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Whether you are a recent graduate or have
many years of work experience, your resume can be the doorway
to a more fulfilling career. When a recruiter looks at your
resume and decides whether to invite you for an interview,
the “first appearances” rule applies. You only
have a few seconds to make a good impression and set yourself
apart from other candidates. Following the guidelines in this
brochure will make it easier to write your resume and succeed
Why write a resume?
The point of writing a resume is to get you an interview. Once there, you have the opportunity to sell yourself and get the job. However, without the right resume to open the door, you may never get the chance.
Be aware that within the first seven to ten seconds of reading your resume, the person screening applicants must be convinced that you merit further consideration. In that short window, they need to find and review a summary of your education, skills, accomplishments and experience!
Basic rules for a successful resume
Certain general rules apply, no matter your level of experience
or the job opportunity for which you apply.
1. Be brief
If you have one to five years' experience, one page is sufficient.
One or two pages are appropriate for a candidate with more
than five years' experience. If you are mailing or faxing
your resume, never go beyond two pages. If you are submitting
your resume via an Internet application form or to a large
employer with an automated applicant tracking system, you
can submit a slightly longer or shorter resume, as it will
not appear in a specific 8.5" x 11" format to the
reviewer.
2. Use standard resume structure
List jobs and education in chronological order with the most
recent first. When listing specific tasks or accomplishments
within a job summary, use bullet points whenever possible.
Make it easy for the reader to follow the format.
3. Presentation is critical
If you're mailing your resume or giving one out at your interview,
it should be on white or off¬white paper. Type in an easy¬to¬read
font such as Times Roman, Arial or Helvetica, and in an easy¬to¬read
size (depending on the font, between 10 and 12 point). Don't
make the mistake of using attention¬getting colored paper,
artistic borders or pictures. Don't cram in too much information.
White space can be very effective as well as making it easier
for the reader to absorb content.
If you're emailing your resume as a Word document, or cutting
and pasting it into an Internet job form, keep the format
simple. Avoid using tables in your resume. Complicated indents,
tabs and other formatting may get lost in translation to a
different version of the software or job form and your information
may be garbled or deleted.
New graduates and candidates with less than five years’
experience
Your resume should consist of one page. The following guidelines
have been specifically developed to help people with limited
experience meet the criteria important to the hiring decision.
Format
Header
Center your name, address, telephone number(s) and email address
at the top of the page. Indicate whether the telephone numbers
are home, work or cell phone. Only list your work number if
it is appropriate for a prospective employer to call you at
your current job.
Objective
Although "Objective" is a standard resume section,
be careful! Objectives that qualify you for one position can
immediately disqualify you for another. Always review the
objective on your resume against the requirements of a specific
job opportunity and change it if necessary.
An objective is a statement that expresses the intended career
path in your field(s) of interest. Your objective needs to
be specific. State a positive, such as: “To secure a
position as an analytical chemist in the pharmaceutical or
biotechnology industry,” or “Participate in the
start¬up of a new hospital unit and contribute positively
to its success.” Don’t waste the space on generalities
such as “To find employment with a dynamic company that
will utilize my professional skills and experience.”
Every job seeker has this objective and it’s meaningless
to a potential employer.
Education
Early in your career, you should always put your education
before your work experience because it tells the prospective
employer more about your current qualifications. List your
education in reverse chronological order including: degree,
major, school and year. Add honors and awards you have won
and relevant courses, projects or activities that are applicable
to your stated career path.
Employment History Professional
List dates (month/year), title, company and location for each
job held, If you are a member of a professional association,
list it, along with beginning with the most recent. Give a
one¬sentence summary about any committee position you
hold with the association or awards you the company if it's
not an immediately recognizable name such as have won from
the association.
"$1 billon pharmaceutical R&D company."
References
Briefly summarize duties and accomplishments in each position
held.
Use action words to define activities and responsibilities.
For example: Do not list references on your resume. The simple
line: "References Achieved, Designed, Generated, Launched,
Supervised and Budgeted. available upon request" is appropriate,
but optional. When asked to submit references, do so on a
separate sheet of paper and make sure Group all jobs unrelated
to your field(s) of interest, full or part¬time, that
you check with the people you name first. This is important
because:
you held while attending school. An introductory statement
such as: • The person may not want to be a reference
"I worked at the following positions to cover 75% of
my tuition during •
The person may have moved, changed jobs or otherwise not college"
will show your sense of responsibility and ability to hold
a job. be at the number you're listing • The person
may be open to suggestions as to what will be Don't disregard
any experience just because it was unpaid. Internships said
about you. It may not be immediately obvious to them or other
unpaid positions that you gained valuable experience from
can why you are a good match for the position and you need
to be included here. spell it out Never assume that the prospective
employer will understand Salary History/Requirements accomplishments
and duties implicit in a previous job. Be as complete and
concise as possible. When applicable, clearly point out how
your
Do not list your salary history or requirements on your resume.
efforts have led to revenue generation or cost¬savings.
