Resume Writing

What can you do to distinguish yourself from the crowd and win in the job-search game? To a large extent, it is your ability to market yourself and present your qualifications, experience and achievements in a manner that is sharp, focused and aggressive. The first step in starting the job-hunting process is creating a Resume.

Resume Writing Preparation

Whether you are a candidate for the position of general manager, marketing manager, or trainee, your resume must highlight your skills, accomplishments and work experience in a way that distinguishes you from hundreds of other candidates flooding companies’ mailboxes. A good resume grabs the reader’s attention and increases your chances of being called for an interview.

Potential employers use the resume to make an initial assessment of your skills, which can possibly lead to an interview. Consider your resume to be your sales tool. This one sheet of paper needs to convince the employer that you, out of all the candidates, deserve a job interview. Along with the content, the appearance of your resume should be neat and professional.

Resume Writing Tips

There are several resume formats that you can choose from. There is no right format, as each has its own usage and strengths. Choose the resume style that best suits your qualifications and presents you as the ideal candidate for the position to which you are applying.

Chronological Resume

List your background in reverse chronological order starting with your most recent. Works best when:

Your work and academic experience relate directly to the type of job for which you are applying.
You want to emphasize a very stable work history and/or consistent upward mobility and promotions in your chosen career.
You are applying for a job in a conservative field or when you feel your employer is more comfortable with a traditional resume.
You have accumulated work experience, internships, or extracurricular activities, and you have no gaps or major career shifts in your work history.

Skills/Functional Resume

Extract from your experience your most important skills or functions relevant to your career objective. You organize and group your skills into functional categories. This type of resume does not focus on where you performed your functions or for how long. Works best when:

Your work experience is not directly related to your academic background.
Your best accomplishments are not drawn from the most recent jobs but from previous ones.
You are making a career change.
Your previous job titles don’t do justice to your accomplishments and responsibilities.
You want to focus on the skills relevant to the potential job and not on past job content.
You have gaps in your work history or long stretches of non-paid periods.
You have little or no job experience.
Your impressive skills come out of volunteer or unpaid work.

Meet a Career Advisor

Our career advisors are available to meet with you individually and assist you. They are certified and trained to listen to your needs, help you increase your self-awareness and job market understanding, and coach you in developing a plan to reach your career goals. However, it is up to you to make career decisions, act on your decisions and make your career plan a reality. Confidentiality of personal information, assessment outcomes, and credentials is guaranteed. You can make use of this service as early as your freshman year and throughout your professional career as an alumnus.

You can schedule an advising appointment on your CareerWEB account under the Counseling Appointment section.

Attend a Workshop

The Career Center offers the following workshops:

Management Consulting Resumes

Management consulting firms are very selective and conduct a rigorous screening process for applicants. Attend this session to learn the dos and don’ts when constructing a resume for the consulting field and maximize your chances of getting an interview.

Resume Writing

What is a resume? Who needs one? What information goes into it? What are some of the best resume formats? If you have asked these questions and don’t have a resume, then this is the perfect workshop for you. Learn how to present your skills and qualifications effectively to maximize your chances of landing an interview.

For details about the workshops, refer to CareerWEB under the Events section.