Your resume is your marketing tool for the employer and is your ticket to the interview. Without a good, strong resume you'll have a hard time getting in front of an employer to talk about your qualifications for the job.
Resumes come in different styles and formats. And there are many right ways and many wrong ways to write a resume. The Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Career Services offices recommend the following for building a strong resume.
Your contact information should be at the very top of your resume so that employers will know whose resume they're looking at and how to contact you.
Much like a synopsis for a book, your Summary of Qualifications or Professional Summary is a brief introduction about what is on the rest of your resume. Your summary will combine what position you are seeking with an overview of your qualifications. Your summary should be three to five sentences long highlighting your best qualities.
At TSTC we are all about skills, and you need to show them off! Your strong list of skills is what makes you stand out from other jobseekers out there.
You have the skills to do the job and your degree is proof of it. Your education section should only list colleges you're currently attending or colleges where you've actually earned a degree. If you can't provide a graduation year or expected graduation year then you don't need to include it. You're a college graduate or soon to be a graduate, so your high school information isn't necessary.
Your work history, whether it's related to the job you're seeking or not, is important to the employer. When they're reading through your work history, they're looking for any related skills or transferable skills (skills that are relevant in an job like organization, time management, communication, etc.).
If you still have room left on your resume, include any community service or leadership activities you're involved in. You can also highlight any honors or awards you've received. These are important in telling employers more about your character. If you don't have room:
Still need help with your resume?
Download these examples to help
you format your resume properly.
Here are some quick video
tutorials that you can watch
to help you write your resume.