Career resources — résumé writing
Common content areas
- Skills summary or objective (not both)
- Educational background
- Licensure (if applicable)
- Professional experience/training
- Related experience/volunteer work
- Publications (if applicable)
- Professional memberships
- Honors and awards
Common resume formats
Reverse chronological: work and educational experiences are presented from most recent to most distant.
Functional: skills and accomplishments are presented by importance. Employment experience is summarized at the end.
Combination: emphasizes skills within the context of work/education experience.
See more complete description and examples of each format.
Writing impressive accomplishment statements
When describing your experience, it is important to emphasize your accomplishments and achievements rather than focusing on your responsibilities.
| Responsibility statement | Accomplishment statement |
|---|---|
| Managed front-desk duties | Fielded calls from 4 incoming telephone lines (average of 100 calls/hour) |
| Maintained control of classroom | Applied low-profile intervention techniques to effectively maintain classroom control |
ALWAYS begin your statements with a strong
action verb.
Think in terms of Problem-Action-Result:
- What was the situation/problem when you started?
- What action did you take to address the situation?
- What was the result of your action?
P-A-R examples:
- Created safety awareness program that reduced occurrence of job-related injuries from 20/year to 1/year.
- Utilized science manipulatives (i.e., life-size skeleton, safety mouse-trap) as well as varied assessment tools to enhance structured curriculum.
- Initiated proactive telephone campaign to students’ parents addressing concerns about changes from traditional to year-round school schedule.
Design
Design options are endless. Choose a style that creates a clean document and uses white space to lead the reader through the document.
See how white space is used in three main styles (two-column, justified, centered) in our Résumé Writing Guide.
Logistics
Paper
- Use high quality paper—24 pound weight or above, watermarked if possible.
- Use conservative colors: white, cream or grey are safe. Other muted colors may be appropriate, but use discretion.
Fonts
- Use no more than two font sizes/styles (16-18 pt for name, 10-12 pt for text).
- Use boldface, italic, underlining, and all caps sparingly (no more than two throughout the document).
- Keep bullets distinctive and professional.
Margins
- Set all margins to one inch.
Miscellaneous tips
- If your document runs onto a second page, use a decorative paperclip; don’t staple the pages.
- Print only one side of the page.
See also
Electronic Résumé Guide [.pdf]
Résumé Writing Guide [.pdf]
November 2007