Resume Writing

Your resume serves as a marketing tool for you and should draw attention to your strengths and skills. The resume highlights information relevant to your job search and can help you make the connection between your skills, education, experiences, and the job market.

Basic Resume Writing
Sample Resumes
First time writing a resume? Get the Resume Writing Details!
How do I use my resume?

Basic Resume Writing

Following are the ten most important tips to help you write the most effective resume.

• • Less is always more. Be Concise, keep it to one page. Employers generally spend an average of 3-5 seconds scanning your resume. Your information should JUMP at an employer.
• • Accentuate the positive. Focus on results-oriented experiences, accomplishments and skills.
• • Think relevant. Your resume should include relevant information to your job objective or to your job search in general.
• • Use resume grammar, avoid: first person pronouns (I, we); most of the helping verbs (have, had, may); most being verbs (am, is, are, was, were); and articles (the, a, an).
• • Lead with action verbs. Avoid passive or weak phrases such as “was responsible for” and “duties included.” A list of action verbs is provided in the Get the details section below.
• • Be CONSISTENT. Every entry should use the same format. For example, if you abbreviate TX once, do it each time.
• • Use industry lingo and abbreviations as appropriate, but do so with caution.
• • Be honest. You must be able to speak in depth and honestly about any subject on your resume.
• • Use a laser or letter quality printer.
• • PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, then proofread again! As you become accustomed to your resume you should allow someone else to edit, especially if you have changed your resume repeatedly. Remember that errors can be detrimental on a resume. Visit a career advisor for a resume review.

Resume Approval Guidelines for LiberalArts@Work

The requirements included below are based on employer feedback received regarding student resumes. When you upload a resume to LiberalArts@Work (LA@W), a Career Coach reviews your resume and approval is based on the following criteria. For assistance with meeting the requirements, you may schedule an appointment with a Career Coach, visit Liberal Arts Career Services during resume walk-in hours, utilize Optimal Resume, and/or review sample resumes at this site.
There is a 48-hour (two business days) turnaround for resume reviews and your resume must be approved to apply for jobs and internships through LA@W.

General Resume Requirements

• √ A one page resume is required
• √ Acceptable font styles are Times New Roman, Arial, or Garamond
• √ Use a consistent font size for the text either 10, 11, or 12
• √ Utilize a consistent, easy to read format, set tabs or left/right justify to line up information
• √ Use bullet points for descriptions & start each bullet point with an action verb
• √ Check for appropriate spelling and grammar

Resume Section Requirements

• Heading
  1. Include name, current or permanent address, phone, and professional email
  2. Name can be slightly larger font (no more than 2 font sizes) than resume content
• Objective (Do not include)
  1. Your LiberalArts@Work resume should not include an objective since you are sending your resume through the recruiting system
• Education (First Section after the Heading)
  1. Write out The University of Texas at Austin
  2. Include B.A., or B.S., major, minor, grad date, GPA (overall or in major; include only if over 3.0)
  3. Remove all high school and/or transfer college information
• Academic Projects, Relevant Coursework or Study Abroad Experience (Optional)
  1. Include when relevant to career path
  2. List the name of course & semester completed
  3. Use bullet points and action verbs for descriptions
  4. Sample action verbs: researched, presented, analyzed, wrote, learned, developed, studied
• Experience (Work, Relevant, Leadership, Organization, Volunteer, Military)
  1. You may include more than one experience section to best highlight your background
  2. Include organization name, role, location, and dates (include months and years)
  3. List experiences in reverse chronological order within each section
  4. Bullet points (not dashes) and action verbs (present tense current position; past tense previous) are required for descriptions
  5. Quantify information in descriptions where possible; show results achieved
  6. Focus on descriptive content and your accomplishments; a general description of your job duties is not recommended
• Academic Honors & Awards (Optional)
  1. Include name of award, scholarship, or certificate and date awarded
• Skills
  1. Computer: list out software, hardware
  2. Language: specify level of competency, i.e. beginner, intermediate, advanced, working knowledge of, conversational   
  3. Typing: X wpm
  4. Additional: problem solving, multi-task, teamwork, communication, organization

Sample Resumes

Our sample Resumes are intended as examples only. Please do not copy these resumes verbatim as this could have a negative impact if your classmates use the same resume for the same organization.

Banking Resume (PDF 112k)
Business with Little Experience Resume(PDF 108k)
Corporate, PR Resume (PDF 129k)
Education Resume (PDF 74k)
Event Planning Resume(PDF 67k)
Film Resume (PDF 111k)
General, Student Org, Retail Resume (PDF 141k)
Government Resume (PDF 100k)
International Resume (PDF 128k)
International Business/Marketing - Strengths Section (PDF 72k)
Internship with Marketing Resume(PDF 122k)
Internship Museum Resume (PDF 113k)
Internship in Journalism (PDF 111k)
Journalism resume (PDF 118k)
Non-profit Resume (PDF 137k)

top^

Resume Writing Details

Resume writing should be considered a multi-step process, involving (I) Reflection, (II) Consideration of your past experiences, (III) Research, and (IV) Writing/Editing.

