A听r茅sum茅 is a professional document highlighting your skills, education, goals, and experience. Employers will often spend less than 30 seconds looking at each r茅sum茅, so yours needs to stand out while clearly demonstrating your qualifications for the job, internship, or other opportunity.听
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Use these resources curated by the Career Center to help you craft a strong r茅sum茅.
Why do you need a strong r茅sum茅?
- Your听r茅sum茅 is a tailored document that conveys to a potential employer the skills, experiences, and qualifications you have for a position you are interested in pursuing.
- In most cases, your听r茅sum茅 will be part of every job, internship, or graduate school application you submit.
- Your r茅sum茅鈥攁long with your cover letter鈥攊s what will determine whether you are invited for an interview.
- Your听r茅sum茅 is one of the few parts of the job search process over which you have 100% control. The effort you put into your听r茅sum茅 also sends clues to potential employers about the level of effort you put into your work. If your听r茅sum茅 looks like it was put together quickly with little attention to detail, what message might you be sending? Make sure your听r茅sum茅 is excellent!
Drop-in Sessions
Once you have a draft of your r茅sum茅, stop by our office for a 15-minute听r茅sum茅 review.
Key Points
- Content and formatting matter. If you have great content, but your reader can鈥檛 easily make sense of it or find it, you won鈥檛 get invited for an interview. Likewise, if you have a beautiful document, but don鈥檛 articulate your skills and experiences effectively, you won鈥檛 get invited for an interview.听
- Your听r茅sum茅 should be one page.听For nearly all students, the听r茅sum茅 you submit for any job or internship will be one side of one page. That said, you can create a longer master听r茅sum茅 that includes all your experiences and pull the most relevant information each time you apply for a position.
- If you're an advanced graduate student, you may, at times, submit a听r茅sum茅 of no more than 2 pages.
- Use keywords wisely. Be sure to include keywords from the job description that can easily be picked up by an Applicant Tracking System (i.e. human resources software used by many organizations to collect resumes and organize the recruitment process).听
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- Your听r茅sum茅 is a dynamic document.听Continue to add to and edit your听r茅sum茅 on a semesterly or annual basis as you gain more experience. If your career interests change, it is recommended you rethink how you convey your experience on your听r茅sum茅 to align with your new field of interest.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, can be used to enhance your r茅sum茅. Read our best practices for appropriately leveraging AI in your application materials.
How to Write a Strong 搁茅蝉耻尘茅
Start with a blank document or our ATS-friendly, . We don鈥檛 recommend using templates from sites such as Pinterest or Canva as they become restrictive when you are trying to adjust formatting later. Then add each of the sections detailed below.
to help you plan and develop your听r茅sum茅 content.听
First, add your contact information at the top of the page
Your name should be large (e.g. 14 pt font or larger)
Your contact information should include your email address, phone number, city, and state (street address is not needed), and a personalized link to your LinkedIn profile.
To personalize your LinkedIn profile link, click on 鈥楨dit Public Profile & URL鈥� in the top right corner of your profile page. Edit your custom URL to your name.
Example:
Baldwin Eagle
Chestnut Hill, MA | 617-552-XXXX | baldwin@bc.edu |听linkedin.com/in/baldwineagle
Next, as a current student, your education section should be listed at the top under your contact information.
Information that should be included:听
- Institution name, city, and state
- School or college, including study abroad institutions and graduate schools, where relevant
- Date of graduation (month and year)
- Major, if known
- GPA, if above a 3.0 or if required by an employer
Other optional information:
- Relevant coursework: You can share up to five classes that are relevant to the position to which you are applying. This is a great way to tailor your听r茅sum茅 to a specific position and to show content knowledge that may not be reflected in your major or elsewhere on your r茅sum茅.听听
- Academic honors or awards: e.g. Dean鈥檚 list (with dates) or other academic recognition can be included here
- High school can be included through your second year of college if space permits unless there is a compelling reason to keep it there (e.g. for networking purposes).听
For most students, your experience section(s) will come after Education. An exception would be if the position description calls for key technical skills.
Key tips:
- Keep in mind that your experience is not just your paid experience. It can include jobs, internships, research, volunteer work, leadership, or campus involvement. You can choose how you title your experience section(s). Some ideas include: Relevant Experience, Volunteer Experience, Leadership & Involvement.听
- Since you want your most relevant experience closer to the top of your r茅sum茅, consider how you want to represent your various experiences. What experiences are most relevant in terms of skills gained and content learned to the positions to which you are now applying?听
- Within each section, list your experiences in reverse chronological order by end date.听
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How to write strong bullet statements for each experience:
Great bullet statements will describe your achievements rather than tasks.
