The Resume

What is a resume? The purpose of a resume is to communicate to an employer your professional skills and experiences that are relevant for the position you are seeking. Employers will look at your resume to determine whether or not to interview you.

Resume Formats

• Chronological
  Lists education and job-related information with the most recent experience listed first. The style most appropriate for nearly all students.
  Download .pdf example
  Download .doc example
• Functional
  Focuses on skills and accomplishments. This style is not recommended for most students.
• Federal Government Resumes
       Federal Resume Example (pdf)
• E-Resume Guide
• E-Resume Sample
• Curriculum Vita

Optimal Resume

The NDSU Career Center has partnered with Optimal Resume to bring students an on-line tool to create professional looking resumes and cover letters.

Create an account and get started today at https://ndsu.optimalresume.com/.

Helpful Hints

• Sample Resume Headings
• Margins - Have a good text/white-space balance, and centered on the page. Use ½-inch to 1-inch margins for top, bottom, right, and left.
• Quantify results when appropriate (e.g., Organized event for 200 people which raised $3000).
• Style - Highlight important facts and headings by bolding, underlining, indenting, capitalizing and/or using bullet points to attract the reader's eye.
• Action Verbs - Use action verbs to begin statements describing skills and responsibilities.
• Length - Be concise; a one-page resume is often adequate unless you have extensive experience that is applicable.
• Paper - Use white or off-white resume paper only.
• Errors - Be grammatically perfect and free of typographical errors.
• Avoid personal pronouns (I, my, we, their).
• Font - Use standard non-serif fonts such as Courier, Arial, or Times New Roman in a readable font size (no smaller than 10 point and no larger than 12 point).
• No Personal Data - Do not include height, weight, gender, marital status, sexual preference, age, religion, health, number of children, or organizational affiliations.
• Create a neat, well organized, and easy to read document.
• Tailor your resume to each position you apply for.
• Begin statements describing your skills and experience with action verbs.
• Use buzz words from your field.
• Get your resume critiqued by one of the Career Specialists or Peer Advisors.