Headings for Standard Sections
The goal of a resume is: TO GET AN INTERVIEW. Therefore, you want to market yourself. Think of your résumé as a billboard in Times Square - and you have 30 seconds to deliver your message. What do you want an employer to know about you? How will you market your experience and skills? Paint a picture for the prospective employer demonstrating the scope of your current and past responsibilities and the results you have achieved.
Content
Since your résumé is your personal marketing tool, keep in mind that the following section titles are intended to act as general guidelines that you should modify to your individual needs.Headings for Standard Sections
Personal contact information. (required)
Name, Address, Phone, E-mail, Web site (include only if your personal web site is professional).
Objective/Summary/Profile. (optional)
Recommended for individuals with specific career goals and used more often in certain career fields. For further guidance, please speak with an advisor in the Career Center.
Education/Training.
Begin with the most recent degree you are pursuing or have earned. Include the degree level, major (and minor), institution, month and year of completion, and location with city and state. List additional degrees in reverse chronological order.
Academic Scholarships/Honors/Awards.
(Can also be included under Education)
Relevant Courses/Projects.
(Can also be included under Education)
Experience.
Employers consider experience, paid or unpaid, an integral part of your résumé. Your experience section should highlight your accomplishments on the job and the skills you used.
Headings for Other Possible Sections
Computer and Language Skills.
Presentations/Publications.
Professional Associations/Affiliations.
Activities.
This section provides you with the opportunity to list your degree of involvement with college and community activities. Through a description or a list of your accomplishments and extracurricular activities, employers can begin to learn about your interests, motivations, and interpersonal skills.
Interests. (optional)
This section gives you an opportunity to demonstrate another dimension of your life.
An effective résumé uses dynamic language that is tailored to the specific position for which you are applying. Using action verbs, describe your accomplishments with PAR statements:
Projects, Actions and Results.
Example: CSIS student interning at the IT Help
Desk at a small computer software company.
(Project) To identify common problems experienced by customers.
(Action) Collaborated in a team of three to develop a software tracking
system using Visual Basic.
(Result) Decreased the time for customer complaint resolution by 30%.
Collaborated in a team of three to develop a software tracking system using Visual Basic. Identified common problems experienced by customers, decreasing the time for customer complaint resolution by 30%.
This entry gives employers a better sense of how you have put your skills to use. Also, you can make a stronger impression by quantifying your experience to convey the size or scale of projects, budgets and results. The following sample list of action verbs will help you turn a passive job description into a strategic, achievement-oriented résumé that engages employers.
- analyze evaluate negotiate
- assess implement organize
- attain improve plan
- coordinate initiate promote
- create lead research
- design manage strengthen
- develop monitor support
A comprehensive list can be found here.
There are three basic formats for résumés—chronological, functional, and electronic. Most résumés follow one of these formats or use a combination. For examples of these different formats, please view our pdf file of this document.
Chronological format (This is the most common résumé format used by students)
This format is best used when your job history shows growth and development, when you are staying in the same field, when the name of the most recent employer is an important consideration, when prior job titles are impressive, or when you are in a highly traditional field such as accounting, banking, or teaching. It is not recommended when work history has large gaps or when you have changed jobs frequently. Begin with your most recent experience and work backward. This is the most common résumé format used by students.
Functional format. (Also called Skills format)
This format is best used when you have a variety of unconnected work experiences and want to emphasize your skills more than your work history. It is also helpful when changing career paths. The functional format is not recommended if you are in a highly traditional field such as teaching or accounting, you have performed a limited number of functions in your work, or you want to emphasize the places you have worked as opposed to the skills you possess.
Electronic or scannable format.
Electronic or scannable résumés are sent or read by computers and have special formatting guidelines. Since this mode of communication is now commonplace, be sure to refer to “Preparing Your résumé for the Internet,” available on-line at www.american.edu/careercenter and in the Career Center, for tips and strategies.
Federal résumé.
A federal résumé is a résumé that includes all the information the federal government requires in an application for employment. For more detail on government requirements, see http://opm.gov/Forms/pdfimage/of0510.pdf. The federal résumé must include specific information in a certain chronological format and lists job-related and recent employment, education, training, skills. The focus needs to be on accomplishments, results and skills.
We have included an abbreviated version, since the federal résumé averages three to five pages in length. For further information, consult the resources in the Career Center Library (especially The Federal résumé Guidebook by Kathryn Kraemer Troutman) or schedule an appointment with a Career Center advisor.
