Center for Employment Services

Resumes

How does one ORGANIZE A RESUME?

The entire resume must be targeted to a specific job objective. Arrange a resume to highlight your strongest or most extensive skills. For example, if you have just graduated from college, your education, class-work and internship or co-op experiences are most important and should be placed at the beginning.

If you have an extensive work history which is the highlight of your resume, the education section would go near the end of the resume. If you are not quite finished with your degree and you are currently taking college courses directly related to the position; then either your co-op work history, the highlights of school achievements or specific courses can be indicated. Below are some suggestions in setting up your resume. Link to Resume Content for categories that may be used in the content of a resume and a description of each of these categories.

• Organize the resume so it is easy to follow. Margin space should be approximately one inch around the edges.

• Write short sentences.

• Distinguish categories clearly with headings that are bold, underlined or CAPITALIZED.

• Use bullets, underlining and capitalizing sparingly to guide the reader to detail within a category.

• Place key words or the main point of each statement at the beginning of each line.

• Leave a space between lines to enhance readability.

• Keep resumes to one page, if possible; however, two pages is acceptable. Use whatever space is needed to relate information to potential employers. Resumes should be long enough to convey your qualifications and experience, but not wordy. If you are not able to concentrate information into one page, make sure the information on the second page has sufficient content. It is important to share your resume with someone who can provide objective feedback.