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  3. Résumé Checklist

Résumé Checklist

Appearance

  • is inviting and easy to read; not too much information
  • uses appropriate font styles and font sizes (10-14 pts.)
  • incorporates enough white space between sections to facilitate skimming
  • centers text, has adequate margins
  • creates visual impact using bullets, boldface, underlining, italics, and font sizes to emphasize key words

Organization and Format

  • appropriate format includes keyword phrases of profession
  • presents strongest qualifications first
  • is of appropriate length: 1 to 2 pages

Writing Style

  • begins sentences or phrases with powerful action verbs
  • short paragraphs mostly under five lines; short sentences
  • brief, succinct language; no unnecessary words
  • absolutely free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and usage errors

Content

Contact Information

  • address, current and permanent (if necessary)
  • telephone number(s) where you can be reached 9-5
  • email to be reached at, but stay away from novelty addresses (cutegirl@hotmail.com, cookiemonster@yahoo.ca, etc)

Objective (Optional)

  • briefly indicates the position you are applying for and the organization
  • language is specific, employer centered not self-centered; avoids broad or vague statements

Summary of Skills, Accomplishments, or Expertise

  • identifies 3-6 key achievements that support the objective
  • summarizes relevant work experience and accomplishments that support the objective

Education and Training

  • highest level of attainment is listed first; work from most current degree backward
  • name of university, location of university, date of graduation or anticipated date
  • list of other degrees, relevant higher education coursework, continuing professional education or training courses, and study abroad
  • major, minor, or areas of concentration
  • omit high school if you have completed more than two years of university unless referencing impressive honours or relevant extracurricular activities
  • relevant courses, papers, projects; include paper or project titles · GPA, honours, awards, scholarships

Employment Experience

  • Include all paid, volunteer, intern, or cooperative education experiences that are relevant to your objective.
  • Start with most recent experience if using chronological format.
  • title held, organization name, city, province, dates position held; if several positions for one employer, list employer once
  • responsibilities listed in order of each item's relative value to the future employer; indicate transferable skills and adaptive abilities used on the job
  • accomplishments on your job; what problems did you face? What solutions did you find?
  • contributions to the organization, i.e., ways your work helped increase profit, membership, publicity, funding, motivation, efficiency, productivity, quality; saved time or money; improved programs, management, communication, information flow etc.
  • quantitative or qualitative indicators that describe the results of your contributions or accomplishments, i.e., "increased sales by $50,000"; "reduced staff turnover by 25%"; "significantly improved staff ability to access data"
  • learning that took place on the job that is relevant to your job objective (optional)
  • describe accomplishments in jargon of the field

Skills

  • computer skills: software applications, languages, hardware, operating systems
  • language skills: specific level of fluency and ability to read and write as "basic," "intermediate," or "advanced"
  • other

Extracurricular Activities, Community Service, Professional Associations

  • list of significant positions of responsibility; include title, name of organization or team, dates
  • leadership roles, achievements, and transferable skills that are relevant
  • include hobbies and personal interests only if they are relevant

 

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