RESUME WRITING

GUIDELINES

RESUME WRITING GUIDELINES

A resume is a brief history of
your accomplishments.
It is your personal sales
pitch.

RESUME
Its an advertisement
for you. It is a
summary for
potential employers
presenting your
education, work
experience,
activities/ honors/
special skills and
pertinent facts to
your job search.

An effective resume should be :

concise,
well-organized
error free
aesthetically appealing.

Your resume introduces you. Be creative!

RESUME FORMATS:
Chronological Resume is a list of work
experience and education history in
chronological order showing most
recent first. Advantage: logical, easy to
follow. Disadvantage: limited experience,
gaps in employment and other weak areas
may be more evident.

RESUME FORMATS
Functional Resume organizes your
experience according to specific
skills and knowledge in relation
to jobs for which you are applying.
Advantage: draws attention to your
accomplishments, highlights your
capabilities.
Disadvantage: employers may feel you are
covering something up.

RESUME FORMATS
Combination Resume
merges the best of
the functional and
chronological
resumes. This is a
good format to use to
present
capabilities
and transferable skills
coming with work and
other experiences.

BASIC GUIDELINES:
Design your resume for skimmers, not readers; 45
seconds is the maximum viewing time given your
resume in an initial sorting.
Graphically center and balance on the page.
Print on 8 1/2 x 11 white, beige, or gray bond paper.
Eliminate all errors; have someone proofread. Writing
and presentation must be perfect.
Avoid gimmicks, salary requirements, and personal
information (height, weight, age, race, marital status,
religion, political affiliation).
Use appropriate language for position.
Eliminate the overuse of "I."

BASIC GUIDELINES:

cont.

Use capitalization, underlines, bolding, and bullet points.

Create white space so items stand out.
Be concise, well-organized.
Use action verbs, i.e., coordinated, managed,
introduced, accomplished.
Emphasize skills and abilities.
Be HONEST. Your resume must match your
communication skills at an interview.
Stress accomplishments.
Limit length to one, not more than two, pages.
Remember to edit and re-edit.
Organize it well the reader needs to see your strong
points at a glance.

WHAT TO INCLUDE:
1. Personal Identification
Use your full name, college and permanent
addresses, phone numbers. Place at top of resume.
Information must be correct. Update as needed.
2. Job Objective (optional)
Be specific and focus on positions you are applying
for but dont be so specific that you eliminate yourself
from an opportunity. You can omit your objective and
include it in your cover letter.
The objective should be geared to the position, the
field, and your skills.
Be clear and concise, no longer than 2 - 3
sentences.

WHAT TO INCLUDE:
cont. Background
3. Educational
Include names and locations of schools, highest level first.
Do not include high school, unless it helps to sell you.
Give dates of attendance.
List degrees and certificates.
Include major.
Include grade-point average, if 3.0 or above (if GPA in major
is higher, show that).
List course work related to position.
Include honors, awards, and scholarships.
Include special training or trade schools, institutes, or
workshops.
List publications and presentations if you have several,

WHAT TO INCLUDE:
cont.

4. Work Experience

List your paid and unpaid work experience. Cover fulltime, part-time, summer and volunteer work, internships,
military experience, and self-employment.
Give names and addresses of employers.
Supply dates of employment.
List duties (use action words to describe).
Note accomplishments.

WHAT TO INCLUDE: cont.

5. Job Related Skills
Include interests and activities that demonstrate job-related skills
(leadership, organizational committees, major project involvement).
Give personal accomplishments (i.e., financed 90% of college
education).
Note special knowledge (foreign language, computers, etc).
Include memberships in professional organizations.

6. References
Use the phrase Available upon request.
Type a sheet of references and offer them to an interviewer if you
are being considered for that position.
Use a minimum of three work or academic-related references. Ask
these people if they will serve as references.
Give complete information for each reference: name, title,
company, business address (with zip code),

How to Write a Cover Letter

A cover letter allows you to personalize your resume
when it is mailed to prospective employers in
response to advertisements or to inquire about
possible interviews.
The letter's main purpose is to advertise your
strengths and assets in a way that would interest
employers in interviewing you.
It is also useful in that it can save valuable time by
enabling you to visit only the most promising
prospects or helping you avoid places where there is
no interest in you as a prospective employee.

How to Write a Cover Letter:

cont.

The first paragraph should arouse the reader's

INTEREST. This can be done by stating some
particular knowledge you have of the reader's
business, by a comment on some "timely" issue
relating to the company's operation or by an
impersonal statement of some outstanding fact
relating to your ability that would probably
appeal to the employer.

How to Write a Cover Letter:

cont.

The body of the cover letter should make the employer

DESIRE to interview you by explaining what you can
do for his/her company.
present facts that will both be interesting and
accurately describe your assets and qualifications.
Do not stress your bad points, such as lack of
experience or unemployment.
The last paragraph should request ACTION.
Ask directly for an interview stating specific times and
dates when you will call to arrange an interview.
In all circumstances be courteous but use a direct
approach.

How to Write a Cover Letter:

cont.

The letter should end with

the formal salutation,
"Sincerely yours." Below the
salutation, type your name
and then add your signature.
Remember the use of AIDA
(ATTENTION,
INTEREST, DESIRE,
ACTION) will result in a
cover letter that is both
pleasing to read and
effective.