Writing a Resume
I know for me, just getting started was the hardest thing. I didn’t know where to
begin.
Hopefully, in the next 20 minutes, you’ll have the information you need to get your
first resume started. We can’t cover every possible bit of information that you might
put on a resume. This presentation is intended to help you get organized and get
started.
When you have your information together and have created your first draft, come in
to the Career Services office, 217 CUE Building, and we’ll review it for you. Check
our web site at career.uconn.edu or call us at 486-3013 for resume critique times. We
usually critique resumes each day from 10AM-4:00PM but it’s best to call ahead to
make sure.
So, what is a resume?
It’s a marketing tool to present information and get interviews.
Grab a pen and some paper. I’m going to list the major sections of the resume, and
later we’ll talk about what goes in each section. (Pause for 7 seconds)
Ok, so, the major sections of the resume are: Contact information; objective;
education; experience; activities; and interests.
I’m going to talk about each section and the kind of information that goes into the
section.
Contact Information:
Your name, address, phone number, and email are included in this section. Make it
easy for the employer to reach you. One phone number and one email address are
enough. Your email should be reasonably professional. Avoid bad choices like the
one shown in the example.
Here’s what the contact information might look like (show example)
Objective:
This is where you tell the reader of your resume what you want to do or what type of
position you are looking for.
The objective helps the reader understand the information on your resume. For
example, perhaps you are looking for a summer internship. Maybe your Objective
would sound like this: Seeking a summer internship in a challenging business setting.
If you were looking for a full time position, you can use your objective to tell the
employer what you can do for them. So it might sound like this: Seeking full time
opportunities in the publishing industry, using strong skills in writing, editing, and
desk top publishing software.
Sometimes we’re not sure exactly what we want to do, and writing an objective can be
really frustrating. Stop into our office and we can help you with this.
Here’s what the objective might look like (show example)
Education:
In this section you show the reader what college you are attending; what you are
studying; and when you are graduating.
Here’s what the Education information might look like (show example of
college name, degree, graduation date, GPA)
Voiceover:
You name the college and its location: The University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
You provide information about the degree you are pursuing and the date you think
you will be graduating: Bachelor of Arts: English major. May, 2xxx
Grade point average is something that many employers look for.
If you have questions about including your GPA or not, talk to a career counselor
about this.
Show example of Education section with additional information, including
minor or concentration, GPA, Honors Program, Deans List, and related
courses.
Voiceover continues
Here’s an example of a resume with additional educational information.
This student shows that she is minoring in Business; that she’s in the Honors
Program, and has made Deans List 4 semesters.
She also includes a section called Related Courses. Related courses helps provide a
snapshot of your education without naming every course you’ve taken. That
information is in a transcript, which most employers will ask for at some point before
they hire you.
Related courses are “related” to your objective. They help to show that you are a
strong candidate for the position you are seeking. 4-6 courses are probably enough to
list.
If our candidate was an English major, with a minor in business, looking to enter the
publishing industry, she could show related courses that are valued in the publishing
industry: Editing, writing, accounting, marketing, publishing: books and book
publishing.
Study Abroad information goes in the Education section as well.
Maybe you attended another college before transferring to UConn. There’s no need
to list that information. However, if you received a degree from another college, like
maybe you went to a community college and got an Associate’s Degree, then you
would list that under your UConn information. Information is always listed starting
with the present and working into the past.
Experience:
This is the section where you show the jobs you’ve had.
You also tell a little about what you did at the job.
So, this is how you organize the experience section.
Start with the most recent job, and then work backwards into the past.
Current jobs use the present tense, while past jobs use the past tense.
Here’s an example of how the experience section might look: (create examples)
Voice over
On the first line, put the name of the place you worked and the town and state.
On the second line, put your job title and the dates you worked at this job.
Next, describe what you did in short, clear statements, starting with an action verb.
Try to describe your experience in two or three lines focusing on what you
accomplished and the skills you developed.
Repeat this for each job you’ve held.
Trying to decide how much information to include; how far back to go; do you
include every little thing you’ve ever done makes this a tricky section, and my best
advice is to list all your jobs and then bring the resume in and have it critiqued. We
can help you sort out the most valuable information and make sure you are describing
the experience in the best possible way.
Other sections of the resume.
We’ve talked about Contact Information, the Objective, Education and Experience.
There might be additional information to include on your resume, and here are some
section headings you could use.
Show examples: Activities, Volunteer/Community Service, Interests, and
Research.
Activities
If you are a member of a student organization, you could include this information in
the activities section. Student government, clubs, student organizations, fraternities
and sororities, academic clubs like the Econ Club or Business and Law Society.
Being involved is a good way to add information to your resume. Here’s an example
of the Activities section. (Create example)
Volunteer/Community Service
Another section you could have is the Volunteer section. Maybe you helped build a
house for Habitat for Humanity, or you participated in a Walk for Cancer, or helped
out at a soup kitchen. Here is an example of the Volunteer section (Create example)
Interests
Maybe the last section of your resume could show the things you do when not
studying or working, the interests or hobbies that you have. Sometimes you will share
an interest with the person who is interviewing you, and you already have a positive
connection with that person. Here’s an example of the Interests section (Create
example)
You may decide that you have other information that you’d like to include in your
resume. Feel free to create a section heading for this or bring your resume to Career
Services and discuss it with a counselor.
Final tips and comments
This information should be enough to get you started on the resume. Here are a few
more things to think about.
References are not included on a resume. Create a separate page for listing the
names and contact information for your references.
You should not include personal information like age, sex, or religion.
Print copies of your resume on real resume paper, which can be purchased at the
UConn Co-op or a business supply store. Resume paper is thicker and nicer than
computer paper, and you can choose if you want a color other than white, like a
cream or light gray.
Create a resume using ¾ inch to 1 inch margins.
Consider using bold font to highlight the different sections of your resume.
Font size can be 10 point to 12 point.
Be consistent throughout your resume. If you end a sentence with a period, end all
sentences with a period.
College resumes are usually one page. During a resume critique, you can discuss the
length of your resume if you have more information than can fit on one page. It’s
important to create a resume that is clear and concise, and it may be suggested that
you cut some information or add some information.
If you visit our web site at www.career.uconn.edu, you can view resume examples on
the student page.
Remember, this information is a guide to help you get started and get organized. Visit
the Career Services office in 217 CUE for more information about your resume.