University Advising Career Center UniversityofNewhampshire·102HoodHouse·Durhan,NH·603-862-2064·www.unh.edu/uacc Writing your resume why write a resume? a resume is essentially a marketing tool for you. Its purpose is not to get you the job, but simply to get you an interview. Your resume should outline clearly and concisely what you have to offer a potential employer. Its contents should be selective-a brief statement of your job/career goals, and evidence of your knowledge and experience in support of those goals. Potential employers will read it to find out what you can do for their organization and what you are like How should your resume look? Because your resume probably wont be looked at for more than 20-30 seconds, it must be easy to read and the key words must stand out For college students and new graduates, one page is best, although some career fields are more open to longer resumes Use plenty of white space. Don't crowd the text Highlight your most relevant accomplishments by using bold and/or capital letters to draw attention to important words, phrases, and/or section headings Bullet your accomplishments instead of writing in paragraph format Some employers electronically scan resumes, so call the employer and if they scan, avoid boldface type, italics underlining, bullets, columns and graphics. For more information go to www.susanireland.com/eresumeworkhtm#42 Print your resume on high quality white or off-white paper Make sure to be consistent throughout(e.g, all bullets should be the same. What do you put on a resume? There is no one way to write a resume. You should decide how best to emphasize your strengths. Different industries may prefer slightly different formats, but the following are some suggested guidelines Identifying Information Name, address and phone number. If you are operating from two addresses(school and permanent), give both, with the date you expect to leave the school address Include your email address and make sure it is appropriate for professional use · Objective This is the piece that provides the focus to your resume. The cover letter(see cover letter handout)is actually a more detailed version of your objective that speaks more directly to your qualifications, so keep the objective short and simple on your resume. Tailor the objective to the specific company for which you are applying. This can be as simple as stating the occupation you are seeking, being as industry specific as possible Sample job obiectives Broad interest in the helping professions. Specific interest and experience in working with emotionally troubled children To interface with customers and work with software and hardware applications To obtain an internship in the field of marketing or advertising UniversityofNewHampshire·102HoodHouse·Durham,NH·603-862-2064·www.unh.edu/uace
University of New Hampshire • 102 Hood House • Durham, NH • 603-862-2064 • www.unh.edu/uacc University Advising & Career Center University of New Hampshire • 102 Hood House • Durham, NH • 603-862-2064 • www.unh.edu/uacc Writing Your Resume Why write a resume? A resume is essentially a marketing tool for you. Its purpose is not to get you the job, but simply to get you an interview. Your resume should outline clearly and concisely what you have to offer a potential employer. Its contents should be selective—a brief statement of your job/career goals, and evidence of your knowledge and experience in support of those goals. Potential employers will read it to find out what you can do for their organization and what you are like. How should your resume look? Because your resume probably won’t be looked at for more than 20-30 seconds, it must be easy to read and the key words must stand out. • For college students and new graduates, one page is best, although some career fields are more open to longer resumes. • Use plenty of white space. Don’t crowd the text. • Highlight your most relevant accomplishments by using bold and/or capital letters to draw attention to important words, phrases, and/or section headings. • Bullet your accomplishments instead of writing in paragraph format. • Some employers electronically scan resumes, so call the employer and if they scan, avoid boldface type, italics, underlining, bullets, columns and graphics. For more information go to: www.susanireland.com/eresumework.htm#4.2 • Print your resume on high quality white or off-white paper. • Make sure to be consistent throughout (e.g., all bullets should be the same.) What do you put on a resume? There is no one way to write a resume. You should decide how best to emphasize your strengths. Different industries may prefer slightly different formats, but the following are some suggested guidelines: • Identifying Information Name, address and phone number. If you are operating from two addresses (school and permanent), give both, with the date you expect to leave the school address. Include your email address and make sure it is appropriate for professional use. • Objective This is the piece that provides the focus to your resume. The cover letter (see cover letter handout) is actually a more detailed version of your objective that speaks more directly to your qualifications, so keep the objective short and simple on your resume. Tailor the objective to the specific company for which you are applying. This can be as simple as stating the occupation you are seeking, being as industry specific as possible. Sample job objectives: “Broad interest in the helping professions. Specific interest and experience in working with emotionally troubled children.” “To interface with customers and work with software and hardware applications.” “To obtain an internship in the field of marketing or advertising
