KEY SECTIONS OF A RÉSUMÉ

Whichever format you choose, employers will expect to see certain key sections. Each number in the list below corresponds to a section on the sample résumé that follows; as you read through the list, refer to the sample résumé to see how the section appears in context.

Contact Info (1): Create a header that includes your address, telephone number, professional e-mail address, and possibly a link to your Linkedin page.

Headline (2) (Also called Summary, Profile or Highlights of Qualifications): include a brief summary of your professional self to grab your reader’s attention. Think of this section as your elevator pitch, offering a quick impression of your personal brand. Include a few relevant achievements or strengths (in bullets or sentences). Headline sections are especially useful for candidates with a long work history, or those who have experienced job transitions. Here are two formulas for a one-sentence headline:

Have you been starting your résumé with an Objective statement? These days, most experts recommend omitting the objective statement from your résumé. Objectives too often emphasize what you want from a job, rather than what you can offer an employer, and thus are generally seen as a waste of space.

Skills/Achievements/Qualifications (3): Use sub-headers to group skills into skillset headings (management skills, customer service skills, laboratory skills, communication skills, etc.). Use targeted headings based on the qualifications your potential employer is seeking.

• Include only the most relevant, targeted skills and achievements.
• Emphasize quantifiable achievements and results: skills, equipment, money, documents, personnel, clients, etc.
• Use the active voice (supervised sixteen employees, increased profits, built websites) vs. the passive voice (was responsible for supervising… or duties included…)
• See Building a Better Bullet below for more information on how to craft an effective skill bullet.

Employment Experience (4): List positions in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

• Include basic information for each job: job title, employer, dates employed, city/state (and country if outside the U.S.) of employment.- Include internships and skilled volunteer positions (but if you do, title the section “Experience” rather than “Employment”).
• Consider filtering work experience into “Related Experience” and “Experience” instead of one employment section to highlight most relevant jobs (and downplay less significant experience).

Education (5): Place your education section after the headline/summary section if it is recent and relevant, after the experience section if your stronger qualification is employment experience. List the most current degree/school attended first, and proceed in reverse chronological order.

Include the following information for each educational item: the degree earned, the name of the school, the school’s location, your graduation date or anticipated graduation date. If you are in college, do not include high school unless your high school work was outstanding, unique, or particularly relevant to the job you’re applying for (such as a trade/technology/arts high school). Also include trainings and certifications (e.g. first aid certifications, sales seminars, writing groups).

Develop this section by adding educational accomplishments:

• Your GPA (if it is 3.0 or better, and if it is expected in your industry)
• Relevant courses
• Special accomplishments (conferences, special papers/projects, clubs, offices held, service to the school)
• Awards and scholarships (can also be separate section – Honors)

Optional Sections (not included in Education):

• Volunteer Work: List skilled volunteer work (building websites, teaching classes) under skills, along with your other qualifications, but include general volunteer work (making meals for a soup kitchen, etc.) toward the end of your resume in its own section or under activities.
• Activities:
  · Don’t include a section titled “Hobbies” or “Other,” with irrelevant interests.
  · Do include interests that may be relevant to the position, but aren’t professional skills (sports for Nike, Eagle Scouting for leadership, golfing for business jobs, game design/play for game design jobs, blogging for PR jobs, etc.). Market yourself in the best light.
  ·Do include honors, awards, publications, conferences attended, languages spoken, etc. You may choose to include a separate honors section or fold these into your skills/achievements section.

References: Do not list references on your résumé. You may want to state that references are available on request. Create a separate References page that you can send to the employer on request. Generally, three references are sufficient. The most important references are your superiors, but you can also use co-workers, clients, or instructors. Before listing people as references, contact them to verify their willingness to act as a reference. Your References page should match the look of your cover letter and your résumé, and it should be ready to send as soon as you hear from the employer.

RÉSUMÉ GUIDELINES

The following tips will help you write a résumé that adheres to the conventions employers expect. Lose the fluff; include the expertise.

