Resume
General Description
A resume is more than a piece of paper that lists your job skills--it is a presentation of your professional identity. A resume not only summarizes what you can do, but it establishes the beginning of your (potential) relationship with the company or organization to which you are applying for work.
There are many rhetorical choices you must make when you are designing a resume that projects your professional identity--whether to organize the resume chronologically or categorize it based on your skills; how to describe your previous work experience and the responsibilities you held; which activities or social groups you choose to include; how to use white space and display your information on the page (or the screen)--all of these choices contribute to the overall affect your resume will have on prospective employers.
It is also important to think about how employers typically use resumes--they often have to get through many resumes quickly, so they may only skim each one. Being aware of how your audience will use your resume may help you think about how best to design it. A resume should be well-organized and it should highlight your best work.
Length
Length is an important choice. When someone skims your resume, they may only look at the first page, so if you have more than one page, it is always best to have your most important qualifications listed on the first page. The length of your resume will vary according to your level of experience and your field of interest. It is important to provide enough detail so that your reader has a clear sense of the experiences, education, skills you have to offer. In some technical fields, it is not uncommon to have a four- or five-page resume, but unless you know that this acceptable, two pages is the maximum--one is better.
Emphasis
Emphasis is how you decide to highlight what is most relevant to the kind of positions you are applying for. For example, given a limited amount of space, do you want to include more information about the job you had last summer where you interned with a public relations firm, or do you want to emphasize the month you worked as an actual employee for a public relations firm on a temporary job? There are different ways of emphasizing information--you can put it at the top of the resume, the bottom of the page (believe it or not, people frequently miss what is in the middle of the page but catch what is at the bottom), give it more space, or set it off with white space.
Templates
Many word processing programs offer templates for building a resume. In general, these templates are not necessarily the most effective way to format a resume. Because they are templates, many people use them, and it is fairly easy to spot a template but more difficult to tell the resumes created with them apart. Additionally, the layout on many templates are designed for specific fields or specific types of resumes. Make sure you analyze how your resume looks if you choose to use a template to get you started. Consider whether that template will allow you to organize your information in the most appropriate format or with the appropriate amount of details. In general, avoid using a template for your resume if at all possible.
Details
The details in a resume can add the finishing touch--choose a heavier paper to print your resume--it is a nice touch when you use the same paper for both your resume and the application letter. Experiment with several possible page layout strategies to find which one best displays your qualifications.
Like a good essay, a good resume will be strong in content, organization, style, appearance, and mechanics. The checklist immediately below may help you think about the various rhetorical choices you need to make as you’re constructing your resume.
Content
-
Have you included all the required header items? (name, address, phone/e-mail) Note: Never list your age, marital status, race, sex, or health. It is illegal for potential employers to ask you about these items.
-
Do you want to include a career objective? (If you do, it should be very brief and very strong. Do not include an objective if it is very vague or simply repeats the position for which you are applying.)
-
Have you listed your education? (Other than listing your degree, are there specific classes you have taken that pertain to the kind of positions you are applying for? Do you have additional education that is related--job training at a previous position, certification in particular skills, etc.)
-
Have you listed your previous job experience? Have you used clear and strong wording to describe your responsibilities in each position? (Be sure to include your position or job title, the name of the organization, the city and state where the organization is located, your dates of employment, and your responsibilities.)
-
Have you listed any special educational, community, or professional awards or honors?
-
Are you involved in relevant activities or community groups? If so, what responsibilities do you hold?
-
Have you contacted your references beforehand to ask them if they will consent to be a reference for you? (People often specify that "References are available on request" on their resume--if you do this, be sure to take a separate piece of paper with you to the interview with your references' names listed, along with their title, organization, address, phone, and email.)
-
Do you need a scannable version of your resume? (If so, you can make your resume much longer than your formal version--put everything in. You might also want to include key terms that will be picked up by an organization’s software. Also, use a standard font like Times New Roman that most scanning software can handle.)
Organization
-
Does it make sense to organize your resume chronologically or according to your skills? (If you choose the chronological approach, be sure that you listed items with dates in reverse chronology--list the most recent items first, then work your way back.)
-
What headings will you use? (For example, "Education" "Experience," "Honors and Activities.")
-
Do you want to include subheadings? (For example, if you are involved in a social organization and you held more than one position, you might include a "Positions Held" subheading.)
-
Have you organized your information using lists so that the reader can move quickly through your resume?
Expression/Visual Design
-
Have you used white space and page layout strategies so that the information looks balanced on the page, as well as providing a visual "map" that the reader can quickly follow?
-
What kind of fonts are appropriate for your resume? (A simple rule of thumb: use serif fonts for body text, and sans serif for headings; also, avoid using more than two fonts. Use bolded text, italics, and underlining to help your reader navigate your map.)
-
Are the margins evenly balanced?
-
Are there places where you can use bulleted lists so that the reader can quickly skim the information?
-
When you ask someone to glance at your resume, what is their first impression?
-
Do you want to include graphic elements, like a line between the header and the rest of the text?
Mechanics
-
Have you checked (and double-checked) your spelling? A single typo or grammatical error can (and usually will) result in your resume not receiving further attention.
-
Have you been consistent in your punctuation? (For example, if you put a period at the end of one item in a list, have you done so throughout the list?)
-
Have you been consistent in your terms? (For example, if you are describing a job where you monitored the customer response reports, have you each time referred to them as "customer response reports" rather than just "response reports"?)
-
Have you used correct grammar?
-
Have you used strong verbs? (For example, "compiled weekly statistics" is much stronger than "was responsible for compiling weekly statistics.")
-
When you are listing items, have you used parallel structure? (For example, in a list of job responsibilities, have you started each item with a verb in past tense, "distributed," "monitored," "compiled," "managed.")
Do not underestimate the importance of a strong, clean, easy-to-read resume that emphasizes your experience in direct relationship to the position you are applying for. Get several experienced people to review your resume to ensure that you have not missed anything.
Resources
McMurray, David A. “Business Correspondence Overview” Online Technical Writing Guide. Austin Community College. http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/resume.html
Application Materials Resources (Resource Index)