Education Start with your most recent educational accomplishment, giving degree, major, university, city, state, month and year(or anticipated month and year )of graduation. To maximize this section, include your minor, describe onors,awards, special projects and relevant coursework. Recent graduates can put theEducation section right after the""section. Alumni with more work history may wish to list related work experience before the"Education" section Include grades if they are good(GPa 3.0 or higher). Some find it useful to calculate their major GPa or their GPA over the last few semesters, but be sure to state that If you financed a major portion of your education say so(e.g,Financed 55% of university education through employment, scholarships and loans. Experience Employers generally prefer a reverse chronological order format that lists your most recent experiences first To place experiences most relevant to your objective as high up on your resume as possible, consider grouping them together in reverse chronological order under a heading like"Related Experience. " As a student, some of your most relevant experiences might have been unpaid. These related experiences such as internships, class projects or research should be listed in this category. Beneath this section, you can list unrelated experiences, such as a summer job, in reverse chronological order under a heading like"Other Experience Emphasize your strongest job qualifications and quantify accomplishments using action verbs and superlatives (e.g, "Only student rep on the sub-committee, Trained 8 lifeguards, Supervised a caseload of 6 clients, First undergraduate ever selected to research. " )For each job, indicate the job title, followed by the name of the organization, city, state and dates or length of time worked(e.g, "Summer 2005"or February 2006 to Employers also want to see the transferable skills you have acquired in and out of the classroom. Examples of these are communication, research, management, technical, etc. To view sample action/transferable skill verbs foryourresumegotowww.unh.edu/uacc/pdfs/actionverbs.pdf.TheUacccareerstaffcanalsohelpyou emphasize these skills on your resume Leadership and Accomplishments(optional) If your activities/interests support your objective and demonstrate leadership, teamwork, or accomplishments, list them in order of importance, not chronologically. A format of title, organization, and date works well (e.g Volunteer Tutor, Literacy Awareness Project, 2005-2006. If the activity supports your job objective particularly well, you may wish to include it in your Related Experience section Other Possible Headings(optional) Technical Skills, Lab Skills, Licenses and Certifications, Memberships/Affiliations, Research and Publications, Community Service, Languages What about references? Today most resumes don' t require a references section. If the job posting specifically asks for references, type ip a separate"References" page that lists the names, titles, company or organization and phone numbers of ersons who have agreed to be your references. always ask your references before listing them-you do not want them to be surprised by a call from an employer How do I Format an e-resume? As technology changes, employers require different resume formats from electronic resumes to text version resumes for scanning. Please feel free to make an appointment to discuss specific employer requirements with a career advisor. You may also research these formats on the web at www.susanireland.com/eresumework.htm#4.2andwww.quintcareers.com/e-resumes.html UniversityofNewHampshire·102Hoodhouse·Durhan,NH·603-862-2064·www.unh.edu/uac
• Education Start with your most recent educational accomplishment, giving degree, major, university, city, state, month and year (or anticipated month and year) of graduation. To maximize this section, include your minor, describe honors, awards, special projects and relevant coursework. Recent graduates can put the “Education” section right after the “Objective” section. Alumni with more work history may wish to list related work experience before the “Education” section. Include grades if they are good (GPA 3.0 or higher). Some find it useful to calculate their major GPA or their GPA over the last few semesters, but be sure to state that. If you financed a major portion of your education, say so (e.g., “Financed 55% of university education through employment, scholarships and loans.”) • Experience Employers generally prefer a reverse chronological order format that lists your most recent experiences first. To place experiences most relevant to your objective as high up on your resume as possible, consider grouping them together in reverse chronological order under a heading like “Related Experience.” As a student, some of your most relevant experiences might have been unpaid. These related experiences such as internships, class projects or research should be listed in this category. Beneath this section, you can list unrelated experiences, such as