Writing & Improving Your Resume

JSG Career Center

The Basics
Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume whats the difference? CV for professionals like PhDs, Doctors
Resume for job seekers not in academics
Unlimited length Purpose: Describe a persons career in detail

The resume gets you the interview The interview gets you the job

A quick read Length: 1 page undergrad; 2 pages graduate Purpose: A quick read for employer to screen for qualified applicants

Sections of the Resume

Name & Contact Information Objective (optional) Education
Relevant Courses

Work and/or Volunteer Experience Skills (optional) Award and Honors Professional Memberships Publications and/or Presentations

Format & Appearance

Layout: Left Justified Margins: 0.8 - 1.0 Font Size: 10 or 11 point Font Style
Arial Times New Roman Palatino Linotype

High Quality Paper: 8 1/2 x 11 20 lb paper

White, light cream, or grey

Format & Appearance

Formatting:
Bold section titles One pace between each Section Italics for Thesis or Dissertation titles or emphasis Bullets for lists only Vertical list of job duties, accomplishments

Print on laser jet in black ink only Save as Adobe PDF for sending via email Download and use a template in the GeoSource Resource Library

Name & Contact Information

Your name centered, bold, larger font
2-3 points larger than body

Local mailing address Current phone number Professional email address Place contact information either centered, under name or make two columns at each margin under centered name

Objective (optional)
A brief phrase that describes the job you are seeking Not a complete sentence Not in first person
No I or Me or My

Use third-person language

A summer intern as a geologist in the petroleum industry A full-time geophysicist position in petroleum exploration An internship as a hydrogeologist with an environmental consulting company

NOTE: No periods at the end of phrases

Skills (optional)
List skills that will be useful in your career or those that match the job description Geoscience skills
Field work Laboratory

Computer skills
Computer Languages or Programming Specialty software fo geosciences

Languages
Proficiency levels: Basic, Working, Native Speaking, writing, reading

Education - Undergraduate
Degrees from JSG are in Geological Sciences Majors:
General Geology Geophysics Hydrogeology Environmental Science Teaching

B.A. in Geological Science w/ minor B.S. in Geosystems Engineering & Hydrogeology (first two years)

Education Undergraduate Example

B.S. General Geology The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences
Current Overall GPA: 3.52/4.0 Honors Thesis: [Title, if applicable] Advisor [name, if applicable]

May 2011

B.A. with Math Minor The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

May 2011

About the GPA

Do not include if significantly below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale Include the proper scale if not 4 pt. scale: 8.8/10.0 How many decimal places?
3.25 (not 3.25001258) No more than two places past the decimal Do not round up

Calculate your Major GPA (geoscience courses only) if it is significantly better than your overall Formula for calculating the Major GPA
Next slide =>

Calculate your Major GPA

Points earned for a class depend on the total of the number of points earned number of credit hours of that course A=4 pts, B=3 pts, C=2 pts, D=1 pt, F=0 pt
If you earn an A for a 4-credit hour course, you earn 16 pts; B earns 12 pts; C earns 8 pts, D earns 4 pts If you earn a A for a 3-credit hour course, you earn 12 pts; B earns 9 pts; C earns 6 pts

Add up the points per course for all courses in your major only

Education-Graduate Students
M.S. and Ph.D.
Themes & Disciplines are unique to JSG Include your concentration

M.A. or M.S. Energy & Earth Resources

Include your dual degree if applicable

Include thesis title, advisors name, GPA Include your previous degree

Education - Graduate Example

Master of Science, Geophysics December 2012 The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences Thesis: 3D Seismic Imaging of a Cretaceous Accretionary Wedge Advisor: Sean Gulick GPA: 3.5/4.0 B.S. in Geology, cum laude The University of Oklahoma May 2009

Relevant Courses
Undergraduates: List most relevant and higherlevel geoscience courses by name Graduates: List courses most closely related to your objective or specialty May list courses outside of major if they are relevant to your major and/or objective (i.e. engineering, math, physics courses) Outside or special training
Software Training Professional Courses

Experience
Work Experience
REVERSE chronological order always Dates as month & year in a range January 2008 to Present Jan 2009 Sep 2010 August 2007 June 2008

Briefly describe duties & accomplishments

Use power action verbs Best place for bulleted lists Keep language parallel

Volunteer Experience
Community Service Social Sorority or Fraternity work

Describing Experience
Keep verb tenses consistent:
Current job-use present tense All past jobs-use past tense

A Few Key Action Verbs for the geosciences:

Utilized, Completed, Analyzed, Evaluated, Revised, Developed, Advised, Provided, Contributed, Updated, Interpreted, Correlated, Mapped, Gathered, Reported, Modeled, Generated, Designed, Presented, Maintained, Operated, Monitored, Recorded, Examined, Determined, Created, Conducted, Produced, Demonstrated, Described

Awards and Honors

List scholarships you have received List academic awards and honors Dates should be Year or Semester + Year
Deans Honor List Scholarship or Grant name, year awarded Example: Jackson School of Geosciences Academic Scholarship, Spring 2010 to Present Certificates or Licenses Do NOT include dollar amounts

Professional Memberships
Membership in at least one relevant professional organization is highly recommended Local Organizations
Graduate Student Executive Committee (GSEC) Undergraduate Geological Society (UGS) Geosciences Leadership Organization for Women (GLOW) POSSE

National Organizations-a few examples

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)* Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)* Geological Society of America (GSA) American Geophysical Union (AGU) Society of Professional Engineers (SPE) * Student Chapters in the JSG

Presentations & Publications

List poster sessions, technical publications or presentations at conferences
Include the title and place of presentation Format for publications Example Bryant, I., Carr, D., and Thurmond, J., 2000, Use of 3-D digital analogues as templates in reservoir modeling: Petroleum Geoscience, v. 6, p. 195201.

About References
The phrase References Available Upon Request is outdated Do not mention references-if the employer wants them, they will ask for them after first interview However:
Prepare a separate page with 3 professional references Name, title, full contact information ALWAYS ask permission from your reference Tell them the employer name Give them a copy of your updated resume

Last Words
Keep your resume updated It must be error free or it will go in the No pile You are building a professional, technical resume
No colored ink or fancy fonts Paper may be white, cream or gray

Print out several copies for career fairs Take copies with you to an interview For on-campus recruiting, have a copy of your transcript for the interview Next Step: Write a cover letter (another .PPTX)