Resume Writing

The complete Resume Guide requires Adobe Acrobat reader and is offered as a download.

If you would like to learn how to send your resume through the internet, click here.

What is a Resume?

A resume is an advertisement of who you are, your abilities and accomplishments. It emphasizes your skills, personal attributes, education, experience and other background that demonstrate your qualifications for the type of position and industry sought.

The resume attempts to answer the prospective employer's question: "What can this candidate do for our organization?" The resume should also clearly differentiate you from everyone else applying for the job.

Although there is no one right formula for writing a resume, the following guidelines and suggestions are designed to assist you in preparing and writing a resume that best reflects your potential.

Steps to Writing a Resume

Identify and make a list of the position/functional area(s) and industries that interest you. Research the position areas to determine the skills and other qualifications required for the type of position you seek. To help you do this research, a very useful guide is the O'Net to look up job descriptions for the new jobs you are considering as well jobs you have held in the past to help you build your skill and accomplishment list.

1. Based on the skills, personality traits and specific knowledge the job requires, assess which of these qualifications you possess and write them down. Knowing yourself is key!

2. List your different work experiences (paid and unpaid). Review each experience, to identify possible accomplishments. Ask yourself what you did above and beyond the minimum requirements for each work experience (e.g. problems you solved, special projects, special assignments, training, commendations, awards and honors.)

3. Determine which of these accomplishments are related to your job target, are of interest to the reader of your resume, and illustrate important transferable skills. Also, consider your participation in activities and your education for possible relevant accomplishments. Accomplishments for resumes should be written in short, measurable, and results-oriented statements.

Use numbers, percentages, statistics and superlatives (i.e. first, only, most, best, top) when appropriate. For example:

  • Managed student phone-a-thon, raising $100,000 (89% of goal).
  • Consistently exceeded weekly and monthly advertising sales quotas for student newspaper.
  • Financed 80% of my college expenses through part-time and summer employment.

4. Choose an appropriate resume format for your situation and job objective: chronological, skills/functional, or a combination of both.

  • Chronological Resume. This is the most common format used by college students and recent college graduates. It is an historical time line presentation of your education and experience, in reverse chronological order with most recent events listed first. This format allows you to emphasize job titles and places of employment, and to elaborate on your accomplishments, duties and responsibilities for each position.
  • Skills/Functional Resume. This format is advantageous, if your prior experience is unrelated to your career objective, but you have performed the skills or functions related to your objective. This format allows you to emphasize experience relevant to the position you are pursuing and place less emphasis on dates, job titles and responsibilities.
  • Combination Resume. This format begins as a functional resume by listing significant skills which are pertinent to the position you desire. The second section lists the positions and the employers for which you have worked in reverse chronological order. Job responsibilities and achievements are listed for each position. This format is a good choice for professionals who can demonstrate both relevant skills and a successful career track. This format is generally not used by those having less than 12-15 years in the workforce.

5. Review the Resume Categories (listed below) to determine which areas are appropriate for your resume. Organize the information in each category to effectively illustrate your key accomplishments, skills and other qualifications. The categories on the resume should be listed in order of importance.

6. After you have completed a rough draft, review the "final edit" section of this guide and have your resume critiqued.

Resume Categories

Heading. Include your name, address, zip code, telephone number and possibly your e-mail address. If you cannot always be reached during the daytime hours at your home phone number, add an alternative or message phone number. If you are seeking a position outside of the southern California area, add a second address and phone number to the resume.

Profile/Summary. (optional section) This section summarizes your ~ 4 - 8 key qualifications for the position you are seeking. It can reference education, knowledge, related experience, accomplishments, skills, personal qualities, etc. The purpose of this section is to grab the reader's attention and answer the all important question, "what can this candidate do for me?" Thus, an effective profile requires you to know as much as possible about your targeted job and the targeted reader. Other title headings for this section include: strengths, highlights of qualifications, key accomplishments, and expertise.

Objective. (optional) Use your cover letter to convey a focused objective that relates your specific skills and experience to the job you are seeking. You can include an objective in your resume, especially if your major and work experience are not directly related to your job goals. However do not include a vague, unrealistic or self-serving objective in your resume.

Education. Recent college graduates and current students typically place more emphasis on their education section which should include school's name, degree, major, credentials, location and graduation date. This section may also include minor, selected classes, professional training, honors, awards, study abroad, research or special projects. Your education is listed in reverse chronological order (e.g. most recent degree first.) Generally, college students do not include their high school, unless their high school accomplishments help sell them. Major and overall GPA are included on your resume if it is a selling point, typically 3.0 or above.

Experience. This section includes part-time and full-time jobs, temporary positions, self-employment, unstructured work, internships, volunteer or community service experience, work for a faulty member, and military experience. When describing your experience, you need to stress accomplishments, not simply restating your prior job descriptions or responsibilities. When writing your accomplishments and responsibilities, carefully select action verbs and phrases that will advertise your key skills and illustrate your potential. (Click here for list of action verbs.) For some experiences you may also want to emphasize what you learned as evidence of your additional skills. Each experience should include position title, name of employer, dates of employment and geographic location.

