The internet can give several different pages and websites on how to write a good resume. Which can be a lot of different information, especially when you don’t know what to do with it all. In this blog post, I tried to take all the information I could find and put it into one page.
A good resume should only take six seconds to look at. An employer will make the decision to read more just based on what they see first. In a resume, there should be five different sections.
Heading
In your heading you should have your name large and bolded centered at the top. Under that, with a location of where you are currently living. For college students, you can put your hometown and then schooling location. Then your email address, this should be a professional or school email. Not a personal address. Lastly, a phone number which you can be contacted by.
Education
This will be your first headline, starting at your education only in college, not high school. Your college should be listed first, with the location of the school next to it. Under that, you place the school in which your major is associated with. For example, Klein College of Media and Communications. Below that you can place your major, such as B.A in Public Relations. If desired, your minor can be identified as well. Then you can put down an expected graduation month and date. Some optional things you can include are your GPA, study away, and deans list. Only put your GPA if you have a 3.5 or higher.
The only things bolded in this section should be Education and the college/university.
Skills
The skills described should be what is called hard skills. Hard skills are skills that focus on specific tools, equipment, languages, etc. needed to complete a job. To give you an idea, this could be GarageBand, Teleprompter, Adobe Lightroom and more. These should be placed in three different columns on the left, middle, and right. You can put as many as you want on there, but keep it relevant.
Relevant Coursework
In this section, you can show any classes you have taken that may complement your experiences. List only the most important that an employer may ask about and could be relevant for a position. When spelling out the class names, make sure to list their real name. For instance, Intro to Advertising should be Introduction to Advertising.
Relevant Experience
Here is probably the most important section of your resume. This is where you can really show future employers what makes you qualified for the job. In here you can place any internships, jobs, professional clubs, and freelance work relevant to your intended career. Formatting your experience should start with the company/clubs name, bolded, then the location. Under that, you want your position held, italicized, also with how long you were employed there. This can look like June 2021-Present.
The large part of your resume is stating what you actually did. This can look very different for everyone and position. This can be placed in bullet points and usually 3-5 tasks or activities accomplished in your time there. Every point should start with an action word, creative, organized, etc. But keep in mind, if it is a current job it must be in the present tense and if you are no longer at that place of employment, it must be past tense.
Optional
Depending on the amount of space you have you may add more like work experience, awards, and volunteering. But keep in mind that you only have one page.
If you don't like a “simple” resume a great resource to use is Canva. Where you can find free templates available to use and create a standout resume.
Key Reminders
All headings should be bolded and underlined.
Do not use the word “I”
Use simple fonts and 11-13 point
Keep your information short and direct
Have all formatting look the same for the sections, keep things consistent
Make sure before you submit or print, check for any and all spelling error
Hopefully this format will help you either start a resume or build on to the one you had before. Having a good resume can help the employer understand who you are and why you are the best fit for the job.
This blog post was written by Julia Anderson, General Body Member