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How to Write a Resume
Tips on how to write a resume that will attract attention
RESUME WRITING GUIDE:
NetEffects recommends writing a resume in the style outlined below. The goal of a resume is to give the hiring manager a quick, easy to read overview of your accomplishments and abilities. If the resume is too long, the manager may not be able to find the information they are looking for. If the resume is too short, it may lack the information that will help you get an interview.
We have developed a resume format that should highlight accomplishments and technical skills in an easy to read format.
The content of your resume should include the following sections:
- Personal Information
- Professional Summary
- Technical Skills Summary
- Work Experience
- Education, Training and Special Affiliations
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Include your full name, address and contact information such as email, home phone and mobile phone. If you are open to relocation or looking to relocate to a specific area, also include this information.
Include:
- Name
- address
- telephone
- e-mail address
- web site address
Avoid:
- Nicknames
- Temporary Addresses
- Non-professional web sites or email addresses
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
The goal of the summary is to quickly grab the reader’s attention and get them to read the rest of the resume. This is an introduction highlighting your strengths and skills. It should be concise and avoid “fluff”. This section should be four or five sentences long and tailored to the job you are applying for.
Examples of statements to include in the summary:
Technical Statement:
Extensive experience in start to finish development with the Business Objects software suite versions 5, 6.1 and 6.5.1. Experienced in user administration with Supervisor, universe development with Designer and creating analytical business reports using Business Objects (Reporter) and Web Intelligence (Webi).
Statement of Personal Strength:
Highly motivated senior technologist with proven ability to combine broad based technology, business and financial management expertise in developing and implementing enterprise class applications to meet evolving business needs.
Certification Statement:
Sun Java 2 Certified professional with extensive experience developing multi-tier applications using JSP, EJB, XML, J2EE, RMI, Servlets, WebLogic Application and WebSphere Application Server.
Closing Statement:
History of building software systems with improved functionality and consistently meeting critical requirements.
Tips for Writing a Summary:
- Usually, it is good to write the summary last and take information you want to highlight out of your experience section
- Avoid going overboard with adjectives and self descriptions i.e.: “An honest self-motivated, well organized problem solver with good people skills.” This statement may cause you to loose credibility
- Mention major certifications or training that is relevant to your experience
- Change the summary for different jobs you are applying for to focus your resume and highlight specific accomplishments that are relevant for the reader of the resume
TECHNICAL SKILLS SUMMARY
This section highlights the technical skills you have. Generally the following categories work, but you may need to adjust the categories depending on your job focus i.e.: Project Managers may have more information on methodologies, developers may not have a networking section; network engineers may not have a language section. It is a good idea to include all of your recent skills and some of the older, legacy skills.
Example of Technical Skills Summary:
Languages: Java, J2EE, EJB, Visual Basic 5.0, XML, JavaScript, PL/SQL
Operating Systems: Sun Solaris, Windows NT, WinCVS
Databases: Oracle 9i, 8i, DB2
Software: Rational Rose, PL/SQL Developer, Erwin 3.5, Together-J
Application Sever: WebLogic 8.1, Apache Web Server
Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, WINS, Ethernet, Token Ring
Tips for Building a Technical Skills Summary:
- Be reasonable about the sub-categories you build. Don’t add so many categories that one might only have one or two skills listed in it
- Include most major and recent technologies. You may want to limit older technologies that you no longer use, but include some to add depth to your technical background
- Ideally, keep the length to this section at 25% to 30% of the page. If it is much longer, you may de-emphasize the important job experience section
WORK EXPERIENCE:
The work experience section of your resume gives clear, concise details of your job responsibilities. This section should outline your work experience in reverse chronological order—that is, put your last job first and work backward to your first, relevant job. The header of each job should include the following:
- Title of position
- Name of organization (If you worked for a consulting firm, include your client name)
- Location of work (town, state)
- Dates of employment ( month and year)
Example:
Senior Software Engineer July 2001 – October 2003
Software Company, LLC, St. Louis, MO
The body of the job description should briefly give the employer an overview of work responsibilities and technologies used. Be clear and specific. Begin sentences with action words to describe your job duties. Minimize uses of articles; never use “I” or other pronouns.
Examples:
- Led and participated in test planning, test design, automated and manual test execution, defect tracking and metrics reporting
- Designed, engineered and supported a workstation build and migration process for 37,000 desktops world-wide. Technologies leveraged include KiXtart, Visual Basic scripting, Ghost Solutions Suite, ImageCenter and PowerDNA
- Developed a billing application using JavaScript, Struts, Servlets, JSP, JMS and EJB. Deployed the entire application in a WebSphere Application Server
Tips for Work Experience Section:
- Include work experience for about 10 or 15 years--UNLESS your "juiciest" work experience is from farther back
- Don't include "Hobbies" on a resume UNLESS the activity is somehow relevant to your job objective OR it clearly reveals a characteristic that supports your job objective
- GAPS in your work experience - If you were doing anything valuable (though unpaid) during those so-called "gaps," you could insert that into the work-history section of your resume to fill the hole--for example: "1998-2001 Full-time parent"
- If you worked for only ONE employer for 20 or 30 years list each different position you held there so your job progression within the company is more obvious
- If you have a work history, with lots of short-term jobs or short term consulting assignments, combine several similar jobs into one "chunk," to minimize the job-hopper image. For example:
1998-2002 Programmer/Analyst – ABC Corp; 123 Inc.; XYZ Institute - Also you can drop some of the less-important or briefest jobs. But DON'T drop a job, even when it lasted a short time, if that was where you acquired important skills or experience
- If your job title doesn't reflect your actual level of responsibility either REPLACE it with a more industry known (but equivalent) job title OR use "their" job title AND your fairer one together. Do not substitute a false or misleading title.
EDUCATION, TRAINING and SPECIAL AFFILIATIONS:
List your most recent educational degrees first. Include the following information in this section:
- Name of institution
- Degree
- Major
- Month and Year of Graduation
- Honors
Example:
University of Missouri, Columbia
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering May 1991
Graduated Cum Laude
List Certifications, Professional Affiliations and Technical Training in the same format.
Examples:
- Project Management Professional Certification -- The Project Management Institute, April 2003
- Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE#12345), December 2004
- Member of Gateway itSMF local interest group
Tips for Education:
- If your degree is from a different country, you can say: "Degree equivalent to U.S. Bachelor's Degree in Economics; Tehran, Iran."
- Don't quite have your degree or credentials yet? You can say "Eligible for U.S. credentials," or "Bachelor of Science, Osmania University, India”
PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON YOUR RESUME
Resume Checkup
- Run a spell check on your computer before anyone sees your resume
- Get a friend (an English major would do nicely) to do a grammar review
- Ask another friend to proofread. The more people who see your resume, the more likely that misspelled words and awkward phrases will be seen (and corrected).
Design
These tips will make your resume easier to read and/or scan into an employer's data base:
- Use a font size of 12 to 14 points
- Use non-decorative typefaces
- Choose one typeface and stick to it
- Avoid italics, script, and underlined words
- Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading.