Check Your Resume

  • Resume is no more than one to two pages long. All pages contain a name label.
  • Contains plenty of white space. It does not look crowded.
  • Printed on good quality paper with matching envelopes included.
  • Paper is of a conservative color and use of graphics is limited.
  • Printed on a letter quality printer or computer laser printer.
  • A matching reference page is included.
  • Concentrate on accomplishments/achievements and transferable skills rather than on job duties of non-career related positions.
  • 3-4 other people have proofread the resume.
  • There are no errors contained in the resume.
  • All descriptive statements begin with an action word.
  • All tenses agree. This refers to past or present descriptions of your accomplishments or responsibilities. Example: had, have; appears, appeared and so on.
  • Statements are clear and concise and emphasize accomplishments versus mere duties.
  • Abbreviations are limited with the exception of states, directions (N, S, E, W), GPA, and program related terminology.
  • Work experiences do not go back more than 5-10 years.
  • High school education is not included on the resume.
  • Personal information (age, height, weight, family status, etc.) is not included .
  • Political or religious affiliations are avoided unless they support the employment objective.
  • Your resume is an accurate reflection of your employment interests and qualifications.
  • The use of personal pronouns such as I, me, my, mine are not used.

Other Helpful Tips

  • Include only city and state of jobs held - not the street address and zip code.
  • Usually list jobs in reverse chronological order. Exception is when you pull out related work experience that is relevant to your present job objective. List them separately under a category titled relevant or related work history.
  • Do not go into detail on jobs that are not related to present career objective.
  • Dates of employment - don't list exact day you started and finished - just month and year or year to year.
  • Generally speaking the Education category should come before your work experience for a new graduate. However, if you have related work experience, list the work experience category before education.
  • List education in reverse chronological order, degrees, or licenses first-followed by certificates and advanced training.
  • Degrees should be written out with the exception of the following well-recognized degrees such as BS, BA, MD, and PHD.
  • Include only date of graduation from college - not the years attended.
  • If you didn't finish a college degree, start with a phrase describing your major, then the name of school and the dates attended.
  • One more tip: If you fold your resumes and cover letters (printed on a laser printer) along a line of text, the text will be lifted off, so try to fold on white space or between the lines whenever possible