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Resume

Your resume is more than just a list of your education and experience. It's your sales pitch, your marketing tool, your personal advertisement! Effective resumes can make the difference between getting the interview and getting a rejection letter. Following are some tips to help you create the best personal advertisement possible.

How much time do most recruiters take to review a resume? Between 30 & 60 seconds! To capitalize on that one minute of fame, make sure you use short, concise phrases to describe your experiences.

Be sure to include:

  • Contact information, including your full name, address, phone number and e-address.
  • Education, including degree(s), colleges attended, major(s), minor(s) or study-abroad experiences. High school is typically NOT included. List your educational experiences in reverse order (most recent first). For Example:
    • "Bachelor of Science in Applied Math & Statistics, May 2000 GPA 3.2 State University of New York at Stony Brook"
    • "Associate of Applied Science, May 1998 GPA 3.4 Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY"
  • Honors or awards, such as a scholarship you received or other academic recognition.
  • Related qualifications, such as research projects, internships, leadership roles. List your job title, place & dates of employment, and a brief description of your accomplishments. For Example:
    • "Intern, Travelers Corporation, Hartford, CT Summer 1999 - Analyzed amortization statements & made recommendations resulting in a 20% savings for the retail mortgage division's 3rd quarter expenses. - Recognized as outstanding student intern for August 1999."
  • Work experience not directly related to your career goal is also included. List in reverse chronological order and focus on accomplishments.
  • Skill sets are VERY important. Include computer skills and/or foreign languages. For Example:
    • "Computer Skills: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, html, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator."
    • "Language Skills: Fluent in Chinese; Conversational Spanish."
  • Activities, interests, professional affiliations, volunteer work, etc. all have a place on your resume - especially if they provided you with responsibility, leadership and accomplishments. For Example:

    • Treasurer, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, SUNY Stony Brook. 1999-2000

      • Oversaw & managed budget of $1000.
      • Kept detailed records of expenses using Microsoft Excel.
      • Created charts & graphs comparing previous and current year expenses, which helped shape the goals of the fundraising committee.
  • Limit your resume to one page. Use consistent formatting, and proofread it several times so that it is error-free. Don't just hit your spell-check key - read for grammar as well.


Is that all there is to it?

Want to get a better idea of what your resume should look like? Then take a look at our resume packet available on ZebraNet. Once you have logged into ZebraNet, under "Resource Library" click on the pdf. document "Resume Packet".