Resumes
A resume is a brief summary of your professional life, typically submitted when you apply for a job or other opportunity. Most reviewers spend no more than a few seconds scanning resumes, and many organizations now outsource that review to a software program. As a result, you need to craft your resume carefully to make sure it effectively communicates your abilities as briefly and clearly as possible. A one-page resume is appropriate for almost all first-time job hunters.
While your resume alone likely won’t get you a job, ideally it will help you secure an interview where you can make a more detailed case for why you should be hired. Successful candidates often create multiple versions of their resume to better suit particular opportunities.
Research the achievements, concerns, and culture of the organization or school you’re applying to. Ideally, you should also learn about the specific job, scholarship, or program, too, so you can tailor your information to fit that exact situation. Then, consider who will be reading your resume—usually a busy person with a whole stack of resumes to read. You want to get information to that person quickly, so you don’t waste their time.
In other instances, your resume may not be reviewed by a person at all but rather by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). These programs, used by large and small companies, are designed to scan resumes in bulk for key terms to identify those applicants who best meet the organization’s established criteria. Therefore, it’s crucial that you read the position description closely and mirror that language as much as possible.
Contact information appears at the top of your document, centered or flush with the left margin. Your name should be the largest text on the document for easy identification, followed by your contact information in a smaller size.
Ex. 1 OBJECTIVE: Find a position developing management information systems on microcomputers, ultimately leading to a systems analyst position.
Ex. 2 OBJECTIVE: Obtain a summer internship in healthcare marketing at a major medical center.
Not every resume includes an objective. Some omit it entirely while other people use a “Skills Summary” statement that gives an overall sense of the blend of abilities they offer. Check online examples and friends’ resumes and ask professors or other mentors for feedback on field-specific expectations.
Ex. 1 Standard entry
Texas A&M University — Bachelor of Science — expected May 2028
Major in Civil Engineering — GPR: 3.7
Ex. 2 Emphasis on degree
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, May 2025
Texas A&M University, 3.0 GPR
Ex. 3 Graduate student emphasis on degree
Doctoral Candidate in Communication, August 2024
Title: Organizing Pleasure: Contested Organizations in the United States South
Texas A&M University
You may also want to include a Relevant Coursework section, particularly if you are a STEM major seeking a position relatively early in your undergraduate career when your skills are understandably limited.
Each job entry should include your job title, the place you worked, and the dates of employment. You can place either the job title or the company name in the first line depending on whether you want to emphasize the position or the company. For instance, if the company is widely respected in that industry, you probably want to highlight it, especially if your position there was relatively minor.
Ex. Emphasis on position
Research Analyst
Cow Towne Associates — Waterloo, Iowa — Summer 2024
Ex. Emphasis on company
Cow Towne Associates — Waterloo, Iowa — Summer 2024
Research Analyst
Don’t forget that you can also include relevant volunteer positions or unpaid internships as experience. Even if you didn’t get paid, it is still work.
When discussing your skills, focus on “hard” skills. These are skills that you can support with evidence, like data, achievements, etc. “Soft” skills like interpersonal skills and personality are more difficult to summarize in a phrase and are better described in a cover letter. Focusing on skills where you can provide specific details is most beneficial.
Ex. 1 Skills
Fluent in Arabic. Reading knowledge of French
Certified as a Master Tutor by the College Reading and Learning Association
Ex. 2 Skills
Proficient in Python, Java, C and C++, HTML
Basic knowledge of Autocad
Weak bullet point: Managed a team of people
Stronger bullet point: Managed a design team of 8 employees, assigning individual duties, supervising 3 major projects, and meeting weekly deadlines
Strong verbs make your resume memorable. Each description should contain specific action verbs that convey your abilities. When choosing verbs to describe your experiences and skills, choose those that show you played an active role in the outcome.
Weak bullet point:Participated in training to become certified
Stronger bullet point:Earned certification
Your language should be direct, clear, and straightforward. Avoid strings of prepositional phrases.
Weak bullet point: “Worked on logos in a workshop on design after my graduation”
Stronger bullet point: “Created logos in a post-graduation design workshop”
Ask yourself if the words you’re using describe what you want to convey and what employers want to hear. Write each section and then go back and see if you can cut and strengthen it.
Weak bullet point: Gathered lots of information for a really important survey for a newspaper asking people about their views on same-sex marriages in Texas through interviews and questionnaires
Stronger bullet point: Interviewed and surveyed Texans about same-sex marriage for The Houston Chronicle
Spell out acronyms or omit them. Also avoid slang and overly informal language. Remember that not everyone is an Aggie; most employers don’t know about The Big Event or Fish Camp.