Activities, Community Service or Affiliations. In this section you can list your involvement in clubs, organizations, committees, sports, community service, professional associations and other affiliations related to your job objective or industry. List and emphasize those activities in which you utilized leadership, organizational, teamwork and other skills relevant for the employer. If you held an office, list the outcome or benefits of your efforts, as well as the position held. You may want to avoid listing organizations that reveal your religion, political preferences, and possibly your race. Hobby-type activities are usually not included on your resume.

Languages. In today's global economy language skills are a marketable asset. Different approaches to presenting these skills include: ully bilingual/bicultural in ...; speak, read, write, translate, interpret ... documents; conversationally fluent in ...; knowledge of Asian business protocol.

Special Skills/Technical Skills. This section may include computer skills, lab techniques and the use of specialized equipment, and other specific knowledge skills related to your career field.

References. (optional) Employers assume you will be able to furnish reference contact information on request, and thus this section may waste space better used in other sections. If you choose to include this category, usually the statement "References available on request." is used. You should have in mind the names of three or four people who know you well enough to positively appraise your abilities and who have agreed to in advance to act as references on your behalf. Never include the names and contact information of your references on the resume since this information does not help sell you and is considered extraneous.

Additional. This section may include: foreign language skills, research, projects, travel, living abroad, credits (theatre/film,) publications, or any loose items that you feel are important to convey to a potential employer.

Other Category Headings. The following resume headings may also help present your relevant skills or special knowledge: professional affiliations, technical skills, accomplishments, honors, travel, international experience, leadership activities, volunteer activities, training, publications, and presentations.

Personal Data. Information regarding your age, height, weight, marital status is not salable and should be omitted from your resume.

Scannable Resume

Many large size organizations and some small and medium size organizations scan applicants' resumes into a database retrieval system. When employers have a job opening, they identify possible candidates by searching for specific skills and qualifications of applicants in their resume database. Resumes prepared to be read by computers rather than humans must be prepared with key words. Avoid using underlines, italics, fancy fonts and other characters that are not accurately read by many scanners. For more information about preparing resumes for scanning, consult The Electronic Resume by Joyce Lain Kennedy available in the Career Resource Library, consult the Career Services Scannable Resume page, or consult the internet resources listed below.

Additional Resume Writing and Format Tips

  • Resumes should be truthful and accurate without exaggeration or distortion.
  • Resumes must be word processed, typed or typeset.
  • Resumes should be short and concise, preferably 1 page.
  • Carefully manipulate font size, margins, line spacing and design to make your resume presentation look balanced, easy to read and professional
  • Use caps, underlining, boldface and positioning to help emphasize or de-emphasize information
  • Choose a font that is big enough and is easy to read or scan. Avoid using italics, except for book titles, foreign words or special cases.
  • Do not over use the bullet.
  • Do not have a block of text more than 5 lines. (too much to read, not easy to scan)
  • Paper selection. Have your resume professionally photocopied on white, off-white, or light grey heavy weight, quality paper. Do not use regular xerox or copying paper. For most positions you want to make a conservative presentation. Highly creative or artistic positions may require a less conservative choice of lines. If possible, use the same paper for your resumes and your cover letters.
  • Include a Cover Letter when your resume is mailed.

Final Edit and Critique

  • Evaluate your resume's ability to make your key selling points stand out.
  • Organize your resume categories as they relate to your job target, and place the most important sections first. Most recent college graduates list their education before their experience.
  • Use the jargon of your desired job target and industry. Use 'insiders' language to indicate that you are knowledgeable about current trends. Use abbreviations and acronyms, only if they will be understood by the reader.
  • Review your resume and assess whether or not all extraneous words and materials have been omitted.
  • Carefully proofread your resume for spelling, grammar, punctuation and typographical errors. Do not rely on spell-checkers to catch all errors.
  • Always tailor your resume to the type of position you want. Prepare a different version of your resume for each career/job objective.
  • Have your resume edited by one or two individuals who can be objective and can point out unclear or awkward areas. If possible, have someone who is familiar with your desired career field critique your resume. The Career Office also provides content and format resume critiques for students and recent graduates.

Samples of Resumes and List of Reference Page

Additional Resume Resources

 

Whittier College Online Resume Builder

Use this software program to design high impact resumes based on your major and career goals.  You can also manage up to five unique resumes, depending on what you are applying for. It is also possible to upload an existing resume to the site for employer viewing. (Available to Whittier College students only).

Resume Workshops. Throughout the academic year, the Career Office offers resume workshops which introduce students to resumes and provide an opportunity to begin constructing and critiquing your resume draft. Contact the Career Office for a schedule of upcoming resume workshops.

Resume Critiques. Students can have their resume draft critiqued by a member of the Career Services staff. Simply, come by the Career Office to schedule a review appointment, or call Career Services at 562.907.4230.

Links to Resume Information on the Internet