Resume guide - A step-by-step instructional guide to writing your resume
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resume
guide
CENTER FOR VOCATION AND CAREER
A step-by-step
instructional guide
to writing your resumeThe Purpose of a Resume
A resume is your chance to tell your story. Before an employer meets you, this is your
introduction. So the purpose of a resume is to speak clearly and convincingly about the
qualifications that set you apart from your competitors. Everything in it must answer the
question: “Why should this employer hire you?” The strongest, most effective resumes are
those that intrigue and convince a prospective employer that you are different from everyone
else and deserve in-depth consideration and an interview.
The initial review of a resume lasts an average of 6 seconds. For an employer or recruiter, a
resume is used as a screening device. Employers are looking for a particular individual who
best fits a posted job description and they are choosing from the dozens of resumes they may
read each week.
Tailor Your Resume
To prepare a successful resume, you should have a clear understanding of your skills, strengths,
and accomplishments. The most effective resumes are designed with a specific job in mind. In
other words, what are the qualifications and responsibilities required for this opportunity? This
means there is NOT a “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to writing a resume. You can best
market yourself by highlighting the specific experiences and skills you have through the lens of
the job description, which means you need multiple versions of your resume.
Below are examples of hard and soft skills valued by employers. However, the best resource for
this information will be the job description.
SOFT SKILLS HARD SKILLS For a more detailed
Customer Service Adobe Suite understanding of
Editing/Proofreading C++
developing your
Flexibility/Adaptability MATLAB
Open-Mindedness Microsoft Excel skills, check out
Ownership/Commitment Microsoft PowerPoint myStory.
Prioritization Java
Receiving Feedback Social Media Management
Teachability System Administration
3Before You Write Your Resume Crafting Accomplishment Statements
EXAMPLE 1
Gather all the relevant information for the different sections of your resume. You may
Brainstorm Generic, vague statement:
need to create an Excel document to stay well organized.
your experience Event Coordinator January 2018 – Present
and skills. Section 1: Contact Information Local Philanthropy Society, Wheaton, IL
Professional email address, yourname@gmail.com, and a cell phone number. • Planned charity events
Do not include your physical address or mailing address.
Strong, descriptive, quantified statement:
Section 2: Education Event Coordinator January 2018 – Present
Official name of your degree, study abroad programs, certificates, i.e., Honey Rock, HNGR, Local Philanthropy Society, Wheaton, IL
Wheaton in Chicago, etc. Licensure and endorsement you are seeking, if applicable. • Coordinated three fundraising events for local shelters which raised over $8,000
(20% over goal) and greatly improved community awareness.
Section 3: Experience
Write accomplishment statements which will describe your achievements. ACTION VERB + PROJECT + RESULT = ACCOMPLISHMENT
Quantify your work whenever possible and avoid generic statements.
(See example on page 5)
Coordinated three fundraising
which raised over $8,000 events for local shelters which
Section 4: Additional Skills Coordinated three fundraising events (20% over goal) and greatly raised over $8,000 (20% over
for local shelters improved community goal) and greatly improved
awareness community awareness.
Foreign language, software (except Microsoft Suite, unless the job description specifically
mentions a distinct program), coding programs, service trips overseas.
EXAMPLE 2
Lab Assistant January 2018 – Present
Applied Health Sciences Department, Wheaton, IL
• Perform fitness tests on 25 students, including flexibility and strength tests, and
anthropometric measurements which result in data collection for research project
conducted with professor.
ACTION VERB + PROJECT + RESULT = ACCOMPLISHMENT
fitness test on 25 Perform fitness tests on 25
students including which result in data students, including flexibility and
flexibility and collection for research strength tests, and anthropometric
Perform
strength tests, and project conducted measurements which result
anthropometric with professor in data collection for research
measurements project conducted with professor.
