Resume Format Instructions

(adapted from GT Scheller CoB Career Development resume instructions)

When using the template to reformat your resume, tabs, margins, and fonts have been pre-set for you. Type your information into this form. Do not copy/paste from your old resume, because this will erase the established format.

FORMATTING:

  1. Limit resume to one page, one side.
  2. Create document in Word format. Save later as a .pdf.
  3. Use plain, white letter size paper and print using black ink on a laser printer.
  4. Do NOT use graphics, photos or borders.
  5. Use Times New Roman font and 10.5-point size (use 13-point size for the section titles and 14-point size for your Name).
  6. Use single line spacing.
  7. Name, complete address, telephone number, and email should be centered (Name should be in Bold and Uppercase). The entire body of the resume should be left justified. Note: all students should use a professional email address (ie. , not )
  8. Make sure to maintain consistency throughout your resume by paying attention to the lines that should be in Bold, in Italics Bold, and in Italics. It is a good idea to print your resume and check for balance and visual appeal.

CONTENT:

  1. IMPORTANT:A defining characteristic of a good resume is that it isresults-oriented. When providing information, it is very important to quantify your accomplishments/results (e.g. dollars saved, amount of new membership, amount of fundraising achieved, number of volunteers generated, improved team play, reduced staff needs, increase efficiency). Be able to answer questions such as “How did you add value?” and “How much did you impact the organization?”.
  2. Objective or Summary:Use this space to summarize the skills you would consider to be your personal strengths and any college or career goals you have at the moment.
  3. Use bullet points for all the content. Bullet points that require more than one line should line up directly under the first line. Use short statements. Be clear and concise.
  4. Do not use first person language – words like “I”, “me”, “my”, “we”, “our”, “us”, etc.
  5. Education: GPA, significant academic honors,etc can be listed here
  6. Activities:significant activities listed here. Could be a student organization,class projects, volunteer work, etc. The type of activity is in bold, then any specifics related to that activity (leadership positions, awards, accomplishments and results) are bulleted below the activity name.
  7. Work Experience: For companies that are not well known, include a brief overview (not to exceed 2 lines) about the company and its primary services or products. This statement should be in italics and the font should be smaller than the other text.
  8. For locations, use City, State for US locations and City, Country for foreign locations (make sure the location is lined up all the way to the right – use the TAB key). In case you have two or more locations for the same company or job listing, use the slash forward to list the different locations.
  9. For periods of time, use Month Year in Italics (make sure it is lined up all the way to the right – use the TAB key). If you worked in two or more different positions within the same company, list the period of time for each position.
  10. Use action verbs (e.g. budgeted, created, designed, directed, generated, implemented, interviewed, managed, produced, recruited, and supervised). Be mindful of your verb tense and keep it consistent throughout your resume. If you are no longer in the position, you should be using past tense.
  11. Any information that islisted as optional in the template, but not used, should be deleted. The words optional should either be replaced or deleted in the whole template.