Create a Resume / Cover Letter

To ensure your resume is readable by both ATS software and humans, be sure to follow the below guidelines:

General formatting guidelines

• Keep font sizes to 10 or 12 point
• Select easy-to-read font types
• Write content using bullet points instead of paragraph form
• Use bold, italics or capital letters to highlight key pieces of information and headings
• Have a balance of white space and text
• Keep your resume to one page

We strongly suggest using a template provided here or by your college’s career center because they are built specifically for recruiting undergraduate college students and to pass Applicant Tracking System software used by companies to screen resumes. Using the appropriate style resume ensures better success in the job/internship search.

Templates

• No major-specific experience (great for freshman and sophomores) | Download Microsoft Word file
• General resume (great for juniors and seniors) | Download Microsoft Word file
• Transfer student | Download Microsoft Word file
• Military experience | Download Microsoft Word file
• Research/graduate school CV (Downloads as Microsoft Word file)
• Federal job resume guide | Use resume builder at usajobs.gov

Contact Information

• Name, phone number, email, LinkedIn, address, pronouns if you would like

Education Section

• University, degree type (eg. B.A., B.S.), major/minors, GPA, graduation date
• Study abroad experience

Experience Section(s)

• Internships and work (part-time included!)
• Student organizations
• Academic projects
• Research experience

Leadership & Activities

• Student organizations
• Case competitions, Hack-a-thons etc.

Skills/Certifications

• Technical skills (software, databases, etc. *Not soft skills like communication, teamwork, or leadership)
• Language proficiencies

Strong Skills Statements

Skills statements describe the experiences and accomplishments that will be of interest to an employer. It is important to tailor the description of your experiences to fit the job duties, responsibilities, and qualifications listed in the job posting.

• Use strong action verbs
• Use correct tense (present for current roles and past for roles you are no longer in)
• Be specific
  • Original: Looked at data to create data visualizations
  • Revised: Analyzed data in Excel and created visualizations for company executives to understand gaps when reaching target market
• Quantify when able
  • Original: Managed team and improved sales
  • Revised: Led team of 10 sales associates to achieve a 20% increase in monthly sales, resulting in an additional $500,000 in annual revenue.

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are software applications that employers use to keep record of the hiring process for each applicant they receive. Most employers utilize this system to automatically filter applications based on given criteria in a resume (keywords, skills, former employers, years of experience, schools attended, etc.). Remember to carefully tailor your resume for your industry.

• Make minor adjustments for technical skills i.e. If a requirement in the job posting is a specific software program, use that name instead of a generic term.
• Directly address qualifications found in the job descriptions and add keywords (if they apply to you). Use the exact same phrasing as the job description in your resume

Know your demographic (who you are applying to)

• It is important to know the values and goals of the organization you are applying to! It will better let you know if you align with the role and company!
  • Researching Employers and Industries

Use keywords

• Integrating specific words used in the job description into your resume will make your resume stand out! If the company is looking for a problem solver, let them know you are a problem solver!
• Tailor your skill statements for your experience for each position and make sure they are strong and detailed but also concise

Organize your resume by relevance

• Your resume should be tailored towards the specific job you’re applying for, so you should list and highlight the most valuable experience at the very top of your resume.

Add/remove (un)necessary experience 

• Create and keep a resume master list. This will include all your previous experience: old positions that no longer fit on your resume, bullets tailored for different jobs, projects and honors that are only relevant for certain positions. This will come in handy when you are tailoring your resume to a specific opportunity.
• Include relevant coursework that demonstrates applicable skills/experience for a particular position.

If a job posting requires a cover letter, yes, you should write one.

If a job posting says it’s optional to write a cover letter, no, you do not HAVE to write one. The only reason it may be beneficial to write one is if you have a unique expertise or connection to the company that is truly worth expanding on by writing a cover letter.

Research the company to address culture and “fit”
Pursue an informational interview with someone in the organization or use the organization’s website to learn about what the organization values in its business and its people. Use that information in your opening paragraph to explain why you’re interested.

Prioritize skills to address in your letter
Choose to focus on 2-3 skills that either seem to be prevalent in the posting, organization information, and your conversations about the organization; or the ones that you have the best examples for. Look carefully for ”qualifications” or “required skills” in the job posting such as analytical skills, communication, teamwork, and computer skills.

Identify examples of your qualifications/experience
Next, prove that you have the key skills they are looking for in an ideal candidate. Examples can come from your part-time job, class projects, study abroad, volunteer or extra-curricular experience. Unique examples can make you stand out as a candidate.

Draft your cover letter
Use this template (download Word doc) to draft your letter, which offers more detailed directions.

Proofread!
Make sure that your grammar and spelling are error-free. Have someone else review your letter.