How to Begin Your Resume

You must first begin by understanding the employer’s perspective. When an employer is seeking a new employee, they create a job description to advertise the job opening. The job description is the employer’s way of describing the skill set and qualifications they are seeking in a potential new employee. When an employer is evaluating resumes sent in by candidates, they evaluate a candidate’s skills and qualifications to see which candidates match the skills and qualifications described in the job description most closely. Those candidates who have marketed their skills and experiences in their resume to best match the job description will likely be the candidates who are offered an interview for the job opening. Lesson: as a job-seeker, you should market your skill set differently to match every job you apply for, as no two job descriptions are alike.

How to Market Your Skills and Experience to Show the Employer You Are the Right Fit

• Begin by reviewing the job description
• Take note of all skills and qualifications you have that match what the employer is seeking
• Notice what type of language is used in the job description and within the industry you are applying for—use this language in your resume
• Consider within the layout of your resume how you can market the skills and qualifications you have that the employer is seeking
• List the most related experiences toward the top of your resume
• Choose categories for your experiences that use the industries language
• List the most relevant experiences toward the top of your resume
• Beware, you should never lie on your resume - if you do not possess the skill set desired by an employer, you should not market something you do not have.

When writing your resume, include the following information:

• Your contact information
• Objective (optional) - most commonly used for Career Fairs or other networking events
• Education
• Related Experiences - create subject headings for your experiences that match the job description
• Related Skills - share only those related to the job description

For each of your experiences, the employer will need the following information:

Job Title, Organization, city, state, dates

• Use bullets with action verbs, describe the skills you gained
• There is no magic number for the amount of bullets needed to describe your experience

Resume Writing Resources

• Sample resumes
• Writing a Cover Letter
• References

Curriculum Vitae

What is a curriculum vita?

A curriculum vita (C.V.) is a more comprehensive and detailed version of a resume traditionally used when applying for faculty/administration positions in academia. However, there are other uses for a curriculum vita such as: tenure reviews, grant applications, public speaking engagements, fellowship opportunities, publishing, etc. Click here for more distinctions between a C.V. and a resume.