Resumes and Job Interviews

Resume Tips

• Create a letterhead including your name (largest font on the page), city/state/zip, phone number and professional email. 
• Phone number is keyed with dashes (123-456-7890) or periods (123.456.7890), not with parentheses (123) 456-7890.  
• Resumes are best tailored to a specific job posting or industry. A resume is a marketing tool and is more successful when designed to meet the employer’s needs by responding to the required job qualifications with error-free writing. 
• Abbreviations are used sparingly unless industry-standard (CPA) or noted in job requirements (“Experience with GIS”).  
• Objective statements have been replaced with a 3-5-line career summary that outlines how your education, skills and experience match and could support the specific position. 
• Quantifiable data is powerfully persuasive (Raised revenue 75%, managed a team of 7 employees ...) and illustrates how stated accomplishments made a specific, measurable impact (“... slashing overhead 36%.) 
• Bullet points are accomplishment statements that share what and how you did something and the result. Bullets begin in parallel style with an action verb. 
• Use past-tense verbs to describe previous work experience and present-tense to describe current work.
• Graduation month and year (May 2024) are included, not attendance dates (2020-2024; 2020-present).  
• Education includes school name, degree, major, minor and certification. If course titles would elevate your candidacy, include them. 
• Employment dates are displayed as May 2020-August 2020. For lengthy employment, use years (2010-2020), avoiding backslashes (1/2010-4/2020).  
• Depending on the industry, a grade point average can be helpful if it is above 3.5 GPA. Be honest; an employer may ask for an official transcript. 
• Work (internship) experience will contain job title, company name, city, state and employment dates. 
• Relevant jobs, memberships and volunteer roles may be helpful if they are related to job requirements or the company’s mission. These show leadership, professionalism, passion and dedication to the field. 
• Use keywords when crafting descriptions of duties and responsibilities. Words and phrases should fit the desired job, field or industry. Sometimes the job description can be helpful when writing descriptions.
• Be as concise as possible. 
• Personal data such as age, gender, race, marital status or religious and political affiliation are omitted as it is illegal to be vetted by an employer. Only include religious or political affiliation if the information could boost your candidacy.  
• Create a separate “Reference Page” with matching letterhead at the top. Ask for permission to include someone as a reference and keep them updated on your job search. Include on a reference page your reference’s name, title, company, address, city/state/zip, phone number and email.  
• Limit the amount of blank space on your resume. 
• Your resume should be as professional as possible. Avoid using spunky fonts, colors or graphics. 
• Unless otherwise stated, there is no need to include a headshot on your resume. 
• Keep your resume on one page with any additional information, such as a cover letter or references, on another page.