with on-campus publications and other activities that give you the competitive edge when searching for a job among other applicants. The second step in getting the job you want is knowing how to present yourself, and this includes the resume you hand over. It needs to look organized and well-planned and be something that grabs the attention of the employer and sets you above the rest. We hope these guidelines will help you produce a resume that will get you the job you want.

More information on the subject:

• Introduce Yourself
  
• Objective/Career Goal/Career Interest
  
• Education
  
• Experience
  
• Activities and Honors
  

It is important to list your contact information at the top of your resume so employers easily can reach you. Remember that if others have applied for the same position, tentative employers are not going to hunt you down.

Name
Street Address
Town, State, Zip Code
(Area Code) Telephone Number
Permanent e-mail

The first section of your resume should state your career interest.

Examples:

• Seeking a retail management trainee position.
• Seeking an entry-level position in retail banking.
• Researcher and writer for an urban newspaper.
• To conduct market research for a mid-size manufacturing firm.
• To obtain a computer programmer position that provides the opportunity to analyze systems and procedures.

• Optional. Include only if you know what you want to do.
• Be specific. Avoid long-winded and flowery objectives.

Example:

• Bachelor of Arts, English, May 1990
• Minor: Marketing
• Berry College, Mount Berry, Ga.
• GPA: (optional. Include if over 3.0)
• Honors: (optional)
• Relevant Courses: (optional)
• Financed 100% of Education (optional)

Guidelines:

• Can reverse order of degree and college.
• Can reverse order of Education and Experience sections.
• Highlight, bold or underline degree, major or name of school. (optional)
• List schools and/or degrees in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
• Exclude high school education.

The experience section of your resume will be of great interest to tentative employers because they can quickly scan through and get an idea of your background.

Examples:

• Job Title, Name of Company, Location, Dates, Description of Responsibilities and Accomplishments
• Name of Company, Location, Dates and Job Title

Guidelines:

• Organize format by either listing job title or name of company first. Be consistent throughout resume.
• Highlight, bold or underline each job title or name of company. Be consistent throughout resume.
• Description of responsibilities should be written in a brief paragraph. Write skills and accomplishments in a clear, consistent and concise manner. Write past job descriptions in past tense. Avoid using personal pronouns. Use action words to introduce each skill and/or accomplishment.
• List experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
• Experiences do not have to be paid. Include all relevant experiences where accomplishments and transferable skills were developed.
• Include all field experiences and externships, co-op jobs, volunteer activities, internships and student teaching experience.
• Can organize job descriptions in two sections: Related Experience and Other Experience (other examples: Relevant Experience, Computer Science Experience, Teaching Experience and/or Counseling Experience).

Examples:

• Certificates
• Foreign languages
• Computer skills, knowledge
• Volunteer experiences (List in this section or with job experiences.)
• Major-related clubs
• Professional organizations
• Hobbies

Guidelines:

• This section is optional.
• List experiences/skills/affiliations without descriptions.
• Relate this to a career goal or objective.
• If transferable skills were developed, consider citing this information in the Experience section of resume.
• This section can be listed at the beginning of the resume.

References available upon request:

Career Development Center
Berry College
5005 Mount Berry Station
Mount Berry, Georgia 30149-5005
(706) 236-2292