This is the traditional, chronological style with a couple of tweaks. Your situation may be better served with a different presentation. See the Virtual Career Center resource section for resumes and cover letters at the Alumni Career Center's Web site: www.uiaa.org/careers.
A new-grad, entry-level resume should be one page and designed to fill the page. Use 11- or 12-point fonts. Make sure you and a friend proofread for spelling and grammatical errors.
Phone Number: You'll need a reliable phone message system with a professional sounding message. Consider establishing a voice mail account through a local telephone company or acquire a cell phone. Put your phone number on the resume and check your voice mail daily.
E-mail Address: Your university e-mail account is canceled a few months after graduation, but you can get a free alumni
e-mail account from the Alumni Association at www.uiaa.org. Click "My E-mail Account," then select "Create a New Account."
Objective: If you can name the job title, do so. Be concise. After several years of work experience, the "Objective" becomes the "Summary."
GPA: Only include your GPA if it is a 3.0/4.0 or better. You won't need to include it after a year or two of work experience.
Education: If you've transferred or have a community college degree, only include it if it represents new, relevant information, such as an associate's degree in computer science. If your degree is unrelated to your objective, consider listing the university first and eliminate the coursework listing.
Related Experience: Use bullets that begin with action verbs. Try to mention first the outcomes, results or achievements in that job/activity. List first those you think are most important to potential employers and/or items you enjoy doing.
Include volunteer or other life activity as long as it relates to your objective. List in reverse chronological order, following the same format/pattern as the jobs list, if possible. When overlapping dates occur, rank higher the activity you believe is most important to potential employers.
Certification/Licensure: If you have a certificate or license that relates to the objective, insert a section between "Education" and "Experience," titled "Certification" or "License." Then, name the certificate/license and its start date. If you are waiting for test/application results, list "pending" after the named credential.
Other Experience: If you have had several short-term, part-time jobs, list only those that give new information about you and your work environments. For example, if you worked as a cashier at three fast-food chains, list only one, or none if you also listed being a server at a restaurant.
