CREATING A RESUME
Presented by Career Services at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
SS 1916  (920) 465-2163  careers@uwgb.edu  www.uwgb.edu/careers
Your resume is an important tool that can make or break your job search. It is a personal advertisement of who
you are and the skills and abilities you can offer a potential employer. If your resume is not well written, it will not
get you to the next stage of the job search . . . the interview.
What Are The Common Elements In The Resume?
Identifying Heading - Include your name, address, (with zip code) and telephone number. Indicate a present
and/or permanent (or forwarding address), with phone number when appropriate. If you check your email
regularly, then include it as well.
Career Objective - Indicate the type of position you are seeking (internship or full-time position). Be as specific as
possible without excluding primary areas of interest. Keep your objective to the point.
Education - Begin with your most recent education. Include degree to be earned, name of college or university,
(date degree to be conferred) major, minor, and if appropriate, your GPA.
Related Course Work (Optional) - List related undergraduate or graduate courses, research papers, seminars,
independent projects that are important to the type of job you are seeking.
Experience - Describe jobs, fieldwork, internships, cooperative educational placements, clinical work, student
teaching, assistantships, volunteer work, and research projects. For each experience include job title, name of
organization, location (city and state) and dates. Emphasize experience most closely related to the kind of work
you seek. Include skills used, scope of responsibilities and a description of your accomplishments. Avoid use of
the personal pronoun "I" by using short phrases (not complete sentences). Use the past or present tense of
verbs to highlight your skills and present yourself in a dynamic way. Avoid phrases such as "duties included" or
"responsible for". Be consistent with verb tenses.
Special Categories (Optional) - Include additional categories if some things you wish to indicate about yourself
do not fit into the above categories. Possible themes are Interests, Honors, Awards, Language Skills, Computer
Skills, Committees, Extra-Curricular Activities, Personal Strengths, Skills, Professional Memberships, Publications,
or Military. Feedback from employers indicates that they are seeking employees who are "well rounded".
References - Do not list the names of individual references on your resume. Instead create a separate
references sheet or supply written letters of reference when requested. The statement "References available upon
request" is a sufficient statement to place on your resume.
How Long Should My Resume Be?
Most experts will tell you that your resume should be one page only, or two at the most. They are probably right
because no one wants to read more than that. Your job is to edit, edit, edit your resume until it is a manageable,
concise presentation. This does not mean that you should scrunch your resume into one page (or two) just
because this is the rule. It is better to have a well-designed resume that will be reviewed by employers, even if it is
longer than a crowded resume. Remember to edit critically. Keep your resume short and easy to scan.
What an Employer is Looking for on Your Resume
An employer will scan a resume to determine how your skills, education and experience relate to the position for
which they are hiring. Therefore, you will want to make it clear to the employer how you fit in these categories.
Employers will look for:
· Your relevant education, experience and skills
· Is your resume visually appealing and easy-to-read (concise)?
· What are your career aspirations and goals?
· Do you demonstrate consistency and attention to detail? (NO spelling or grammatical errors!!)
1
Resume Critique Checklist
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Is the resume cramped and crowded? Does it contain plenty of white space around important items?
Does the resume contain any irrelevant information?
Are spelling, grammatical and typographical errors eliminated?
Could the resume tell the same story if it were shortened?
Does the resume avoid generalities and focus on specific information about education, experience and
skills?
Is the third person and passive voice approach used?
Is the objective supported by the contents of the resume?
Does the resume appear neat, organized and professional?
Is information highlighted in a consistent manner using indentation, bold type, underlining, or
capitalization?
Do your statements start with action verbs?
Is your most recent education listed first?
Have you eliminated high school information?
Your name
should appear
first!
Sample Resume
NAME
Present Address
123 S. Washington
Green Bay, WI 54301
(920) 555-3570
What kind of
position are
you seeking?
Permanent Address
7891 Linder Road
Green Bay, WI 54304
(920) 555-3115
OBJECTIVE:
To obtain a professional position within Human Resources Management.
EDUCATION:
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
Bachelor’s Degree, May 2005
Major in Communication Processes with Emphasis in Organizational Development
Minor in Business Administration
GPA: 3.6 / 4.0
Most recent and
relevant experience
appears first.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:
Human Resources Internship, Summer 2004
Georgia Pacific, Green Bay, WI
 Attended recruitment/job fairs to assist staff with questions and promoting
opportunities.
 Pre-screen applications and resumes, schedule and perform pre-employment
interviews and conduct reference checks prior to job offers.
Office Assistant, September 2002 - May 2003
Career Services, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
 Provided assistance with student questions and referred to appropriate personnel.
 Scheduled appointments for staff members.
 Accurately entered information into an on-line database.
Have you been
involved in
outside
activities while
in college?
ACTIVITIES:
Member, Habitat for Humanity, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Volunteer, Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay
REFERENCES:
Available upon request.
Do not include
references on
your resume
2
Don’t “bury”
your
education.