Resumes and job search letters are important marketing tools utilized to present the education, experience, skills, and accomplishments you offer to potential employers and/or graduate schools.
Begin with a list of your successes, accomplishments and contributions from past and current experiences. Identify the skills you used in all of your experiences (education, jobs, internships, clubs, volunteer...). Make two columns. In the left column, list experiences in which you were successful, you liked what you did and you did it well. In the right column, list the skills you used that contributed to your success and ability to accomplish your tasks.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Start with your formal name on the top line. List your mailing address (If you are near graduation, list current college address and permanent address. List your telephone numbers and e-mail address.
OBJECTIVES
Objectives focus on what you can offer an employer, not on what you hope to gain. The objective is used to state the job title or type of position you are seeking now and may include the key skills you offer. Keep objectives short, just one or two lines. Examples:
Objective: Seeking museum internship requiring curation, installation and acquisition skills.
Objective: To obtain a public health position in prevention and outreach services with an opportunity to utilize knowledge of epidemiological principles and health education.
Career Objective: Seeking a staff accountant position with a public accounting firm to utilize quantitative, analytical and communication skills.
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EDUCATION
Degrees and Courses: List colleges where you have received or will receive a degree, along with the degrees by formal name, majors, minors, and graduation month and year. You may list a few selected courses related to your career field if you have limited career experience and want to focus on your academic preparation and skills. When you have obtained significant career experience, you might not list college courses.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
B. S. in Family Studies and Human Development, December 2013
Selected Courses: Human Relations, Family Dynamics, Child Development, Statistics and Research Methods, Counseling Theories, Family and Public Policy
Projects: You may include team class projects, individual class projects, academic research, thesis topics and any academic experience that demonstrates your skills and knowledge.
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, May 2012
Math and Chemistry Minors
Engineering Design Project: Team leader for design team of five students. Applied chemical engineering principles to research and design membrane separation system for optimum recovery of carbon dioxide from coal burning flue gas.
Academic project examples:
Public Health Project: Conducted research and composed paper on social and cultural determinants of gender disparities in the rates of HIV/AIDS in Chicago.
Marketing Project: Researched competitors and developed marketing plan for cell phone company with team of five students. Compiled statistical data for research report.
GPA: List GPA as: 3.6, 3.67, or 3.6/4.0. Providing your GPA is optional, although GPAs of 3.0 and higher are generally included. Never round up a GPA (3.499 does not equal 3.5).
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Bachelor of Science in Physics with Biology Minor, May 2013
GPA: Physics 3.59, Biology 3.26, Cumulative 3.48; Dean’s List five semesters
High School: Information from high school may be listed for college freshmen or sophomores who excelled academically (GPA, class ranking, academic honors) and to indicate leadership positions and active involvement in school or community organizations related to your career field. By the junior year, high school information is usually omitted from a student’s resume.
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts, Film and Television Studies, May 2016
Wildcat Excellence Scholarship awarded based on academic merit
Graduated top 10% of high school class, 3.9 GPA; Honors Diploma, Senior Class President
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EXPERIENCE
Focus primarily on your career related experiences including jobs, internships, co-ops and unpaid experience where you gained job skills (e.g., club leader, volunteer and community service). If your experience is not directly related to your career field, focus on transferable skills that would be useful to any career field. For example, if you worked as a restaurant server, the transferable skills include customer service, communication, team work, sales and training employees.
List your experience in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent position first. Include your position title, name of employer, city, state, and dates by month and year, and a description of what you did (focus on tasks, skills and results). Use short phrases, key word nouns and action verbs to describe duties and to highlight your skills and knowledge.
Use keywords to indicate specific skills and knowledge:
| project management | market research | lesson plans | lean manufacturing |
| customer service | system analysis | strategic planning | cost accounting |
| GIS | feasibility study | outside sales | press releases |
| team leader | hydrometeorology | technical writer | conflict resolution |
| diversity trainer | cryogenics | econometric modeling | Adobe InDesign |
Use action words to highlight skills:
| administer | delegate | facilitate | mediate | reconcile | streamline |
| budget | demonstrate | implement | negotiate | recruit | supervise |
| coordinate | design | investigate | organize | research | upgrade |
| counsel | develop | manage | perform | sell | validate |
| create | expedite | marketing | publicize | structure | verified |
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Experience Examples :
Tucson Water, Technical Intern, Tucson, Arizona, July 2012-current
- Perform monitoring of groundwater conditions in the Tucson Basin.