Start each bullet with an action verb, then demonstrate the value you added to your work by stating what you did (Project), how you did it (Action), and why you did it (Result).
- What was the project or task?
- What actions did you take? (think specifically about your individual contributions)
- What was the result or outcome of your contribution?
Cite numbers whenever possible to demonstrate the scope of your work (e.g. number of people supervised, number of children in classroom, size of event, budget you oversaw, etc.).
Following are some additional sections you may include on your r茅sum茅:
Objective or Summary: For most students, this is unnecessary and simply takes up space. However, if you are looking to enter a field in which you have very limited experience, it can be helpful to include a short objective that articulates what you are seeking and can show that you are applying to a role with intent and purpose.听
Skills/Interests: It is strongly encouraged to include a section on skills such as computer skills, languages, laboratory skills. For most students, this section will appear at the bottom of your r茅sum茅, but for students interested in science and technology, see specific tips in the next section. Personal interests such as hobbies can be included if space permits.
AI can help you develop compelling resumes and cover letters by identifying transferable skills and tailoring your application materials.
Prompts to try:
- 鈥淗elp me revise a resume for a [year in school] student with experience in [relevant experience].鈥�
- 鈥淭ailor this cover letter to a [job title] internship at [company name].鈥�
- 鈥淪uggest impactful action verbs to use on my resume for a [industry] role.鈥�
- 鈥淗ow can I highlight my [specific skill] effectively in my cover letter for a [job type] position?鈥�
- 鈥淲hat 2-3 skills or attributes should I focus on in my cover letter for the following role听 [insert job description]?鈥�
- 鈥淧rovide feedback on the clarity and conciseness of this resume summary for a [career field] role.鈥�
Career Field-Specific 搁茅蝉耻尘茅 Tips
- When applying for a creative position, such as a graphic designer, web designer, or creative manager, it can be appropriate to have a creative听r茅sum茅 designed in a program like Adobe InDesign.
- While a creative听r茅sum茅 can include graphics and colors, it should still look professional and be easy to read.听
- It鈥檚 a good idea to have a traditional version of your听r茅sum茅 along with the creative one. Applicant Tracking Systems cannot always pull information from graphics or heavily designed r茅sum茅s, so use a traditional听r茅sum茅 when applying for a position online and save your creative听r茅sum茅 to be emailed directly or to give to someone in-person.
- See more information about how to design a听r茅sum茅 for the creative fields.
- When applying to positions in the federal government, it is appropriate to submit a federal r茅sum茅. Federal听r茅sum茅s are generally 2-5 pages in length and include more required information, including U.S. citizenship status, veteran status, the address and contact information for prior employers and supervisors, and specific USAJobs.gov job identification number.
- As the large majority of federal jobs are posted on USAJobs.gov, we recommend using the website鈥檚听听for a step-by-step guide to craft your federal r茅sum茅.
- List the number of hours worked during clinicals.
- List any non-clinical work or volunteer experiences you have had. This shows the recruiter that you are well rounded.
- It is critical to keep your Nursing听r茅sum茅 to 1 page only.
- Additionally, if you have worked with any data entry system such as EPIC, list it under the skills section.
- Prioritize key technical skills, such as laboratory (e.g. PCR, gel electrophoresis, western blot, etc.) and statistical analysis software (e.g. R, SPSS, STATA, etc.), in the top half of the r茅sum茅. This is especially important if the position description explicitly calls for them.
- Include a research experience section that outlines any on- or off-campus research you have been involved with. Be sure to include relevant achievements in the bullet statements.
- If applicable, include a publications section following the citation style most commonly used in that field of research.
- For teaching in the public schools, create a Licensure and Certifications section, just below your Education section. The title and contents of this section depend on the norms for the state in which you are seeking work. For Massachusetts, include your SEI Endorsement; your 51A Mandated Reporter Training; your MTEL results (if you have passed all of them, you do not need to list each one); and any other endorsements or certifications you have achieved.听
- Create a category for Teaching and Related Experience, or break it up between two categories, such as Practicum Experience and Other Teaching Experience.
- Emphasize experiences with children with special needs; with English Language Learners; communicating with parents; using technology in the classroom, including remote teaching; using assessments to modify your teaching and improve student learning; and/or developing curriculum.
