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ResumesandCVsBasicResumes Download

Printerfriendlyversion SamplewhatNOT
todoonaresume
Howtobegin CorrectedSample
Resume
WhatifIdon'thaveenoughexperience?
SampleResume
FirstYearStudent
Whatshouldmyresumelooklike?
SampleResume
Whattoinclude Engineering

SampleResume
Whatnottoinclude UndergradLiberal
Arts(with
comments)
Howtodescribeexperiences

Includingactivitiesorleadershipexperiences

Howtogetmoreresumeassistance

HOWTOBEGIN
Aresumeisatargetedsummaryofyouraccomplishments.Itsmainpurposeistoconvinceapotential
employertointerviewandhireyouforaposition.Resumesareusedtoscreenapplicantsforinterviewsand
determinewhichcandidateshavethebackgroundthatmostcloselymatcheswhattheemployerislooking
for.

Beforeyoustartwriting,taketimetoreflectandbeclearaboutyourintentions.Theassessmentpage
containsworksheetsthatwillhelpoutlineyourexperienceandanswersomeimportantquestions.Think
aboutyourexperience,pastandpresent,includinginternships,summerjobs,volunteerwork,
extracurricularactivities,courseprojectsandresearch,toidentifywhatyouhavetoofferemployers.
Assesswhatyouaccomplishedineachpositionandwhatskillsyoudeveloped.Prioritizetheinformationin
ordertohighlightwhatismostsignificantandrelevantinrelationtoyourcareerobjectives.

WhatifIdon'thaveenoughexperience?

Thisisoftenaconcernwhenstartingoutbutyouprobablyhavemoreexperiencethanyouthink.
Rememberthatyoucanlistbothexperiencesthatwerepaidandthosethatwerenot.Employersare
interestedinskillsandexperiencesyoumayhavegainedfromacademic,community,andvolunteer
projects.Aleadershippositioninacluborvolunteerorganizationcanbuildanumberofskillsrelevanttoa
varietyofcareers,ascanclassprojectsorresearchpapers/projects.

Whatshouldmyresumelooklike?
Aonepageresumeispreferableformostfields.Twopageresumesaretypicallyappropriateonlyforthose
withextensiveworkexperience.

1. FormatDesigntheresumesothatitisclearlyorganizedandeasytoquicklyscan.Usebold,
underlining,anditalicstodrawattention,butusethemsparinglyandconsistentlysothatthe
resumedoesn'tappearcluttered.
2. LayoutAresumecanbestructuredseveralways:
Chronologicalresumeslistexperiencesinreversechronologicalorder,frommostrecent
goingbackwardintime.Thisisthemostcommonresumeformatandisappropriatefor
individualswhoseeducationandexperiencematchtheircareerobjective.Thechronological
resumeisalsousuallythepreferredformatofemployersandrecruiters.
Functionalresumesfocusonskills,functions,oractivityrelatedcategoriesrelevanttothe
objective.Thisresumeformatisappropriateforthosewhodonothavemuchexperiencein
theirchosenfield,thosewhomayhavetimegapsinbetweenjobs,orthosewhoare
changingcareers.However,employersusuallypreferachronologicalorhybridresumeas
theyareoftenconsideredeasiertoread.
Hybridresumescombineelementsofchronologicalandfunctionalresumes.Thisformat
maysplittheexperiencesectionintospecifictypesofexperiencesections.
3. EmailIfyouaresendingyourresumeelectronically,trysavingyourdocumentasaPDF.Thiswill
keepyourformattingconsistentwhenitisviewedbytheemployer.
4. PaperRememberthataresumeisafirstimpression.Ifyouaresendingahardcopy,usehigh
qualityresumepaperandmatchingpaperforyourcoverlettersandenvelopes.

WHATTOINCLUDE

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1/3/2017 Resumes and CVs - Basic Resumes | Center for Career Education
Resumesshouldalwaysinclude:

ContactInformation:name,address,email,phonenumber.
Education:school,location,degree,dateofgraduation,major,minor,andGPA(ifover3.0).
Experience:paidandunpaidwork(internships,volunteerjobs,militaryservice)listorganizations,
locations,dates,yourtitle,andabriefdescriptionofyouraccomplishmentsandduties.Thiscanbe
dividedintotwosections,e.g.,RelatedExperienceandAdditionalExperience.
Skills:foreignlanguages,technicalskills,labskills,andresearchskills.

Thefollowingoptionalsectionscanalsobeincluded:

Profilestatement:asummaryofaperson'squalifications.
Honors:listhonorsorscholarshipsyouhavereceived(limitto36recentorprestigiousones).
RelevantCoursework:list36coursesthataredirectlyrelatedtothejobyouareseeking.
Activities:clubs,athletics,andcommunityorganizationslistleadershippositionsheld.
Interests:ifyouwanttoaddthispersonalelementtoyourresume,makesuretobespecific.
Additionalinformation:sectionsthatcanbeincludedwhenappropriateareProjects,Accreditations
orLicensure,ProfessionalAffiliationsandPublications.
Personalwebsite:mayincluderesume,informationonpublications,projects,andotherpertinent
informationthatanemployerwouldfindhelpfulinevaluatingacandidate.
LinkedInProfilelink

Whatnottoinclude

Personalinformationsuchasage,maritalstatus,ornumberofchildren.
Repetitionofwordssuchas"responsibilities"and"dutiesincluded"or"assistedwith"beforeeach
description.
Useofthefirstperson"I"orextensivenarrative.
ListofReferencesor"ReferencesAvailableUponRequest".

Howtodescribeexperiences

Useactionverbstobegineachdescription,emphasizethepositive,andsellyourstrengths.
Createshort,concrete,andresultsorientedphrasestodescribeyourpastexperiences.
Quantifyandqualifyasmuchaspossible.

Forexample,insteadofsayingIwasresponsibleforfundraising'youcansayCoordinatedateamof20
fundraisingvolunteerstoraisemoneyforalocalcharity.Developedinnovativefundraisingactivities
includingFacebookadvertisingandmotivatedteamtoachievea50%increaseinfundsraised.'

Includingactivitiesorleadershipexperiences
OneofthekeyaspectsthatemployerslookforinColumbiastudentsisevidenceofleadership.Thereforeit
isimportantinyourresumetolistanyinvolvementyouhavehadthatdemonstratesleadershipqualities.
BelowareafewexamplesofwhatyoumightincludefromyourColumbiaexperienceina"Leadership"or
"Activities"section(youcanalsofittheminthe"Experience"categoryifyouworkedextensivelywiththe
organizationandcandescribeyourroleindepth):

ParticipantinGatewayProgram
InvolvementwithCommunityImpactorothervolunteergroup
MemberofEconomicsSociety
TreasurerofGraduateStudentEngineeringCouncil
EditorfortheColumbiaSpectator

HOWTOGETMORERESUMEASSISTANCE
Weencourageyoutoutilizeourservicestomakeyourresumestandout.Herearethestepsyoushould
taketoreceiveassistance:

AttendaPowerHalfHouronresumewriting.Checkouronlinecalendarforspecificdates.
Alternatively,checkoutthisResumesandCVsWebshop.
VisitourofficeduringQuickQuestions,weekdaysfrom1:00to4:00pm.Youcanmeetwitha
counselorfor10minutestohaveyourresumereviewed.
Ifyouneedmoreguidance,scheduleanappointmentwithacounselorbycalling2128545609.
Notethatduringtheearlyfallsemester,therecanbealongwaittimetomeetwithacounselor.If
youhaveaquickquestionorwantsomeonetoreviewyourrevisedresume,youcanreturnduring
QuickQuestions.

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