I. Reflection

Who are you and what are the skills that would make you most attractive to the person who will read your resume? Consider your range of skills and attributes, including:

• computer proficiency
• interpersonal (people) skills
• oral and written communication skills
• a demonstrated team attitude
• flexibility
• problem-solving and decision-making skills
• enthusiasm and energy
• knowledge of other cultures and languages
• professional affiliations
• creativity
• leadership ability
• industry skills

II. Consider Your Past Experiences

What types of activities have you participated in, from internships and jobs to leadership and volunteerism and academic projects to study abroad. Many experiences can be directly relevant for your resume, depending on where you plan to send it. When considering your past experiences, don’t just think about when, where and what, but think outside the box: how did you positively impact the environment or project? Ask yourself:

• How was the organization improved by my involvement?
• What did I specifically accomplish? How is this relevant/important for the types of jobs I am pursuing?
• What skills did I demonstrate or acquire?
• Can I provide facts and figures to quantify my results?

III. Research

Are you creating a general resume or do you have a job/internship you would like to target? To create a general resume, consider what you think is most important when determining what to include in the resume. However, if you are targeting a job or internship, do your research! Resumes should speak to your audience and it should speak in their language.

Knowing your Audience. Knowing what to highlight on your resume is much easier if you know what type of jobs, industries, or employers you are targeting. You should prepare slightly different resumes per application or change of industry. For instance, you may have a resume which highlights your journalistic style of writing for an internship at a newspaper, and another resume which highlights your work with editors, publishers and PR departments for an internship with a literary publicist.

Identifying your Career Objective. Do you have a career objective? If you do, your resume should reflect this by including relevant information and industry lingo. If you don't, you may want to visit with a career counselor at the Career Exploration Center to help you in the process.

IV. Writing Your Resume

Now that you know what skills and accomplishments you want to highlight and how you want to target your resume, you can begin writing.

Resumes generally have six categories: Heading, Objective (optional), Education, Experience, Skills and Activities & Honors. However, depending on your experience and your target, your resume may have more or less than these general categories.

Heading

The heading should consist of your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Your name should be in large, bolded text, while the rest of your information can be in a regular, non-highlighted text. If you have two addresses (one at college and one at home, for example), place your name in the center of the resume, and an address at either end of the line. Your email address should be profession. Your choice of style can reflect your personality, however, the heading should be coherent and understandable. Heading Example:

JOHN DOE
1234 San Gabriel St., Austin, Texas 78705
512.555.1234 · johndoe@austin.utexas.edu

top^

Objective (Optional)

A career objective tells your reader what type of position you are interested in and allows your reader to “translate” your skills. Only include an objective if it is targeted to a specific application and you feel it is necessary. If you are creating a general resume, you should not include an objective. Objective Examples:

A position with ABC Company utilizing my creative writing skills in the advertising art department.
To obtain a position in the ABC Company Editorial Training Program.
An investment banking position with a specialization in private wealth management.

top^

Education

As a current student or recent graduate you should feature your education section. It can include classes, honors, GPA (if over 3.0), awards, activities, affiliations, study abroad, relevant course work, special projects, and amount of education costs self-funded (do not use all these, chose only the most important). List only colleges and universities where degrees were awarded. Education Examples:

B.A. Economics, The University of Texas at Austin May 2007
Concentration: Business Economics GPA 3.4
Relevant Coursework:

• Investment Management
• Finance
• Managerial Accounting
• Management Information Systems

The University of Texas at Austin May 2007
Bachelor of Arts, English GPA 3.4
Rapoport Scholarship Recipient, May 2004
Oxford Summer Program, Oxford, UK, Summer 2005

The University of Texas at Austin May 2007
B.A., Government and Plan II Honors GPA 3.4
Concentration: International Relations and Political Theory
Honors Thesis (in progress): The impact of UN development initiatives in rural Asia.