- Emphasize positive outcomes for your students - e.g. 鈥渃ollaborated with teachers to design and teach math units with an emphasis on encouraging students to build a strong foundation, explore the topics, and enjoy math.鈥�
- View and .
- Prioritize key technical skills, such as programming languages (e.g. Python, C++, JavaScript, etc.) and analytical software (e.g. SQL, Spark, Hadoop, etc.), in the top half of the r茅sum茅. This is especially important if the position description explicitly calls for them.
- Include a projects section that outlines any personal or group projects you have been involved with to develop your coding skills. Be sure to include relevant achievements in the bullet statements.
- If applicable, include a link to your GitHub in the contact information section.
- In your heading beneath your name, include any theatre-related professional organization memberships such as SAG and AFTRA.
- For actors, include your physical description鈥攈eight, weight, hair and eye color, and vocal range. Actors should also include a color 8 x 10 headshot with their resume. Singers should specify their notes.
- Theatre experience should be listed in column format:
- Column One: Name of play or movie.
- Column Two: Role you played.
- Column Three: Name and location of the theatre, the director鈥檚 name. You can save space by abbreviating "director" to Dir."
Can one word make a difference? Yes! Strong action verbs provide power and direction, so start each line of your听r茅sum茅 with an action verb instead of more passive words. Use keywords to make sure your听r茅sum茅 gets noticed.听
- administered
- analyzed
- assigned
- attained
- chaired
- contracted
- consolidated
- coordinated
- delegated
- developed
- directed
- evaluated
- executed
- improved
- increased
- organized
- oversaw
- planned
- prioritized
- produced
- recommended
- reviewed
- scheduled
- strengthened
- supervised
- addressed
- arbitrated
- arranged
- authored
- corresponded
- developed
- directed
- drafted
- edited
- enlisted
- formulated
- influenced
- interpreted
- lectured
- mediated
- moderated
- motivated
- negotiated
- persuaded
- promoted
- publicized
- reconciled
- recruited
- spoke
- translated
- wrote
- approved
- arranged
- cataloged
- classified
- collected
- compiled
- dispatched
- executed
- generated
- implemented
- inspected
- monitored
- operated
- organized
- prepared
- processed
- purchased
- recorded
- retrieved
- screened
- specified
- systematized
- tabulated
- validated
- clarified
- collected
- critiqued
- diagnosed
- evaluated
- examined
- extracted
- identified
- inspected
- interpreted
- interviewed
- investigated
- organized
- reviewed
- summarized
- surveyed
- systematized
- assembled
- built
- calculated
- computed
- designed
- devised
- engineered
- fabricated
- maintained
- operated
- overhauled
- programmed
- remodeled
- repair
- solved
- trained
- upgraded
- adapted
- advised
- clarified
- coached
- communicated
- coordinated
- developed
- enabled
- encouraged
- evaluated
- explained
- facilitated
- guided
- informed
- initiated
- instructed
- persuaded
- set goals
- stimulated
- administered
- allocated
- analyzed
- appraised
- audited
- balanced
- budgeted
- calculated
- computed
- developed
- forecasted
- managed
- marketed
- planned
- projected
- researched
- acted
- conceptualized
- created
- designed
- developed
- directed
- established
- fashioned
- founded
- illustrated
- instituted
- integrated
- introduced
- invented
- originated
- performed
- planned
- revitalized
- shaped
- assessed
- assisted
- clarified
- coached
- counseled
- demonstrated
- diagnosed
- educated
- expedited
- facilitated
- familiarized
- guided
- referred
- rehabilitated
- represented
Keyword Strategies
- When you鈥檙e applying for a position, be sure to include keywords or skills from the job listing in your r茅sum茅.
- Browse online job listings in your field. Words that appear consistently in a variety of ads are your "key" words. Company pages on LinkedIn are another good resource.
- Talk to professionals in your industry.
- Include at least four industry- or job-specific keywords in your r茅sum茅. The ideal number is 12.
Keyword Examples*
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Award-winning corporate controller with more than ten years鈥� experience in two $500 million corporations. Impressive record implementing financial record database architecture that saved over $2 million annually. Proficient in Oracle, Prism, Red Brick, and SAP systems, as well as MS Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and FrontPage.