Personal Pronouns (Me & I)

The convention in a résumé is to write in sentence fragments that begin with active verbs. Therefore, you can leave out the subjects of sentences. Example: “I eliminated the duplication of paperwork in my department by streamlining procedures” would become “Eliminated paperwork duplication in a struggling department by streamlining procedures.”

Quantifiable Skills

The more detail—particularly quantifiable detail—you use to present your skills and achievements, the more authoritative you will sound. This means including references to technologies and equipment you have used; types of documents you have produced; procedures you have followed; languages you speak; amounts of money you have handled; numbers of employees you have supervised or trained; numbers of students you have taught; technical languages you know; types of clients you have worked with (cultural backgrounds, ages, disability status – demographic information that might be relevant in your new workplace); graphic design, blogging or social media skills; and so on.

Filler Words (Fluff)

Avoid generic, filler words that can be found on many résumés in spite of the fact that these words don’t suggest meaningful skills. Filler words include: team player, results-oriented, duties include, fast-paced, and self-motivated. If you feel you must use these phrases, find concrete examples to back them up. For example, instead of using team player, reference a time you collaborated with peers to earn a good grade on a project, save your company money, or put on a successful work event.

Results

In at least one place in your résumé, preferably more, make mention of a positive impact (or result) of your skills or achievements. How did you create positive change for your employer, coworkers or customers? Did you resolve a customer complaint successfully? Did you make a change that saved your employer money? Did you build a website that increased traffic for your client? Did you follow safety procedures and reduce workplace injuries?

Targeted Bullets (Two Skill-Bullet Formulas)

Each skill-bullet may need to go through a few revisions before it shines. Here are two formulas to help you strengthen your bullets.

Start your bullet with an action verb that describes a skill or achievement. Follow it with the details of that skill or achievement, and then describe the positive impact of your achievement. For example:

• Developed (VERB) new paper flow procedure (DETAILS), resulting in reduced staff errors and customer wait times (RESULT)
• Provided (VERB) friendly customer-focused service (DETAILS) leading to customer satisfaction and loyalty (RESULT)
• Organized (VERB) fundraising event (DETAILS) generating $xxx dollars for nonprofit (RESULT)
• Provided (VERB) phone and in-person support for patients with various chronic and acute health issues (DETAILS & RESULT COMBINED)
• Supported (VERB) 8-10 staff with calendaring, files, and reception (DETAILS), increasing workflow efficiency (RESULT)

Develop your bullets by going into detail about how you accomplished the goal and why it matters to your potential employer. Compare the following three versions of the same skill bullet:

First Draft: Participated in a leadership program
Second Draft: Selected as one of 125 for year-long professional development program for high-achieving business students
Final Draft: Selected as one of 125 participants nationwide for year-long professional development program for high-achieving business students based on leadership potential and academic success

Note how the third version is not only the most specific, but it is the one that most demonstrates the “so what” factor, conveying how the applicant’s skills will benefit the potential employer.

Key Terms

Remember, use key terms you gathered in your pre-writing, preparation phase (from the job description, research into your field, and the “action verb” list presented earlier in this chapter). If your potential employer is using a résumé -scanning program, these key terms may make the difference between getting an interview or a rejection.

Length

Résumé length is a much-debated question, and guidelines change as the genre changes with time. In general, the length of a résumé should be no longer than one or (at most) two pages. Some fields, however, may have different length conventions (academic résumés, for example, which include publications and conference attendance, tend to be longer). If your résumé is on the longer side, your work history should justify the length. Some experts recommend one page per ten years of work history; while that may be extreme, it is better to cut weaker material than to add filler.

Design

Résumé design should enhance the content, making it easy for the reader to quickly find the most significant and relevant information. See the chapters on Document Design for overall design tips.

Field-Specific Conventions

You may find that there are certain conventions in your field or industry that affect your choices in writing your résumé. Length, formality, design, delivery method, and key terms are just some of the factors that may vary across disciplines. Ask faculty or professional contacts in your field about employers’ expectations, visit your school’s career center, or conduct web research to make informed field-specific choices.