B.A, Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin May 2007

• Dean's Honors, Fall 2005 & Spring 2006
• Psi Chi Honor Society, Member
• Self-Funded 90% of Education

Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan Summer 2005

• Studied Japanese Language, Culture, and History
• Level 3 Japanese Language Proficiency Exam

top^

Experience

The experience section can include internships, part-time jobs, regular positions, volunteer experience and leadership roles. Jobs should be listed in reverse chronological order. In describing your experience, feature scope of authority and accomplishments, rather than provide a job description. Ensure that verb tense matches relevant dates and use strong language by starting every sentence with an action verb! List your experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent to least recent). Experience Examples:

Office of Congressman Michael Burgess Washington, DC
Congressional Intern May 2005 – September 2005

• Composed op-eds and letters of response to constituent inquiries
• Summarized legislation for the Congressman’s review
• Examined legislative issues such as education, welfare reform, and immigration law to brief legislative staff
• Assisted with the function of weekly Democratic Caucus meetings

The Bank of America Austin, Texas
Relationship Management Intern Jan 2006 – Jun 2006

• Researched legal information on custodian, fund accounting, transfer agency and foreign sub-custodial agreements.
• Created an on-line filing system of all pertinent Mutual Fund data.
• Developed an index of investor charges through investigation and research of fee schedules.
• Systemized and formatted all dates of legal compliance agreements.
• Originated procedures for more efficient operation in the department.
• Interacted daily with senior level management.

U.S. Department of State Washington D.C.
Japan Desk Intern May 2005 – Aug 2005

• Analyzed Japanese dailies and created briefs for the Desk Chief.
• Developed content architecture of intranet webpage for US economic policy on Japan.
• Assisted in the planning and coordination of various State Department events, hosting numerous Japanese diplomats and visiting dignitaries.
• Researched current cultural trends of Japan in order to update the office’s protocol directives.

Old Navy Austin, TX
Sales Assistant August 2005 – December 2005

• Encouraged multiple sales by providing customer assistance.
• Launched local introduction of Old Navy Credit Card campaign.
• Advised customers in the value and benefits of the Old Navy credit card.

Effective Resume Action Verbs

Created	Implemented	Scheduled	Installed	Administered
Designed	Revised	Motivated	Analyzed	Advised
Supervised	Facilitated	Established	Promoted	Generated
Contributed	Utilized	Negotiated	Devised	Organized
Researched	Wrote	Trained	Resolved	Coordinated
Managed	Maximized	Initiated	Produced	Executed
Lectured	Enforced	Represented	Supplied	Participated
Identified	Prepared	Simplified	Maintained	Edited
Acted	Advertised	Arranged	Built	Drafted
Installed	Mapped	Marketed	Reduced	Solved

top^

Skills (Optional)

The skills section may include technical, interpersonal, organizational and language skills. If you are interested in a management position, you can list your time management and leadership skills. If interested in a technical position you may feature your production and computer skills. Language skills may be listed as bicultural/ bilingual; speak, read, write, translate, interpret, including contracts, scientific and technical documents; conversationally fluent; proficient; business proficiency; intermediate; and basic. Example Skills:

Computer Skills: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, HTML, Illustrator & InDesign.
Interpersonal Skills: Proven communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, work well as a team player, excellent communication skills with diverse groups of people
Foreign Language Skills: Proficient Spanish, Intermediate Japanese, Basic French

Activities & Honors (Optional)
The Activities & Honors section may include activities such as volunteer work and involvement in student organizations and honors such as scholarships and awards. However, if your activities are relevant to your job objective or demonstrate your leadership skills, you may decide to create a second experience section labeled Leadership Experience or Additional Experience. In the new section you can describe your activities in the same way you describe past jobs/internships: use action verbs and accentuate your results-ended work. Sample Activities & Honors (listing and leadership full description):

Skills & Honors
African Students Association, Treasurer, UT, August 2005 - Present
Students for Political Awareness, Member, UT, October 2006 – Present
Rapoport Scholarship, Recipient, UT, May 2005

Leadership Experience

UT Liberal Arts Council Austin, Texas

Vice President May 2006 - Present

• Contributed to membership growth of 150+ members through effective PR efforts and recruitment of guest speakers.
• Supervised eight officers working in such areas as treasury, internal communication, professional networking, and member benefits.
• Represented organization at professional functions and on university-wide committees.

top^

How do I use my resume?

As a first contact with an organization: You can email your resume and a cover letter to an organization prior to contacting them. The resume allows the organization an opportunity to look over your experience and education and evaluate them in terms of its employment needs. As part of the recruiting program, you can submit your resume to a variety of companies through our online recruiting program, LiberalArts@Work.

During the job interview: The resume serves as a conversation starter and can structure the interview. Some recruiters will go through your resume with you section by section and ask you to discuss your experiences. Others will glance at the resume, put it down, and say "tell me about yourself."

After the job interview: Sometimes your resume is the only tangible item left after your interview. It can help the interviewer remember you long after the interview.

When you have a phone interview: Some recruiters conduct initial interviews by phone. It helps to keep a copy of your resume next to the telephone in case you receive such a call. You can use your resume to remind yourself of your experiences and remember important information.

Additional Help

Would you like more help with your resume? Visit a career advisor for one-on-one assistance with your resume.