Create a Resume

This virtual online community is designed to support students in crafting standout resumes. Members can access expert advice, step-by-step guides, and customizable templates tailored to various industries and career levels. Whether you’re drafting your first resume or fine-tuning a professional portfolio, this community provides the resources and support needed to present your best self to potential employers.

Getting Started

• Brainstorm experiences you would like to include on your resume- think about the opportunities you have been involved in while in college. Think about the variety of experiences you have done- you can include academic projects, research, volunteering, extracurriculars, internships, or work experiences. Don’t limit yourself!
• Make a list of the experiences you want to discuss on your resume. Think about the academic, extracurricular, or work experiences you want to include on your resume.

Prepare Your Document

• Find a resume layout that you would like to use to organize your information. Use the Resume, References, and Cover Letters booklet to review options (pgs. 9-12) or use SkillsFirst
• Set up the layout: Include your name, contact information at the top; Type out your Headings: Education, Experience, Activities, etc. Look at the Resume booklet for possible section headings on Page 1.
• Complete your Education Section: Include your degree (BA, etc.) , institution, location of institution, graduation date. Optional: honors/awards, and relevant coursework
• List your experiences underneath each section heading (Work, Leadership, etc.): Include title, organization, location, and dates (mo/year) of the experience.

Write Bullet Statements

• Write down your skills: Check out the job description and the organization’s website to be clear about the skills you are highlighting. Describe transferrable skills (communication, leadership, research) have you used within your experiences.
• Create 1-2 bullet statements for each experience: with your list of skills start creating bullet statements to demonstrate how you have used these skills in each experience.
  • Start with action verb, how/what you did using the skill(s), and what did you accomplish or what the result was. Use this structure: Strong Action Verb + Task (How/What you did) + Outcome/Result
  • Helpful Tip Use the Resume booklet for some help with strong action verbs (p. 8) and structuring bullet statements (p. 3). –
• Add additional bullet statements: incorporate additional bullet statements within each experience. Are there other skills you would like to showcase to provide a more holistic view to this experience? Any gaps in your skills you want to address?

Review Your Resume

• Review bullet statements: make sure they are concise and provide specific information about how you have used your skills in your past experiences. Make sure you are showing how you have used your skills through your past experiences than simply talking about your duties/responsibilities.
• Grammar: Make sure to check your document to see if there are any spelling mistakes. Check your bullet statements to make sure they are clear and easy to read.
• Consistency: Is the layout of your information on the document consistent. Are you listing your experiences the same way? Is there even spacing amongst your section headings and experiences?
• Accuracy: Is all of the information with your experiences accurate and up to date.