Résumés

A résumé is a one- or two-page summary of your education, experience, skills, and accomplishments. It is a marketing document whose purpose is to earn you an interview. It should be brief and tailored to meet the needs of the specific position and organization to which you are applying. Because recruiters often spend less than 30 seconds initially screening a résumé, it must be formatted so the recruiter can find the information they need quickly and easily.

Key elements
Résumé templates
Scannable
Résumé assistance (and samples)
Web resources

Key elements of a résumé

Contact information: How can you be reached?

Identify yourself and provide several ways employers can reach you:
Legal name
Current and/or permanent address
Telephone number (home and/or cell)
E-mail address (not your work e-mail)

Objective: What are you looking for?
In one focused phrase, summarize your goal for your employment search. Your objective may be oriented to:

The position (“Seeking position as case manager providing service to the aged.”)
Your field of study (“Position working with youth in the social services field.”)
Your skills (“Seeking position utilizing my skills in counseling, research, and writing.”)

Education: What have you learned?

College(s), degree and major(s) (or anticipated degree with graduation date)
GPA (if 3.0 or higher)
Special qualities of your education, including course highlights and certifications

Work and related experience: What have you done?

List employment, internships, and voluntary service in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
Position title, organization name, and dates of employment
Description of work performed — emphasize accomplishments and skills you developed (not just a list of everything you did)

References: Who can testify regarding your qualifications?

3-5 individuals who can speak about your skills and qualifications
Include references on a separate sheet of paper from your résumé; place your contact information at the top of the page in the same format as your résumé (view a sample)
Always ask permission BEFORE using someone as a reference! (read additional tips)

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Résumé templates

Career Services has developed several templates (Microsoft Word) you can use to make creating a résumé easy!


Template 1	Template 2	Template 3

After filling the template with your own information, we recommend personalizing the template by changing the font, adjusting the margins, adding or deleting sections, etc.

Consider the following tips as you create and format your résumé:

Use short, concise phrases (not complete sentences)
Eliminate complete sentences and the use of pronouns and articles (I, me, we, a, the)
Incorporate enough blank space to ease reading
Utilize industry specific language and terminology
Tailor your résumé to the specific position you are applying for. Review the job description and qualifications; make sure your résumé demonstrates the required skills
Use action verbs to strengthen your résumé
Use a readable and familiar font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica). Except for your name, type size should be uniform and sized 10-12 point
If at all possible, condense your résumé to one page

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Scannable résumés

Because larger organizations are often flooded with résumés, many use an optical character recognition device (OCR) to create an electronic version of each résumé. The résumés are then stored in a computer database. By searching for specific keywords, the software allows recruiters to quickly search through thousands of résumés for qualified candidates.

Since a scannable résumé is being read by a machine, the content is more important than the overall appearance. It’s essential for your résumé to contain the specific industry keywords the employer is searching for. To determine what these keywords might be, review the job description, qualifications, and industry jargon. Carefully choose the nouns you use in your scannable résumé since keywords are often nouns.

General suggestions for preparing a scannable résumé:

Choose a common font, like Arial or Times New Roman; keep the font size at 10-12 point
Do not use italics, underlining, vertical or horizontal lines, or graphics; don’t condense spacing between lettering (scanners need to be able to clearly read each individual character)
Left justify the entire document
Replace bullets with asterisks (*) or hyphens (-)
Avoid using columns
If your résumé goes onto a second page, use two sheets of paper, rather than printing double-sided; place your name at the top of both pages; do not staple pages together
Print with black ink on plain white paper; avoid most recycled papers
Use a 9 x 12 envelope to mail your résumé; do not fold or fax a résumé that will be scanned

Each organization may have their own additional requirements. If you are asked to submit a scannable résumé, we encourage you to consult the organization’s web site or Human Resource department for further guidance.

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Résumé assistance

Career Services has several ways to assist you in creating your resume:

Browse the web resources below
Make an appointment with the , who can help you brainstorm ideas or review a draft
We always prefer to review a résumé in person. However, if this is not possible, you may a draft of your résumé for a review
The Good Library has numerous books giving advice on writing résumés. In the library catalog type résumés employment in Browse and choose “subject”
Review these sample résumés:

Arts Business Education History/BRP/PJCS
Languages Math/Science Social Sciences

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Résumé web resources

JobWeb.com
Several articles to assist you from writing your first draft to strengthening a final draft.

WetFeet Résumés
Two dozen articles with advice on developing a winning résumé, solving common problems, and sending a plain text e-mail résumé to employers.

Northern Michigan University
Online video walks you through how to write a résumé.

Monster.com
The Résumé Center offers detailed advice for résumés and cover letters.

GC Job & Internship Bank
Upload a copy of your completed resume for potential employers to view.

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