- Collect water levels and groundwater samples and observations of well and basin conditions.
- Maintain a network of remote data loggers and pressure transducers.
- Analyze data from artificial recharge basins to help optimize basin management.
Pima County Attorney’s Office, Violent Crimes Division, Intern, Tucson, AZ, January-May 2012
- Prepared case summaries for attorneys by compiling witness, defendant, and victim statements to police and police reports for pending court cases.
Preceptor for Physiology 202 Course, University of Arizona, January to May 2012
- Utilized knowledge of physiology with teaching and communication skills to provide clinical presentations and assist students with laboratory and class assignments.
Admissions Student Recruiter, August 2011 - June 2012
Office of Admissions, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
- Assisted high school seniors with university application and admission process.
- Conducted assembly presentations for high school students about importance of college.
- Efficiently accomplished tasks to manage data utilizing multiple University of Arizona operating systems including SIS, COSMOS, Matrix, and UAccess.
Waterfront Insurance Inc., Actuarial Trainee, Seattle, Washington, November 2011 - current
- Conduct analyses of mortality and expenses for underwriting division.
- Member of team on development of underwriting rules and dividend scales.
- Successfully passed four actuarial exams of the Society of Actuaries.
Valley Corporation, Human Resources Generalist, Death Valley, CA, January 2011-present
- Support key HR functional areas including compensation analysis, recruiting and selection
- Design curriculum and teach staff development training programs
- Identify candidates, coordinate interview teams and conduct thorough reference checks
Marketing Assistant, Cactus Media Flagstaff, AZ, March - June 2012
- Compiled market research and media value reports in order to produce prospect sheets.
- Compiled statistical data and created spreadsheets for analysis.
Honeywell Aerospace: Engineering Intern, Tempe, AZ May-August 2012
- Supported redesign of pneumatic actuator rotor to meet updated specifications.
- Created design concept for new Air Turbine Starter test cell gearbox.
- Generated design concept and used Pro/E to create 3D model of gearbox assembly.
- Learned and utilized elements of Six Sigma Plus and Design for Six Sigma (DSFF).
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ADDITIONAL RESUME CATEGORIES:
| Volunteer Experience | Research Experience | Community Service |
| Publications | Honors and Scholarships | Campus Organizations |
| Skills | Memberships | Leadership |
ASSESS YOUR SKILLS
Identifying the skills you have demonstrated through your education and experience is important when writing resumes, in addition to preparing for interviews. Emphasize the skills you have which employers seek from all college student candidates: academic knowledge, written and verbal communication, interpersonal relationship skills, leadership, working on teams, critical thinking, problem solving, computer skills, initiative, flexibility…
To create your resume, begin with a list of your successes, accomplishments and contributions from past and current experiences. Use various situations to describe your experiences from college and identify the skills you used in your experiences, including education, classes, team projects, jobs, internships, campus involvement, student organizations, research, committees, leadership roles, and volunteer or community service.
Determine the skills, strengths, competencies, knowledge and personal characteristics you demonstrated during your various experiences. Focus on measurable skills using the STAR approach to demonstrate how you were effective by describing the situation, tasks, actions and results of your experiences.
Situation: challenges, concerns, issues, problems, conflicts
Tasks: your role and responsibilities
Actions: your behaviors, focusing on skills you used and your competencies
Results: outcomes, accomplishments, what you contributed and learned
SKILLS examples:
Speech-Language Pathology: Proficient skills in administering and scoring standardized tests including Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, SALT transcription.
Public Health: knowledge of epidemiological principles, data analysis, infectious diseases, social and behavioral determinants of disease, health education models, technical writing.
Languages: Fluent Spanish, Intermediate Japanese ability at JPLT N2 Level.
Scientific and Laboratory Skills: laboratory safety, aseptic techniques, bioinformatics, thin layer and column chromatography, atomic absorption spectrophotometers, oscilloscopes, thermal stability assays, NMR X-ray Crystallography, PCR, gel electrophoresis.
Hydrology: Subsurface Hydrology and Fluid Dynamics, Hydrologic Transport Processes, MATLAB, MT3D, MODPATH, AQTESOLV, LoggerNet, Linux, ArcGIS.
