Resumes

Resumes have one humble but important job: to open a door and get you an interview. Even so, the resume is a key tool in any kind of job search. If your search includes networking as a central strategy as it should, you will use your resume as a quick way of communicating about yourself, where you have come from and where you are going.

Of the many types of resumes, the most commonly used by students is a chronological resume. In it you present relevant information related to your education, experience, skills and interests. Education and work experience are presented in reverse chronological order by section – with the most recent education and experience first in their sections. A resume for a student or a new grad should almost always be a one page resume.

Use the Resume Handout, the samples, and the other resources to create a draft resume. Bring your draft to Walk-in Hours, open for brief resume critiques every weekday from 2-4 pm at Career Services in 202 Stearns. Longer appointments are available if you need more help.

First Resumes

In first resumes, include your college and your high school, and any work or other experience that you have had that will allow a potential internship or other employer to form a sense of your skills. You are not expected to have lots of work experience yet, but you do need to make the most of what you have.

Co-op Resumes

Co-op coordinators have different approaches to resumes and may expect you to use a particular set of guidelines or a specific format for your resume. We can help with your co-op resume in walk-ins or an appointment, but make sure you come with information about what your co-op coordinator expects.

After-Graduation Resumes Vs. Co-op Or Other Undergraduate Resumes

• Drop high school and high school accomplishments, except in unusual circumstances
• List graduation honors (summa, magna and cum laude are never capitalized)
• Must distinguish you as you enter a bigger and more competitive pool
• Focus attention on where you are headed, and how what you have done positions you to get there
• Seniors! When you've converted your resume to an after-graduation resume, upload it in HuskyCareerLink and publish it to the resume book or books for your major or interests.

Resumes For International Students And For American Students Who Want To Work Overseas

International students need to develop an American style resume if they want an American internship or job, just as an American student going to France or to New Zealand would need to adapt his or her resume to reflect the local custom.  Google "French resumes", for example and learn that on a French resume, which is called a CV, you need a photo and personal information that would never appear on an American resume.

Career Change Resumes

If the job you want next is very different from the job you have now, or a job you have already done,
you have a positioning challenge.

For changers:

• The new resume is very hard to do early in the change process. Wait until you know what you want to save a lot of effort.
• Summaries at the top of a resume can help identify you with the new destination if they capture what specifically connects what you have done in the past to what you want to do next
• Get help!

Come to Walk-in Hours every day 2-4 in 202 Stearns. Great for quick resume reviews. Walk-in appointments are 10-15 minutes only. For more in-depth counseling, we recommend you make an appointment through your myNEU account.

Appointments: Get help from a career counselor

Resume Handout

Internet Resources

• The Riley Guide Has an excellent section on resumes
• Quint Careers  Provides links to resume resources, including samples by field
  
• Monster Gives advice on how to tailor your resume based on the industry you are targeting. Also includes resume makeovers.
• Google Try a search on "sample resumes," "great resumes" or (your field) resumes."

On-Line Safety – To Post Or Not To Post

• Posting your resume on job boards is only a single, passive element in a search
• If you are an entry level candidate (with less than 3 years experience) you will probably hear only from third party recruiters; they rarely have much to offer but like to collect names.
• Posting is very public. Never post your Social Security number. Think about whether you want your contact information posted.
• On HuskyCareerLink, you can "publish" your resume after you have uploaded it so employers searching for candidates can review it. Only employers registered with us can see them
• More on safety and resume posting
• Follow up on your submissions. Follow-up is important since there is a b likelihood that you will receive no response at all to a significant number of your submissions. This is the norm in today's competitive market. You can follow up with an e-mail or a telephone call to inquire about the progress of the search. Some employers say that inventive persistence can be appealing and rewarded.