Resume
How will you stand out?
Take the time to find the right words that show why your experience matters.
Watch our 10 Minute Tips: Creating Your Professional Resume video
Virtual Resume Writing Workshop
Writing a Resume
A resume is often the first sense a recruiter has of you, your abilities, and accomplishments. Resumes receive about six seconds of a recruiter’s time, so don’t try to include everything. Think of it as a tool that markets your most applicable skills and experiences.
Resume Samples
Resume Template
Below is a downloadable sample resume template to help you format your resume. You still want to enter your individual content and adjust the sections as needed to fit your personalized needs. Make sure you also utilize the tips in the resume samples above.
Applicant Tracking System: Beating the Bots
Recruiters have to look through hundreds of resumes. In order to speed up the process of finding candidates who best fit the job requirements, companies often use a software program called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to screen and filter resumes. Once you submit your resume for a position, your information is scanned, interpreted, and your experience is categorized into buckets like education or skills and is compared to the job description. The ATS then scores and ranks your resume based on how well your information matches the job description and is then forwarded to a recruiter. The higher your resume is ranked, the more prioritization your resume will get. Resumes that fall below are excluded. While not every company uses an ATS, it is important to know how they work and how to beat them, especially considering that 99% of Fortune 500 companies use them and small to medium businesses are quickly following suit. It’s clear that ATS are here to stay. That’s why it’s so important to use the right keywords and format your resume in a way that makes it easy for ATS software to read.
Below are some information and tips for creating an ATS compliant resume:
Content
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Tailor your resume for each position by using exact keywords and phrases for the job description. However, do not “stuff” your resume, as some ATS’s recognize skills based on context. Show how you used that skill.
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Avoid using abbreviations, unless they are part of the job description. Better yet, include both - “Experienced in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)".
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Use common terms (Education, Work Experience, etc.) for your section headings.
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Use the legal name of any companies referenced (e.g. in Experience), including Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.
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If you have an on-campus job, do not use “Notre Dame” or “University of Notre Dame” as your employer - an ATS could confuse this with Education. Include the department - “University of Notre Dame Student-Athlete Tutoring.”
Format
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Create your resume using Word, and then save and submit it as a PDF. The formatting of a Word document can be distorted when printed and a PDF will maintain the formatting.
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Most ATS’s read left-to-right, top-to-bottom, so a simple, standard resume format is best.
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Complex resume designs or unusual formats confuse most ATS’s. It has been reported that 70-80% of resumes are rejected by AST’s.
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Do not insert tables, images or text boxes. Columns are not recommended.
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Side margins should be between 0.5" - 1 inch.
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Do not use headers or footers.
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Use simple fonts that are easily read - Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond and Georgia. The font size should be between 10 and 12 points.
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Left align your section headings and text.
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Avoid underlining, which can mess up the legibility of lower case letters such as g, q and y.
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Use standard bullets (e.g. the ones used in this document).
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Your work experience for your current and previous jobs should appear in a consistent format. Ensure that the location, position, and length of employment information is uniform throughout your resume.
Social Media
- Some ATS’s sync with an applicant’s social media platforms, so make sure yours are professional and up-to-date.
Resume Checklist
General Format
Is the resume one page? |
Yes |
No |
Is the first and last name at the top of the page in bold? Are email and phone # easy to read? |
Yes |
No |
Are the headings and statements evenly spaced? |
Yes |
No |
Does the education section follow directly after the contact information? |
Yes |
No |
Is formatting (e.g. bold, font, bullet sizes, heading styles) consistent throughout the resume? |
Yes |
No |
Are verb tenses present tense for current experiences; past for previous experiences? |
Yes |
No |
Are there approximately 1-4 statements in bulleted format under the Experience section? |
Yes |
No |
Content
If included, does the Objective statement clearly state industry, position, and 2-3 skill sets? |
Yes |
No |
Does the resume include the applicable headings? Education, Experience, Activities/Leadership/Service, and Skills? |
Yes |
No |
Does the Education section state official degree and graduation date? |
Yes |
No |
Is the cumulative GPA included if higher than 3.0? |
Yes |
No |
Is the resume free of personal pronouns (e.g. no references to “I”, “we”, “me”, “us”, “my”)? |
Yes |
No |
Do the bulleted descriptions demonstrate major accomplishments rather than routine tasks/duties and are they quantifiable when possible? |
Yes |
No |
Do the bulleted descriptions start with action verbs and demonstrate the use of key skills? |
Yes |
No |
Is the resume completely free from spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and grammatical errors? |
Yes |
No |
Action Verb List
Resume Action Words
Avoid using common words such as helped, worked, and responsible for.
A accommodated accomplished accounted for achieved acquainted acquired adapted added adjusted administered advertised advised advocated aided altered analyzed anticipated applied appraised approved arbitrated arranged assisted assumed attached attained attended augmented authored |
B bolstered briefed budgeted built cataloged caused chaired changed charted checked circulated classified cleared up collaborated collected combined compiled completed computed condensed conducted conferred consolidated constructed consulted controlled converted
|
convinced coordinated copied corrected counseled counted created critiqued D decided defined delegated delivered demonstrated designed detached determined developed devised directed disclosed discovered dispatched displayed distributed drafted dramatized E edited |
educated entered established estimated evaluated examined executed expanded expedited explained explored extended familiarized filed forecasted foresaw formulated fostered found founded G gathered generated governed H heightened highlighted |
I illustrated implemented improved incorporated increased informed initiated innovated inspected inspired instructed interpreted interviewed invented inventoried invested investigated J judged K L launched lectured lead learned led liaised logged |
M managed marketed maximized measured medicated merged modified monitored motivated N notified obtained opened operated orchestrated ordered organized |
P perceived performed persuaded planned prepared presented processed procured produced profited programed projected promoted proofed proposed proved provided publicized published purchased Qqualified |
R received recognized recommended recorded recruited reduced referred regulated reorganized repaired replaced reported represented researched resolved restored restructured resulted in returned revealed reviewed revised |
S scheduled screened scrutinized selected sent served set shipped showed sold solved sought specified spoke sponsored stabilized started stopped straightened streamlined strengthened |
studied submitted suggested summarized supervised supplemented surpassed
T terminated tested trained transferred U updated upgraded utilized |