Twenty Tips for Effective Resumes
Purpose of your Resume
You are writing and creating a resume to:
1. Obtain an interview
2. Assess your own skills
3. Market yourself to others
4. Understand what skills you need to develop
Content of your Resume
Your resume should:
EDUCATION
5. Include your education and intended graduation date
6. State your Major and minor
7. List the Honors/Awards that you have received
8. Include academic related skills such as languages and technology courses (include relevant courses, if applicable)
EXPERIENCES
9. Include both paid and unpaid experiences
10. Begin by placing the most relevant and most recent experiences up top
11. Highlight position, accomplishments and projects
12. Generally, include two to four bullets for each description
13. Begin each phrase with an action verb and when possible follow the action verb with a result or an outcome
*Remember to pick and choose relevant experiences that relate to the position in which you are applying
ACTIVITIES
14. Emphasize on-going involvements
15. Highlight leadership roles including sports teams, clubs and/or volunteer experiences
16. Choose related or most recent experiences
17. Choose high school experiences only if they are related to the experience for which you are applying
Presentation of your Resume
Before you submit your resume:
18. Make sure your resume is error free and grammatically correct
19. Proofread, proofread, proofread
20. Continue to update your resume as you become more involved or gain relevant skills and experiences