How To List Education On Your Resume
The next section were going to cover is your Education. Lets start with the basics – how to format the education section & what to mention there. Then, well move on to tips & tricks thatll help you stand out
- Program Name. E.g.: B.A. in Business Administration
- University Name. E.g.: New York State University
- Years Attended. E.g.: 08/2008 – 06/2012
- GPA. E.g.: 3.9 GPA
- Honors. E.g.:Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude.
- Academic achievements. Any interesting papers youve written, courses youve excelled in, etc.
- Minor. Minor in Psychology
Here’s an example:
Tips on perfecting your education section:
- If you dont have any work experience, mention your education section first.
- Mention your latest educational entry on top.
- If you have a university degree, dont mention your high school at all.
- ONLY mention GPA if you had a very impressive academic career .
How To Make A Resume 101
If you are reading this article, I think it is safe to say that we can call you a job seeker, correct?
But what kind of job seeker are you?
Are you looking for a change of pace from your everyday job?
Are you just starting out in the workforce?
Maybe youre a seasoned veteran trying to make the leap up the chain of command?
Or perhaps youre just fed up with the way things are going with your career and its time for a change?
Well, no matter what stage you are in your career, youre going to need to know how to write a good resume for a job interview and we are going to show you how! So start by downloading our Free Perfect Resume Checklist that will help you overhaul your resume and will get you more interviews.
Work Or Relevant Experience
So youve reeled the hiring manager in with a stellar introduction. Now its time to impress them with the real substance of your resume: your experience section.
If youre using the chronological resume format, your experience should be listed from your most recently held position at the top, to your least recent position toward the bottom of your resume.
For each job, include the:
- Name of the company
- Dates you were employed there
- Job title you had
Then, include a bulleted list of your responsibilities and quantifiable achievements you made while on the job.
To impress the hiring manager, back up the accomplishments for your resume with hard numbers to demonstrate what youve achieved as a professional.
Have little to no formal work experience?
If you have little or no relevant work experience, you may consider using a different outline for your resume.
If you have work experience, dont expand on your education other than noting your degree, year graduated, and GPA .
However, if you lack work experience, you can turn your work experience section into a relevant experience section, where you outline major educational achievements related to the job you want. To see this in action, check out our college student resume example.
This helps frame your application in terms of the experience you do have, making it ideal for candidates with little experience.
Have a lot of formal work experience?
Recommended Reading: What Is A Good Resume Title
Consider Adding Optional Sections
If you have significant white space on your resume, consider adding an achievements or interests section. This can help supplement a shorter resume, especially for those with limited work and educational experience. Makes sure that the achievements and interests you list support your career goals and are relevant to potential employers.
The Best Font Size For A Resume
The size font you use on a resume will depend on how much you have written, as you need your content to fill up one entire page. A good place to start is using 16pt for your name, 12pt for your section headers, and 11pt for the body of your text. Experiment conservatively until your one-page resume looks complete.
Recommended Reading: How To Create A Teenage Resume
The Best Things To List On Your Resume If You Have No Experience
No professional experience on your resume? No problem as long as you read this guide on how to write a resume when you have no work experience.
There are plenty of reasons why you may not have any previous work experience to list on your resume. There are many other things you can add to your resume to show employers that you are the perfect candidate for their open job post.
When you dont have work experience, its important to highlight past activities, skills and other experiences youve had to show you have unique skills, professionalism and competency. When managers are hiring entry-level employees, the top two characteristics they are looking for in your resume are attitude and aptitude.
That is:
Keep these two traits in mind while writing your resume and add any relevant experiences that show that you have the attitude and aptitude for the job.
Your Resume Format Is The First Thing A Potential Employer Will Notice Follow These Tips To Make Sure Its A Positive First Impression
A smart resume starts with a design that’s easy on the eyes.
