1. Resumes and Cover Letters
How to

2. RESUMES
A resume - sometimes called a curriculum vitae or CV - is a summary of your education, training, work experience and skills. A good resume demonstrates how your skills and abilities match up with the requirements of a job.

3. TO BEGIN
Make a List  A list will help you organize the information you're going to include on your resume:
Name, address and contact information
School
Work / volunteer history
Positive personal characteristics
Skills and experience – use action words
Coursework
Other Accomplishments (awards, sports, activities, honors)

4. GENERAL INFO Resumes can be one or two pages
Use basic common language font such as Times New Roman or Arial. Also do not use graphics.
Keep margins ¾” to 1”; use font size 11 or 12 for the body of the resume
Italics, underlining, shading and sometimes bolding can be a problem
Proofread your resume for grammar and spelling errors

5. OBJECTIVE
Not mandatory and can often be stated within your cover letter
If you do include an objective, make it as specific as possible (for example, “University student with good customer service skills seeking part-time retail position)”

6. CONTACT INFO
Include mailing address, telephone number with voic , professional (avoid slang in your address); you may want to make your name a few font sizes larger than other information so that it stands out
Use between two and four lines for contact information
Centre or left justify

7. EDUCATION Include GPA if it is above 3.0
Include high school - include awards/honours from high school, put them in a separate “awards” section
Relevant courses to a particular job

8. EXPERIENCE Include paid and unpaid or volunteer experience
You can separate the sections into “Work Experience” and “Volunteer Experience
Order your experiences in reverse chronological order within each section (newest to oldest)
Begin each point with an action verb
Within the experience descriptions, place the most relevant and important tasks or accomplishments first

9. ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS
High School Activities such as class representative, club membership, leadership roles
Include a brief description of accomplishments and results if possible

10. AWARDS
any awards during high school or as part of a paid job or volunteer experience

11. REFERENCES Do not include your references on your resume
Optional – “References Available on Request” – when a potential employer is interested in making an offer, they will ask for your references

12. DO NOT INCLUDE Your date of birth Your marital status Your gender
Any languages you speak
Any disabilities that you have
Any other personal information

13. TO DO
Make a list before you begin typing – looking for sentences with action words
Use strong transferable skills that you can demonstrate you possess in an interview
Type up your resume – use the examples posted on web page as an example – not to copy
Will complete cover letter and references after