Resumes
How will you stand out?
Your resume may be one of the most important assets you have to land an interview. Your resume will likely be compared against hundreds of others with similar majors, GPAs, and experiences as yours. We will help you develop the most effective, one-page summary of your qualifications.
Before you get started
Approach your resume with a growth mindset, keeping in mind these three basic principles:
- Your resume should be a compelling summary of why you are the best candidate for that particular position.
- There are recommended resume formats based on the types of roles you are seeking.
- Seek as much feedback as possible. Use web-based resources and ask others to review your resume.
Select one of the following to learn more:
Start your first resume
It's never too early to draft your first resume. The goal of your resume is not to be a record of all your accomplishments; consider your resume to be a one-page "sell sheet" that will tell the story about why you are the best candidate for a particular position. Here are 5 tips to get you started:
- Your resume will evolve over time. Create an organized system to keep a record of all of your accomplishments and the various versious of your resume for different positions you apply to.
- Since you may not have much content to add, focus first on the framework of your resume. Use this template to get started.
- It's OK to include high school information in your first resume. Once you reach January of your sophomore year, you will want to remove your high school accomplishments and experiences (unless you have experiences that are compelling and transferable to the position you are pursuing).
- Learn how to use AI tools like JobScan and AI language models like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing to help optimize (not write!) your resume.
- Be careful when signing up for free resume building tools. While they sound great, many of them may require you to pay for full functionality and editing in the future. To get started, stick with a simple Word or Google Doc template.
If you are not sure where to get started, watch our "Writing Your First Resume" video.
Resume templates
There are recommended resume formats based on the type of roles you are seeking. For example:
- If you are pursuing a job in the federal government, you will need a federal resume, which is longer and includes more information than a standard resume.
- If you are seeking a design role, adding creative formatting or design elements will benefit you.
- For many roles, you will need a standard one-page, black and white resume. This simply-formatted resume helps you navigate applicant tracking systems (ATS), technology employers use to screen resumes. The best place to start is with our standard resume template.
Finding ways to stand out is important. Avoid using standard templates that are embedded in Google Docs or Word. Instead, use a template that allows
Download the .docx resume template
Improve your resume
As a college student, plan to update your resume at least three times per year (at the end of the fall semester, spring semester, and summer). When updating your content, also take the time to proofread. To help you learn from others, here are a few tips and common mistakes:
7 important tips
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- The audience for your resume is the recruiter, not you. Focus your content on what they want to know about you, not what you are most proud of.
- Tailor your resume to the position you are applying to. Include keywords you find in the job description (this will improve your resume's scoring in ATS).
- Use metrics, whenever possible.
- Give recruiters the opportunity to learn more about you by including your LinkedIn profile URL (and be sure to have a short, customized URL)
- Align the content of your resume with your LinkedIn and Handshake profiles.
- Use AI language models like ChatGPT to proofread.
- When you are ready to submit your resume, save it as a PDF
6 common mistakes
Our staff reviews hundreds of resumes every year. Here are the most common mistakes we see:
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- Typos and inconsistent formatting show a lack of attention to detail.
- Not tailoring the resume to the position (missing keywords)
- Inconsistent formatting and line spacing
- Inconsistent use of verb tenses
- Lack of white space / margins are too narrow / inconsistent line spacing
- Focusing on job duties instead of the impact you made
Use metrics
Recruiters want to know more than your job duties with past internships and projects. They want to know about how you contributed and what impact you made. Numbers help tell the story about the impact you made. Metrics can also articulate what others think about you and how well you can work with others.
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- If you are struggling to think about metrics, Jeff Su shares three simple questions to help you come up with a meaningful metric: How many? How often? How long?
- Use Google's XYZ format: "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." (read this LinkedIn article from a former Google VP of Human Resources)
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Comprehensive resume checklist
To help you create the most compelling resume, we have created an interactive checklist in a Google Sheet format. You will also find links on the resource to learn more about particular topics.
Compelling action verbs
Aim to not repeat action verbs. If you are looking for inspiration, The Muse has an excellent resource to think about action verbs by types of accomplishments (e.g. led a project, improved something, research, etc.) . In addition to this resource, we have also created a resource with 300+ action verbs. Not only will you find ideas for verbs, we have also provided alternative verbs so you can avoid using each verb more than once.
Learn how ATS works
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are software tools used by employers to save time by automating recruitment and hiring processes. Due the complexity of managing thousands of applications for thousands of positions across their organizations, 99% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). ATS screen resumes using artificial intelligence, and in many cases, score and rank candidates based solely on the content of your resume and how it aligns to the position description.
Here are a few tips to position your resume to have a better chance of
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- Avoid complex formatting like tables, pictures, columns, etc.
- Use the keywords found in the job description
- Focus on the "soft skills" mentioned in the job description, too, not just the technical skills
- Include a list of skills that you possess, and make sure you include the key skills outlined in the position description. Don't just list the skills in a string of words (the AI used by ATS will notice that you are trying to beat the system)
There are a number of tools online where you can get your resume analyzed. One of these is JobScan.
Get your resume reviewed
Once you have a draft of your resume take the time to get feedback from at least three sources, including technology-based and human reveiws.
Self-review
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- Use our comprehensive checklist to learn about dozens of important elements to consider.
Tech-based resume reviews
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- Tools like Grammarly are great for checking for grammar and spelling.
- Use a tool like Resume Worded to see how well your resume alings with a job description.
- Run a more in-depth analysis of your resume against a position decscription using JobScan.
- AI language model tools like ChatGPT and Bard are great for not only checking for grammar, but also giving tips for how to improve your bullets. Ask the language model "What are 5 other ways I can write this resume bullet to be more compelling?" (note: You may want to consider using more than one tool, as you will get different results).
Reviews by others
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- Ask a roommate, friend, or family member to proof for grammar. Ask them "which of my experience do you think is most compelling if I am applying to this position?"
- Our career advisors can offer specialized guidance based on the type of roles you are pursuing. Start with a virtual drop-in appointment, and then schedule a follow-up to get advice for developing a job search strategy.