a summer job, in reverse chronological order under a heading like “Other Experience.” Emphasize your strongest job qualifications and quantify accomplishments using action verbs and superlatives (e.g., “Only student rep. on the sub-committee,” “Trained 8 lifeguards,” “Supervised a caseload of 6 clients,” “First undergraduate ever selected to research.”) For each job, indicate the job title, followed by the name of the organization, city, state and dates or length of time worked (e.g., “Summer 2005” or “February 2006 to Present.”) Employers also want to see the transferable skills you have acquired in and out of the classroom. Examples of these are communication, research, management, technical, etc. To view sample action/transferable skill verbs for your resume go to www.unh.edu/uacc/pdfs/actionverbs.pdf. The UACC career staff can also help you emphasize these skills on your resume. • Leadership and Accomplishments (optional) If your activities/interests support your objective and demonstrate leadership, teamwork, or accomplishments, list them in order of importance, not chronologically. A format of title, organization, and date works well (e.g., “Volunteer Tutor, Literacy Awareness Project, 2005-2006.”) If the activity supports your job objective particularly well, you may wish to include it in your “Related Experience” section. • Other Possible Headings (optional) Technical Skills, Lab Skills, Licenses and Certifications, Memberships/Affiliations, Research and Publications, Community Service, Languages. What About References? Today most resumes don’t require a references section. If the job posting specifically asks for references, type up a separate “References” page that lists the names, titles, company or organization and phone numbers of persons who have agreed to be your references. Always ask your references before listing them—you do not want them to be surprised by a call from an employer. How Do I Format an e-resume? As technology changes, employers require different resume formats from electronic resumes to text version resumes for scanning. Please feel free to make an appointment to discuss specific employer requirements with a career advisor. You may also research these formats on the web at: www.susanireland.com/eresumework.htm#4.2 and www.quintcareers.com/e-resumes.html University of New Hampshire • 102 Hood House • Durham, NH • 603-862-2064 • www.unh.edu/uacc
Sample resume for an internship John m. doe Current Address(through May 30, 2007) Permanent Address Durham. NH 03824 Dover. NH 03820 (603)862-2010 (603)742-1234 ohn doel@acisunix unh. edu OBJECTIVE An internship in software training and support It's okay to list EDUCATION B.S., Business Administration, expected May 2008 University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH anticipated degrees. Minor: Computer and Information Technology Deans List -3 semesters GPA. 36 RELATED Applications Programming Using Visual Basic I and I COURSES On-Line Network Exploration Web Design and Development Johns minor, related ourses and technical skills TECHNICAL JAVA they are displayed SKILLS HTML and dhtm prominently on his resume. RELATED Computer Consultant, Lab Instructor, 2005-present EXPERIENCE Computing Information Services, UNH, Durham, NH facilitated learning of applica eral pla Resolved problems and instructed faculty, staff students Maintained 52 computers Coordinated multiple activities at one time Bullets allow the reader to scan your Resident assistant, 2004-05 Department of Residential Life, UNH, Durham, NH effectively. ed training in mediation skills Enforced University policy through preventative educational programmin Assessed students'needs through one-on-one contact Created a positive atmosphere for 40 diverse students through appreciating differences and role modeling Note that Joln OTHER Landscaper, Summers 2003-06 shows solid, transferable skills EXPERIENCE Lawns“R”Us, Dover,NH Worked effectively as part of a crew of 5 to complete jobs on schedule Received bonus each summer for not missing any work days LANGUAGES Understanding of written and spoken French and Spanish ACTIVITIES Marketing Club, 2004-06 Big Brother/Big Sister Organization, 2005-06 UniversityofNewHampshire·102Hoodhouse·Durhan,NH·603-862-2064·www.unh.edu/uac
Sample resume for an internship John M. Doe Current Address (through May 30, 2007) Permanent Address Granite Square Station Box 453 1 Sunset Drive Durham, NH 03824 Dover, NH 03820 (603) 862-2010 (603) 742-1234 john.doe@cisunix.unh.edu OBJECTIVE An internship in software training and support. It’s okay to list anticipated degrees. EDUCATION B.S., Business Administration, expected May 2008 University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH Minor: Computer and Information Technology Dean’s List – 3 semesters GPA 3.36 RELATED Applications Programming Using Visual Basic I and II COURSES On-Line Network Exploration John’s minor, related courses and technical skills all support his objective, so they are displayed prominently on his resume. Web Design and Development TECHNICAL JAVA SKILLS HTML and DHTML Visual Basic C++ RELATED Computer Consultant, Lab Instructor, 2005-present EXPERIENCE Computing Information Services, UNH, Durham, NH • Facilitated learning of applications on several platforms • Resolved problems and instructed faculty, staff & students University of New Hampshire • 102 Hood