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Resumés:
Content

  1. Contact Information
    The contact information section is at the top of your resumé. It should include the following information: name, local address, telephone number, email address.

    SUSAN SARANDON
    1234 Commonwealth Avenue • Apt. 12 • Boston, MA 02246
    617-123-4567 • Sarandon@bu.edu

    It is acceptable to incorporate your school and permanent addresses, particularly if you plan to return to your home area post graduation (for full-time work) or during the summer (for internships). However, list only one email and one phone number. Employers need to be able to reach you easily.

  2. Education
    This section contains your collegiate educational history. Include the full name of the school, along with its location, your year of graduation, and anticipated degree (see Additional Information for Graduate Students for information on listing more than one degree).

    Boston University School of Management; Boston, MA
    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) May 200X
    Concentration in Marketing; Cumulative GPA: 3.21

    Use this section to highlight your concentration, GPA, activities, honors and awards, academic scholarships, leadership roles, club memberships, and any volunteer work.

    Resume Content

    Academic Team Projects. Highlight those that are most closely connected to the industry you are pursuing. It is best to profile one or two strong team projects and offer more detailed descriptions of the work product than to provide a brief overview of all of your projects. Be sure to incorporate the team aspect; however, also highlight any specific area of the assignment for which you took ownership.

    Certificates and licenses may be included in this section, particularly if you are interested in entering that field. For example, if you have a real estate license and are pursuing opportunities in this industry, it is appropriate to list your licensure in your education section. In some fields, receiving a license or certificate is a prerequisite for employment. This information should always appear on your resumé.

    High school experience. It is neither necessary nor recommended to include your high school, with one exception. If you attended a highly regarded school, you may include it, especially if you are pursuing work in the area where the school is located. If you are seeking employment in areas that may not be familiar with the high school, you should consider whether it is useful to include it. In such a case, you may wish to have two versions of your resumé; one that incorporates the high school and another that does not. That said, undergraduates can include relevant experience, accomplishments or leadership positions from high school within the appropriate section (i.e. Interests, Activities/Honors or Experience).

    Dual concentration. If the two concentrations are distinctly different fields and your job search research is in two separate areas with little cross over, it may be in your best interest to craft two resumés with each resumé emphasizing the experience that you have in each of the two concentrations. If you plan to focus your job-search efforts in one of the two fields, then you should list the primary concentration first and highlight the work experiences in that field throughout your resumé.

  3. Experience
    The Experience section highlights your skills and accomplishments. Employers should be listed in reverse chronological order. Entries should include: company name, job title, location, dates of employment, and accomplishment statements. You can include both unpaid and campus jobs. Dates should be flush with the right-hand margin.

    Company XYZ; Boston, MA                                      May 1997-June 1999
    If the company or industry is not widely known, incorporate a one-line description of the company.
    Title (i.e., intern)

    • Document your work performance in a way that highlights your impact on an organization. This is an Accomplishment Statement.
    • Demonstrate your key skills, talents and capabilities with measurable, concrete examples to create effective Accomplishment Statements.
    • Refer to the following section on writing powerful Accomplishment Statements.
  4. Skills
    Incorporate computer and any language skills into this section. Be aware that if you indicate aptitude or proficiency in a technical skill or language, you should be prepared to discuss or speak it during an interview.

    SKILLS

    • MS Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Word, C++, Adobe Photoshop
    • Fluent in German and French; reading ability in Italian
  5. Interests/Personal
    This section allows recruiters to identify areas outside of academics and work that are of interest to you and to talk to you about them. Consider your interests or past accomplishments that are unique and will be memorable (in a positive way) to the recruiter.

    INTERESTS

    • Qualified for and completed three Boston Marathons, 2001-2003.
    • Accomplished vocalist, including opera, classical, and liturgical.
    6. Resume Content
  6. Information NOT to Include on Your Resumé
    Limit the amount of personal information on your resumé. In the U.S., it is recommended that you do not include items such as age, gender, marital status, children, religious affiliation, or pictures. This standard varies from culture to culture; be sure to research the norm for resumés in the country or region in which you are applying for jobs and alter your resumé accordingly.

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