SKILLS
Languages: C, SQL, C++, Assembler, Pascal
Software: Oracle Developer 2000, Informix NewEra, FoxPro
OS: UNIX, Windows NT/95/3.11, MS-DOS
RDBMS: Oracle7, Informix 7
*Pam Dixon,听Job Searching Online for Dummies
搁茅蝉耻尘茅 FAQs
Undergraduate students should keep their听r茅sum茅 to one page, although there are some career fields for which a two-page听r茅sum茅 is acceptable (e.g. teaching and federal government). Longer听r茅sum茅 (up to two pages) are acceptable for graduate school applications as well.听
Because companies receive so many听r茅sum茅s for each job, applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen听r茅sum茅s electronically are commonly used. Over 98.8% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS while 66% of large companies and 35% of small organizations rely on them (). Given that so many companies use this technology, assume that your听r茅sum茅 will be screened by an ATS and create an ATS-friendly r茅sum茅.
The ATS will screen your听r茅sum茅 and cover letter for keywords that match the job description, so make sure to use keywords from the job description in your听r茅sum茅 and your cover letter.
- Putting keywords on your听r茅sum茅 that match the job description (as long as they make sense).听
- Making sure your听r茅sum茅 is readable, neat, and free of typos and spelling or grammatical errors.
- Dividing your experience into Relevant Experience and Additional Experience with Relevant coming first.
- Using bullet points rather than blocks of text to describe your experiences. Start each bullet point with a strong action verb, and show the result or purpose of what you did in each bullet point.
- Using numbers to quantify achievements when possible (e.g. served over 100 customers per day during a three-hour shift).
- Having a well-rounded variety of experiences and activities.
While it might be tempting to use a听r茅sum茅 template from sites such as Pinterest or Canva because it is predesigned, it is best to stay away from听r茅sum茅 templates and create a Word document from scratch. 搁茅蝉耻尘茅 templates are often not compatible with ATS and could render your听r茅sum茅 unreadable by many employers. See our for ATS-friendly formatting.听
You should avoid using graphics and colors in your听r茅sum茅 unless you are applying for a creative position, such as a graphic designer, web designer, or creative manager. For these roles it may be appropriate to have a creative听r茅sum茅 designed in a program like Adobe InDesign, however you should still avoid using a template. See more information about how to design a听r茅sum茅 for the creative fields.
ChatGPT and other AI tools can be used to enhance your r茅sum茅, but should not be used to write one for you! AI should not replace your own creativity and perspective and the results generated are meant to provide suggestions rather than to be copied and pasted word-for-word. Think of these ChatGPT听r茅sum茅 prompts as a supplement to your own ideas and insights, not a replacement.
When using AI to help with your application documents, submit prompts that are specific to the role for which you are applying. This will help you create materials that are tailored to the position and demonstrate your relevant skills and experience.
Just like any other writing, edit and proofread anything generated by AI before submitting. Make sure the content flows well, the wording is typo- and error-free, and the metrics are accurate. You should be able to speak to every bullet point on your听r茅sum茅 if asked about it in an interview.
Yes, you may include extracurricular activities, sports, jobs, internships, and volunteer roles on your听r茅sum茅 up through your second year in college or until you start replacing your high school involvement with activities you are involved in at Boston College. You may still keep work experiences from high school on your听r茅sum茅 if you have space and/or they are relevant to your future career interests.
There are pros and cons to submitting your听r茅sum茅 either as a PDF or Microsoft Word document. Read more . Either way, follow the format instructions on the employer鈥檚 website or in the job description, if they provide them.
Some people choose to put their personal pronouns at the top of their听r茅sum茅 after their name. This is entirely optional. Do what feels most comfortable for you.
A curriculum vitae (CV) contains significantly more information and is more detailed than a standard r茅sum茅. Unlike the one-page rule for r茅sum茅s, there is no page limit for a CV. The CV includes your career history as well as your education, awards, special honors, grants or scholarships, research or academic projects, and publications. You might also include professional references, coursework, fieldwork, descriptions of dissertations, and a personal profile that lists your relevant skills and attributes.听
Check out the 听and a .
There are no formatting differences between an undergraduate and graduate CV except that a graduate CV might be longer because graduate students typically have more experience.
CV鈥檚 are primarily used when or high-level positions in the sciences. CV鈥檚 are also often used in countries other than the U.S., but they can vary by country so make sure to research each country鈥檚 specific guidelines ( can be helpful here). 搁茅蝉耻尘茅s are used when applying for most other types of positions in the U.S.