Between optimizing keywords and jotting down your accomplishments, writing a resume is no easy task. However, from a recruiters perspective, your resumes look is just as important as its content. Think about it: When you have to evaluate hundreds of resumes each week, youre going to spend more time on the ones that are both easy on the eyes and better for your attention span. But what should a resume look like in order for you to stand out from the competition?
Resume design matters. For example, if your resume format features wall-to-wall with text, uses several different fonts, and is peppered with dozens of bolded, italicized, and underlined words and phrases, its probably not going to get the attention it deserves.
So what makes a resume visually appealing? When you can quickly scan the document because it makes good use of white space, features clear and consistent section headings, and uses bullet points to make important items stand out.
As you get your resume ready for a job search, take a look at our library of resume templates, and make sure to follow our design tips below.
Recommended Reading: How To Include Courses In Resume
How To Write Work Experience On A Resume
A well-written work experience section is a crucial element on your resume because it shows that you have the necessary qualifications to be an asset to your potential employer. It also provides substantial information in a limited space. In this article, well show you how to list work experience on a resume to make a strong impression on your prospective employer.
List Your Work Experience
Format your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job. Rather than placing your dates of employment next to each position, you might consider simply stating how many years you worked for the company. This information focuses on how long you were employed instead of how long you have been unemployed.
Don’t Miss: Where To List Languages On Resume
Use Resume Examples And Templates
Use a resume example or template to help you write your resume. An example can help you decide what information to include. Templates can help you format your resume. However, whenever you use a resume example or template, be sure to customize your resume, so it reflects your skills and abilities, and the jobs you are applying for. A simple copy/paste isnt enough.
Include Any Extracurricular Activities Or Volunteer Work
When surveyed, the majority of employers say that they take volunteer experience, such as being a soup kitchen volunteer, into consideration alongside paid work experience. So any volunteer work that highlights your talents or where you learned a new skill should be put on your resume. Only include extracurricular activities and hobbies if they are relevant to the position and have equipped you with transferable skills that would be useful for the job role.
Related: How to Build a Resume Using College Involvement as Experience
Read Also: Bls Cpr Certification On Resume
Plan The Framework Of Your Resume
Next, consider the basic framework of your resume. More isnt necessarily better, so aim for conciseness over length. Employers are looking for a synopsis of your credentials not everything you have done in your career. In many cases, a one-page resume is sufficient. If you have extensive experience, longer may be necessary.
In general, shorter is better, with a few bullet points for each job, brief sentences, descriptions that are action and accomplishment oriented, and plenty of white space on the page.
Your goal is to wow the hiring manager and present a document that promotes you as an ideal candidate for the position. Review these tips for building a resume that will help you get job interviews.
How To Write A Resume In 7 Easy Steps
Looking for a new job can be a grind. With so many details to attend to researching prospective employers, lining up professional references, practicing interviewing skills and checking the salary range for your role its tempting to recycle an old resume and top it off with your newest work experience.
Resist the impulse. If youre hoping to score an interview for that dream job, you need a freshly polished, customized document thats going to grab readers attention from the start. Here are tips on boosting your resume writing skills:
Read Also: Does My Perfect Resume Charge
Why Is Creating A Re
It is important to create a new resume for returning to the workforce because your strengths, goals and experiences might have changed since you were last employed. Your resume is the first thing hiring managers look at to determine if you are qualified for a job. To get their attention and an interview, you might need to update your resume to be more modern and reorganize it to prioritize your strengths and skills over your work experience.
Related:How to Find a Job After Long-Term Unemployment
Think Beyond Your Job Duties
Hiring managers don’t want to read a list of your job duties. They want concrete examples of your accomplishments in previous positions that show how you can make a difference in this new position. Rangel noted that specific merits are more engaging to read than just your experiences. For example, “I reduced operating expenses by 23% in six months” is far more interesting to an employer than “I have 30 years of sales experience,” she said.
When deciding what information to keep or cut out of your resume, focus on striking abstract traits and qualifications in favor of concrete, quantifiable results.
