How to Write a Résumé
The purpose of writing a résumé is to get you, the candidate, an interview with the prospective employer. The résumé should be a descriptive reflection of your skills and abilities. It describes what you have accomplished, emphasizes your acquired skills, and states the extent of your educational background. The résumé is designed to create a positive image of you in the mind of the reader by highlighting your strengths and experiences in a concise way.
Types of RÉsumÉs
There are three common formats of résumés:
Chronological Résumé
Typically the format followed by most individuals, this style lists your education, responsibilities, and experience in reverse chronological order. This type of résumé helps to show your continuous climb by building on previous experiences. This form uses headings with short written summaries of your experience and accomplishments in each area.
Functional Résumé
This format focuses on the functions, job skills, and achievements of the candidate without relating them to the job positions for which you have held. This style may be useful for candidates wishing to change careers or those who are returning to the workforce after an extended leave of absence. This form emphasizes your skills relevant to the job at hand rather than listing previous experiences and positions held. After listing your skills, you would list in reverse chronological order your volunteer and employment history, along with the name, location, and dates of the positions held.
Combination Résumé
This résumé combines the elements of both the chronological and functional résumés. This style emphasizes your skills and attributes while listing a brief description of your job history. This form is used by both college students and experienced workers who may be changing careers and want to highlight their skills along with their solid work background, or those who don't feel the need to highlight their previous position.
Regardless of which résumé format you use, the uniqueness of your résumé will depend upon the individual detail and additional sections you add to it. The appearance of your résumé should have a crisp clean look. Utilize visually appealing capitalization, underlining, spacing, bullet points, and bold and italic letters sparingly. Make sure to use high quality bond paper in a neutral color (usually white or ivory). If your résumé is being mailed out, make sure to use matching paper and envelopes, and type both the forwarding and return addresses on the envelope or use typed labels.
Format of Chronological RÉsumÉ
Here is the basic format for the most widely used style of a résumé, the chronological résumé:
| Heading | This section includes your name (usually centered at the top), both your current and permanent address, both your home phone number (including area codes) and your work phone number (if you may receive calls there), and your e-mail address. Use your school e-mail address or a professional personal address. |
| Career Objective | This section is simply a statement telling the employer that you want this position with this organization and how this opportunity will allow you to utilize your skills and talents. Be sure to custom-write a specific objective for each employer. |
| Education | This section should include the schools (after high school) that you have graduated from or are currently attending in reverse chronological order. List the degree seeking (AS, BS, BA, etc.), major, institution, anticipated date of graduation, minors or concentrations, any special projects, workshops, and your GPA (usually listed only if it is above a 3.5). |
| Professional Development Experience | This section includes past work experience, internships, and both paid and volunteer positions. List all significant work experience in reverse chronological order. List your title, the name of the organization, the location of work (city, state), and the dates of employment (month, year). Below each work experience, explain your job responsibilities using bulleted statements beginning with action verbs to communicate your skills and responsibilities. Also, it is important to point out special achievements or awards you received. You may also want to add that you worked in order to pay for a percentage of college expenses. Example: Earned 50% of college expenses through the following part-time jobs. |
| Related Experiences | Students who have experiences in volunteering and campus involvement should include this section in their résumé. The transferable skills acquired through a position in an organization or through a volunteer experience give you a foundation to do similar work in another organization. Transferable skills are highly regarded by prospective employers because they are perceived as valuable knowledge and experience to be translated to any job. The more you know about the position, the easier it is for you to convey this information to a prospective employer. |
| Related Coursework | Students who do not necessarily have a strong work or related experience section may benefit from listing relevant courses. Do not list every class you have taken—about three to six is sufficient. Also, list only courses applicable to the internship you are applying. |
| Other Possible Sections/Information |
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| Reference Page | On a separate page, include the same heading (your name and contact information) and the subheading, References. Here list three professional references in the following format. Teachers, faculty members, supervisors, and advisors are examples of professional references. Do not list family members or friends as professional references. Name, Relationship to you Title Company/Organization Address City, State, Zip Telephone number E-mail address |
| Spell Check, Grammar Check and Proofread Carefully | Review your résumé carefully to ensure that it both accurately reflects your experience and that everything is spelled correctly. Also, have at least one other person review your résumé for misspellings and/or typos. |
