How to Create a Resume

How Do I Begin?

Self Assessment

It is important that your resume is reflective of your personal skills and strengths. To write a good resume, you need to spend some time thinking about the skills you have that would make an employer want to hire you. These skills can vary according to the job you're applying for. Think about how you would answer the following question if asked by an employer: "Based upon your past work experience, class projects, or other activities, why are you the most qualified person for this job?" Your answer to that question is the message that you need to communicate in your resume. On your resume, be sure to highlight the areas where you've demonstrated skills that employers place the highest priority on: verbal and written communication skills, teamwork skills, organizational skills, interpersonal skills, analytical skills, computer skills, and motivation/initiative.

If you feel that you do not have any strengths or skills, then you need to seriously work on developing some before sending your resume to employers! If you do not have a lot of relevant work experience, you should try to obtain an internship (even an unpaid one) or volunteer your time for a campus or off-campus organization. Create opportunities in which you will be able to develop the main skills that employers desire.

What Style of Resume is Recommended?
A popular style of resume is the Combination Resume. Job seekers using this style of resume will include an overview or summary of qualifications at the beginning, in which they stress their skills and characteristics appropriate for the position, but they revert to the reverse chronological style for the remainder of the document. This overview section is used to "set the scene" so that the resume is read from a particular perspective. This is useful to strongly stress certain areas.

Resume Pointers
Visual effect is important! Content should be solid. Professional appearance. Quantify when possible. Employ white space. Use action verbs! Use technology effectively.	Show results of your actions. Print on good quality paper. Be brief but informative. Accuracy is critical! Proofread and proofread again! And then have someone else proofread it!

What to Include

What kind of Personal Information should be included?
Include your name, address, phone, and e-mail address if desired. A permanent address and/or telephone number where you can also be contacted after you graduate is especially important during your transition from college to your new location.

What tips do you have for writing the Objective Statement?
Although having an objective is optional, most employers prefer that you have an objective on your resume. The objective should enable them to quickly see what type of job you would be interested in at their company.

What the objective should communicate:
The position you are applying for. If you are unsure of the exact position or are using the resume at a career fair, it should specify the general area that you're interested in (e.g., human resources). You may also choose to refer to the main skills that you would apply in that position.

What to do if considering different jobs:
If considering going into two different areas (e.g., sales or computer programming), you'll want to have two different resumes, with different objectives on each, that emphasize your skills and experience for that area.

Some Sample Objectives:

An entry level position in marketing management in a large East Coast company in the consumer products industry. Utilize my organizational and interpersonal skills as a Project Manager An entry level position in the newsroom, leading to writing, reporting, or producing of broadcast news.

How do I list my Education?
By listing your college education, employers will assume that you have graduated from high school or completed your GED, so do not include high school information. When you list your college information, be certain to include your degree, the name of college, major(s), minor(s), emphasis, date of graduation, and your GPA if it is above a 3.0. Write your G.P.A. as out of a possible 4.0 (e.g., GPA: 3.83/4.0.) If you are a transfer student, include your information from previous colleges as well in the same fashion.

How important is it to include Computer Skills?
In this day and age, employers want to know what computer skills you have. List software you know as well as hardware.

Listing Experience

Relevant Experiences:
Begin with experiences that relate to your job objective. Use bullet points to highlight your major accomplishments and tasks in each position you held. Begin each phrase with an action verb, NEVER starting the phrase with "Responsible for…" Emphasize what you did in each position that would relevant for the job you're applying for. As much as possible, quantify what you did (e.g., "surpassed sales goal by 10%"). Think of the following areas:

• Internship(s): Describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities, the type of environment you were in, experience with computers, industry-specific tools, etc.
• Part-Time Work or Summer Jobs: Consider what skills you gained from these experiences, rather than what duties you had. Consider the environment and transferable skills. For example, if you had three part-time positions and they all involve sales or customer service, highlight the fact that you are successful in sales or customer service in three different industries, each of which requires a different base of knowledge.
• Volunteer Experience: These experiences can be very valuable as they show your commitment to helping others; they can also show your leadership skills.
• College-Related Activities: Include descriptions of skills you have gained and used in various leadership positions on campus or otherwise. Leadership skills are among the top skills sought by employers. A prospective employer wants to hire a total person and, therefore, will be interested in your activities outside the classroom. List scholarships by name, Dean's List, positions in organizations, and sports, with dates following each.
• Class Projects: If you have limited work experience, list class projects you've completed (e.g., developing a website) that would be relevant for the job you're targeting.

On your resume, you should have around 5-6 headings. These are the key sections you need to have on your resume:

Objective, Education, Work Experience, Activities, Awards

The actual headings you use depends on what best fits the information you're presenting. For example, if you have a few awards, list those under a separate section. If you only have one honor (e.g., Dean's List), that can be put under your education. Instead of using the general heading "Work Experience," it can be much more effective to use a heading that is specific to the area you're going into (e.g. "Teaching Experience" or "Public Relations Experience").

Ideas for Using Action Verbs on Your Resume

Communication or People Skills
addressed, arbitrated, arranged, authored, briefed, communicated, composed, contacted, convinced, described, developed, directed, documented, drafted, edited, enlisted, formulated, influenced, informed, interpreted, interviewed, lectured, marketed, mediated, moderated, motivated, negotiated, persuaded, presented, promoted, publicized, published, reconciled, recruited, reported, spoke, summarized, translated, wrote

Creative Skills
acted, composed, conceived, conceptualized, conducted, created, designed, developed, directed, established, fashioned, founded, illustrated, improvised, instituted, integrated, introduced, invented, originated, performed, planned, revitalized, shaped

Financial Skills
accounted for, adjusted, administered, allocated, analyzed, appraised, audited, balanced, budgeted, calculated, computed, controlled, developed, financed, forecasted, managed, marketed, monitored, planned, procured, projected, purchased, reconciled, researched

Management or Leadership Skills
administered, analyzed, appointed, approved, assigned, assumed, attained, chaired, contracted, consolidated, consulted, delegated, designated, determined, developed, directed, evaluated, executed, formulated, managed, organized, oversaw, planned, prioritized, produced, recommended, recruited, scheduled, supervised

Organizational or Detail Skills
approved, arranged, catalogued, classified, collected, compiled, consolidated, dispatched, distributed, enlisted, executed, expedited, generated, implemented, inspected, monitored, operated, organized, prepared, processed, purchased, recorded, revamped, revised, retrieved, scheduled, screened, specified, systematized, tabulated, updated, validated

Research Skills
acquired, analyzed, calculated, clarified, collected, compared, conducted, critiqued, diagnosed, designed, determined, evaluated, examined, extracted, formulated, identified, inspected, interpreted, interviewed, investigated, located, modified, organized, processed, reviewed, researched, summarized, surveyed, systematized

Results
achieved, accelerated, accomplished, attained, awarded, completed, contributed, decreased, eliminated, enlarged, established, expanded, improved, increased, initiated, introduced, launched, pioneered, recognized as, reduced, resolved, selected as, succeeded

Teaching Skills
adapted, advised, applied, clarified, coached, communicated, coordinated, developed, enabled, encouraged, evaluated, explained, facilitated, guided, implemented, incorporated, informed, initiated, instructed, integrated, modified, motivated, persuaded, reinforced, set goals, stimulated, taught, trained, tutored

Technical Skills
assembled, built, calculated, computed, designed, devised, engineered, fabricated, maintained, operated, overhauled, programmed, remodeled, repaired, solved, trained, upgraded