4 5Action Verbs
Use action verbs LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION RESEARCH TECHNICAL TEACHING QUANTITATIVE CREATIVE HELPING ORGANIZATIONAL
to begin each of Accomplished Convinced Clarified Assembled Adapted Accounted for Acted Assessed Accelerated Simplified
your bullet points. Addressed Corresponded Collected Built Clarified Appraised Administered Clarified Added Sold
Administered Credited Concluded Calculated Coached Approximated Allocated Coached Approved Specified
Arbitrated Delivered Conducted Computed Communicated Audited Analyzed Counseled Arranged Steered
Assigned Developed Constructed Designed Coordinated Balanced Appraised Demonstrated Broadened Structured
Authored Directed Critiqued Devised Demystified Budgeted Audited Diagnosed Centralized Systematized
Calculated Documented Derived Engineered Developed Calculated Balanced Educated Changed Tabulated
Chaired Drafted Determined Fabricated Encouraged Checked Budgeted Expedited Classified Unified
Collaborated Energized Diagnosed Installed Evaluated Compiled Calculated Facilitated Collected Updated
Consolidated Enlisted Discovered Maintained Explained Compounded Composed Served Compiled Utilized
Contracted Formulated Evaluated Modeled Facilitated Computed Computed Familiarized Completed Validated
Coordinated Influenced Examined Organized Guided Conserved Conceived Guided Controlled
Delegated Interpreted Extracted Resolved Instructed Converted Conceptualized Motivated Defined
Developed Lectured Formed Streamlined Operated Counted Created Participated Dispatched
Directed Liaised Identified Summarized Optimized Dispensed Customized Performed Executed
Earned Mediated Inspected Surveyed Overhauled Dispersed Designed Proposed Expanded
Executed Moderated Interpreted Systematized Persuaded Earned Developed Provided Gathered
Handled Negotiated Interviewed Tested Programmed Enumerated Directed Published Generated
Headed Persuaded Investigated Upgraded Remodeled Estimated Established Redesigned Implemented
Impacted Presented Recruited Set Figured Fashioned Rehabilitated Inspected
Improved Promoted Reported Solved Financed Forecasted Represented Launched
Led Proved Spoke Standardized Grossed Founded Revitalized Monitored
Mastered Publicized Suggested Increased Illustrated Shaped Operated
Orchestrated Recommended Synthesized Inventoried Initiated Supported Organized
Organized Reconciled Translated Maximized Instituted Visualized Prepared
Oversaw Reorganized Verbalized Multiplied Integrated Processed
Planned Scheduled Netted Introduced Purchased
Predicted Spearheaded Profited Invented Recorded
Prioritized Surpassed Projected Managed Reduced
Produced Wrote Purchased Marketed Reinforced
Strengthened Quantified Maximized Screened
Supervised Rated Minimized Selected
Reconciled Originated
Recorded Projected
Reduced Researched
Tabulated Stimulated
Totaled Studied
Taught
6 7
Trained1 Melissa Laneous
melissa.laneous@gmail.com |678-470-1860 | linkedin.com/in/melissa-laneous
Putting it Together
2 EDUCATION
B.A. History May 2021
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
Once you’ve identified the skills you can offer, you can begin to organize your resume using • Cumulative GPA: 3.35/4.00
some of the following categories. You can customize this generic sequence to suit your • Related Coursework: American Cities and Suburbs, History of Women in the United States, Topics in
unique experiences. In general, an undergraduate resume should be kept to one page, Traditional Asian History, The Enlightenment Modernity and Its Discontents, and History of Christianity in
though there are rare exceptions in certain industries. North America
3 EXPERIENCE
To see the sections below in action, see Melissa Laneous' resume on the next page.
Resident Assistant August 2018 – Present
Wheaton College Residence Life, Wheaton, IL
Section 1: Contact Information • Lead 40 undergraduate female students in residence hall by listening and responding to concerns, and
holding students accountable to college policy
This includes your full name in bold, 16-18 font size. Below that, list your cell phone number, • Collaborate with 3 community leaders on floor to create, shape, and execute educational programs
email address, and LinkedIn url without a hyperlink. You can choose to hyperlink, but remove • Manage check-in, check-out, maintenance requests, finances, and open floors for residents
automatic formatting. Include only one contact number and one email address. Don’t include
• Participate in planning and implementing community building events and educational programs for
residence hall, as directed by RD in an effort to create a holistic living and learning environment for all
personal information such as Social Security number, profile picture, physical traits, race, residents
ethnicity, or citizenship. • Develop relationships with students on floor and organize regular floor fellowships to enable a smooth
transition to college for first-year students and begin to create a sense of belonging
Section 2: Education • Fulfill on-duty responsibilities one night a week and every other weekend by completing multiple building
walkthroughs and being point-person for any questions, concerns, or emergencies
The education section includes your school’s name, location, official degree title, anticipated
Teaching Assistant January 2017 – Present
graduation date, major(s), minor(s), licensure & endorsements, and GPA (if above 3.00). History Department, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
Listing relevant coursework and academic honors, study abroad, and scholarships (give a • Conduct 5 study sessions to assist students with course material resulting in improved grades for
brief description) is optional. participants
• Grade approximately 45 tests and weekly homework assignments to ensure students receive timely
feedback
Section 3: Experience • Provide feedback to professor about homework issues, such as multiple students making similar errors
The experience section aligns your past experiences with your current pursuits. Experience is
Marketing Intern Summer 2018
not limited to paid experience. It may include full-time, part-time, and summer employment, Freeland Marketing, Cairo, NY
student teaching, internships, practicums, academic research, on-campus jobs, clubs, and • Collected quantitative and qualitative data to help identify target audience
volunteer work. You can group your experiences in various categories that best highlight • Analyzed marketing objectives to identify customer base
your skills, such as Relevant Experience, Professional Experience, Leadership Experience, or • Developed customized marketing plan to create market niche for client which was leveraged or used with
multiple clients
Research Experience. List experiences in reverse chronological order within the appropriate
• Redesigned database system to generate comprehensive, timely reports utilizing MS Excel, which cut
section; providing your position, the organization name and location, and dates employed. For software budget by 10%
each experience listed, include two to four bullet points (with at least one accomplishment
statement per experience.) about how you applied your skills to a task or project. Young Life Leader August 2016 – May 2018
Young Life, Naperville, IL
• Planned events for up to 100 students to create a team environment for participants
Section 4: Skills • Facilitated weekly discussions for 20+ high school students to talk about character building
Skills is often the final section on a resume, where you further define your qualifications or Graphic Design Intern January 2016 – May 2017
showcase additional relevant competencies. Foreign language, computer proficiency (do Center for Vocation and Career, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
not include Microsoft Office Suite as most employers consider this a given) and training • Coordinated creative content design, editing, and maintenance of CVC marketing pieces throughout year
certifications are among the skills typically listed. Make sure to include your level of expertise • Served with CVC professionals on design and marketing to build CVC brand on campus
or fluency with each skill, such as fluent, advanced, proficient, intermediate, or beginner.
