Resume: A concise document detailing someone’s education, professional experience, and accomplishments. Resumes are often reviewed before the interview, and referenced during an interview.

​

Cover Letter: A brief letter that explains why the interviewee wants the position and why they are a good fit. Cover letters should be customized to each job application.

 

• Focus on accomplishments and specifics

Instead of saying: “I worked as a customer support representative and helped people at the front desk,” you can say: “I assisted over 100+ customers per shift and resolved issues quickly while managing maximum efficiency.” Using numbers makes accomplishments more tangible, and sounds more impressive.

​

• Organize skills and accomplishments

Always put your important accomplishments at the top: your work experience, your education, awards earned, and certifications received. For example, if the job description mentions “Line cook” five times, your resume should also reflect your Food Handlers license, prior restaurant skills, or other general experience.

 

• General format

Your resume should generally be placed in the following format, and be kept to one page.

1. Name and contact information (email, phone number, and LinkedIn profile).

2. A short summary of your skills and why you are a good for the job, often called an "objective." This should be no longer than one sentence.

3. Work experience, in order of most recent to most distant. This should include the location of the job, length you worked there, your title, and a short description of your duties.

4. Education: if you are out of high school less than four years, include that. If you are currently in high school or college, include your GPA if it is over 3.0. If you are looking for a job less than three months after graduating, include your GPA if it is over 3.0.

5. Skills and certifications: this can include nationally recognized certifications, as well as less well-known certifications such as project management. List these in the order of importance.

6. Extras, if applicable. These may include passion projects related to work. 

​

Example Resume Templates:

Harvard Resume Template

Yale Resume Template

​

• What skills should I list?

A good resume always lists relevant skills that are beneficial and specific to the role. These should be listed at the bottom of your resume, after education and work experience. The most relevant skills (i.e., recognized certifications) should be listed higher, while less relevant skills (i.e., Microsoft Suite proficiency) should be listed towards the bottom, as most people have those skills.​ 

​

Employers don't want to read a wordy or passive resume, so ensure you are concise, using active voice, and use numbers when possible.

Replace words like:

• Responsible For: Improve/d, Facilitated, Created

• Duties Included: Manage/d, Assist/ed, Organize/d

• Worked With: Coordinate/d, Partner/ed

TIPS: Use each active word once. Ensure that your current employment experience (if employed) is in present tense; the other work experienced should be in past tense.