Resume Activity Outline November 2017

1. 30-second resume review (10 minutes)

a. Put everyone into groups for the entire session
b. Give out packets to each group
c. Ask them to review Sample 1 for 30 seconds and answer the following questions (might be helpful to
write down their responses in a pros/cons list so they can see why they might be eliminated):
i. What kind of job is this student qualified to do?
ii. What did you learn about this candidate from your 30 second review?
iii. What information is helpful? What skills or experience does the candidate have?
iv. Whats missing? What else would be helpful?

2. Group resume reviews (15 minutes)

a. Go over each section of the guidelines page
b. Tell the groups that they will be reviewing their 4 samples and sharing their findings with the whole
audience
c. Have the groups review all 4 resume samples (they can circle or write on the samples to keep track of
their edits)
d. Have students share their findings. If no one answers, have each group discuss Sample 1 4
e. Discussion questions:
i. Putting aside the guidelines, what have you learned about the purpose of the resume? What is
most important for someone reviewing your resume that doesnt know you?
ii. What are you currently doing right on your resume? What did this confirm for you?
iii. What will you do differently on your own resume now that youve had the chance to review
someone elses?

3. Samples (5 minutes)
a. Brought along 3 sample templates, feel free to take as many types of templates as you want
i. Internship resume prioritizes academic information (especially preparatory coursework and
technical experience), and any skills you bring from your previous work experiences (time
management, customer service, organization, taking initiative, work ethic)
ii. 2nd and 3rd year prioritizes involvement and the skills youve built or shown through all of your
involvement on campus (leadership, teamwork, long-term project management, research,
event planning)
iii. Professional/Graduating resume highlights the main skills you bring and gives related
information in your academics and work experience that you already have before starting the
position

4. Additional topics that we didnt cover today (5 minutes)

a. Tailoring your resume for when youve been job searching and youre not getting interviews; resume
may be too generic and doesnt include enough relevant information for the 30 second review
b. Targeting your resume for when you have a lot of experience, but need to reduce the information
down to the essentials