“The best resumes highlight a job candidate’s actions and results,” said Bob Myhal, director of digital marketing at CBC Automotive Marketing. “Employers want employees who get things done, and who take great joy and pride in what they do. Rather than a laundry list of your qualifications, your resume should reflect your accomplishments and enthusiasm for your career.”
You shouldn’t ignore your skills section either. Sade reminded job seekers to list any industry-relevant apps or programs they’re familiar with, and find ways to incorporate examples of their soft skills into their job descriptions.
Recommended Reading: Related Courses Resume
Add Your Contact Information
The first item on your resume should be your first and last name, a phone number and an email address. Consider also including additional contact information so that potential employers have multiple ways to reach you. You may, for example, include your professional networking platform page or an online portfolio link. You can also include your address, whether its the full mailing address or just your city and state. Many companies prefer to hire local employees to reduce relocation time and expenses.
What Is A Resume Work Experience Section
The work experience section of your resume should contain information about your professional history including previous titles, employers, dates of tenure, responsibilities, skills learned and accomplishments. Depending on your background, you can include full-time positions, part-time jobs, temporary roles, internships and even volunteer work if you do not have extensive paid work experience.
1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objectivec. Description of role and achievement4. Education6. Optional
Recommended Reading: How To Upload Resume Online
Tips For Making Your Resume Job Descriptions Sound Better
Work Experience Example For A Resume
Here is an example of a well-written job experience section for a resume:
Work ExperienceAccounting Assistant
- Purchase supplies and equipment for 3 departments, accurately recording purchases and reducing reconciliation discrepancies by 35%
- Process expense reports, properly documenting and allocating expense items
- Submit travel reimbursement requests and ensure missing receipt affidavits are completed in full
*CRANE & JENKINS | Tampa, FL*
- Served as primary point-of-contact for vendor inquiries, promptly investigating issues and solving concerns
- Received, tracked, and accurately processed 50+ vendor invoice payments on weekly basis
- Reconciled and batched payments on a daily basis
*TRADELOT | Tampa, FL*
You May Like: Adding Volunteer Experience To Resume
Include A Summary And Objective
Since employers may only spend a short time reviewing your resume, you want to display your positive qualities concisely. These statements should succinctly illustrate the qualities that make you an attractive candidate while also describing the engaging, yet professional, personality that you can bring to the workplace.
Your summary statement should include a concise overview of your work experience. Try to focus on work experience that relates to the roles in which you are applying to stand out more to hiring managers.
For a resume objective, you should provide a brief display of your skills and qualifications as they relate to the specific position to which you are applying. As with anything on your resume, though, these skills and qualities should be concrete and, where possible, quantifiable.
Related: Writing a Resume With No Experience
How Should A Resume Look In 2021
In 2021, simplicity is key. Your resume should be easy to read, use a neatly arranged resume design, and get to the point.
Avoid the busy details commonplace on resumes of the early 2000s, such as graphics, images, or charts. Additionally, your resume experience section should only go back to the past 10 to 15 years, and remain directly relevant to the position you want to fill.
Also Check: How Many References To Include On Resume
Write A Matching Cover Letter
Now that you know how to write your dream resume, you might be wondering: is a cover letter necessary? The answer is yes, always include a cover letter if you have the option.
Knowing how to write a good cover letter helps you round out every application you ever send out, and boosts your chances of landing an interview.
Cover letters are a valuable tool in your job-hunting arsenal because they give you an opportunity to provide context to your resume, show off your personality, and express enthusiasm for the job youre applying for.
Heres an example of what a resume paired with a matching cover letter might look like :
Whats A Resume Summary & When To Use It
A resume summary is a 2-3 sentence summary of your career. You should use a resume summary in basically any situation, unless youre a recent university graduate or switching careers .
In your resume summary, you need to mention:
Read Also: Language On Resume Example
Are These The Best Resume Examples For 2021
Yes, these are the best resumes for 2021 for four major reasons: