Resumes & Vitaes

The resume is a marketing tool--an advertisement of your qualifications and skills. The resume has one main purpose: to persuade potential employers to extend an interview to you. Have your cover letters critiqued at Career Services during Walk-in Counseling M-F 10-4 (20 minute sessions, first come first served). Our website also contains information on submitting your resume via e-mail or on-line.

STYLES

Generally, there are three styles of resumes--chronological, functional, and combination. The resume style should be selected based on your experience and qualifications as well as the type of position for which you are applying.

• The CHRONOLOGICAL style lists experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent to least recent). This style can emphasize a continuous career path of increasing responsibility and is the style most commonly used.
  
  
• The FUNCTIONAL style allows you to organize experiences gathered from a variety of arenas, according to specific functions or skills. Employers and dates are listed on the resume, but with minimal details. The functional style is most commonly used by career changers who are trying to demonstrate the transferability of their skills, or by those reentering the work force after an absence.
  
  
• The COMBINATION style merges elements of the first two. An overview of your qualifications for a particular position may appear at the beginning, but it reverts to the reverse chronological style for the remainder of the document.

CATEGORIES

You determine what categories to include on your resume - make them work for you. The following categories commonly appear on resumes of recent college graduates:

• Objective
• Education
• Relevant or Related Coursework
• Experience or Related Experience
• Skills (Computer, Language, etc.)
• Activities or Involvement
• Honors & Awards or Achievements

OBJECTIVE STATEMENTS

A good objective statement should be concise and to the point, only 1-2 lines. Refer to the desired position and/or industry, and mention a few specific related skills you possess. If you are pursuing more than one type of position or industry, consider developing multiple resumes.

FORMATTING

A resume typically gets only 20-30 seconds of attention the first time through, so make it as easy as possible for the reader to find the important information.

• Avoid using word processing "wizards" or "templates" that reduce your control over the format of your resume.
• Use margins of at least 3/4 inches all around.
• Use bulleted statements to describe experiences rather than paragraphs.
• Begin bulleted statements of activities with varied action verbs in a consistent verb tense.
• Incorporate but do not overdo bold, underlining, and italics to highlight and separate sections of your resume.
• Laser-print your resume on high-quality paper.
• Solicit input about both content and style from career counselors, faculty, former employers, and professionals in your field.