EHE Resume Guide

What is a Resume?

Your resume is a personal marketing tool which highlights your skills and experiences. In a resume you want to summarize your education, employment experiences, qualifications, and skills you possess to provide an employer with an overview of who you. It is important for your resume to be concise and easy-to-read so that an employer can identify your skills and characteristics as an applicant.

It is crucial to describe in detail your experiences and involvement. A common mistake people make when creating resumes is they forget to include numbers and statistics when describing their experiences and accomplishments. Numbers and statistics offer employers insight into your responsibilities and demonstrates important work-related skills gained through each experience.

To capture the eye of an employer use capitals, underlining, and spacing to emphasize important titles of experiences within your resume. Remember to have consistent formatting throughout your resume to create a professional brand and image.

Make sure your resume is accurate and up-to-date with your current contact information and experiences. When printing off your resume use white, cream, ivory, or light grey resume paper. Remember to remove the hyperlink from your email address, and convert your resume to .pdf, .jpg, or .png file so when an employer downloads your resume the formatting is consistent.

The Power of Action Verbs Action words enable the employer to understand what skills and talents you have to offer as an applicant. When constructing your bullet points begin each phrase with an action verb, followed by a short description of your responsibilities and accomplishments. Make sure to avoid the use of personal pronouns in your resume.

Action Words

Leadership

Administered
Appointed
Approved
Assigned
Attained
Authorized
Chaired
Considered
Consolidated
Contracted
Controlled
Converted
Coordinated
Decided
Delegated
Developed
Directed
Eliminated
Emphasized
Enforced
Enhanced
Established
Executed
Handled
Headed
Hired
Hosted
Improved
Incorporated
Increased
Instituted
Led
Managed
Merged
Motivated
Organized
Overhauled
Oversaw
Planned
Presided
Prioritized
Recommended
Reorganized
Replaced
Restored
Reviewed
Scheduled
Secured
Selected
Streamlined
Strengthened
Supervised
Terminated

Communication

Addressed
Advertised
Arbitrated
Arranged
Articulated
Authored
Clarified
Collaborated
Communicated
Condensed
Conferred
Consulted
Contracted
Conveyed
Convinced
Corresponded
Debated
Defined
Described
Developed
Directed
Discussed
Drafted
Edited
Elicited
Enlisted
Explained
Expressed
Furnished
Incorporated
Influenced
Interacted
Interpreted
Interviewed
Involved
Joined
Judged
Lectured
Listened
Marketed
Mediated
Moderated
Negotiated
Negotiated
Observed
Outlined
Participated
Persuaded
Presented
Promoted
Proposed
Publicized
Reconciled
Recruited
Reported
Resolved
Responded
Solicited
Specified
Spoke
Suggested
Summarized
Synthesized
Translated
Wrote

Research Skills

Analyzed
Clarified
Collected
Compared
Conducted
Critiqued
Detected
Determined
Diagnosed
Evaluated
Examined
Experimented
Explored
Extracted
Formulated
Gathered
Identified
Inspected
Interpreted
Interviewed
Invented
Investigated
Located
Measured
Organized
Researched
Reviewed
Searched
Solved
Summarized
Surveyed
Systematized
Tested

Technical Skills

Adapted
Applied
Assembled
Built
Calculated
Computed
Conserved
Constructed
Converted
Debugged
Designed
Determined
Developed
Engineered
Fabricated
Installed
Maintained
Operated
Overhauled
Printed
Programmed
Regulated
Remodeled
Repaired
Replaced
Restored

Teaching Skills

Adapted
Advised
Clarified
Coached
Communicated
Conducted
Coordinated
Critiqued
Developed
Enabled
Encouraged
Evaluated
Explained
Focused
Guided
Individualized
Informed
Instilled
Instructed
Persuaded
Set Goals
Simulated
Taught
Tested
Trained
Transmitted
Tutored

