The resume gives information about your education, experience, skills, and leadership.  It should be written to motivate an employer to interview you; it needs to be brief and easy to read; it should contain concise accomplishment phrases rather than complete sentences.  The layout and content are both important.  The resume should be void of personal pronouns.

The resume is a screening device, not a selection device. Each year, organizations pass over thousands of qualified applicants who failed to make sure they made the first impression a good one. You can avoid this pitfall by organizing a thorough, meaningful resume. You can find resumes in the HMC Career Guide or you can pick up a Resume Guide in the career center..

Resume Advice from Employers

 

Hard and Fast Rules
Your resume should be neat and well organized, and it should reflect your background in the most positive way. Space it in a way that makes it visually attractive. Every section or category should be ordered from most important to least important. State your strongest points first and save less important facts for last.

What to Include
Identification: List your full name, address, telephone number and email address

Objective: This is optional, but if you use an objective, make sure that it clearly defines the kind of position you are looking for.

Educational Background: List degrees earned, beginning with most advanced degree. You will want to list your major subject and can include relevant courses taken.

Work Experience: Emphasize the contributions you made and promotions earned. Think about what skills you used, but more importantly, what were your accomplishments - the results that came from you work.  Include internships, summer research, or part-time jobs held.

Professional Development: List memberships in professional organizations, published books and articles, presentations of papers and inventions or patents.

Extracurricular Activities: List organizations, club memberships, awards and honors, and leadership roles you've held.

Special Skills: List the languages you speak well, as well as the computer hardware/software, laboratory equipment and techniques you are familiar with.

Interests: This section is optional. Listed hobbies and interests can add character and may show signs of leadership and community service in some cases.

References: These should be included on a separate piece of paper with your contact information. List three to four professionals, but be sure to request permission before using their names. It is a courtesy to provide them with a copy of your resume.

Types of Resumes

 

• Chronological: This type of resume is the most widely used by job applicants and the most accepted by employers. The arrangement of information is the easiest to follow. Your experience is outlined in reverse chronological order beginning with the most recent or current position, followed by earlier positions.
• Functional: This resume type focuses on performance and activities, minimizing job titles and employers. The intention is to highlight your most important job functions, regardless of actual employment chronology. This is particularly effective for describing positions in which you performed several functions or had frequent changes of assignment in each job.
• Analytical: This type of resume combines features of both the chronological and the functional resumes. You outline the major fields of ability and list your specific experience with each.