Writing a Resume
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A resume is a brief and concise summary of your experience and abilities that are relevant to a particular position for which you are applying. It should highlight your strengths as it relates to the job position, allowing you to differentiate yourself from other candidates. It is common to tailor the resume to the industry or company that you are applying to.
By highlighting your strongest abilities, you will be able to make a good impression in less than a minute. Provide a summary of your education, experience and activities, to let a potential employer know how your skills and abilities will be a good fit for the position. This will entice employers to give you an interview, which is a step towards landing your coveted job.
Your resume is a powerful tool in opening up future opportunities for you. You should invest time into crafting a good resume, and obtain relevant feedback from others.
Contents
Resume Content
A resume should include Contact Information, Education, Experience, Skills and Interests. I have added samples of my resume for your reference.
Contact information
- Your name should be centered on the top of the page
- Include your residential address and a valid contact number
- Provide a (professional) email address that you can be reached at
Education
- State your university, expected graduation date, degree and concentration.
- Consider including your GPA and other standardized test scores, if they will be useful to the employer
- Include academic awards and competition rankings
- State specific classes/courses only if they are relevant to the position
Experience
- Target the job position that you are seeking
- List your experience in reverse chronological order - the most recent activities will be at the top
- State the organization, its location, the title of your position, and the dates worked
- Each experience should be supported by a few bullet points which highlight your suitability
- Use action verbs like Coordinated, Organized, Managed, Led, Evaluated, etc
- Quantify results by providing data / numbers
Skills and Interests
- State any relevant computer skills
- State language fluency levels
- State interests and hobbies that are relevant
- State any volunteer / community service experience that you have
- State something relevant that you would like to talk about, but is not described above
Note: A resume should not contain any of the following:
- A summary of qualifications
- A list of references
- Personal information like age, gender, political/religious affiliations,
Further Pointers
Be consistent about style and format
Use common sense when formatting E.g. capital letters, bold, italics, underline, different font sizes, etc.
Check for spelling, grammatical and informational errors
A resume should only be 1 page long (with exceptions in few industries)
Ask your friends to review it critically
Convert your resume into a PDF and ensure it displays correctly