Resume Writing Tips

Your resume presents your unique combination of education, experience, skills, and accomplishments in an informative and positive light. It is your chance to persuade an employer to speak with you about your qualifications.

This article is intended as a resume writing guide. We encourage you to have us review your resume.

Resume Format

An employer spends about 30 seconds reading a resume, so present your information logically and concisely, in a visually clear format. Remember the following general guidelines as you create or update your resume.

Undergraduate or recent graduates should keep their resume to one page, graduate students or alumni, up to two pages.

Use 10- to 12-point font, and bold print or centering for emphasis.

Use only one font style and avoid using all caps and italics.

Your resume must be perfectly typed (no typos) with about a one-inch margin. Have someone else proofread your resume!

Resume Sections

Although everyone's resume is unique, certain sections are fairly standard. These include contact information, objective, education, related courses, experience, academic experience, skills, and accomplishments. Graduate student resumes may include publications and presentations as well.

Contact Information Section

This heading includes your full name, address information, and an appropriate e-mail address. Omit personal information such as age, sex, and marital status. Make sure your contact information remains updated.

Objective Statement

Avoid objective statements that are too narrow. Do include the type of work you are seeking such as full-time, internship, or co-op. Feel free to tailor your objective to the position when applying to a specific job.

Education Section

This section identifies your professional training by listing institutions attended with degrees, majors, and grade point average (GPA). If you have questions about including your GPA, please see an ECAC counselor for advice. You can include your minor and your participation in certificate programs (e.g., Business Foundations).

Related Courses Section

List those courses that particularly relate to the position and its requirements and specifications. Juniors and seniors should focus on upper division courses. Also, keep in mind that employers often run keyword searches on resumes. Your course titles contain good keywords.

Experience Section

In addition to paid jobs, internships, and co-ops, this section may include unpaid jobs, volunteer work, and research. Items may be listed in reverse chronological order or by function (in order of importance to the particular job search), whichever serves best. When writing job descriptions, we suggest that you:

begin each phrase with a strong action verb (e.g., developed, created, monitored)
avoid lengthy, paragraph-style descriptions
provide examples of both technical and soft skills (e.g., interpersonal and communication skills, leadership, teamwork, teaching ability)
quantify your achievements whenever possible

Academic Experience Section

Use this section to feature academic projects, research, and teaching assistant positions. Use descriptions beginning with strong action verbs to describe your accomplishments.

Skills Section

This section can be in a list format. It covers the following skill sets and abilities:

Computer-related skills (e.g., hardware, software, languages, programming)
Industry-specific skills
Soft skills (e.g., teamwork, leadership)
Foreign language ability

Accomplishments Section

This section is best formatted as a list, with each item on a separate line. Typical areas include:

Honors and awards
Scholarships
Memberships to student and professional organizations
Volunteer work
Activities and interests

Publications and Presentations

Lists of publications are more commonly found on graduate student resumes. If the number of your publications is extensive, edit the list to include those that are most pertinent. Should you choose to list publications on your resume, follow a formal citation style such as APA.

ECAC Resume Reviews

One of the many services ECAC provides is resume review. Bring a hard copy to ECJ 2.400. A career counselor will review your resume and make suggestions for improvement. Counselors are available on a walk-in basis, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Books on Resume Writing

These books containing sample resumes and resume writing tips are available in the ECAC Library, ECJ 2.400:

Killer Cover Letters & Resumes
Real Resumes for Engineering Jobs
Resumes for Engineering Careers
Gallery of Best Resumes
Best Resumes for College Students and New Grads
The Federal Resume Guidebook

Sample Resume 1st Year (509 Kb)