Fieldwork: genomic plant experiment techniques, data collection and data analysis techniques, remote sensing applications, tree ring chronologies, technical writing, experiment documentation.
Marketing: marketing research, statistical analysis, brand development, copywriting, writing marketing proposals and press releases, use of social media for promotions, print design, logos.
Film Production: writing scripts, two camera shoots, linear and non-linear editing, directing voice overs, estimating costs and managing budgets, utilizing AVID and Adobe Creative Suite.
Nursing Skills: therapeutic communication, documentation, delegation, supervision, safety, patient and family advocacy, medication administration, palliative care, teamwork.
Certifications: First Aid, CPR, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Arizona Fingerprint Clearance.
Computers: ArcGIS, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Final Draft, Photoshop Elements 8, Quattro Pro, Corel Graphics, Macromedia Dreamweaver, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access.
Technical Skills: Cadence and Allegro Design Tools, Pro/E, Visual Basic, Unix, LINDO API, AIX, Perl, GAMS, C++, Java Object Databases, Computer Architecture, Digital Logic Design.
Manufacturing Project Management: budget and strategic planning; technical, cost, and timing management; project documentation; lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
Accounting and Finance: knowledge of financial accounting, tax, audit, financial analysis, financial decision modeling, security valuations, capital budgeting, DCF, CAPM, DTA.
Professional: interpersonal skills, written and verbal communication, leadership, teamwork, customer service, logical and critical analysis, project management.
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LEADERSHIP examples:
Appropriations Board Director, Associated Students of University of Arizona, 2011-2012
- Oversaw student government board to ensure standards of fairness were met when evaluating funding requests from 350 student organizations and campus clubs.
- Allocated $300,000 budget. Followed university policies and state laws.
Student Health Advisory Committee Chair, University of Arizona, February-May 2012
- Coordinated health promotion and prevention marketing materials and events for students.
- Assisted Campus Health with conducting surveys of student behaviors and trends.
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COMMUNITY SERVICE examples:
Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Member, August 2011-May 2012
- Dedicated member committed to promoting leadership and providing community service.
Volunteer Docent, Tucson Children’s Museum, Tucson, AZ, May-July 2011, May 2012-present
- Provide exceptional customer service in the museum and gift shop.
- Assist with inventory management and merchandise displays.
- Demonstrate communication and presentation skills conducting tours of exhibits.
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CREATING YOUR RESUME
We recommend starting with a blank
Microsoft Word document to create your resume.
Be careful using resume templates as you have little control over the format.
Information about resumes and letters is on the Career Services Web page under Career Web Resources and Students/Resumes. The Career Information Center in the SUMC411 has a collection of print resources on writing resumes and job search letters.
We offer the UA Resume Builder within Wildcat JobLink to help you create your first resume. An interactive process provides examples and formats so you may create and manage multiple versions of your resumes. Once you create your resumes, you can save them as Microsoft Word Documents to make additional modifications or as a PDF files.
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RESUME CHECKS - Want a Second Opinion?
Students and alumni may have Career Services professional staff members review their resumes and cover letters during Walk-In Hours. The hours vary and the daily schedule is posted online.
Students and alumni may also schedule individual appointments with career counselors to have resumes, curriculum vitae and job search letters reviewed. Please stop by Career Services in the Student Union Suite 411 or call 520.621.2588 to arrange appointments.
Resume checks and counseling services are available for current University of Arizona students and alumni for up to one year after graduation.
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TIPS FOR SUBMITTING RESUMES
1. Send resumes with original cover letters tailored to each job description and employer.
2. For the Career Services Wildcat JobLink and Campus Interviewing Program, please review the easy resume downloading instructions online: http://www.career.arizona.edu/
3. To post a resume and cover letter on an employer’s Web site, carefully follow their specific instructions as the online resume/letter submission process varies by employer.
4. To email a resume and cover letter, provide the letter as the message of your email and then also attach your resume and cover letter as Microsoft Word or PDF documents. Label your attachments with your name like: MorganJonesresumeandletter.docx
5. To apply by mail, use a 9” x 12” envelope. Don’t fold or staple resumes or letters. Use white, cream or beige laser print 24-30 pound weight paper.