For example: There are many variables in compensation including
benefits and "Created and implemented new inventory management
system" is nice, bonuses. Listing a salary history that
immediately places you out of
but "Created and implemented new inventory management
system range for a specific position disqualifies you from
consideration.
saving 20% over previous year's expenses and reduced work
hours by You may be willing to take a lesser salary to work
for a specific 45%" is downright impressive. organization
because it's prestigious, a non¬profit, or for some other
reason, but the person reading your resume may not
Additional Skills understand or readily accept that.
This is the section in which you can place skills
and abilities that aren't immediately obvious by your degree(s)
or positions held, such as familiarity with software programs,
photography or knowledge of foreign languages.
Example of a resume for a recent graduate or person
with less than five years’ experience
The previous section headings, as well as headings that follow
in the next section, cover the majority of information that
is essential to a well¬structured, complete resume. It
may be appropriate, based on your specific background and
experience, to include one or more of the following sections:
. • Honors
. • Awards
. • Activities
A resume update is only necessary once a year, or when you
change jobs. When you reach the three to five year plateau,
a radical change should be made to more clearly define your
qualifications.
Build Your Resume in Following Format
Contact Information
A balanced heading at the top of your Resume includes your
formal name, address, phone number(s), and email address if
you have one. Your name always comes first—centered
at the top of your Resume. Be sure to include a phone number
where you can be reached or where a message can be left. Make
it easy for prospective employers to contact you. Undergraduate
students may include both their campus address (left margin)
and permanent address (right margin).
Objective
A clear, concise statement expressing your intended career
path in your field(s) of interest.
An optional, succinct, one-sentence statement that describes
a functional specialty or specific job interest. Avoid any
temptation to make it long-winded. If you are extremely targeted
in your career objectives, you may include an objective; we,
however, recommend that you omit it in the Resume and instead
articulate your objective in a well-written cover letter.
The Resume format we recommend at the WCRC does not include
an objective; omitting it gives you the greatest flexibility
when your Resume is referred to prospective employers.
Education
Degree, major, school, year, honors, awards won, and any additional
courses, projects or activities that are applicable to your
stated career path.
Indicate your degree(s), major(s), and—if the subject
area relates to your career objective—your areas of
concentration. Identify specific courses that pertain to your
job objective. State any marketable skills (i.e., computer
expertise, foreign language fluency, etc.) Use three to five
lines for each educational experience, more if the information
is notable; no paragraph, however, should exceed four to six
lines.
Unless you already have had significant full-time work experience
in an area related to your job objective, the education section
will probably be the most important part of your Resume. This
often holds true for undergraduates, for whom activities during
your education ma y constitute the most significant part of
your experience. If so, use this section to beef up your Resume
with any meaningful content.
Restrict narrative comments to achievement-oriented phrases
beginning with action words. Include activities that highlight
your initiative, leadership qualities, competitive drive,
or work with a team. Mention significant honors, awards, selections,
scholarships, or offices held.
If you are a graduating BSBA, you will probably want to include
a brief statement about your high school achievements. This
reinforces the pattern of accomplishment in your Washington
University experience. If space is limited, omit high school
achievements and emphasize your most recent activities and
accomplishments.
Employment History
All employment listed in reverse chronological order showing
dates, titles, company and location. Group all jobs held during
your school years and group all internships.
Additional Skills
Additional skills including knowledge of computer hardware/software,
languages, etc.
Professional
Any professional associations you belong to or have won awards
from, including any volunteer work.
Other Data
In this section of your Resume, display information
that doesn’t fit into any other category. This section,
however, should include no more than a few lines. The key
word here is relevancy: Do not include extraneous information
that does not clearly contribute to your work ability for
your current career goals. Language fluency, interests, computer
knowledge, and social and civic activities, if pertinent,
can be grouped in this section. Under interests and activities,
for example, you might mention apt social or civic activities,
volunteerism, or sports activities that demonstrate qualities
such as leadership, teamwork, responsibility and initiative.
Under computer skills—if using computers is a necessary
skill for the job you are seeking—highlight the software
programs you know. If you have a particularly strong background
in any category, you may wish to put that information under
a separate category with its own heading (e.g., computer skills,
interests, activities, language fluency, etc.) Employers don’t
need to know your weight, height, marital status, health,
or any other personal information.
References
“References available upon request” on your resume;
names and contact numbers on a separate sheet if required.
