Transcript: Lesson 6: Writing a Resume, Part 3: Work

Experience
Hello, in this video, we will show you how to complete part three of a resume, work experience. In this part of the
resume, job seekers list job titles, their current and former employer names, locations, dates of employment, and
a brief description of the job duties they had. Some job seekers call this part experience so that they can include
volunteer work in addition to paid jobs. No matter what you call it, this section of your resume is the part that
future employers focus on most to decide if a candidate is a good match for the position.

It is important that job seekers are honest in the description of their duties because hiring officials often check
with past employers. Because a resume is only one or two pages long, it may not be possible to list all of your
experiences. You will need to choose the ones that best show your skills for the job. Job seekers list their
experience in reverse chronological order. This means they start with their current or most recent job, then the list
continues backwards by time order. Each entry is separate but contains all of the following information, job title,
employer name, location, dates of employment, and a brief description of the job duties.

Here is Tomoko's resume and description of her experience.

Experience:
Office Assistant, University of California English Language Programs, 2009 – Present
• Manage reception and telephones for 40-person office
• Develop database to track inquiries about application status
• Train temporary workers in office procedures

Program Assistant, International Student Office, University of California, 2006-2009

• Arranged special events for international students
• Assisted program directors in orientation and cultural exchange programs
• Reorganized office to be more efficient

Volunteer Coordinator, Shoreline Boys and Girls Club, 2003 – 2006

• Led afternoon activities for groups of children ages 10-17
• Managed activity budget for programs
• Recognized as Volunteer of the Year, 2005

As you can see, she listed three separate experiences, one of which is a volunteer job.

Look at the first experience. On one line, she lists the job title, Office Assistant, then the employer and the location
together, University of California, English Language Programs, followed by the years of employment, 2009 to
present.
The next lines are verb phrases that clearly describe what she does or did. Notice the use of present tense verbs
because this is her current job. You should also notice that the verbs used are called action verbs because they
clearly explain what a person is doing. Her verb choices “manage”, “develop” and “train”” are actions that also

© 2021 by FHI 360. “Transcript: Lesson 6: Writing a Resume, Part 3: Work Experience” for the Online
Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of “Video: Writing a Resume, 1
Part 3: Work Experience”, by The University of Pennsylvania licensed under the Creative Commons Share-
Alike License. To view a copy of the license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
show some of her skills as an employee. From this list, an employer would learn that she has computer skills, and
she can work well with a lot of other people. We will learn more about action verbs in video eight.

When describing experience, many job seekers use a bullet list of three to five lines. There is no punctuation at the
end because these are not complete sentences. it is important to be as clear and detailed as possible but in a small
amount of space. Remember that employers want to know how you are different from other candidates.

Think about what you have done well in past experiences and include those details with strong verbs. For example,
did you make your company more efficient or organized? Look at Tomoko's second experience as a program
assistant. You can see that she has arranged special events and organized the office to be more efficient. These
actions show the reader that she is well organized. This is an example of a personal trait skill that is valuable to
many employers.

Summary
Let's review what you should include in part three, work experience. Begin with your current or most recent job
and continue to list experiences backwards in time order. For each experience that you include, write the job title,
the employer name, location, date of employment, and a brief description of the job duties.

What’s Next?
Next, you can practice organizing a resume with a quiz, Ordering the Chronology.