Resumes: Intro & Guidelines

Your resume represents an essential component of the job and internship application process. The resume includes information relevant to the opportunity you are pursuing and provides the connection between your education, experiences, and skills to the employer and industry of interest.

Resume Templates & Action Verbs - Check out five templates and a list of action verbs to help you get started or improve your resume.

Resume Writing Guidelines

The guidelines included below are based on employer feedback received regarding student resumes. These guidelines are used by LACS as requirements for all resumes uploaded into the BTT Gateway system. When you upload a resume to BTT Gateway, 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 by calling 512-471-7900, visit Liberal Arts Career Services during walk-in hours, utilize Optimal Resume, review sample Resume Styles on the LACS website, and/or download our Resume Writing Guide.

There is a two business day turnaround for resume reviews, and your resume must be approved to apply for jobs and internships through BTT Gateway. Resume uploads are only reviewed Monday-Friday between 8:00am-10:00am.  For the best experience, verify your resume is one page (CVs and/or 2+ page documents will not be approved), uses bullet points and action verbs within experience descriptions, and incorporates a consistent, easy to read formatting style.  Please note once your resume is approved you will not have to go through the review and activation process again.

General Resume Requirements

• A one-page resume is required for approval
• Acceptable font styles are Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, or Garamond
• Use a text font size of 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
• Proofread for appropriate spelling and grammar

Resume Section Requirements

Heading

• Include name, current or permanent address, phone, and professional email
• Name can be slightly larger font (no more than 2 font sizes) than resume content

Objective (Not Required)

• Your BTT Gateway resume should not include an objective since you may submit your resume for multiple opportunities through our recruiting system

Education (First Section after the Heading)

• Write out The University of Texas at Austin
• Include B.A., or B.S., major, minor, grad date, GPA (overall or in major; include only if over 3.0)
• Remove all high school and/or transfer college information

Academic Projects, Relevant Coursework or Study Abroad (Optional)

• Include when relevant to career path
• List the name of course & semester completed
• Use bullet points and action verbs for descriptions
• Sample action verbs: researched, presented, analyzed, wrote, learned, developed, studied, implemented, supervised, led, organized

Experience (Work, Relevant, Leadership, Organization, Volunteer, Military, Community, or Industry)

• You may include more than one experience section to best highlight your background
• Include organization name, role, location, and dates (include months and years)
• List experiences in reverse chronological order within each section
• Bullet points (not dashes) and action verbs (present tense current position; past tense previous) are required for descriptions
• Quantify information in descriptions where possible; show results achieved
• Focus on descriptive content and your accomplishments; a general description of your job duties is not recommended

Academic Honors & Awards (Optional)

• Include name of award, scholarship, or certificate and date awarded

Skills

• Computer: list out software, hardware
• Language: specify level of competency, i.e. beginner, intermediate, advanced, working knowledge of, conversational