International Education Skills

Adaptable
Adjusted
Administered
Allocated
Analyzed
Appraised
Assessed
Audited
Balanced
Budgeted
Bilingual
Broadened
Calculated
Computed
Conserved
Corrected
Cultural Sensitive
Determined
Developed
Estimated
Flexible
Forecasted
Managed
Marketed
Measured
Planned
Prepared
Programmed
Projected
Open
Reconciled
Reduced
Researched
Retrieved
Tolerant
Taught
Tested
Trained
Transmitted
Tutored

Creative Skills

Acted
Adapted
Composed
Conceptualized
Created
Customized
Designed
Developed
Directed
Displayed
Entertained
Established
Fashioned
Formulated
Founded
Illustrated
Initiated
Instituted
Integrated
Introduced
Invented
Modeled
Modified
Originated
Performed
Photographed
Planned
Revised
Shaped
Solved

Helping Skills

Advocated
Aided
Answered
Arranged
Assessed
Assisted
Cared For
Clarified
Collaborated
Contributed
Counseled
Demonstrated
Diagnosed
Encouraged
Ensured
Expedited
Facilitated
Furthered
Guided
Helped
Insured
Intervened
Motivated
Provided
Referred
Rehabilitated
Represented
Supplied
Supported

Organizational/ Detail Skills

Arranged
Approved
Catalogued
Charted
Classified
Coded
Collected
Compiled
Corrected
Distributed
Filed
Generated
Implemented
Incorporated
Inspected
Monitored
Operated
Ordered
Organized
Prepared
Processed
Registered
Reviewed
Routed
Scheduled
Set-Up
Submitted
Standardized
Systematized
Updated
Validated

Accomplishment Verbs

Achieved
Completed
Exceeded
Pioneered
Resolved
Restored
Succeeded
Surpassed

Resume Checklist

Feel like your resume might be missing something? Below is a list of details to include in your resume.

Style

Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font
Eleven or twelve point font size
Even margins and aligned bullet points
Resume printed on white or ivory paper with black type

Format

Descriptive section headings
Reverse chronological order within each resume section
Consistent content placement and features
Bulleted phrases which begin with an action word

Content

Eliminate vague phrases such as responsible for, duties include, numerous, or various
Reference job specific terminology and technologies to demonstrate industry knowledge
Include leadership, research, and service to show engagement outside of class
Tell one unique activity or exceptional accomplishment for each experience to set your story apart
Post data, reasons, and outcomes to highlight results
Proofread for grammar, punctuation, spelling and appropriate verb tense

Make it count

On average, an employer spends approximately six to ten seconds reviewing a resume. To highlight your information, incorporate the use of bold and italic fonts along with utilizing page spacing to attract the attention of employers to your skills and experiences.

Customize is key

Remember a resume is a customized document that needs to be tailored for each job application. You must answer the reader’s most important question, “Why should I hire you to be part of my company and/or organization?”

Critique Checklist

Once you have reviewed the checklist, double check your work using the Resume Critique Checklist.

Resume Critique Checklist

Heading

Missing contact information. Include 3 ways an employer can contact you.

email
phone
mailing address

Email address is NOT professional. Use an email address you check iften. Make sure it is free of slang or profanity and is easily associated with you (johndoe@abc.com or doe.jane@xyz.com)

Avoid large/distracting heading elements (lines, bars, graphics, etc.) your name should dominate your heading.

Career/Job Objective

Optional: Introductory statement is vague or unclear. A good statement demonstrates clear employment goals that show you are a strong match for the position.

There is no introductory section. It is important that you research your industry to see what types of introductory statements other professionals are using on their document. (ex: objective statement, summary of qualifications, career highlights, professional summary, etc.)

Education

Write out official title of your degree you are receiving (ex. Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts)

Omit listing related/relevant coursework. Recruiters know the coursework involved with standard degrees; therefore listing this information may only take up space.

GPA. Specify whether you are listing cumulative or major GPA (listing either or both is fine; preferably 3.0 or higher)

List in reverse chronological order. Start with the most recent degree and work backward.

List Education before Experience. Your degree is your most recent accomplishment and is a big selling point; you want it to be front and center.

Core Competencies

Are these transferable core competencies reflected in your document?

