Even though you may want your résumé to reflect "the real you," keep in mind that these are relatively standard documents, and your audience expects to quickly find certain key pieces of information:

Heading

At the top of your résumé, put

• Your name
• Your address - home and school
• Your phone number - home and school
• Your email address - home and school

Employers will use this information to contact you, so make sure it's correct!

Objective

Experts (including hiring managers) disagree strongly over the value of objectives - some see them as an absolute necessity for defining the kind of work you want, while others see them as a waste of valuable space.

According to Career Services, most employers who interview at Virginia Tech request an objective, so for this course, you should include one on your résumé. The objective should effectively shape and guide the rest of the résumé.

• Concisely state what kind of work you're pursuing - the industry you want to work in and/or the type of work you want to do
• Focus on what you bring to the position - e.g., "use my marketing ability to increase sales for a pharmaceutical company"; "apply my knowledge of web site design to help maintain and develop corporate web sites. Employers want to know what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.
• If you want an internship, a summer position, a co-op, state that explicitly.

Education

As a new graduate, your education almost always appears immediately under the heading/objective. List your college degrees (BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD, MFA, etc.) in reverse chronological order - the most recent first. Include:

• The name and location of the institution (Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia) - you can list either Virginia Tech or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
• The degree (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc.), major, minor, concentration
• The date you completed the degree. If you haven't graduated, write "expected May 200X")
• Include your GPA only if it is over a 3.0; look at both your overall and in-major GPA; always include the scale, as well - e.g. 3.5/4.0
• If you are receiving a graduate degree, include the title of your thesis or dissertation.

In addition, you might also include information such as:

• The percentage of your education you financed yourself
• Study-abroad experiences
• Undergraduate research
• Relevant independent studies
• Career-related coursework outside the standard curriculum for your major

Note that if you are applying for a co-op position through Virginia Tech, your résumé needs to include a second page listing all your coursework; check the Career Services web site for details.

Honors and Awards

If you have received several honors or awards, you may want to list them in a separate section; if you've received one significant academic award, you may want to list that with your education.

When listing honors or awards, keep in mind that your reader probably won't recognize abbreviations and may not necessarily know what the award was for - provide concise explanations if necessary.

Experience

Include paid and unpaid experience that helps illustrate your qualifications for the position you seek. Review the list of skills and accomplishments you created to help prepare this section.

Depending on your experience, you may find it useful to create separate sections: Relevant Experience, Other Experience, Employment, Volunteer Experience, etc. can all be useful categories to help quickly organize information for your reader. For each experience, include:

• Your job title
• The name and location (city, state) of the employer
• The dates of your employment/volunteer work
• Key responsibilities and accomplishments
  • Use short phrases
  • Focus on action verbs that highlight your skills
  • Make your list parallel

Activities

Include clubs, professional organizations, and similar activities that help reflect your skills - leadership, organization, commitment to your profession or to civic activities, and so on.

You may combine this list with the Honors and Awards, or keep it separate, depending on the amount of information in each category.

• Do not write "member of" - just list the organization
• Do note any offices you held, committees you were on, and so on.
• If the nature of the organization or activity isn't clear, add a brief explanatory phrase

Skills

Most résumés include a list of your major skills. Include things like:

• Computer skills (software, hardware, operating systems, programming languages)
• Language skills
• Laboratory techniques
• Other skills relevant to the position you're applying for

Depending on the number and type of skills, you may have only one list, or you may group the skills into subheadings.

Certifications

Depending on your circumstances, you may include information such as teacher certification, engineering licensing, or related professional certifications.

In addition, if you are a non-U.S. Citizen, include information relevant to your legal ability to work inside the US, check the Career Services web site for details.

References

Typically, unless you are writing an academic vitae (to apply for a position at a university), you do not include a list of references with your résumé. Some employers still want to see "References available upon request, though Career Services notes that this phrase is not necessary for most employers interviewing on campus.

You should, however, prepare a list of references and have it ready when you go on your interviews. Be sure to check with each person to make sure they feel comfortable providing a recommendation for you. When gathering references, avoid family members and look instead for people who can speak to your suitability as an employee - people who can talk about your skills, your qualities (responsibility, organization, leadership), and so on.

 

Organizing your résumé -->