Resume Tips

Need help with your resume? 

Regardless of your approach, ‘Do-it-yourself”, or with help from our Certified Resume Writers, start by gathering your information. 

Be Precise:
Collect all relevant dates, job titles, company names, locations and accountabilities before you start writing.  Be precise at this stage and you’ll save time, frustration and lost opportunities down the road.

Be Concise:
Write a brief "Career Summary". Describe in two or three lines what you have accomplished in your education and professional employment. Remember, this is a statement of accomplishment, not a summary of self-descriptive terms.

Write a "Professional History". Start with your most recent employment and include your job title, relevant dates, employers and locations for each position held throughout your professional work history.

Use bullet points to describe your accountabilities and results achieved for each position. Start each bullet point with an action word ("Managed", "Designed", "Programmed", etc.) and use quantifiable results achieved or specific skills utilized to produce outcomes.

List education and relevant certifications. In reverse chronological order, include dates, degrees, granting institutions and locations. If you have professional certifications or licenses, include registration numbers and expiration dates.

List awards, publications, patents, copyrights and special achievements.

List additional skills. Include computer hardware/software skills and languages in which you are fluent.

List professional affiliations and community service organizations. Include dates and activities such as boards served on, offices held and project achievements.

Spell check, print and proof your resume. And then, do it again. Then, give it to a trusted advisor to read and proof for spelling, grammar, professional jargon and technical errors. Make your changes and corrections and proof it again. Double-check the obvious: Your name, home address, telephone number(s) and email address.