RESUMES Cindy Jordin Career Services Student Success Center

A Resume Is…  A marketing tool  A summary of relevant education, experiences and skills  One page - unless you have significant relevant experience

Chronological  Preferred by employers  Relevant work experience  Reverse chronological order

Functional  Experience unrelated to objective  Spotty work history  Relevant skills emphasized

Resumes Contain  Name, Address, Phone Number,  Objective  Education  Experience  Skills  Honors  Activities

Objective  Concise and clearly stated  Include position you are applying for  Department or industry  Relevant knowledge, skills or interests

Examples to Avoid  A challenging position in a growth industry  An exciting opportunity that makes use of my education and experience  A responsible position in management

Objective Examples  Chemical engineer position in the pharmaceutical industry  A sales or marketing position in the consumer products industry utilizing my competitive analysis, customer relations and territory management skills  Process engineer position in the pulp and paper industry

Objective Examples  Management consulting position with emphasis in systems development and integration  Position in transportation with emphasis in planning and design  Electrical engineer position in the telecommunications industry

Education  Reverse chronological order  Name & location of institution  Degree, major & graduation date  Honors, awards, & GPA (3.0 or higher)  Relevant courses & projects  Financed ___% of education expenses

Skills  Relevant to objective  Computer  Language  Special skills

Experience  Reverse chronological order  Employer, location, dates, your title  Responsibilities & accomplishments  Action verbs (designed, supervised…)  Key words for field/industry  Quantify (reduced production costs by 30%, responsible for $150,000 budget…)

Activities  Relevant professional organizations  Volunteer, school, civic activities  Leadership offices held  Avoid controversial information/high risk activities (religious, political, skydiving…)

Resume Tips  8.5” X 11” white or light beige paper  Avoid decorative typefaces, graphics  Use 10 to 14 point font  Include key words, industry jargon (CAD, IEEE, Fluid Dynamics…)  Grad students-publications, presentations  Have critiqued before circulating

Resumes  ASCII format – save as text file in word processing program  Do not send as an attachment – cut and paste into body of  Avoid line wrap – limit to 72 characters  Justify left, remove bullets & underlining  Test first – send to yourself  Include cover letter

References  On separate page  Same heading as resume (your name, address, phone number, )  3 – 5 references (name, title, address, phone number, )  Always ask permission

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