Resume Quick Checklist
Your goal as a candidate is to submit a resume that demonstrates the experience, skills, and qualities most relevant to the position and organization to which you are applying. It's important to clearly highlight the value you bring them.
At a Glance: Suggested Formatting
- Heading format demarcates sections (e.g., All-CAPs) | Degrees & job titles are bolded | Bullets show accomplishments, not just tasks
- White space: 3/4-“ margins, 1-line space between sections, and 1/2-line space between items in sections
- Dates aligned with the right margin, for easy tracking and to clear Applicant Tracking Software algorithm screens
Header
- Your name is in a larger font than the rest of the resume text.
- All needed contact information is present: phone number, email address, LinkedIn,personal website hyperlinks, etc. (No personal address)
- No unnecessary personal information: In the US, employers are not allowed to consider age, ethnic identity, political or religious affiliation, marital status, sexual orientation, place of birth, height, weight, health, or photographs.
Summary (Optional 'mini cover letter)
- Start with a professional definition of yourself that shows your match to the job.
No “Summary” title is needed: just bold that first line. e.g:
Postdoc with 4 years' experience managing a research lab
Physicist with 3 years' hands-on electrical engineering experience
Bridge engineer with 5 years designing seismic damage-resistant structures
- If you have room, add bullets that address other main job requirements/preferences:
Analytical Chemist with 3 years' experience in synthesis, purification, and characterization of fragments of large natural product molecules
- Expertise in Physical Organic Chemistry and Organic Synthesis
- 3 years' experience in Molecular Modeling Condensation Reflux Spectroscopy
Education
- Degree and field first , bolded. You can add your area of specializatioun in parentheses.
E.g. Ph.D. Electrical Engineering (Computational Neuroscience) - Month and year of anticipated graduation (no need to add "Expected"), aligned with the right margin, on same line
Technical Skills
- Prioritize skills most relevant to each job, when tailoring your resume.
- Use subcategory titles to organize different kinds of skills, as needed.
Technologies
Languages
- Python
- Haskel
- C
Databases
- MongoDB
- MySQL
Frameworks
- NLTK - Python natural language toolkit
- Tornado - Python asynchronous web framework
- Motor - Python MongoDB driver
Experience
- Job title and employer + city/state (or country if outside US). Dates aligned with right margin: M/Y-M/Y.
- Bulleted accomplishment statements, vs. job responsibilities or processes. Employers look for what distinguishes YOU: results, contributions, value you created, vs. tasks anyone would do in that position.
- Bullets: about 3-6 max. Start them with impact verbs (see table Sample Impact Verbs below). End all statements with periods.
(Prioritize by importance/relevance to each employer, when tailoring, so they quickly see them.) - Include “unrelated” jobs if the skills are valuable (e.g., “Managed customer relationships"; Streamlined procedures…”). Employers value
leadership/communication/team skills, regardless of where you got them.
Server, Joe's Steak House
January 2015-July 2016- Promoted teamwork in a fast-paced environment, while exceeding sales goals for 10 consecutive weeks.
- Maintained a large base of customers by demonstrating consistently excellent service.
- How to use Accomplishment Statements:
WHAT TO AVOID
Non-impact Verbs Why not? In charge of/Responsible for Doesn't show how effectively you performed Worked on… Assisted… Doesn't suggest an accomplishment, or anything specific. Recruiters often scan the first keyword in your bullet, and if they don't see value they likely won't read across. Studied, Analyzed, Tested, Participated, Researched These are tasks, not accomplishments. What was the result of that activity? What was the benefit? SAMPLE IMPACT VERBS
Designed Developed Built Drafted/Edited Discovered Adapted (complex devices to new tasks) Led/Managed (process, people, project, communication) Created Identified Implemented Proposed Wrote (instructions, SOP, and reports) Solved Enhanced Streamlined Initiated Modeled Simulated Visualized Mentored/Trained Invented Saved x costs/time Presented Engaged Systematized Tested Calculated/Computed Collaborated
Projects
- Name each project and bullet accomplishments. For team projects, name your role and contributions.
Other Sections
- Leadership & Service: You can draw from experiences outside school or work as well, to show valuable transferrable skills not shown elsewhere.
- Honors and Awards
- Relevant Publications (no need to include a Presentations section)
Finally...
- Maximize the number of keywords that match those in the job posting. Digital hiring platforms often use algorithms to scan resumes for a >80% match, to automatically screen out poorly matched candidates .
- Proofread thoroughly and have another person review: mistakes affect your credibility, and may cause your resume to be discarded.