House • Durham, NH • 603-862-2064 • www.unh.edu/uacc • Maintained 52 computers • Coordinated multiple activities at one time Resident Assistant, 2004-05 Department of Residential Life, UNH, Durham, NH Bullets allow the reader to scan your resume quickly and effectively. • Received training in mediation skills and conflict resolution • Enforced University policy through preventative educational programming • Assessed students’ needs through one-on-one contact • Created a positive atmosphere for 40 diverse students through appreciating differences and role modeling OTHER Landscaper, Summers 2003-06 EXPERIENCE Lawns “R” Us, Dover, NH • Worked effectively as part of a crew of 5 to complete jobs on schedule Note that John’s summer job shows solid, transferable skills. • Received bonus each summer for not missing any work days LANGUAGES Understanding of written and spoken French and Spanish ACTIVITIES Marketing Club, 2004-06 Big Brother/Big Sister Organization, 2005-06
Sample resume for a permanent job Jane a. d jane doe(@ unh. edu 12345 Main Street Durham, NH 03824 (603)123-4567 Obiective To obtain a position in publishing and editing Keep your objective short and directed at a position or educe industry. BA, Communication with a minor in Spanish 5/2007 University of New Hampshire(UNH), Durham, NH Study Abroad, Seville University, 9/2005-1/2006 Intensive coursework in Spanish language, literature and music Related Experience Editorial Intern 7/2006-present Note the use of Seacoast Publishing Associates, Newington action verbs in Copyright galley proofs for elementary text books Check and verify sources for facts in text books descriptions Participate in weekly staff meetings Staff writer 9/2004-5/2005 The New Hampshire (UNH Student Newspaper), Durham NH Interviewed sources for articles relating to campus news and student life Wrote copy and consulted with editors regarding needed revisions Published 23 stories for a total of 360 column inches Dates on the right-hand side Leadership Experience of the page won't detract First-year Orientation Leader 5/2005-6/2005 and 5/2006-6/2006 om your title or role. UNH. Durham NH Emceed events for over 60 first-year students to facilitate their knowledge of UNH campus Conducted presentations for parent groups, tours and student groups Addressed individuals unique concerns and questions on a one-on-one basis as needed Shift Leader and Wait Staff 5/2003-8/2003 and 5/2004-8/2004 The Bagel Cafe. Concord NH Supervised a team of 6 staff members to efficiently meet customer needs Effectively served customers in a fast-paced, energetic, environment Opened and closed store, handle cash transactions; deposited daily receipts for manager Developed 3 advertisements placed in local newspapers Skills summary Column Writing Skills summaries can be News Reporting Sports Writing helpful for an employer doing Power Point Excel Photograph key word search for applicants with specific skill sets Campus Activities Spanish Club, 2003-2007 Outing Club, 2004-2007 Residence hall Council. 2004-2005 UniversityofNewHampshire·102Hoodhouse·Durhan,NH·603-862-2064·www.unh.edu/uac
Sample resume for a permanent job Jane A. Doe jane.doe@unh.edu 12345 Main Street Durham, NH 03824 (603) 123-4567 Objective University of New Hampshire • 102 Hood House • Durham, NH • 603-862-2064 • www.unh.edu/uacc To obtain a position in publishing and editing. Education BA, Communication with a minor in Spanish 5/2007 Keep your objective short and directed at a position or industry. University of New Hampshire (UNH), Durham, NH Study Abroad, Seville University, 9/2005-1/2006 Intensive coursework in Spanish language, literature and music Related Experience Note the use of action verbs in the job descriptions. Editorial Intern 7/2006-present Seacoast Publishing Associates, Newington NH • Copyright galley proofs for elementary text books • Check and verify sources for facts in text books • Participate in weekly staff meetings Staff Writer 9/2004-5/2005 The New Hampshire (UNH Student Newspaper), Durham NH • Interviewed sources for articles relating to campus news and student life • Wrote copy and consulted with editors regarding needed revisions • Published 23 stories for a total of 360 column inches Dates on the right-hand side of the page won’t detract from your title or role. Leadership Experience First-year Orientation Leader 5/2005-6/2005 and 5/2006-6/2006 UNH, Durham NH • Emceed events for over 60 first-year students to facilitate their knowledge of UNH campus • Conducted presentations for parent groups, tours and student groups • Addressed individuals’ unique concerns and questions on a one-on-one basis as needed Shift Leader and Wait Staff 5/2003-8/2003 and 5/2004-8/2004 The Bagel Café, Concord NH • Supervised a team of 6 staff members to efficiently meet customer needs • Effectively served customers in a fast-paced, energetic, environment • Opened and closed store; handle cash transactions; deposited daily receipts for manager • Developed 3 advertisements placed in local newspapers Skills Summary Press Releases Column Writing Editorials News ReportingSports Writing Speeches Power Point Excel Photography Skills summaries can be helpful for an employer doing a key word search for applicants with specific skill sets. Campus Activities Spanish Club, 2003-2007 Outing Club, 2004-2007 Residence Hall Council, 2004-2005 Updated 5/06
