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

First Year Resume

Early Resume

Resume Guide

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.

Early Resume Sample

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

• 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.

• Avoid using abbreviations, unless they are part of the job description. Better yet, include both - “Experienced in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)".

• Use common terms (Education, Work Experience, etc.) for your section headings.

• Use the legal name of any companies referenced (e.g. in Experience), including Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.

• 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

• 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.

• Most ATS’s read left-to-right, top-to-bottom, so a simple, standard resume format is best.

• Complex resume designs or unusual formats confuse most ATS’s. It has been reported that 70-80% of resumes are rejected by AST’s.

• Do not insert tables, images or text boxes. Columns are not recommended.

• Side margins should be between 0.5" - 1 inch.

• Do not use headers or footers.

• Use simple fonts that are easily read - Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond and Georgia. The font size should be between 10 and 12 points.

• Left align your section headings and text.

• Avoid underlining, which can mess up the legibility of lower case letters such as g, q and y.

• Use standard bullets (e.g. the ones used in this document).

• 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 accelerated 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 balanced bolstered briefed budgeted built C calculated 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 debated decided defined delegated delivered demonstrated designed detached determined developed devised directed disclosed discovered dispatched displayed distributed drafted dramatized E earned edited	educated entered established estimated evaluated examined executed expanded expedited explained explored extended F facilitated familiarized filed forecasted foresaw formulated fostered found founded   G gained gathered generated governed H handled heightened highlighted	I identified illustrated implemented improved incorporated increased informed initiated innovated inspected inspired instructed interpreted interviewed invented inventoried invested investigated   J joined judged   K keyed   L laminated launched lectured lead learned led liaised logged
M maintained managed marketed maximized measured medicated merged modified monitored motivated   N negotiated notified O observed obtained opened operated orchestrated ordered organized	P participated perceived performed persuaded planned prepared presented processed procured produced profited programed projected promoted proofed proposed proved provided publicized published purchased Q qualified	R rated received recognized recommended recorded recruited reduced referred regulated reorganized repaired replaced reported represented researched resolved restored restructured resulted in returned revealed reviewed revised	S saved 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 taught terminated tested trained transferred   U unified updated upgraded utilized