Your résumé advertises you as a candidate for a job, internship or other position. Résumés are used as a primary screening to determine the most qualified applicants. The first step to catch the recruiter’s eye or pass through an electronic screening system is creating a résumé that effectively shows your experiences and skills.

View Resume Tips pdf

Your résumé should highlight your knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences and accomplishments as they relate to your career goals.

Resume Styles

 

 

Chronological Résumé

  • The chronological format is recommended for most people seeking jobs and internships. Education and other experiences are presented in reverse chronological order starting with most recent.
  • See sample résumés

Functional Résumé

  • The functional format often works well for professionals with vast experience seeking a career change or for people who have gaps in employment. Marketable skills and other areas of expertise are emphasized, as opposed to work experience. Skills are organized into clusters.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

  • Used to apply for scientific, research and often graduate school positions, a CV is a thorough record of all of an applicant’s academic work. Organizations will ask for a CV if they prefer it over a standard résumé.
  • More info about CVs
  • Basic outline for CVs
  • See sample CVs

Federal or State Government Résumé

Common Resume Sections

 

  

Your résumé connects your experiences and skills to the position you apply for and shows why they make you the ideal candidate. Elaborate on the skills you gained from your experiences, don’t just list them. Tailor each résumé to a specific opportunity. Every company and field is different; get advice on résumé norms from a professor, advisor or someone working in the industry.

Education

  • Breakdown of undergraduate and graduate education, study abroad and internships.
  • Include GPA if it’s requested or above a 3.0. You may use your cumulative or program-specific GPA.

Work Experience

  • Dynamic, action- and results-oriented summary of professional experiences.

Study Abroad

  • Explanation/description of study-abroad programs.

Volunteer Experience

  • Summation of volunteer and community involvement.

Projects

  • Projects, research, field work or specific coursework that relate to the position.

Summary of Qualifications/Professional Summary

  • Replaces the traditional objective statement.
  • One to three lines or bullet points at the top of the résumé that summarize your top skills for that employer. Avoid personal pronouns.

Leadership and Involvement

  • Clubs, community engagement, experiences in athletics, fraternity and sorority involvement, and leadership activities.

Skills/Languages

  • Proficiencies in computer programs, languages, etc.

Awards/Acknowledgements

  • Work, educational and other awards and scholarships describing the award and listing the date and awarding organization.

Relevant Coursework

  • Top 4-8 courses that relate specifically to the position. Avoid jargon and course numbers, use the full course titles instead.

Additional Section Examples

  • Scientific fieldwork
  • Computer languages
  • Intercultural experience and languages
  • Technical skills
  • Communication experience
  • Professional memberships and activities
  • Licenses and certifications
  • Military service and training
  • Practicum experience
  • Teaching and coaching experience
  • Public speaking experience

Power Statements

 

 

Power statements create a more powerful résumé. They highlight your achievements, illustrate your tasks, quantify your results and show your impact in a role. Jobs, internships, community service, club involvement, military experience and projects should all be backed up with power statements. A power statement should be no more than two lines.

A power statement is made up of an action component (an action word plus a concise description of a task), followed by a results component (quantified results and other concrete evidence). 

Action component: Describe your actions to complete a task or solve a problem by using an action word.

  • Describe your actions to complete a task or solve a problem by using an action word.
  • Focus on key skills and words found in your industry.
  • Use the position description of the job you are applying for as a guide on what skills and words to use.

Results Component: Your results illustrate how your efforts can translate to the organization to which you are applying.

  • Quantify with numbers, including percentages, dollars or volume.
  • Only quantify when appropriate. This can be overdone if forced into every bullet point. 

 

Power Statement examples

Baseline

  • “Served sandwiches to satisfy customer requests.”
  • This is a description of responsibilities. While it supports that you have customer service experience, it lacks connections to your transferable skills.

On Your Way

  • “Provided excellent customer service by listening to successfully serve customers.”
  • This statement is more appealing because it demonstrates transferable skills and includes a desirable outcome.

Finish Line

  • “Provided excellent customer service by listening and responding to customer needs and diffusing tension during rush times. Implemented new processes to reduce ingredient waste by 30% over the year. ”
  • This statement encompasses the positive aspect of the two previous examples. It also explains efforts and includes a quantified desirable outcome that translated to various fields and positions.

 

View Power Statements PDF

Action Words

 

  

Use action words to illustrate your skills. Each statement in your résumé should begin with an action word. Use present tense for current positions and past tense for previous ones.

  View Action Words PDF

Communication

 

Advertised

Collaborated

Explained

Informed

Presented

Represented

Synthesized

Leadership

 

Achieved

Coordinated

Developed

Expanded

Generated

Managed

Streamlined

Technical

 

Adapted

Designed

Engineered

Modeled

Programmed

Restored

Specialized

Creative

 

Authored

Composed

Created

Customized

Illustrated

Invented

Photographed

Organization

 

Assigned

Completed

Incorporated

Organized

Processed

Scheduled

Updated

Helping

 

Accommodated

Assisted

Counseled

Encouraged

Guided

Served

Supported

Financial

 

Appraised

Audited

Calculated

Estimated

Invested

Maximized

Minimized

Research

 

Analyzed

Collected

Conducted

Documented

Experimented

Identified

Synthesized

Teaching

 

Advised

Counseled

Educated

Evaluated

Individualized

Instructed

Trained