How to Write a Resume

Kavin Ramasamy, President

What is a Resume?:
A resume is a concise, informative summary of your education, experience, and skills. Most companies will use your resume to analyze you as a candidate, and it often helps differentiate you from other candidates seeking similar positions. Note that a resume alone won’t get you a job or internship, but you can be confident athat  good resume is an important factor in obtaining an interview. Make sure the resumes you create are tailored to match the company’s mission and expectations.  Your experiences do not have to relate directly, but your resume should reflect the types of skills the employer would value. 

Essential Sections: 
There are at least five sections that your resume should have: contact information, professional summary, work experience, skills, and education. You can add certifications, volunteering, or projects, but only if they are relevant to the job. Also, it is important that you keep your resume to one page. Adding as much information may be tempting, however, know that employers use resumes to quickly scan general information and get an understanding of your aptitude for the job. Take time to compile a list of all your experiences and accomplishments, and narrow them down to the top four to five. 

For your contact information, list your name, city, state, email, and phone number. If you have a LinkedIn or professional site, link that on your resume for them to access more information about you. 

For the education section, list the highest level of education you are in / have completed at the top. Include your school name and year of graduation, as well as a track/pathway (if applicable). Underneath, list subsequent levels of education (anything below high school is unnecessary), GPA, courses, and test scores. 

A professional summary is a brief, impactful statement at the top of your resume that acts as an "elevator pitch" for your career. It highlights your key skills, relevant experience, and impressive accomplishments, tailored to a specific job, to grab the hiring manager's attention and convince them you're a strong candidate worth considering. Think of it as a compelling teaser designed to make a hiring manager want to read the rest of your resume. This should be no longer than 3-5 sentences. 

Your work experience is the most important part of your resume. This is where employers will assess your compatibility with the company’s needs. List your experiences, starting with the most recent experience, down to your earliest. Underneath the position/title, list bullet points for what you have done. Remember, there is not enough space to list everything on one page, so make sure you are concise with whatever you list. Highlight numbers, actions, and impact with each of your bullet points. Words like “Managed, Led, Utilized, etc.” are great, strong words to use in your experience descriptions. Make sure you use numbers to highlight impact. Highlight how many people you led, the number of projects you’ve worked on, and how many people you’ve reached. These are all great ways to catch the attention of an employer. Additionally, numbers provide validity, which is important to instill confidence in an employer that you will be able to perform at a high level. Some great examples of experiences that you can list are work/part-time work, volunteer, internship, and extracurricular experiences. 

The skills section is where you can tailor your abilities to the company’s needs. Research the position/program you are applying for and identify skills in the job description. For example, if you are applying to an IT job, research systems and technologies that are relevant to the position, and highlight how you align with what is required of the job. If you are applying to a leadership position, emphasizing skills like public speaking and teamwork would help an employer better envision you in the role.

How do I stand out?:

• Be specific: Don’t use vague words when writing a resume; as mentioned before, use numbers, action words, and specific moments to highlight your experience 
  
• Use proper formatting: Most employers are able to tell whether or not you will be a good fit within the first 30 seconds. Don’t use any informal language like slang, personal pronouns, or pictures. Help your employer help you! 
  
• Check for mistakes: Spelling and grammar mistakes are very common on resumes packed with text, so a great way to stand out from others is to thoroughly proofread your resume. Make sure all necessary information is on your resume, all information is properly organized, and it is easy to skim (No paragraphs!). 

Good luck with your professional ventures, and I hope some of what was discussed in this article will help you while you create your resume!  

- Kavin Ramasamy, President