By Shannon Spatz
Throughout our lives we receive various types of education, become part of an organization, have a variety of work experience, and achieve different types of accomplishments. These are all important aspects of triumph that can be difficult to directly summarize when applying for a job position, an internship, a scholarship, a university, etc. There is one imperative tool needed to successfully complete this task: a resume. A resume is defined as a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications, as that prepared by an applicant for a job. At some point everyone will create a resume. Because of this, the steps to making a flawless resume are illustrated and explained below. Before beginning, the content of the resume and order entirely depends on the amount of experience the applicant has. The steps shown are parts of a resume using the chronological format.
The Basics
• Make sure to use a simple colored piece of clean paper, such as white or ivory.
• The size of your resume should be 8 ½ inches by 11 inches.
• Depending on how much experience you have, the length of the resume may exceed a page however
o Do Not: Surpass two pages
• As said before there are many different ways you can format your resume, here are a few examples below:
• The size of your resume should be 8 ½ inches by 11 inches.
• Depending on how much experience you have, the length of the resume may exceed a page however
o Do Not: Surpass two pages
• As said before there are many different ways you can format your resume, here are a few examples below:
The Heading
• The first that should be seen is your full name at the very top, your mailing address on the following line, then your city, state and zip code.
• To the right of your name and address, put your home phone number.
• On the subsequent line enter in your work phone or cell phone number.
Now let’s move onto the essence of your resume…
• To the right of your name and address, put your home phone number.
• On the subsequent line enter in your work phone or cell phone number.
Now let’s move onto the essence of your resume…
Education
In this step you will want to list your education completed.
• If you are a person who has been in the work force for a number of years, then you might consider putting your work experience before your education section
• If you are a recent graduate, then put your education first.
• Incorporate the schools you attended, your graduation dates, and your degree(s).
• If you are an undergraduate, put your anticipated graduation date.
• If you had a strong GPA (above a 3.0), then make sure you include that in this section along with any academic honors or awards.
• If you are a person who has been in the work force for a number of years, then you might consider putting your work experience before your education section
• If you are a recent graduate, then put your education first.
• Incorporate the schools you attended, your graduation dates, and your degree(s).
• If you are an undergraduate, put your anticipated graduation date.
• If you had a strong GPA (above a 3.0), then make sure you include that in this section along with any academic honors or awards.
The Objective
Next you will want to write your objective for the resume.
• This should be a brief statement of a sentence or two about your current career goals or education goals.
• You will also want to describe why you are an ideal candidate for this position and how you can stand out from all of the other applicants.
• This should be a brief statement of a sentence or two about your current career goals or education goals.
• You will also want to describe why you are an ideal candidate for this position and how you can stand out from all of the other applicants.
Experience
• List your experience as follows: job title, employer, location, and dates.
• Put the job title and employer on the left side of the resume and then the location and dates worked on the same line on the right side of the page.
• In each occupation listed, include at least two bullet points including a description of your position at that job and the skills you developed and applied while working there.
• The listing of job positions should be in reverse chronological order (most recent to less recent).
• Put the job title and employer on the left side of the resume and then the location and dates worked on the same line on the right side of the page.
• In each occupation listed, include at least two bullet points including a description of your position at that job and the skills you developed and applied while working there.
• The listing of job positions should be in reverse chronological order (most recent to less recent).
Skills
In this section you can include any skills you obtain that are relevant to the situation you are applying for.
• An example of this is computer skills, where you could describe the certain programs you are knowledgeable in that could increase your competence at the position you are applying for.
• An example of this is computer skills, where you could describe the certain programs you are knowledgeable in that could increase your competence at the position you are applying for.
Honors and Awards
• List any leadership, academic, or athletic honors that you have received in the past.
• If you only have academic awards then just list those under the education section in your resume.
• If you only have academic awards then just list those under the education section in your resume.
Special Interests/Activities
Here you can include leadership or office positions held and responsibilities.
• Another subject you could include in here is if you have foreign language skills and that is relevant to the application.
• Another subject you could include in here is if you have foreign language skills and that is relevant to the application.
Creating a flawless resume is essential to succeeding in the working world, education, etc. If you turn in a resume that contains any grammar, spelling, or formatting mistakes most companies or universities will throw it out even if you are completely qualified for the position. By following the eight steps previously listed, you will soon become a resume-making expert. As formerly stated, the structure of your resume entirely depends on how long you have been in the working world and how much experience you have, so make sure this format is the right one for you and carefully review your work once it is completed. Good luck!
Here are a few websites that show resumes based on the type of profession:
http://www.bestsampleresume.com/
http://www.distinctiveweb.com/example-projects/sample-resumes/
http://www.sampleresumetemplates.com/
http://www.bestsampleresume.com/
http://www.distinctiveweb.com/example-projects/sample-resumes/
http://www.sampleresumetemplates.com/
Below is a genre analysis of a resume that you also might find useful:
| resume_genre_analysis.docx |
