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Resume Templates
HadjiQuest
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
It's time for me to build a resume, and while I have a general idea which of my own experiences and factors I should put on it, I really have no clue how to organize it all.
I'm looking for ideas for how I should categorize and lay out my resume. Any help?
I'm looking for ideas for how I should categorize and lay out my resume. Any help?
HadjiQuest on
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1. the position you're looking for (and whether it's entry-level or something else)
2. the field in which you want to get employed
3. two or three personal traits/skills you want to utilize in the job
E.g. "An entry-level customer support position in the IT industry that will allow me to utilize my interpersonal communication and technical skills.
Note: this part is sometimes regarded as optional, but I include it because it helps HR people categorize your resume.
QUALIFICATIONS: This section is like a summary of your resume. Reading this section should make them want to read the rest. I generally include some personal traits and experience. For instance, "team-player with experience in leadership positions", or "bilingual communication skills (english, turkish)", or "certified in computer security".
Never brag! Every single item you include in this section should either be measurable, or should point out to another section of your resume. When they look at "team player with experience in leadership positions", they're gonna look at the bottom and see the leadership experience, for example. Never say shit like "delivered awesome solutions to customers" or "smart and hardworking". Lines like those will only make the HR person roll their eyes. Never a good thing.
EDUCATION: State the relevant degrees you have gotten as well as the ones you're working on. School name, city and state, degree name (e.g.: B.A. in Computer Science), and the date on which you have completed or are planning to complete the degree.
Also, state, with a couple or several bullet points, a summary of the things you did/learned in that degree. If you have any practical experience with projects, be sure to mention those. Don't go into too much detail; you're not writing an essay. No paragraphs!
WORK EXPERIENCE: Similar to education. Name of the company, city and state, the position(s) you held, and the time period you worked there. With bullet points, explain what you did there, and the skills and experience you gained. No paragraphs! Just short sentences.
EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Relevant extracurricular activities go here. If you have any leadership experience, with seminars, camps, conferences, student organizations, etc. be sure to mention it here. Use the same bullet-point format. No paragraphs.
This is it for overall formatting. The titles of the sections can change; for instance, my extra-curricular section is titled "leadership experience" because I got plenty. Yours may be different according to your extracurriculars.
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General tips:
* Bullet points. Short, well-structured sentences.
* Start those sentences with operative words. Accomplished bla bla, delivered bla bla, developed a bla bla system using bla bla technology, etc.
* Same font and text size throughout the whole resume, and make it a readable, standard font like Arial. Font size: 12. Don't use italics. You can capitalize and bolden titles, but otherwise lower case and non-bold letters. Don't underline anything even if you think it's super important.
* At the very top of the page, write your name in the middle, then one line below it, on the left side write your address, and on the right side write your phone number and email. About the name... when someone looks at the resume, your name should stand out. You can use size 14 bold capital letters to write it, for example.
* If you're like me and find out you can't fit everything on one page, play around with the margins. Not too much, but sometimes a quarter of an inch on top, bottom, and the sides can make everything fit.
* Use efficient use of white space. The resume shouldn't look like a mess, but it shouldn't look empty either.
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Type out a draft, then show it to people. Nobody writes an excellent resume the first time, and a resume is never the best it can be. I continuously edited mine, over and over, for six weeks before I felt it was in a condition to be sent to employers.
When your applying for a specific job tailor your resume to show off the skills you have that they are looking for. This is especially true for cover letters. And after the interview send a thank you letter!
Most jobs don't want cover letters.
Other than that I agree.
I disagree. While most jobs don't require cover letters they almost never hurt and usually help.
I've been in my current job for about 3 years. I found it on Monster.com. After I got the job, I was told that I got a callback for an interview specifically because unlike most of the other fools who just submitted a resume I took the time to write a brief letter explaining why I was interested in the particular job.
"Form" cover letters are pretty crappy; but if you take the time to write a brief (absolutely 1 page max, 1/2 page is better) cover letter it will express genuine interest in the job and can only help you.
It's from my University and is directed at engineering students looking for their first "real" job; I imagine it would apply well to any science/technical field.
A cover letter definitely gives an employer a clear indication of your written communication skills. I too have receieved responses primarily because of a well written cover letter.
Also, try to put yourself in the employer's shoes when writing your resume. Don't give him/her too much to wade through. Cut anything that doesn't add real value to your profile. Try to keep it at about a page so an employer can review it quickly.
I usually end up cutting the objective entirely, especially if I've included a cover letter.
A cover letter definitely gives an employer a clear indication of your written communication skills. I too have receieved responses primarily because of a well written cover letter.
Also, try to put yourself in the employer's shoes when writing your resume. Don't give him/her too much to wade through. Cut anything that doesn't add real value to your profile. Try to keep it at about a page so an employer can review it quickly.
I usually end up cutting the objective entirely, especially if I've included a cover letter.
Do not take everything in this thread as The Absolute Truth, pick what feels right!
If you have a bachelor's degree or less, absolutely 1 page maximum.
A PhD (or MAYBE a very accomplished career with a Master's Degree) could justify 2 pages.
Other advice - tailor your resume to whatever job you are applying for. Looking through my "resume" folder, I see that I have about 10 different resumes; all created around the same time. What I did at the time was try to emphasize everything I thought a particular employer wanted and to simply cut everything they didn't care about. 1 page was always my rule.
What I mean is that it's a bad idea to leave out specific parts of the resume "because you can mention it in your cover letter". You don't know if your cover letter is required, or that it will even be read by the employer (or, more typically, their HR people, who couldn't give a rat's ass about it).
So mention the qualifications part in your resume, and you can talk about other things in the cover letter, such as your salary expectations, or your background as it relates to the job, or why you chose that company specifically, your career goals, etc.
Remember that the resume is read first, and cover letter is read second (even though the term "cover letter" implies otherwise).
This is all very true.
You should have access to a career services department. They will typically have samples of resumes and should be able to help you with yours. Better yet, find someone that works in the field you are trying to get an internship for and ask them what typically goes on a resume. Many are specific to the profession.
Wrong. They're becoming more and more popular over here. Not for retail/McD's or whatever, but office and professional jobs really do require them. For an internship, write the dang letter.