Tips and Information on Resume Development

Creating Your Resume Rough Draft
by Brenda Davis-Smith

Your resume is a written representation of your education, skills, and background. Its purpose is to facilitate an interview with a prospective employer. Therefore, it is important that it is a well written and organized.

When preparing to write your resume, it is helpful to make a list of your education, experience, skills, and accomplishments.

Next, organize your education and experience chronologically.  And finally, identify key accomplishments and skills and use this as the 'skill set' that you have to offer employers. 

You now have a foundation upon which to begin constructing your resume. Now let's look at the basic components of a resume.

CONTACT INFORMATION
This should include your permanent and campus address, your permanent and campus phone numbers- including area codes, and your current email address.  Make sure your email address is professional. Use a school email address or create a free account using your initials, partial name, etc. Avoid cute or catchy email addresse.  It is also a good idea to create a PROFESSIONAL message on the voicemail for each contact phone number on your resume.

OBJECTIVE
To some employers, this may be the most important part of your resume and should be clear and concise (think about the HR person who is visually 'scanning' resumes).  The focus of the objective should be on the specifics of the internship or job you are seeking. 

Sample Objective

         "Seeking a graphic design internship with a major advertising firm where I will be exposed to many aspects of the business and given challenging assignments."

EDUCATION
Include colleges/universities where you have already obtained- or are working toward, a degree. List the official name of all degrees and/or certifications that you have, or will obtain. Include the month and year of your graduation, and your major and minor(s). You may also list you overall or major GPA in this section.

TIP - Listing your GPA is optional.  It is generally recommended to include GPA if it is above 3.0. Do not try pass off your major GPA as your overall GPA…be honest! If you choose to include your major GPA, include your overall academic GPA as well. If you work to pay for school, you may want to make mention of that in this section by using a statement such as “maintained a 3.0 average while working to finance education”. Again, be truthful! Do not include such information if it is not true.

A brief description of your coursework, relevant independent studies or research can be included in this section, along with computer, language, and other skills developed through your education.

Do not include high school information unless you are a freshman in college, or unless you had significant accomplishment(s) related to your field during high school.

EXPERIENCE
Along with the name of each company for whom you have worked, list your job title/position, dates of employment, and a descriptive (but brief) summary of your job duties. Be sure to include important keywords, functions, assignments, and tasks that are relevant to the field in which you are seeking your internship or job. Aside from mentioning the skills you used in performing your job, be sure to mention any new skill(s) developed.

TIP - If you have had prior related internships, be sure to include them in this section as well.

OPTIONAL SECTIONS
Based on your background, there may be other points you can add to your resume. These could include:

• Activities/Interests
• Honors (Education and/or Professional)
• Clubs/Hobbies
• Community Service
• Specialized Computer Skills
• Professional Memberships
• Volunteerism
  

WHAT NOW...?
You have just put together your Rough Draft - now its time to create your resume - click HERE to get started!