Weak bullet point: Figured out how to incorporate attendance info into a TAMUSAH computer system
Stronger bullet point: Discovered solution for incorporating attendance records into veterinary computer system
Because the working world changes rapidly, always research current trends and practices whenever you begin a new job search.
Houp, Kenneth W., Thomas E. Pearsall, and Elizabeth Tebeaux. Reporting Technical Information. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.
While your resume alone likely won’t get you a job, ideally it will help you secure an interview where you can make a more detailed case for why you should be hired. Successful candidates often create multiple versions of their resume to better suit particular opportunities.
Audience
As you write your resume, try to adopt an employer’s mindset. Remember: hiring someone can be stressful. The person reviewing your resume wants to find the best possible individual for the job but is likely concerned that things might go wrong. You need to create a resume that reassures the reader you are a professional, dependable person with the skills necessary to do the job well. Through your resume, you are essentially presenting yourself as a solution to the problem a company or school has, i.e., needing someone to fill a position.Research the achievements, concerns, and culture of the organization or school you’re applying to. Ideally, you should also learn about the specific job, scholarship, or program, too, so you can tailor your information to fit that exact situation. Then, consider who will be reading your resume—usually a busy person with a whole stack of resumes to read. You want to get information to that person quickly, so you don’t waste their time.
In other instances, your resume may not be reviewed by a person at all but rather by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). These programs, used by large and small companies, are designed to scan resumes in bulk for key terms to identify those applicants who best meet the organization’s established criteria. Therefore, it’s crucial that you read the position description closely and mirror that language as much as possible.
Resume Sections
The sections of a resume typically include the following: contact data, objective, education, work experience, and skills. Depending on the position you’re applying for, some sections will be given more attention and detail than others. If you’re applying for a job in marketing, for example, you’d provide more information pertaining to applicable marketing experience and less about your years in the school band (unless you designed slogans and promotional material for your band). After the first year or two of college, you will likely want to omit high school experience unless it’s exceptional. The older you get and the more work experience you have, the less even your college information matters to perspective employers.Contact Data
On your resume, you generally use your first and last name (although you can include your middle name or initial if you wish). A physical mailing address is not necessary, but include a current phone number and email and be sure you check both regularly. Employers can’t hire you if they can’t contact you! And be sure to record a voicemail message appropriate for potential employers to hear.Contact information appears at the top of your document, centered or flush with the left margin. Your name should be the largest text on the document for easy identification, followed by your contact information in a smaller size.
Anita Jobbe
XXX-555-1234
AnitaJobbe@mypersonalemail.com
Objective
This section consists of a sentence or two relating yourself directly to the job you want and the skills you have. Avoid general statements like “opportunity for advancement” or “to acquire people skills.” Focus on what you can do for the employer rather than what they can give you. Write a new objective for every position you apply for to ensure it aligns with that particular position.Ex. 1 OBJECTIVE: Find a position developing management information systems on microcomputers, ultimately leading to a systems analyst position.
Ex. 2 OBJECTIVE: Obtain a summer internship in healthcare marketing at a major medical center.
Not every resume includes an objective. Some omit it entirely while other people use a “Skills Summary” statement that gives an overall sense of the blend of abilities they offer. Check online examples and friends’ resumes and ask professors or other mentors for feedback on field-specific expectations.
Education
The education section should include information from all colleges you’ve attended, starting with the most recent. It typically lists the degree earned or dates of attendance, your major, any double-majors or minors, and your GPR (or GPA). Make sure the information is presented in a way that’s easy to read. If your grades aren’t particularly impressive, omit them or construct the layout in such a way to make them less noticeable. If you have a gap in education, don’t add a place holder; you can explain gaps in work or educational experience in the cover letter.Ex. 1 Standard entry
Texas A&M University — Bachelor of Science — expected May 2028
Major in Civil Engineering — GPR: 3.7
Ex. 2 Emphasis on degree
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, May 2025
Texas A&M University, 3.0 GPR
Ex. 3 Graduate student emphasis on degree
Doctoral Candidate in Communication, August 2024
Title: Organizing Pleasure: Contested Organizations in the United States South
Texas A&M University
You may also want to include a Relevant Coursework section, particularly if you are a STEM major seeking a position relatively early in your undergraduate career when your skills are understandably limited.
Work Experience
Work experience can either be listed in reverse chronological order or in order of significance. Chronological shows growth or highlight personal skills. Significance prioritizes abilities or several jobs related directly to the position you’re seeking. Include more detail about the job(s) most relevant to the position. Remember, active detail portrays you as an involved worker.Each job entry should include your job title, the place you worked, and the dates of employment. You can place either the job title or the company name in the first line depending on whether you want to emphasize the position or the company. For instance, if the company is widely respected in that industry, you probably want to highlight it, especially if your position there was relatively minor.