Communication: the ability to write, speak, and listen well to others.
Teamwork/Collaboration: The ability to work together and effectively use the strengths of each individual to meet a common goal.
Decision Making (Leadership): The ability to recognize, understand, and define problems and effectively choose between different options and the effects of decisions.
Problem Solving/Analytical Skills: the ability to evaluate and understand options and the effects of decisions
Innovation and Creativity/Initiative: The ability to develop a new idea or method and do it before others do.
Technical Knowledge: The ability to possess technical knowledge of a job/field and the capability to learn new technology quickly and accurately.
Organization: the ability to effectively plan the work of a group and to provide structure structure so that it is systematic.
Influence: The ability to motivate, convince, or persuade a group to do something.
Global Issues/Cultural Competence: The ability to stand back from yourself and become aware of other cultural values, beliefs, and perceptions and how they are relevant to global issues.

For each skill above, consider the following:

Where did you develop these skills? (work experience, internship, co-curricular involvement, volunteer, study abroad, classroom projects, etc.)
Give specific examples of this skill/quality.
How would you write this on your cover letter?

Try to incorporate these skills into your cover letter as it relates to the job duties of which you are applying. Regardless of your major or work experience, these are skills that employers are looking for in a new hire.

Experience

Action verbs should be used to begin each bulleted accomplishment statement/job duty.

Avoid using statements such as "duties included" or "responsible for."
Use present tense verbs for current jobs and past tense verbs for previous jobs
Avoid repeating action verbs

Expand on your accomplishment statements/job duties to include the 5 w's: who, what, when, where, and why. Whenever possible, try to quantify information by adding numbers, percentages, etc. as this is a great way to provide that extra bit of detail to employers.

Formatting:

Consistency in entries. Each entry should have the same format and information provided. Your document is missing the following:
- Job/Position title
- Dates of employment/involvement (month/year)
- Company/Organization name
- Location (city and state)
- 3-5 bulleted accomplishment statements/job duties
Bullet points were not used. Bullet points aid in the readability and flow of your resume.
Periods should not be used at the end of bulleted statements.
Dates should be aligned on the right-hand side of the page. They are less important than the other experience information.
Volunteerism: Indicate the company name, location and number of hours volunteered.
Honors/Awards: list scholarships, Dean's List, President's Honor Roll, etc.

Co-Curricular Involvement

Highlight honors, co-curricular involvement and/or volunteerism. No need to state "member of" in front of organization name. Include leadership positions.

Formatting:

Consistency in entries. Each entry should have the same format and information provided. Your document is missing the following:
- Job/Position title
- Dates of employment/involvement (month/year)
- Company/Organization name
- Location (city and state)
- 3-5 bulleted accomplishment statements/job duties
Bullet points were not used. Bullet points aid in the readability and flow of your resume.
Periods should not be used at the end of bulleted statements.
Dates should be aligned on the right-hand side of the page. They are less important than the other experience information.
Volunteerism: Indicate the company name, location and number of hours volunteered.
Honors/Awards: list scholarships, Dean's List, President's Honor Roll, etc.

Formatting

Avoid using a resume template. many employers share that they are over-used and show lack of creativity.

Resume is not constant in style and/or formatting. For example, the use of font size/style, upper and lower case letters, bullets vs. narrative format, and section layout.

Reduce or expand to produce a concise document that sells you best. (Length depends on quality and quantity of experiences and accomplishments)

Spell out acronyms to keep your resume looking formal. (ex. The Ohio State University (OSU))

Omit all high school information by your sophomore year of college. From this point on, your resume should focus on accomplishments at the college level and beyond.

Omit references and/or the unnecessary phrase "references available upon request." Provide on a separate page by request only.

Omit information that could cause someone to discriminate against you. (ex. pictures, religious/political affiliations, marital status, etc.)

Spelling and grammatical errors are present. Professional documents can be discarded for just one mistake. Make yours error free.

Avoid using personal pronouns such as I, me, my, and mine.

**Adapted from Stephen F. Austin University-Career Services

Please reach out to Nancy Dugan at dugan.2@osu.edu to request sample resumes.