Preparing Your Resume
How to Write a Resume | Office of Career Services

The purpose a resume is to assist you in obtaining an interview with a prospective employer; not to get you a job. The resume is a marketing tool. The interview is where you will close the deal by selling your skills, education and experience face to face.

A resume is essentially an advertisement which summarizes your paid and unpaid experience, education, accomplishments and skills as they are relevant to your reader. If the employer likes what is represented on the resume and you seem to meet the qualifications for the position, the employer will want to arrange a personal interview.

In order to be competitive, your resume must be easy to read, consistent, and error free. There are a variety of resume styles. Which style you choose depends on what you are trying to market and who will be reading the resume.

There is no right way to do a resume, but there are some wrong ways to do it. The following are some guidelines to follow as you begin to develop or update your resume.

-Do not use a template. They are common and show lack of creativity.

-Most resumes should be one page in length unless you have many years of relevant experience in the field. If your resume is going to be more than one page, it needs to be two full pages of relevant experience and your name needs to be on both pages.

-Research shows that an employer usually spends about 10-20 seconds reviewing a resume before making a decision to move forward so your format needs to be clear and concise.

-12 pt font is standard. Some fonts can go as small at 10 or 11. Use a basic font. Ariel or Times New Roman is your best bet.

-Use formal language. Avoid abbreviations.

-No personal pronouns (I, My, We, etc).

-No personal information such as height, weight, marital status. Do not include your social security number.

-If you will be submitting a paper copy of the resume, use higher quality resume paper. Do not get to wild with the color or pattern. Use high quality ink.

-Have your resume reviewed for errors. Ask for feedback from professionals, friends, family. The more people that review it, the better your chances of catching any errors.

-Remember that your resume is a work in progress, it is recommended that you update it every six months.

-If you are sending the resume electronically or submitting it through an organization’s website, you will probably want to submit a scannable resume. Information on scannable resumes can be found on the following pages.