Graduate Students' Resume Writing Guide
The Purpose of a Resume
•
Motivate the employer to interview you
•
Provide a concise summary of your experience/background RELEVANT to the job for
which you are applying
•
Provide a medium for marketing/highlighting your relevant competencies and
accomplishments
How to Start
You want to create an image of yourself as an active, vital participant in the work place. You are
convincing the employer not only of your potential contributions to the job, but also your ability to
adapt to a different environment.
•
Use action verbs to begin your descriptions.
o
o
o
•
Eliminate non-essential phrases.
o
o
•
•
Examples: Developed sales and marketing strategies.
Collected, measured, and evaluated chemical properties of soils.
Coordinated committee meetings.
Phrases like "responsibilities included" are passive. Use active phrases.
Ex: Designed, prepared, and taught laboratory exercises to 30 students
Use quantitative and qualitative information.
o
Ex: Increased sales by 10%
o
Wrote 3 research papers, presented 5 papers at national meetings, and led 10
seminars
Describe achievements, skills gained, and responsibilities.
o
Ex: Received award for excellence for Design and Implementation of an innovative
computer program.
o
Developed financial management skills through processing of daily transactions.
Managed budged of $3,000
MS 031 ™ 415 South Street ™ Waltham, MA 02453-2728
(781) 736-3414 ™ gsascareers@brandeis.edu ™ www.brandeis.edu/gsas/career/index.html
GRADUATE STUDENTS’ RESUME WRITING GUIDE
A resume is a concise overview of an individual's background which highlights the experience and
skills most relevant to a career field. Background information includes education, work experience,
skills, volunteer work, and leadership. A resume is easily confused with a curriculum vitae (CV). A
CV is a longer (2-4 pages) overview of an individual’s educational and academic background
highlighting research, teaching, publication, and presentations. CV's are required for academic
positions, fellowships, and grants.
Brandeis University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
l
What is a Resume?
[Pick the date]
Resume Content and Organization
Resume content and organization can vary from field to field. Listed below are the most common categories.
Note that information such as age, weight, race, salary requirements, and marital status are not included in
a resume. Information on citizenship is not required. If you are a US citizen or permanent alien, however, it
may be a good idea to include this information. Resumes have two basic styles: Reverse Chronological and
Functional or Skills Format. The Reverse Chronological is the most common format because it is clear and
easy to read. The Functional/Skills resume emphasizes skills areas.
Common Resume Categories:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Applicant Information
Professional Objective (optional)
Qualifications (optional)
Education
Honors and Awards
Work Experience
Leadership and Volunteer Work
Skills
Other categories could include: Professional Memberships, Publications, and Presentations
Reverse Chronological Format
The following are specific examples of each of the standard sections of a reverse chronological resume.
•
Applicant Information
Include your full name, full address (es), telephone number(s), and email address. When including your
email address, consider this communication with an employer to be professional. It is advised to avoid
"nick names" or "cute" automatic responses. This also goes for phone messages.
If you are between addresses or will be away for an extended period of time during your job search,
consider presenting current and permanent addresses.
•
Professional Objective
While an objective on your resume is optional, it is one way to demonstrate focus (your focus can also be
articulated on your cover letter). Be aware of being too narrow or too general. The objective may include
some combination of the position of interest; industry/organization being sought; skills; and functions
being sought.
•
Qualifications Profile
This is an optional category. It can follow or replace an objective. A well-written "Qualifications" section
can draw the employer's attention to your strengths. It should highlight your skills for the position for
which you are applying.
2
[Pick the date]
•
Education
In reverse-chronological order, list all of your degrees from college onward with the name of the
institution and date they were awarded. List the date you expect to receive the degree for the program in
which you are currently enrolled. You may also list, if relevant, courses, the name of your advisor, and
your thesis title.
•
Awards and Honors
This category can be combined with the "Education" section or be given a separate section depending on
how many awards you have received. If an award is not well-known it should be briefly explained.
•
Work Experience
Employers want to see, in chronological order, accomplishments, performance potential, progressions,
promotions, transferable skills, technical knowledge, and level of responsibility.
Experience can include paid and volunteer work. Include your job title, place of employment,
ACCURATE dates of employment, and a description of the duties (in order of importance to the
employer) which demonstrate your major selling points. Use action verbs to describe your work.
•
Leadership/Skills/Activities
Employers are looking for your ability to work as a team member, as well as leadership potential,
initiative, and follow-through. Consider graduate school and professional activities, highlighting
leadership positions. Lead with your strengths.
Functional Format
This format organizes your experience by skill groups or areas of expertise. It is particularly useful when you
have a number of experiences which are quite relevant to the job for which you are applying and can be
logically grouped together. Headings might include "Research Experience," "International Experience,"
"Communication Skills," or "Technical Skills". If you have more than one group of experiences to highlight,
either list your most impressive or goal-related function first, or use the order of importance listed by the
employer in an ad or position description. Each of the skill groups you highlight should be qualified with
concrete descriptions of experiences and skills which you utilize. Your employment history sections would
then itemize job titles, employer names and addresses, and dates of employment.
Presentation and Layout
•
The resume should be one to two pages.
•
Highlight items by underline, italics, capitals, bold, or indentation.
•
Use one to two fonts (be careful not to over-do by making resume look too busy or cute).
•
Allow white space. Be consistent in form. Balanced margins and adequate space make for easier reading.
•
Watch verb tenses. Do not use “I”.
•
Use a font size that is easy to read, i.e., 10-14 point.
•
PROOFREAD several times.
3
[Pick the date]
Text-based Resume
Some companies use web-based recruiting systems to process the high volume of resumes they receive. You
may want to have both a conventional resume and a text-based resume.
•
Use key words relevant to the field or position.
•
Use a font size of 10-14 points.
•
Use light colored (preferably white), standard size 8 1/2" X 11" paper printed on one side.
•
Avoid italic text script and underlined passages. Capitalized words and boldface are okay.
•
Avoid graphics and shading. Don't compress spaces between letters.
•
Avoid horizontal and vertical lines because they confuse the computer.
•
Avoid staples and folds.
•
Your name should be on the first readable line on each page.
Email Resume
Most employers want you to email your resume to them. An email resume should be sent as PDF file
attachment. When sending a resume by email, a short cover letter should accompany the resume.
Rev. 6.8.09
4