Resume Writing
A resume is an essential part of any job application. It is your one-page advertisement, summarizing your potential to an employer. To be effective, your resume needs to be:
A resume is not a listing of everything you have done in college, but rather a summary of your experiences that relate to a particular job or career field. The standard resume is one page. For a resume to be two pages, all the information included should be relevant and both pages must be full. Remember, most employers review a resume for approximately 20 seconds, and will only read a second page if the relevance is obvious. (This rule, however, does not apply to CVs or resumes for graduate school.)
Your resume should highlight your skills and accomplishments most relevant to that job. If you are applying to jobs in more than one career field/industry, you should have more than one resume.
Your resume should be organized so that an employer can quickly find your most relevant experiences. Your resume also needs to be free of grammatical or spelling errors.
Tips for Writing Dynamic Descriptions on Your Resume
Start each sentence with a dynamic action word. Typical description: “Was responsible for helping sorority raise funds for cancer research.” Remove the passive voice: “Helped sorority raise funds for cancer research.
“Played key role in establishing innovative fundraising events, resulting in the sorority consistently exceeding philanthropy goals.”
“Developed innovative fundraising campaign that resulted in a 32% increase in donations to cancer research.”
Resumes vs. CVs
While a resume is typically what is used by current students or recent graduates when applying to jobs, sometimes a CV (curriculum vitae) is required instead. A resume is a concise one-page summary of your skills, experience, and education. A CV, on the other hand, is usually longer and focuses not just on education and experience, but on research, teaching, publications, presentations, awards, and professional affiliations. Some European and other foreign countries will require CVs of all applicants. In the United States, CVs are traditionally used only when applying for scientific, research, or academic positions, including fellowships. If you are unsure of which to use, check with your career coach or someone in the career field to which you are applying.
Cover Letters
Cover letters are a crucial part of any job search, as they allow you to tell the employer why they should hire you. An effective cover letter efficiently and succinctly explains how you have the skills that an employer is seeking in an applicant.
A cover letter typically has three sections:
Begin by telling the employer who you are, why you are writing, and a little of what you know about them. If you have a mutual contact, you can mention that person here.
This is the heart of the cover letter, where you highlight your skills relevant to the position and illustrate how these skills match the employer’s needs. You can do this by highlighting skills and experience from your resume and/or telling the employer things about you that they won’t find on your resume. As much as possible, use this section to connect the dots between your skills and abilities and the employer’s needs.
This section serves two functions: thanking the employer for considering your request or for their time, and telling them how and when you will follow up. Rather than simply saying “I look forward to hearing from you,” it is more effective if you say something proactive, such as “I will phone you in a week to discuss the possibilities.”
Resume and Cover Letter Samples
See below under Career Resources for various sample resumes, CVs, and cover letters; plus a guide on what to include in each section of your resume.
Career Peer Mentors
Career Peer Mentors can help you get started on a resume! Drop by during the hours below:
Monday: 9:00 -11:00 a.m., and 1:50 – 2:50 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:00 -12:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 -11:00 a.m., and 1:50 – 2:50 p.m.
Thursday: 9:00 -2:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 -11:00 a.m.
