Resume 101

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Resume 101
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The Basics

• A student resume gives a potential employer an
  easy-to-understand timeline. It includes
• Header
• Objective (optional)
• Education
• Skills
• Work Experiences
• Extras - depending on experience
• Leadership Volunteerism
• Honors Activities

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First Impressions Matter

• Problem Solving Skills
• Experience
• Work ethic
• Leadership Skills
• Written communication
• Analytical, Technical Computer Skills

• When examining resumes,
• employers say
• they look for key evidence of

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Format Matters

• Most career related professionals agree
• Format is probably
• ONE OF THE MOST (if not THE MOST) important
  parts of your resume
• It must USUALLY be
• Formatted so items are easy to find
• Look nice enough to SCAN quickly
• If not, it will probably never get reviewed by
  the person who is doing the hiring.

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How to Format

• Make everything easy to find.
• Offer a clean, well-organized, easy-to-read
  resume.
• Help employers find critical information quickly!
  A student resume is usually in reverse
  chronological order
• Leave off irrelevant details that do not directly
  relate to a job. If you dont have one find
  one.
• Include the necessary items first. Then look for
  space to add extras.

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Multiple sample formats are available at The
Citadel Career Centers Website
www.citadel.edu/root/career
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Header

• Name Use full name to avoid confusion with
  nicknames
• Address Use full address with local/school
  address include City, State, Zip
• Phone Number Use a professional voicemail
  greeting
• E-mail Address Use a professional address that
  you will check often
• Include a web link for a portfolio (if relevant)
  This can be a website or Social Media site to
  showcase work and accomplishments.

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Header Samples
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Objective Statement

• THE JURY IS OUT ON THIS SECTION!
• Ask someone who understands or works in a hiring
  role if you should include it depending on your
  personal situation. If you do include one
• Tailor it to the specific position or
  organization
• Keep it short

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Objective Samples

• FOR A SPECIFIC JOB
• Seeking a position at The City of Charlestons
  Treasure Office as a Program Manager.
• Applying for a Position as a History Teacher and
  Womens Soccer Coach at Wando High School for
  Fall 2013.
• FOR JOB FAIRS ONLINE RESUME DATABASES
• Business Administration candidate fluent in
  Spanish seeks a Sales and Marketing Internship
  position
• Engineering Major with coursework in Computer
  Design and Management seeks Internship position
  with an RF Engineering Firm

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Education Section

• Education typically appears at the top of the
  resume for new graduates. Once you have job
  experience, it can move down.
• Include
• Full Degree/Major (not abbreviated) and Minor or
  Concentration if relevant
• Full Name of Institution/Location,
• Graduation Month and Year (you do not need
  Anticipated)
• Study Abroad can be added here as well
• GPA EXTRA!
• Adding a GPA can be tricky! Some employers use
  GPA as a screening tool. If your GPA is 3.0 or
  higher (usually) you can include it, but discuss
  options with someone who knows before you add it.

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Education Samples
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Skills Section

• Provide a brief summary of skills
• RELATED TO A SPECIFIC POSITION
• This section is easy to include when applying to
  multiple jobs through online systems because it
  can be easily and quickly changed.
• It is typically provided as a series of bullets
  or in a column/table format.
• It can include relevant coursework or exposure to
  industry specific skills if you lack job
  experience.

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Skills Samples
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Experience Section

• This is a very important section. It may make me
  want to hire you if it is well done!
• Job Title, Organization Name , Location, Dates
• Skills
• Skills
• Internships, summer jobs, volunteer work can all
  go here.
• Action verbs start the bullet and describe
  specifically and concisely what skills you
  gained.
• Include keywords that match a job description.
• Quantify your accomplishments as much as
  possible.  

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Experience Sample
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More Experience Samples
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Extra SectionsLeadershipVolunteerHonors
Activities

• Interpersonal skills
• Organizational skills
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving skills

• These give employers evidence of

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Leadership Volunteer Section

• ITEMS TO CONSIDER
• Excelling in a course or earning an achievement
• Holding an office or leadership position
• Study abroad or a cultural involvement
• Volunteering in the community
• Participating in student organizations or clubs
• Playing on a team
• Organizing an event or developing an idea for a
  project

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Leadership and Volunteer Samples
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Honors and Activities

• This section is optional, but it may be very
  important to you. Employers will look at this
  section to see if the candidate is well rounded.
• Include those that are
• relevant to the job,
• demonstrate achievement, or
• provide evidence of your skills.
• Do not just list activities that you showed up
  for because is was required, but add ones in
  which you were truly engaged!

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Honors and Activities Sample
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Resume Dos

• Confirm that your contact information is correct!
  Yay! I can get in touch!
• Use consistent formatting and fonts. They took
  some time on this!
• Use proper grammar, correct verb tense, and
  triple check for spelling errors and/or typos.
  This resume looks like it is coming from a
  professional.
• Highlight what makes you stand out by including
  information specifically requested within a job
  posting. They know what I want and have done
  research!
• Save as a PDF to preserve formatting They took
  time to make sure it came across correctly.
• When sending, include your NAME in the subject
  line. Now, where is that person I wanted to
  hire, Page Something?

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Resume Do Not's

1. Use personal pronouns (I, Me, My) How did this
   person not know this?
2. Make it so generic it in no way relates to a job
   Do you know what you want?
3. Write resume in paragraph format No one has
   time to read this!
4. Include photos/personal bios like age, gender,
   marital status - TMI
5. Leave gaps in your work history- What has she
   been doing all this time?
6. List high school diploma if you are a Senior
   (exception - unless you seek employment in the
   district to which you are applying) What have
   they done lately?
7. Include references on resume. Ill let her know
   when I need her references.
8. Repeat the same action verbs over and over again
   How many times can you Manage something?

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Develop Your Own Resume

• The Citadel Career Center can offer support and
  critique services to help you identify what is
  and isnt working on your resume.
• A resume helps you define and showcase what you
  have to offer. Dont turn the responsibility over
  to someone else.
• A 3rd party cannot know what you did or how well
  you did it, nor will they be with you in an
  interview to explain what you bring to the table!