General Résumé Tips

  • Avoid use of résumé templates or Wizards in Word, Publisher, Canva or in other online tools. While these seem like an easy fix, they can be difficult to edit, they tend to be geared towards experienced professionals, and there are often unnecessary sections. Your best bet is to open a Google Doc or Word document and create your own résumé.
  • Give plenty of time to write/re-write; résumé writing often takes far longer than new writers expect.
  • Proofreading is a step that should not be skipped! Be sure to edit your document for consistency in the format, correct punctuation, verb tenses, and spelling. Having another person review it can be a big help to make sure you don’t miss something.
  • Use a professional email address – no sexyguy10 or angelbaby19 or hockeyguy12.
  • Have a professional voicemail message recorded for the phone listed on your résumé.
  • Don’t include personal information (photo, birth date, unrelated hobbies, marital status, place of birth) on résumé.
    • Exceptions for this include résumés sent for positions outside of the United States and in specific fields such as Theatre and Dance.
  • In the past, when résumés were submitted through the mail or in person on paper, no résumé was complete without an OBJECTIVE. Today, with the vast majority of organizations utilizing email or other online recruiting systems, a résumé is almost always tied to a position, making the objective obsolete.
  • If you speak more than one language – include it on your résumé. Indicate your level of oral and written proficiency in each language.
  • When listing coursework, make sure it is related to the opportunity you are seeking. Though, if you have significant experience in your field, such as an internship or significant volunteer work, listing coursework may not be necessary.
  • Experiences listed on your résumé do not have to be only paid employment. Focus on significant experiences through which you have demonstrated skills valuable to employers, including leadership, volunteer, internship, or extracurriculars.
  • When writing about your experiences start with an action verb and use the acronym W.H.O. to develop the content:
    • What I did
    • How I did it
    • the Outcome 

Example: Facilitated weekly peer-based and confidential wellbeing group coaching sessions for 6 students.

  • Instead of listing unrelated work tasks, focus on how your experiences are transferrable to what you are seeking.
  • Organize bullet points or sentences within the experience in order of importance to the position.
  • If including a skills section, the skills listed should be technical in nature not personal qualities (e.g. good communication, organized, team player, etc.).
  • While Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are used in many positions and may be a requirement in the position description. As a college student, it is expected that you have a basic working knowledge of these systems, so it is not necessary to include these in a list of skills.