Resume Guidelines
Name
Local Address (optional)
Phone Number • Email Address
Portfolio Link and/or LinkedIn Profile[1]
EDUCATION
- As an undergraduate student, education should be the first section listed below your contact information.
- Omit high school information from your education section now that you are in college
- For each institution where you have received or will receive a degree, you should include the following information:
- Institution name, along with the location (City and State) on one line
- Degree(s) you have or will be receiving] (i.e., Bachelor of Science) [2]
- Major(s), which can fall on the same line as your degree
- Certificate(s) you are pursuing, if applicable
- Graduation month and year (i.e., May 2020), on the same line as your degree
- Cumulative and/or Major GPA, if above 3.0; include the scale (i.e. 3.2/4.0)
- You may also include additional information such as relevant courses, honors received as a student (including the Dean’s List), study abroad institution(s), etc. in this section
EXPERIENCE SECTION(S)
- All experience, whether volunteer, student org, paid work, etc. can be included in experience sections. Volunteer and campus activities should be listed in the same format you use for other experiences (including having bullet points to outline skills learned and applied in the role).
- Tailor your section headings to draw attention to relevant experience as it relates to the position you are applying for (i.e., “Retail Experience”, “Youth Engagement Experience”, “Design Experience”, etc. instead of “Experience”).
- Have two or more sections to highlight relevant experience. Can also include an “Additional Experience” for anything important that doesn’t belong in tailored heading sections.
- Each individual experience listed should include the organization name and location (City and State) on one line and your position/title, and the dates you were involved (i.e., May 2017 – December 2018) on another.
- Include 2-5 bullet points per experience, clearly outlining your skills and accomplishments while in the position vs. simply listing duties you were responsible for.
- Start each statement with a strong action verb that demonstrates a skill and utilize the following formula to build your bullet points: What you did + How you did it + Why you did it + Impact it had (when applicable)
- EXAMPLE: Coordinated monthly networking events (WHAT) by partnering with local alumni chapters (HOW) to help students develop connections within their field (WHY), which increased alumni membership by 20% (IMPACT)
- Use the correct tense for each bullet point (past tense for previous positions, present tense for current) and do not use personal pronouns like “I”, “me” or “my” on your resume.
- List your experiences in reverse chronological order within each experience section with most recent/current first.
SKILLS
- A skills section is optional and should be reserved for tangible skills you can demonstrate, such as specialized computer software skills (Microsoft Office and Google are not specialized), design skills, or multiple language skills.
- Avoid subjective phrases such as “Team Player, “Hard Worker,” “Good Communicator,” etc. If you want to highlight those skills, build them into your bullet points and/or your cover letter instead.
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RESUME DO’s
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RESUME DON’Ts
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