National Résumé Writing Standards
Updated 1/8/2014
In an effort to provide consistent information to School of Business Administration students regarding résumé writing, we
follow these standards endorsed by recruiters and nationally certified résumé writers. We understand career professionals and
job seekers have individual preferences; however, to provide students consistent advice, it is important to follow contemporary,
shared standards. This document is provided to business students and their résumés will typically reflect these standards.
 No Word templates! Résumés are to be tailored to the position or industry you are applying to. A résumé is a marketing tool
and should be designed to meet the employer’s needs, match the required job qualifications, and be 100% error free.
 Create a letterhead. Include name, address, phone with area code, and professionally-appropriate email. When posting a
résumé to the web, be cautious with the amount of personal data (street address) you reveal to protect yourself from risk.
 Abbreviations and acronyms are not understood by all, nor considered proper protocol-- use them sparingly unless
recognized in the industry as standard or abbreviated within the outlined job qualifications: CPA, P&L, R&D, etc.
 Objective vs. Career Summary. The word “Objective” as the first line (“headline”) is old-school and no longer used. A
stronger headline is: “Accountant” or “Seeking Position as Media Manager”. If your résumé is flying solo, unaccompanied by
a cover letter, a career summary at the top of the résumé (3-5 line paragraph or 3-5 bullets) is used to summarize and clarify
your intent, skills, and experience.
 Numbers. Quantifiable data can be powerfully persuasive and illustrate how your work accomplishments made specific,
measurable impact. “Raised revenue 75% …” is stronger, than “Raised revenue…”. Confirm the accuracy of your numbers.
 Parallel writing for bullets. Bullets are accomplishment statements, not job tasks. In each bullet, tell what you did, how you
did it, and the result. Begin all bullets with active verbs (supervised & organized, not supervised & organizing) and use past
tense verbs (orchestrated) for past positions, present tense (orchestrate) for present positions.
 Graduation date and degree. Include graduate month and year (May 2014), omit attendance dates (2010-2014). As a
business major, you will earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a subject major. For instance:
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration - Marketing major, University of Montana, graduating May 2014
 Employment dates are best displayed May 2013-August 2013 (not summer 2013) if you are applying on-line so you can
earn 3 months experience credit. For lengthy employment, 2008-2013 is appropriate, 1/4/2008 - 9/28/2013 is not.
 GPA. It can be helpful to add your GPA, if above 3.0; if you do not, employers might assume it is low. Add major GPA if high.
For accounting majors, GPA is particularly important, as employers often consider GPA in the hiring process.
 Work experience and internships. List title (bolded), name of organization, city, state, and employment dates, in that order.
Title should stand out, unless the name of the organization is more distinguished ... then list organization first and bold it.
 Unrelated part-time jobs, memberships, and interests may not be helpful. Rather, share your skills, education, experience,
and potential for the job for which you are applying and match them to the position and/or industry requirements.
 Memberships and community involvement show leadership, professionalism and dedication to the field. Consider adding
them, along with training and interests, IF they are relevant and would be beneficial to the position. For instance, Beta Alpha
Psi and MISA are key professional memberships for Accounting and MIS majors, playing sports may be important to NIKE.
 Personal data (age, sex, race, marital status, or religious and political affiliation) should be omitted, as employers cannot
legally consider this information. Stick to professional, not personal, information unless you are applying to a religious or
political organization where the information might boost your candidacy.
 References Available upon Request is not used in modern résumés. Create a separate reference page. Include matching
letterhead and list references’ names, titles, company, address, city/state/zip, phone with area code, and email. Get their
permission prior to listing them as a reference and keep them updated on your job application and search.