How to Write a Resume

Brought to you by workers at the Career Options Resource Center

Overview
Your résumé is one of the most important documents you will ever create.

A well-designed resume will get you interviews – and eventually a job, internship, or graduate school acceptance. As a Hampshire student, your individualized program of study gives you a rich and diverse background to feature in your resume.

Think of your résumé as an advertisement for your professional self. Advertising is all about selling benefits. What skills and experiences do you have that will benefit a new employer, sponsor, or graduate program? Your


 * Outline your qualifications
 * Highlight what sets you apart from other applicants
 * Demonstrate that you can speak the "language" of the position you want
 * Answer the question "Why should I interview you?"

Your resume is a 30-second commercial!

People who read résumés spend an average of ONLY 30- 45 SECONDS on each before deciding to pass over applicants or get to know them better. So it’s extremely important to capture their interest quickly. Your resume needs to be:


 * Visually inviting (Format)
 * Clear, focused and concise (Content &amp; Language)
 * Completely free of errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation

Be sure to schedule an individual counseling appointment with CORC to get started on your first resume, or to review the one you already have.

Formatting Tips
• Résumés are viewed quickly from top to bottom and left to right. Arrange your information so that the most important items are towards the top and located on the left side.

Standard procedure: Center your name at the top of the page in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS and place contact information below your name.

• Make important information stand out. Indentation, CAPITALIZATION, bold type, and surrounding white space all help to emphasize what is most important.


 * Caution: Avoid visual clutter! Employers tell us it is cumbersome to read a résumé that contains too many different styles, typefaces, and font sizes.

• Make your section headings distinct. Readers will often quickly scan your headings first, so make them easy to spot by using one of the “stand out” techniques cited above.

• List most recent items first within each section. Use “reverse chronological order,” which means that your most recent experience goes at the beginning. Next, you may list activities that you began some time ago but in which you are still engaged. Lastly, include the formative experiences that you completed long ago.

• Keep to one page if possible. Many employers will make an initial assessment based on a glance at the first page. For most students and recent graduates, one page works well. If you need a second page in order to include all relevant data, think about how to grab your readers’ interest on page one so they will want to turn to page two.

Content Tips
What components do you put in your resume? The specifics about what components to include, and in what order to put them, may vary depending upon your experience and the position for which you are applying. A CORC counselor can help you decide what is most appropriate for you.

Address, Telephone and E-Mail • Until you graduate, include both permanent and school contact information. • Include the telephone number where you can be reached during daytime working hours. • If you cannot be contacted directly, record a professional welcome on your outgoing message. • Check your e-mail/voicemail messages frequently and respond promptly.

Following are the typical section headings and components of a resume:

JOB OBJECTIVE (Optional)

This is optional. If your résumé is accompanied by a cover letter, the letter can explain what position you are applying for, your goals, and how this position is a good match for your skills and experience. But if your résumé is being sent without a cover letter, a succinct Job Objective will help to focus the reader.

A Job Objective consists of a brief statement that identifies the type of position you seek. Here are two examples:

Job Objective: Position working with young children in a multicultural education setting. Job Objective: Production Assistant position with a film company.

HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS OR SUMMARY (Optional)

This section, which you could call either Highlights of Qualifications or Summary, includes four or five statements that are the “juiciest” things to be said about you that point out your strengths pertaining to the particular job for which you are applying. These are general highlights and are not the same as the descriptions and one-liners that go under the headings of Experience or Skills. Customize this section for each job application, and consider including statements about: • Special accomplishments or successes • Significant aspects of your background • Your commitment or values, motivation and enthusiasm • Your communication style or skills • Your work style and self-management abilities • Interpersonal and teamwork styles • Relevant credentials or training, special knowledge or technical expertise • Experience with other cultures and languages • Leadership and management experience or skills

Following is an example of a Highlights of Qualifications section that corresponds to the Production Assistant Job Objective above:

Highlights of Qualifications • Production experience for several documentary film and video projects and television programs • Personable, outgoing, approachable and communicative; excellent team player • Skilled in video editing • Dependable, available, eager to learn, willing to work hard

A Summary is usually done in a slightly different format, more like a paragraph than a bulleted list. For example:

Summary: Two year’s equivalent experience working with children. Skills in communication, planning, teaching, and leading groups. Bi-lingual, highly motivated, committed to social justice and diversity.

EDUCATION

Write out “Hampshire College, Amherst, MA; Bachelor of Arts, Month, Year” or “Candidate for Bachelor of Arts, Month, Year.” Do not abbreviate your degree. Include your concentration and a brief description of your Division II or Division III project. (Avoid the terms Division II or Division III, as most employers are not familiar with them. Instead, use words such as: focus, individual project, thesis, or concentration.) If you think it will enhance your resume, list other colleges/universities you attended, either before Hampshire or during your Hampshire career (e.g., during summers or while on leave).

Honors and awards. Merit-based scholarships, special fellowships, grants for internship programs, and other awards are all relevant information. List who gave you the award, for what reason, and the date you received it.

Relevant coursework. List courses that either 1) are pertinent to the particular position you are applying for, or 2) demonstrate the acquisition of unique skills. You may include this information under EDUCATION or make it a separate section. Consider including an extensive independent project, experiential learning, or research in the EXPERIENCE section.

