When you are applying for a job, most employers will ask for a resume listing your skills and experience. Even if the job you are applying for does not require a resume, it can be helpful because it gives the potential employer a quick overview of your skills and work experience, both paid and volunteer.
But what if I don't have any experience?
You might have more than you think. Don't get stuck on paid experience or the typical job working for a company. On your resume you can include any volunteer work you've done, or odd jobs like babysitting and yard work.
Things to include in a resume:
Your resume should be limited to 1 page and should include the following information:
- Name and contact information
- Education (including expected graduation date for high school students)
- Experience
- References
- You may include other sections on your resume; some common topics include:
- skills
- activities,
- awards,
- leadership experience
- other topics that are relevant to your experience or the particular job, including languages spoken, writing skills, technical skills, etc.
Formatting:
Your resume should look neat and be easy to read. Make sure your formatting lines up in a visually appealing way (that is, when you indent, everything indented lines up). Avoid using fancy or whimsical fonts - your best bet is a classic font more or less like the one you are reading right now.
Some final tips:
Your resume is often the first impression you are giving a potential employer about your skills, professionalism, and attention to detail. Make sure you proofread your resume carefully (and have someone else proofread it as well), typos, spelling mistakes and grammar errors make it look like either you don't know how to write properly or you don't care enough to check your work. Either one looks bad to a potential employer. In addition, the following tips will help you create a good resume:
- Keep your resume to one page (references may be on an additional page, but the main content should fit on one page)
- Focus your skills and experience on the type of job you are applying to. The more closely your experience and skills match the needs of the job, the more likely you are to get hired. It's good practice to customize your resume to the specific job you are applying to.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread
- Keep your language and the structure of your writing consistent. That is, if for one example of experience you put "taught 3rd graders math", use the same tense and structure for all your experience; don't put "helping teach young children to read" on the next one. Use past tense (e.g. "taught") for both
- Make sure your finished, printed resume looks good. If your printer is running out of ink, go to a copy center to print it, or have a friend with a good printer do so.
Assignment:
Using the tips above, other online resources, and this example resume as a guide, create a resume for yourself and turn it in to your EF. Ask for feedback, and then revise your resume.