A Word about the Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is similar to a résumé, but is used primarily when applying to teaching or research opportunities. The CV is designed to highlight an individual’s educational and academic history, focusing specifically on academic achievements. The length of a CV may be multiple pages, including the same content of a résumé, in addition to the following: teaching and research experience, publications (books, articles, research papers, unpublished manuscripts, or book chapters), academic fellowships, honors and awards, presentations, and professional affiliations, dissertation (thesis title and summary), related professional experience, languages or other relevant skills, and study abroad experiences. The CV should be tailored to the position to which you are applying or targeted toward the industry in which you are interested. For example, if you are applying to a research position, you should describe your research experience first and follow with other experiences such as publications or teaching second. Also, only include work experiences that are directly related to your area of interest (or you may briefly describe unrelated experiences that you think are worthwhile).
1. Proof, proof, and proof your résumé. Read it out loud.
Nothing will eliminate you from an interview list more quickly than a typographical error!
2. Indicate month and year you anticipate graduating.
3. Show them; don’t tell them.
Use specific examples of your experience and achievements at each position.
4. Include paid and volunteer experiences.
5. Be descriptive, specific, and concise.
6. How many pages should you use?
The amount of experience you have will affect the length of your résumé. Generally, an undergraduate student, and sometimes a graduate student, will have just enough information to fit on one page. If you have a significant amount of experience that is relevant to a prospective employer, then two pages may be reasonable. Keep in mind, however, that employers will continue to the second page only if you capture their attention with the information on the first page. Students with one year or less of experience should write a one-page résumé and use a cover letter to expand on skills not listed in the résumé. Because of the need for special formatting, the length of electronic or scannable résumés may be longer.
Be sure to use key words and tailor your résumé to each specific employer. An employer searches for words in an applicant’s résumé that match the qualifications of a particular job. If your résumé does not contain the key words for which an employer is searching, the scanner passes over your résumé and you may no longer be a candidate for the position. Collect key words from trade magazines, class notes, newspaper ads, and job postings and be sure to use the same terms used in the vacancy announcement.
8. Posting a résumé on-line with the Career Center.
By keeping your profile updated and posting your résumé with
AU CareerWeb, accessible through the Career Center Web site:
- You will have access to job and internship opportunities posted just for AU students and recent alumni
- You will be able to submit your résumé for posted positions on AU CareerWeb by simply clicking on a button
- employers will be able to search your résumé and invite you to become a candidate for their positions
9. Follow-up.
Even though you are using technology to help facilitate the process of your job search, it is important to follow up with employers to see if they received your résumé, to find out where they are in the hiring process, and to ask if they would like a hard copy of your résumé.
1. Students with international travel experience will want to elaborate on what makes their travel unusual, for instance: Traveler and Interviewer in Europe, Spring 2004 Charted the impact of World War II as seen through the eyes of its witnesses and survivors; performed 15 informational interviews (often through interpreters) with citizens of Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom.
2. You are not required to indicate a disability on your résumé or in a cover letter and, in general, you should not. Because federal law requires that employers consider only job-related criteria throughout the application and interview phase, you should highlight your skills and abilities. Should an application or employment-related form ask you to identify a disability for purposes of the employer’s affirmative action program, the form must state clearly this intended purpose and that it is voluntary for you to disclose this information. Once offered a position, it is your responsibility to disclose a disability if and when you will need accommodation. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations only for individuals with known disabilities.
3. If you are a graphic arts or design major, you should develop a creative layout for your résumé as an example of your flair for design. Also, you can create a portfolio of your work on a Web site, citing the Internet address on your résumé.
4. If you are seeking a college teaching position, you will want to write a curriculum vita. The Career Center Resource Library has information available on this special format.
References are people who have known you professionally or academically and who can recommend you for a job or award. Supervisors, professors, and people from your community are common references. Avoid using family members or personal friends. Before listing anyone as a reference, you must first ask permission. Do not send your reference list unless you are specifically asked to do so. Take the list with you to the interview.
If the employer does not ask for your references, be sure to mention that you have the reference list if s/he would like to have it. Once you have given the list of references to an employer, make sure that you contact your references to alert them as to who may be calling, what job(s) you have applied for, and which of your skills you would like them to emphasize.
Preparing your reference sheet
List your references on a sheet separate from your résumé. You should use the same heading as your résumé containing all of your personal contact information. For each reference, include the person’s name (with Ms. or Mr.), title, organization, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, and how that person knows you. For example, with a professional reference, you might write “former supervisor.” By stating the relationship, you allow employers to select those individuals they wish to contact.
How many references do I need?
Employers will usually specify how many references they need.
However, it is a good idea to have at least three references: two work/volunteer and one academic. In addition, you may want to have copies of general letters of recommendation in case you need a reference quickly or lose touch with a reference.