Resume Writing: The Basics

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Resume Writing The Basics Fine-Tuning

• PROGRAM IN A BOX
• University Career Center
• Virginia Commonwealth University

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PURPOSE OF A RESUME

• A personal marketing tool to sell your experience
  and qualifications to potential employers.
• A sample of your ability to organize and
  summarize accomplishments and skills which match
  the employers current hiring needs.
• To obtain an interview, acceptance to graduate
  school, etc.
• If the average employer spends 15 seconds looking
  at a resume, what will you do to stand out?

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Resume Components

• Format/Types of Resumes
• Chronological
• Functional
• Combination
• Content
• Appearance

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Resume Formats/Types

• Chronological Resumes
• Education and work experience listed in reverse
  chronological order
• Begin with most recent information
• Similar to a timeline of experiences
• Functional Resumes
• Emphasis is on skills and experiences under key
  word headings
• Less emphasis on work history and order of
  experiences
• Combination Resumes

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• What goes
• on a resume?

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Content Information

• Name, Contact Info
• Objective (optional)
• Education
• Coursework
• Experience
• Papers, Projects Research
• Work (paid or unpaid)
• Internships, Externships
• Clubs Organizations
• Volunteer or Service

• Skills
• Technical, Foreign Language, Lab, Communication,
  Computer, etc.
• Other
• Study abroad and travel
• Honors, Awards
• Certification or Training

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Name Contact Information

• Provide a professional email address
• Answer phone appropriately
• Jamie T. Student
• 907 Floyd Avenue ? Richmond, VA 23284 ?
  804.123.4567 ? studentjt_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________
• Jamie T. Student
• Current Address 907 Floyd Avenue ? Richmond, VA
  23284
• Permanent Address 123 Lovely Lane ? Fairfax, VA
  32145
• 804.123.4567 ? studentjt_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________
• Jamie T. Student
• Current Address
  studentjt_at_vcu.edu Permanent Address
• 907 Floyd Avenue
  804.123.4567 123 Lovely Lane
• Richmond, VA 23284 Fairfax,
  VA 32145
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________

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Objective

• Thesis of the resume
• If you have one, be specific
• Avoid clichés
• Focus on how the employer would benefit, not on
  how they can help you

• Target your objective to fit the position you are
  applying for on each resume you send out
• i.e. To obtain the co-op position with the
  Virginia Department of Forensic Science utilizing
  lab skills and knowledge on latent print research

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Education

• Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
• Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science, May
  2007
• Chemistry Minor, Cumulative GPA 3.5
• GPA debate
• Dont list high school, even if you were the
  valedictorian.

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Education/Separate Sections

• Things that can go under Education or have their
  own section
• Relevant Coursework
• ? Botany ? Organic Chemistry ? Anatomy
• ? Physics ? Biomechanics ? Bioinformatics
• Academic Honors
• ? Deans List, Fall 2004-Fall 2005
• Thesis
• Senior Thesis, Department of Biology, VCU,
  Richmond, VA Fall 2004- Spring 2005
• ? Project The effects of household sanitizers on
  Escherichia coli contaminated baby carrots
• ? Proficiencies media preparation, autoclaving,
  bacterial inoculation, and plate counting
• ? Prepared senior thesis and defended in front of
  Biology department faculty and peers

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Experience

• Relevant Experience
• Other Work Experience
• Could be different arrangement of content for
  different positions
• Title, Organization, Location, Dates
• (Server, Applebees, Glen Allen, VA, 06/05
  present)
• Class Project
• VCU, Biology, Richmond, VA, Spring 2005
• ? Managed rat colony set up breeding pairs,
  monitored new litters,
• and cared for adult rats
• ? HIPPA trained to read and summarize patient
  files and legal cases
• ? Assisted head lab technician with daily rat
  experiments

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Experience Continued

• Action verbs!
• If you are presently in the job, then use the
  present tense
• If you have completed the job, use the past tense
• Be consistent with tense
• Avoid gerunds (-ing)
• Vary your action verbs (refer to action verb
  sheet)
• Avoid duties include or responsible for
• Refrain from using handled or dealt with when
  referring to people
• There should not be any references to I, me or my
  
• Quantify, be descriptive, and identify strengths
• i.e. Edited a monthly newsletter for the
  department on a monthly basis, streamlining
  office communication

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Skills

• Language Skills
• Fluently write and speak Spanish
• Proficient in basic conversation in French
• Computer Skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and
  Excel
• Familiar with Microsoft Access

