Resumes and Cover Letters

How to

RESUMES

• A resume - sometimes called a curriculum vitae or CV - is a summary of your education, training, work experience and skills. A good resume demonstrates how your skills and abilities match up with the requirements of a job.

TO BEGIN

• Make a List A list will help you organize the information you're going to include on your resume:

• Name, address and contact information• School• Work / volunteer history• Positive personal characteristics• Skills and experience – use action words• Coursework• Other Accomplishments (awards, sports, activities, honors)

GENERAL INFO

• Resumes can be one or two pages• Use basic common language font such as Times

New Roman or Arial. Also do not use graphics. • Keep margins ¾” to 1”; use font size 11 or 12 for

the body of the resume• Italics, underlining, shading and sometimes

bolding can be a problem • Proofread your resume for grammar and spelling

errors

OBJECTIVE

• Not mandatory and can often be stated within your cover letter

• If you do include an objective, make it as specific as possible (for example, “University student with good customer service skills seeking part-time retail position)”

CONTACT INFO

• Include mailing address, telephone number with voicemail, professional e-mail (avoid slang in your e-mail address); you may want to make your name a few font sizes larger than other information so that it stands out

• Use between two and four lines for contact information

• Centre or left justify

EDUCATION

• Include GPA if it is above 3.0• Include high school - include awards/honours

from high school, put them in a separate “awards” section

• Relevant courses to a particular job

EXPERIENCE

• Include paid and unpaid or volunteer experience• You can separate the sections into “Work

Experience” and “Volunteer Experience• Order your experiences in reverse chronological

order within each section (newest to oldest)• Begin each point with an action verb• Within the experience descriptions, place the

most relevant and important tasks or accomplishments first

ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS

• High School Activities such as class representative, club membership, leadership roles

• Include a brief description of accomplishments and results if possible

AWARDS

• any awards during high school or as part of a paid job or volunteer experience

REFERENCES

• Do not include your references on your resume

• Optional – “References Available on Request” – when a potential employer is interested in making an offer, they will ask for your references

DO NOT INCLUDE

• Your date of birth• Your marital status• Your gender• Any languages you speak• Any disabilities that you have• Any other personal information

TO DO

• Make a list before you begin typing – looking for sentences with action words

• Use strong transferable skills that you can demonstrate you possess in an interview

• Type up your resume – use the examples posted on web page as an example – not to copy

• Will complete cover letter and references after