Contact Information Section/The Letterhead

Use your contact information to create a letterhead. Your name should be the largest item on your resume, so adjust your font size so your name stands out. Your name should be centered at the top, with your contact information centered below it.

Your contact information should include your city and state, and your phone number and an email that the employer can use to contact you, along with your LinkedIn information. (If you have a professional portfolio, you may want to also include a link to it this section.)

Be sure to include a professional looking email address. An email from a current employer or your college is professional but may not be your best option. Many are uncomfortable using their current work email, and school emails are typically deleted after graduation. It may be in your best interest to create a professional email that you use only for your job search. Use your first and last name as your email address when possible. If you have a common name, it may be necessary to include a middle initial, or even a number in the email address you create.

If you are submitting your resume electronically, include a hyperlink to your LinkedIn account. If you will be distributing your resume on paper, there is enough information on your resume for the reviewer to locate you on LinkedIn, thus, in this case, simply write “LinkedIn: Your Name”.

Be sure to create some division between all the items of your contact information so that they can be clearly differentiated from one another.

Look to the examples in the appendix for ideas on how to design your letterhead; here is a strong example:

Work Experience Section

Your work experience section should include entries for relevant work experience, including internships. If you don’t think your previous work experience is relevant, look for ways to make it relevant. For example, focus on customer service skills and communication skills that are necessary and valued at all jobs or describe other ways you contributed that would be of value in the position you are applying for.

Including previous work experience that is not relevant to the position you are applying to may hurt you. If you do not have any relevant work experience, and truly cannot find ways to make it relevant, consider including volunteer experiences in this section, or skip this section and focus on developing strong skills and volunteer sections for your resume. This is the time to take an inventory, many students realize when sitting down to do their resume that they simply do not have the skills and experience necessary for a career position. Now is the time to work to gain skills that will be valued by employers through volunteer experiences, leadership in organizations and clubs, internship experiences and work. Consider creating your own unpaid internship just to gain some experience you can put on your resume.

For each work experience include:

• Name of employer
• Location of employer
• Job title
• Dates employed
• Three to five bullet points detailing the contributions you made to this employer in this position

Students often look at the bullet point section as a place to list their job duties, however, move away from listing duties and work to create bullet phrases that demonstrate your contributions and accomplishments. Each of your bullet points should start with power verbs, thus students often use Google to consult a list of power verbs, or an online thesaurus to help them convert their initial verb into a more specific and impressive sounding action. Additionally, work to focus on the contributions you made in this position including specific data and numbers to demonstrate accomplishments whenever possible.

For example, rather than stating that you designed a social media campaign, be specific. Share your accomplishment, tell us how you did it, and provide specific measurements. Here is a great example:

• Created a social media campaign that increased user engagement by 20% resulting in increased store traffic of 10% over the next month

Consistency is very important in this section, be sure to review your bullet points making sure they each start with power verbs. Power verbs should be in the present tense for jobs you are currently working, and in the past tense for those you are no longer working and should be in the same tense for each work experience. Further, if you end your bullet points with a period, be sure to end all bullet points with a period.

While it is important to only include relevant work experience, it is also important to do your best not to display large gaps in the dates of employment. Each resume and candidate are unique, so you may need to work to find the best way to present yourself and your experiences. Keep in mind that you cover letter can give you the opportunity to address things like consistent employment that was not in your current field, gaps in employment, or other things you think are important that are not included in your resume.

Here is an example of a strong Work Experience section:

Notice that in this example the student is currently holding two positions with the same employer. As the dates are different, the person reviewing the resume can see that the student was rewarded with an additional more prestigious position due to her success in the first position.

Education Section

The education section is straight forward and should only include post high school education and the dates attended, expected graduation date, or date degree was awarded. You may also choose to include academic awards, certifications, study abroad experiences, or other relevant education in this section. Or you may include only your school and degree details and include other education related items in a bonus section, such as Honors and Awards, Certifications, or a section with your own unique heading.

If you have attended more than one college, or started at a community college, you will want to list your most recent college first and list other schools in reverse chronological order. Employers love to see applicants who started at a community college and worked their way up to a four-year university, as this demonstrates your desire to continue your education and that you worked to challenge yourself and improve your situation.

Additional Sections Sometimes Included in Resumes

Objective Section

While it is not uncommon to include an objective on your resume, I really discourage it. Typically, objectives don’t provide any new or relevant information that will enable you to stand apart from other applicants and they just take up space on your resume.

However, just recently I was told by a student that a recruiter was on campus providing advice for how to get a job at his company. He specifically informed students to include a compelling objective statement on their resume. If you have this kind of inside information, you should use it and, in this case, include an objective statement.

I have also heard that an objective statement is helpful to recruiters at job fairs, but I would encourage students to have a conversation with the recruiter in which your objective is made clear, rather than take up valuable space on your resume.

When objective statements are included on resumes, they are placed under contact information at the top of the resume. They provide a summary of your intentions, and therefore come first.

Skills Section

If you don’t have a lot of relevant work experience and you have a lot of space to fill on your resume, or if the open position requires industry specific skills or the ability to use specific software you may choose to include a skills section. Typically, however, as you advance in your career your skills should be included in the work experience section. However, I have found including this section to be particularly helpful for students without a lot of experience in their field.

If you decide to include a skills section, it is important to describe the skills and provide details on how you obtained them. You will want to include at least three skills and be sure to clearly indicate the skill name, followed by a description. Don’t include skills that are assumed and list your strongest skills first. Again, consistency is key, so be sure all entries are in the same format.

Here is a sample Skills section:

Bonus Section

The final section of your resume is what I refer to as the bonus section. While contact information, work experience, and education are included in all resumes, the bonus section allows you to personalize your resume by including additional things you think are important.

Examples for headings for this section include:

• Honors and Awards
• Certifications
• Volunteer Experience
• Leadership Experience
• Study Abroad Experience
• Languages
• Projects

This section should include three to five entries. Sometimes bullet points are appropriate, other times items are listed in a narrative style. Be sure to include relevant dates, and details that provide a full explanation of each included item. Again, be consistent. Each entry in this section should follow the same format.

Common errors I see in this section are using acronyms and abbreviations and/or not thoroughly explaining the relevance of the item included.

Here are two examples of strong bonus sections:

Organizing the Sections on Your Resume

The standard order of items on your resume is:

• Contact Information
• Work Experience
• Education
• Bonus Section

However, you should organize your resume to highlight your skills and achievements. The best practice is to follow your contact information with what you feel is your strongest area. For most students that is education, or sometimes skills.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Heading Names

When we started drafting our resume we used the standard headings: Work Experience, Education, and the bonus section you selected. Be sure to evaluate your section headings and make changes as needed. Your headings should best reflect what each section is about. Remember, most recruiters only look at a resume for about seven seconds to weed out the candidates they don’t think are a fit for the position. It is important for your resume to make it to the second round, and having a well-organized resume with specific, clear, and thoughtfully selected headings will improve your chances.