• Maintained clear understanding of CVC programs, services, and events to spread awareness on campus
Highlight multicultural experience you may have gained through service trips, or cross-cultural ADDITIONAL SKILLS
4
studies completed abroad. • Multicultural experience from extensive travel and service trips to Europe and Asia
• Conversational in Finnish
8 9Resume Checklist
General Format Clean, uncluttered
Are the margins within a reasonable range, 0.5”-1” on all sides? Have you used keywords that apply to your industry and/or the job description? resumes are
Have you kept your resume to one page? Have you considered and included all aspects of your experiences related to the
more atractive;
Have you used boldface and italics appropriately for position titles and
job opening? effective use of
company names? Have you avoided the use of personal pronouns such as I, we, she, they? white space makes
Are dates clear and consistent? Are dates listed in reverse chronological order by Did you list the activities or leadership experiences that are relevant? your resume
end date, most recent first? easy to read.
Are job titles descriptive, e.g., Laboratory Assistant, Consulting Intern, etc.? Skills
Did you use a recommended font, such as Calibri, Garamond, Helvetica, Arial? Have you included all relevant skill types, i.e., programming languages,
(Times New Roman is now considered "old.") foreign language, etc.?
Is your punctuation consistent throughout your resume? Have you included multicultural service experiences?
Contact
Is your name clear and bold at the top? Font size range from 16-18? Quick Tips
Is your cell number included? Do you have a professional voicemail recorded?
Professional in appearance and style.
Is your email address included? Is it professional? Is it hyperlinked?
Be consistent. If you use a period at the end of your bullets,
Did you remove your physical address? always use a period.
Is your LinkedIn account included? Is it hyperlinked? Clean, uncluttered resumes are more attractive; effective use of
white space makes your resume easy to read.
Education Highlight your experiences using accomplishment statements.
Did you list the registrar's official name of your degree? Resume is no more than one page, combine experiences when similar
Did you list the month and year you anticipate earning your degree? and appropriate.
Did you consider listing your GPA if it’s 3.00 or higher, i.e., 3.17/4.00? Margins are within a range of 0.5” – 1”.
Did you list coursework that aligns with your job search? Dates are in reverse chronological order in each section.
Did you list cross-cultural studies coursework? Use recommended fonts such as, Calibri, Garamond, Helvetica, Arial,
avoid Times New Roman.
Did you list the honors, accolades, and scholarships that are relevant?
Font should be 11-12. Font for your name should be somewhat larger,
Experience 16-18.
Check spelling and grammar carefully.
Are your bullet points written as accomplishment statements? (See page 5)
Proofread your resume by reading it aloud.
Did you give evidence and quantify relevant information, e.g. size, frequency,
budget, and staff?
Did you begin each bullet point with a strong action verb in the appropriate tense?
Past tense for past work, present tense for ongoing work? (See page 6-7)
There are a number of industries that vary from this standard format. For current information and examples,
check out the Resources section in Handshake and connect with your Career Coach.
10 11The Center for Vocation and Career's vision is
that all students would develop a plan for life
after graduation, have the tools necessary to
implement their unique plan, and be provided
ample opportunity to execute their vocational
plan, as we educate them as whole persons who
build the church and benefit society worldwide.
WHEATON COLLEGE
CENTER FOR VOCATION AND CAREER
wheaton.edu/cvc
630.752.5048 | cvc@wheaton.eduYou can also read