EXPERIENCE

• Include summer work, work-study jobs, volunteer activities, independent research, internships, and academic projects. List items in reverse chronological order. Give the title of your position (or primary function), name of the organization, city and state location, country if outside the U.S., and beginning and end dates.

• Briefly describe your responsibilities and accomplishments in a bulleted list. Describe skills you used. Use the strongest possible "action phrases" and "power verbs" (see Language Tips below) both to convey what you did and to catch the reader’s attention.

ADVANCED TIP: Think critically about how you describe responsibilities and accomplishments.

It is important to tailor your resume to each position. To do so, you need to know the needs of the employer. What is the employer looking for in a new hire? What skills, experience, knowledge, and personal attributes are required for the position? Think about your experience and try to imagine how your skills and accomplishments could apply to this particular position. Then highlight those that are most relevant to this position by placing them at the top of your bulleted list. Make it easy for potential employers to see how your experiences and skills are perfectly aligned with the position they have available. For example: Applying for an administrative assistant position: • Updated databases, communicated with local residents • Managed all office correspondence: phone, fax, e-mail • Met with director weekly to discuss tasks and priorities • Attended board meetings, composed and distributed notes  Applying for a program assistant position: • Assisted director with grant opportunities, planned priorities • Contributed to monthly board meetings, composed notes • Maintained relationships with community stakeholders • Managed office correspondence, finances, and databases

• Avoid using the first person (e.g., “I did ___.”).

• If it will strengthen your resume, use numbers to quantify what you actually accomplished and/or are able to do. You may insert numbers to document progress, products, ages, group sizes, time frames and more. For example:

Before: Tutored students in math and English. Better: Tutored students between the ages of eleven and thirteen in math and English.

Co-curricular activities and community service. Depending upon how significant or relevant these activities are, you may choose to include them in your EXPERIENCE section. Alternatively, you may list them in a separate section under a heading such as ACTIVITIES, VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE, RELATED EXPERIENCE, ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE, or OTHER EXPERIENCE. Format this section just as you did the EXPERIENCE section.

SKILLS (Optional)

This section can “move around.” Some people put it after EDUCATION and relevant course work, or after EXPERIENCE. Wherever you place it, the purpose of this section is to list any special skills that an employer might find useful or intriguing – whether or not they are pertinent to the particular job for which you are applying. This section is typically formatted as a bulleted list, for example:

• Bi-Lingual: English and Spanish • Effective writer and public speaker • Skilled in political advocacy and organizing • Computers: Photoshop, Publisher, Adobe Acrobat, Access, ISIS Draw, MS Excel • Trained in mediation and conflict resolution • Ability to work well with diverse cultures • Work well independently and as part of a team

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS (Optional)

List performances, exhibitions, publications, short-term experiences (e.g. a one day photo shoot), etc., if you believe they enhance your resume but did not quite fit in another section. You may use a more specific title for this section if it makes sense, e.g., PUBLICATIONS.

INTERESTS (Optional)

Include interests only when they highlight your uniqueness and would tend to pique the reader’s interest. Ask a CORC counselor for feedback on whether or not this section would work well for you.

Reference names are not typically included in a résumé. Employers will assume that you will provide references if asked. However, if you wish to and have the space, you may say this at the end of your résumé. If an application requires you to include specific reference information, write it on a separate page that you attach to your resume. Don’t forget to tell your references who might be calling them and when (general time frame).

Language Tips
Think – and write – in terms of accomplishments. What did you accomplish in a particular position? What responsibilities did you meet? What skills, attributes, or qualities did you demonstrate? What tasks did you perform to meet specific goals?

Use language that tells potential employers you understand their business. Use the language of the field you are trying to enter whenever possible, especially when describing your work experience. Here are examples of how statements were improved on a resume written for a job in human services:

Before: Worked with people dealing with alcohol related issues. Better: Counseled clients on issues of alcohol abuse.

Before: Wrote notes on improvements and problems. Better: Documented progress, ongoing issues and challenges.

Before: Provided help in emergency situations. Better: Provided crisis intervention services.

If you are going to use industry “jargon,” make sure your readers will understand.

Use active verbs. Use phrases that begin with active verbs to describe your experience; avoid the passive voice. Use the strongest verbs possible. Start each phrase with an active verb. Avoid using “I”, “me” or “my”. Avoid using qualifying words or phrases that diminish the significance of your accomplishments.

Examples of Phrases Starting With Active Verbs: • Managed undergraduate research assistants. • Analyzed statistical data. • Co-authored an internship training manual. • Organized and coordinated a conference on human rights. • Advised the president on planning operating budget. • Classified and organized coursework and legal materials. • Prepared formatting for student law journal. • Solicited sponsorships from schools in the Five-College Consortium.

Examples of Powerful active verbs:

administered advocated allocated approved assessed chaired coached collaborated compiled composed constructed coordinated created demonstrated designed determined developed directed dramatized edited evaluated expanded facilitated fostered formulated identified implemented improved introduced led maintained managed mastered motivated negotiated operated organized performed persuaded planned produced promoted reorganized revised reviewed selected shaped simplified solved stimulated supervised synthesized systematized taught trained translated updated utilized verified wrote

Career Options Resource Center 3/4/04

Sample Resumes
From the CORC website:


 * http://www.hampshire.edu/shared_files/Sample_Resume_1.pdf
 * http://www.hampshire.edu/shared_files/Sample_Resume_2.pdf
 * http://www.hampshire.edu/shared_files/Sample_Resume_3.pdf