Tailor Your Resume
The more you tailor your resume to fit a specific position or organization, the better chance you have for the opportunity to interview. Meet with Career Services for general feedback and to fine tune your resumes and cover letters for the specific opportunities you seek.
Preparing for the Job Search Guide
Sample resumes and letters, interviewing tips and more!
Styles of Resumes
The resume style should be selected based on your experience and qualifications as well as the type of position for which you are applying.
- CHRONOLOGICAL: Lists experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent to least recent) and emhasizes a continuous career path of increasing responsibility. The most commonly used resume format by students and recent graduates.
- FUNCTIONAL: Organizes experiences according to specific functions or skills. Employers and dates are listed, but with minimal details. Commonly used by career changers to emphasize the transferability of their skills, or by those reentering the work force after an absence.
- COMBINATION: Merges elements of the first two and typically begins with a summary of qualifications for a particular position before reverting to a more chronological style.
Headings
Choose headings that best highlight your skills and experience. Some common categories for students and recent alumni include:
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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.
Critique by E-mail
A face to face (or phone) meeting about your resume or cover letter is ideal. However, if you live outside Lincoln or cannot meet during regular office hours, a career counselor can provide feedback via e-mail. Send your resume and/or cover letter with a job description or brief explanation of what it will be used for. Allow 3 business days for response.
Resume vs. CV
A Curriculum Vita sometimes differs from a resume in name only. A resume is more often used in business settings, briefer and focused on skills and accomplishments. A vita is more often used in academic settings and describes all related educational and professional experience. More...
Applying On-line/E-mail
Increasingly, connecting with employers is done electronically, which presents new challenges to the job seeker. Consider the following guidelines as you manage your on-line job search. More...
Resumes for Grad School
Sometimes resumes must highlight academic achievements rather than job experience or work skills. More...