TrinityCollege ● Career Services
Resume Guide
Resume Basics: A resume describes what you have accomplished and what you have been responsible for by outlining your academic, work, volunteer and extracurricular experiences. The information provided in your resume is extremely important; equally significant, however, is that you present this information in an attractive, straight-forward and concise manner.
Information to Include on your Resume
Your resume should present a complete picture of you, but there is no way to include everything you have accomplished. Here are some headings you can generally expect to use. Based on your background and interests, you may choose to use additional headings or you may choose to exclude some of these.
1. EDUCATION
- List your most recent degree institution first: (i.e. TrinityCollege, Bachelor of Arts in [Major], expected in May 200X)
- If applicable, list coursework relating to employer’s needs.
- Include your GPA if it is 3.0 or better.
- Include your major GPA if it is .5 higher than your overall GPA.
- Include any study abroad experience.
- Consider adding in your high school. Look in the FAQ Section of this Guide for information on whether or not you should include high school information.
2. EXPERIENCE
- Experience is not limited to full-time or paid work experiences – in this section, you can include internships, volunteer positions, etc. Start with everything you think might be relevant and then see the CSO staff for help.
- Each experience needs a job title, employer name, city, state, dates you worked there and a description.
- Descriptions should detail duties you were responsible for and tasks or projects you accomplished. Be concrete with your descriptions!
- Start descriptions with action words and do not ever use first-person (I, me, my, etc.)
- Descriptions do not have to be complete sentences. Bullet points are effective.
3. SKILLS
- Computer: List familiarity with computer software and hardware systems, applications and programs.
- Language: State degree of proficiency (fluent, proficient, knowledge of) in reading writing and speaking foreign languages.
4. HONORS & AWARDS
- List academic, leadership, athletic honors, etc.
5. ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
- List your involvement in different organizations or projects. Start with everything you think might be relevant and then see the CSO staff for help.
- Highlight any positions where you have held or shown leadership.
Optimal Resume
As of Fall 2007, all Trinity students have access to Optimal Resume – a web-based system that will help you in developing a professional and well-organized resume.
If this is your first time creating a resume, Optimal Resume will walk you through the process step-by-step – prompting you to enter the required information and providing helpful samples and suggestions on wording and format. In addition, you can add interactive “infobytes” about yourself and use hyperlinks or email to add a new dimension to your resume.
If you have an existing resume, you don't have to redo it - simply cut and paste the content into Optimal Resume. Once you have perfected the content of your resume, this program will provide you with a myriad of format options ranging from pre-styled choices to custom designs.
To access Optimal Resume, go to: and click on “Get Started” to set-up an account. If you have any questions about Optimal Resume, please contact Career Services.
FAQ About Resumes
Q:Does my resume have to be one page?
A: A concise one-page resume should be your ultimate goal. HOWEVER, your resume will probably not be a single page when you bring it into Career Services for review. When writing your first draft, include everything you can think of – even if it runs 4 pages. After bringing your resume into CSO for review, you will likely find that everything will fit onto a single page. We have lots of practice squeezing 10 pounds of experience into 5 pound bags, as well as expanding 5 pounds into 10 pound bags!
Q: What contact information should I include on my resume?
A: Make it as easy as possible for a potential employer to contact you by keeping it simple! There is no need to list every email address and phone number you have. Instead, list a single email address and a single phone number: CSO recommends you list your Trinity email address rather than other personal email accounts. Just make sure you are consistently checking your Trinity email! We also recommend you list your cell phone number rather than your home or dorm phone number – that way, you can guarantee a message from your dream employer will not be forgotten by your roommate or mother. But please make sure your voicemail sounds like the responsible, professional adult that you are!
Q: How do I write a good objective?
A: There is no such thing. Forget about putting objectives on resumes unless a specific employer or alumnus/na advises you to do so. Your objective will be expressed in the cover letter accompanying your resume.
Q: Should I mention where I went to high school?
A: If it is a name that someone might recognize or if your high school is geographically close to the area where you are looking for a job, then it does not hurt to have the name on there.
Q: While we are on the subject, should I list all of the great stuff I did in high school?
A: Good question, and there is no simple answer. Generally, the further you progress in your college career, the less relevant most of your high school experiences become. First year students will invariably have the right to list more of their high school accomplishments than juniors and seniors will. The goal is to continually pursue new experiences while in college that are more relevant than those from high school. Feel free to list everything; we will help you with specifics.
Q: What if the jobs I have had are not related to what I want to do? Should I still list them?
A: Of course! Everything you have done, each job, each class, each activity or sport is important and makes you who you are. You would be amazed at how skills from one job can be related to a totally different job!
Q: Should I use the present or past tense when writing job/experience descriptions?
A: You should always use the present tense when describing jobs that you are still holding or experiences that are ongoing. You should use the past tense when describing past jobs or experiences.
Q: Should I have more than one version of my resume?
A: Depending on your job or internship searching strategy, you will likely need a few different versions of your resume. You will certainly need different versions if you are applying for positions in varying career fields – for example, if you are applying for jobs in education and engineering. Although the core of your resume will remain the same, your descriptions and focus will be different. Both Optimal Resume and Trinity Recruiting will allow you to save multiple versions of your resume – just make sure you name them clearly so that you do not confuse the different versions.
Q: Should I have more than one person look over my resume?
A: The answer is YES. Resume writing is a skill, and good resumes are a perfect blend of art and science. Show it to several people and you may receive some seemingly contradictory advice, but remember: THERE IS NO ONE CORRECT WAY. Gather opinions from professors, past employers, references, your parents, CSO staff members and then use your own judgment.
Q: What kind of paper should I use?
A: High quality bond paper, at least 50% cotton content. We have free bond paper and envelopes for you in the CSO. Your resume, cover letter and envelopes should all be of the same paper.
Q: I am overwhelmed by all of this! Will Career Services write my resume for me?
A: No.
Q: Are there other resources available to help me in my writing my resume?
A: Yes, the CSO Resume Guide and Optimal Resume are just a start. Come into Career Services for more resources and check out “The Vault Guide to Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews.”
Q: What is the first thing I should do with my new resume?
A: Upload it into Trinity Recruiting.
Q: How?
A: Check out the Trinity Recruiting Guide – it will walk you through the process!
● Admissions and Career Services Building ● 300 Summit Street ● Hartford, CT06106 ●
● 860.297.2080 ● ●