Resume
Writing
Chris LaGrow
Assistant Director
Career Development Office
www.fredonia.edu/cdo/lagrow
Upcoming Events
Spotlights:
10/20, 4pm: First Investors
10/20, 6pm: Disney College Program
10/26, 3:30pm: SellingHive
11/1, 6pm: Interviewing
Resume Deadlines:
10/20: Geico (interviews at CDO 10/28)
10/20: Drescher Malecki (interviews at CDO 10/27)
11/2: First Investors (interviews at CDO 11/9
11/16, 3-6pm: JobQuest Job & Internship Fair
Frequent updates in Quest.
Get it Critiqued!
Call the office at 673-3327; identify
yourself as a Leadership student
Bring resume & cover letter
Don’t wait, our schedules are already
filling fast!
What We Do
CDO Services
 Internships!
 Resume/cover letter review
 Practice interviews/InterviewStream
 Job search/grad school assistance
 Quest (jobs, internships and events)
A Word about resume templates
Quick reasons NOT to use resume
templates
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Mix and match fonts
Takes up more space
Don’t include sections YOU need
They’re not unique
No Need to Include…
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Hobbies
Interests
Height, weight, eye/hair color
SSN
Marital status
Political and religious preferences
High school activities and honors
The Basics
 Length: one page
 Margins: start with one inch
all the way around
 Font: Arial, Times, Palatino,
Book Antiqua-easy to read!
 Font size: start with 12; no
smaller than 10
Contact Info
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Full name
School and/or home address
Phone number(s)
E-mail (no offensive or cutesy e-mails
please)
Objective Statements
Use one if…
 You have space
 You have a specific job
or type of job in mind
 You’re not sending a
cover letter
Don’t bother if…
 You don’t have space
 You don’t have a
specific job in mind
 You’re sending a cover
letter
Education
 State University of New York at Fredonia
 Write out your degree (Bachelor of Arts,
not BA) and date of graduation
Bachelor of Science in Accounting, May 2012
 Then your minor if any
 Honors (scholarships, honor societies,
Dean’s List, etc.)
 Related courses?
 GPA > 3.0
What qualifies as “Related
Experience?”
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Internships
Research projects in your field
Leadership Program?
Some summer/part-time jobs
Some clubs or organizations
 Were you a student leader? A team
captain?
Experience
 Four pieces of information:
 Your title and dates (month and year are
sufficient – usually first line)
 Employer/organization, and City and
State (usually second line)
 Then describe what you do.
Job Descriptions
 Use bullet format
 First word usually a verb (watch your
tense)
 Accomplishments
 Related, “impressive” aspects of the
job
 Thorough and descriptive
 Details
Other Sections
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Computer Skills
Activities or Athletics
Language Skills
Use descriptive section titles!
Samples and Questions
SUNY Fredonia Accounting Society, 2009-present
Treasurer, 2010
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Managed a budget of approximately $3000
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As part of the executive board, arranged for professionals and alumni to present
on career and industry issues.
SUNY Fredonia NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball, 2008-present
Captain, 2011-12
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Set single-game scoring record, Fall 2009
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Four-year starter; led team to SUNYAC finals, 2010
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SUNYAC All-Academic Team, three years
Sigma Kappa International Sorority, 2009-present
Public Relations Chair, 2011
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Promoted all organizational events both internally and to the campus and public
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Coordinated annual formal dinner, including invitations, site arrangements,
decorations, and program
More Samples
IBM Corporation, Endicott, NY
Intern, Fall 20xx
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Processed two Signature invoices for three newly acquired
companies, verified information and resolved problems
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Processed Canadian UCD Lab check requests
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Worked payment exception reports on a daily and weekly basis
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Ran cost of money query and canceled and reposted invoices
accordingly
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Helped with internal “Quest” audit of credit memos for
accuracy
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Created and tabulated a 10-question survey of approximately
200 clients regarding customer service
More Samples
SUNY Fredonia Office of Residence Life
Resident Assistant, Fall 2010-Present
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Supervised a floor of 35 students within a residence hall community of 275
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Developed educational and social programming, including a successful buildingwide psychic fair which attracted more than 100 participants
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Enforced University policy and reported violations
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Mediated interpersonal conflicts between residents; referred students to
appropriate University offices (counseling, career development, etc) as needed
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Attended the Resident Assistant Conference at SUNY Cortland, March 2005
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Responded to emergency situations and worked closely with University Police
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Worked as part of a team of 10 and collaborated with other RAs on programs,
rules enforcement and campus-wide activities
Now get it looked at!
 CDO Hours: 8:30-5, M-F
 Appointments by appointment