Ex. Emphasis on position
Research Analyst
Cow Towne Associates — Waterloo, Iowa — Summer 2024
- Supervised 13 assistants gathering information on cows’ eating habits
- Analyzed data to determine how to reduce feeding time while maintaining nutritional quality
Ex. Emphasis on company
Cow Towne Associates — Waterloo, Iowa — Summer 2024
Research Analyst
- Supervised 13 assistants gathering information on cows’ eating habits
- Analyzed data to determine how to reduce feeding time while maintaining nutritional quality
Don’t forget that you can also include relevant volunteer positions or unpaid internships as experience. Even if you didn’t get paid, it is still work.
Skills
The Skills section can be an easy way to include information that didn’t fit under Work Experience. Not all resumes include a Skills section, but it can be a way to emphasize abilities, especially unique and highly coveted skills like second and third languages or advanced computer programming knowledge. If you include a Skills section, try not to repeat information from any of your bullet points in the Work Experience section.When discussing your skills, focus on “hard” skills. These are skills that you can support with evidence, like data, achievements, etc. “Soft” skills like interpersonal skills and personality are more difficult to summarize in a phrase and are better described in a cover letter. Focusing on skills where you can provide specific details is most beneficial.
Ex. 1 Skills
Fluent in Arabic. Reading knowledge of French
Certified as a Master Tutor by the College Reading and Learning Association
Ex. 2 Skills
Proficient in Python, Java, C and C++, HTML
Basic knowledge of Autocad
Other Sections
You may want to include other sections including Activities, Leadership, Honors, or Awards, if you have some significant accomplishments to list there or feel those items are relevant to a particular job posting. International students applying for work in the US typically include a Work Authorization section. If you have dual citizenship and think it will be an asset in the job, mention it.Writing Bullet Points
Under each work or volunteer position, write bullet points explaining your duties and/or contributions for that job. Include specific and quantifiable details of your experiences wherever possible.Weak bullet point: Managed a team of people
Stronger bullet point: Managed a design team of 8 employees, assigning individual duties, supervising 3 major projects, and meeting weekly deadlines
Strong verbs make your resume memorable. Each description should contain specific action verbs that convey your abilities. When choosing verbs to describe your experiences and skills, choose those that show you played an active role in the outcome.
Weak bullet point:Participated in training to become certified
Stronger bullet point:Earned certification
Your language should be direct, clear, and straightforward. Avoid strings of prepositional phrases.
Weak bullet point: “Worked on logos in a workshop on design after my graduation”
Stronger bullet point: “Created logos in a post-graduation design workshop”
Ask yourself if the words you’re using describe what you want to convey and what employers want to hear. Write each section and then go back and see if you can cut and strengthen it.
Weak bullet point: Gathered lots of information for a really important survey for a newspaper asking people about their views on same-sex marriages in Texas through interviews and questionnaires
Stronger bullet point: Interviewed and surveyed Texans about same-sex marriage for The Houston Chronicle
Spell out acronyms or omit them. Also avoid slang and overly informal language. Remember that not everyone is an Aggie; most employers don’t know about The Big Event or Fish Camp.
Weak bullet point: Figured out how to incorporate attendance info into a TAMUSAH computer system
Stronger bullet point: Discovered solution for incorporating attendance records into veterinary computer system
Formatting and Design
Your resume’s appearance matters. This document is your prospective employer’s first impression of you, so it should look professional and be easy to skim quickly. A few fields, like graphic design, may be looking for a “creative” resume that includes colors, images, and unique layouts. Most fields, however, see these characteristics as unwarranted and even unprofessional. In addition, an ATS typically can’t read elaborate fonts or layouts, so it’s best to keep your resume’s layout very straightforward.- Use simple fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Georgia and nothing smaller than 10-point size
- Create headings and bullet points that repeat key terms from the job listing
- Use punctuation including periods, parentheses, brackets, slashes and/or dashes consistently to help label key items such as dates
- Leave line space between sections to make the resume readable and visually emphasize important information
- Use generous (one inch) margins; if you fill the entire page with text, go back and cut some things to make the document more pleasant to read
- Avoid using programs like Canva and similar software that may save your text as part of an image since images are typically ignored by ATS
Final Tips
Make sure your resume is error-free since mistakes suggest you do not pay attention to details. You can come to the University Writing Center and the Career Center for feedback on your resume and cover letter. If possible, you should also get feedback from someone knowledgeable about your desired field or industry.Because the working world changes rapidly, always research current trends and practices whenever you begin a new job search.
References
Halpern, Jean, Judith M. Kilborn, and Agnes Locke. Business Writing Strategies and Samples. New York: MacMillan, 1988.Houp, Kenneth W., Thomas E. Pearsall, and Elizabeth Tebeaux. Reporting Technical Information. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.