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Lab Skills

• LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
• Familiar with
• microscope, micropipette, centrifuge, vapor
  hoods, and microtone, oblique light microscope,
• spectrophotometer, buret, temperature probe,
  UV-VIS spectrophotometer, Capillary
  Electrophoresis (Hewlett
• Packard, Beckmann, MDQ), Bioanalyzer 2000, Gas
  Chromatography, Schopper and MIT Folds,
• Proficient with
• Bendsten Porosity, infrared spectroscopy,
  Separatory Funnel, filtration thru Buchner
  funnel, PH meter, light
• compound microscope, centrifuge, refluxing,
  thin-layer chromatography, Pasteur pipet,
  Condenser,
• Microchromatory column, Qualitative analysis for
  aggregate, Vet test machine, Autoclaving,
  Erlenmeyer flask,
• thermometer, graduated cylinder, filter flask,
  drying tube, volumetric flask, and reflux
  condenser, autoclaves
• LABORATORY PROCEDURES/TECHNIQUES
• Familiar with
• tissue processing (paraffin wax/ alcohol
  dehydration) and staining DNA/RNA amplification,
• isolation and analysis molecular genotyping and
  DNA sequence analysis DNA cloning (PCR)
• electrophoresis immunoassays spectroscopy cell
  and tissue culture, gram staining, pure
• culture techniques (three phase streaking
  pattern, plate to tube transfer, etc.)

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Activities Professional Orgs

• Leadership positions
• Club related to what you want to do
• i.e. Advertising Club, Member, Fall 2003
  present
• If it is a leadership position within a club
  related to what you want to go into, then
  consider listing it under Relevant Experience
• Forensic Science Student Club, President, Fall
  2004-Spring 2005
• ? Coordinated monthly meetings for 25 members
• ? Arranged for speakers in the field to present
  information to members, including members from
  the ATF, FBI and VA Dept of Forensic Science
• Professional Organizations
• American Academy for Forensic Science, member
  since Fall 2003

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• Jamie T. Student
• Current Address 907 Floyd Avenue ? Richmond, VA
  23284
• Permanent Address 123 Lovely Lane ? Fairfax, VA
  32145
• 804.123.4567 ? studentjt_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________
• OBJECTIVE To obtain the co-op position with the
  Virginia Department of Forensic Science utilizing
  my lab skills and knowledge on latent print
• research.
• EDUCATION
• Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond,
  VA
• Bachelor of Science in Biology, May 2006
• Chemistry Minor, Cumulative GPA 3.0
• TECHNICAL SKILLS
• Laboratory Procedures
• Familiar with
• tissue processing (paraffin wax/ alcohol
  dehydration) and staining DNA/RNA amplification,
• isolation and analysis
• Proficient in

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Appearance

• Dont use a template
• Be consistent with heading style and margins
• Font no smaller than 11 point no larger than
  12 point
• Margins no smaller than 0.5 inches
• Use 100 cotton, resume paper
• Use bullets, not paragraphs
• Use bullets, not dashes

• Check for spelling and grammatical errors
• Use one font style and size (except for your
  name)
• Fill the page
• Try to stick to 1 page in most cases
• If you do go onto the second page, make sure you
  include Name, Page 2 in the upper left hand
  corner dont have stragglers

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A Few Final Guidelines Dos

• Revise your resume often (every 6 months)
• Have a variety of people give you feedback
• Think about what the employer wants from you, not
  just what you want from them
• If you are still employed in a position, indicate
  it, i.e. Fall 2001-Present
• List month as well as year or list semester
• 09/03-07/04
• Sept. 2003 July 2004
• Spring 2004-Fall 2005

• Vary your verbs
• Talk about your accomplishments for the
  organization (i.e. increased sales by 20)
• Proofread beyond spell check
• Use all periods or no periods at the end of
  sentences
• Do print on resume paper
• Do mail flat if you can
• Do have references prepared on a separate sheet
  of resume paper and in case they ask for them

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A Few Final Guidelines Donts

• Dont include hobbies or WPM
• Dont use I
• Dont put course numbers in the relevant
  coursework section, just course names
• Dont begin sentences with lowercase letters

• Dont list the address and phone number of your
  workplace or educational institutions
• Dont be overly wordy
• Dont say References available upon request if
  you need the space
• Dont staple

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References

• Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Name
• Title
• Organization
• Address
• City, State Zip
• (Area Code) Phone
• Email Address
• Relationship (optional)

• Mr. Joe Smith
• Manager
• Applebees
• 123 Main Street
• Richmond, VA 23223
• 804-321-XXXX
• Jsmith_at_applebees.com
• Mr. Smith supervised me
• while I was a server at
• Applebees. He has
• known me for 3 years.

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• Jamie T. Student
• Current Address 907 Floyd Avenue ? Richmond, VA
  23284
• Permanent Address 123 Lovely Lane ? Fairfax, VA
  32145
• 804.123.4567 ? studentjt_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________
• References
• Dr. Keith Williams
• Professor of Forensic Science
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• 907 Main Street
• Richmond, VA 23284
• 804.987.6543
• williamskr_at_vcu.edu
• Dr. Williams was my Biology professor and can
  attest to my work ethic in the classroom and the
  lab.
• He has known me for two years.
• Mr. Joe Smith
• Manager

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A Word about References

• They ALWAYS go on a separate page
• Start thinking about who you want to ask
• ALWAYS ask if the person feels they could give
  you a good reference or favorable reference
• Offer the reference a copy of your resume
• Inform them of different positions youre
  applying for so they are prepared

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Thank you!

• Contact the Career Center
• 828-1645
• www.students.vcu.edu/careers