Basic Components

Contact Information Objective Summary Education Honors/Awards Experience Activities Other Skills

 Include  Name  Physical mailing address  Phone 

 a brief statement summarizing your goal/aim in position  will need to change for each position applied for.  should start with phrases like: “To obtain a job as…” “Seeking employment as…”

Poor Objective Statement Strong Objective Statement  A challenging, rewarding, position where I can use my education, skills, and experience and where there is opportunity for advancement. Too vague Does not communicate YOUR value  A position as a claims adjuster where my deep knowledge of claims processing will result in faster turnaround, smaller payments, and greater client satisfaction.  Clear, concise  Communicates specific expertise  Includes information of value to employer.

 Highlight the aspects of yourself that best fit the company  May change with jobs applied for  Skill-related

 (position title) with (years) of experience in (industry). Track record of (key accomplishment areas) and proven ability to (more accomplishment areas). (Intangible skills) that (value offered)  Mechanical engineer with 12 years of experience in the automotive industry. Track record of successful, cost-effective product development and proven ability to rapidly adapt designs to meet evolving customer needs. Strong management, communications, and team-building skills that ensure on-time, on- budget project completion

 List school attended  Projected graduation date  List GPA, if helpful

 List all current or previous jobs. Start with the most current and work backwards.  the company  city and state  starting and ending months and years  position or title you held  accomplishments  responsibilities

 (task) and (benefit to company)  Closed 60+ deals with top-tier companies and generated more than $100 million in revenue in first year of product launch  Cut 9 days from monthly close and save $50K in annual labor costs by partially automating the close process.

 Activities:  demonstrate leadership, communication skills, and perseverance.  Honors and Awards:  If the award is well known, just list it.  If it is not well known, briefly state what it is for.  Additional Information:  Anything else that would help your potential employer hire you. This should only include items that don’t logically fit anywhere else.

 Always use action verbs  List everything chronologically  Most recent first  Avoid personal pronouns  I, me, my, etc  Limit to one page

 Use bold type to emphasize information  High GPA? Great award?  Allow ample white space  Keep paragraphs short  3-5 lines max  Keep bullet lists short  5-6 items max

 Clearly distinguish one section from next  Might use lines  Be consistent in type/ formatting  Use readable type size and font  10 pt minimum

Formatting Options

FunctionalChronological  little work experience in the particular field for which you are applying  Used to emphasize skills  much experience in the field for which you are applying.  Puts an emphasis on previous jobs