A resume is an important tool for your job search. 

It offers a page or two where you can display your top skills, education, experience, and achievements. 

Resumes help employers make hiring decisions and help you get your first interview. 

Resumes are also useful when applying for college, scholarships, and other awards.

And another BIG reason to write a resume... IT IS A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT! :)

Your resume is the first impression a potential employer has of you. 

Depending on how it is written, it can open the door for an interview or end up in the trash.

Your resume should be well-organized in an easy-to-read format. 

You should always use correct grammar and spelling. 

It should be printed on good quality paper and have no handwritten corrections or white out.

Try to keep your resume to one page. (Federal resumes do not follow this "rule".)

Only describe your most important assets and qualifications. 

Your resume helps you get an interview. 

Once you are in the interview, you can expand on your strengths.

There are three standard types of resumes: Chronological, Functional and Combination.

• Chronological Resume: A chronological resume presents your education and work experience in a straightforward, reverse chronological order from most recent jobs to least. This is the most common resume style.

• Functional Resume: The functional resume lists your experience in skill clusters. You might want to use a functional resume style if you have had diverse experience that does not add up to a clear career path, or if you have minimal experience in the field for which you are applying. You might also consider this style if you are a career changer or if you have gaps in your employment history.

• Combination Chronological/Functional Resume: This style uses elements of both the Chronological and the Function styles. The qualifications of the functional resume remain within the work experience descriptions. The work experiences are then grouped to show the strengths in several categories. This resume format is effective if at least some of your experience is related to the job objective, and when the job objective has more than one component and you have experience in the different components (such as organizational management and technical sales).

NOTE: Chronological resumes are preferred for federal resumes if you are not using the built-in resume builder in USAJobs. 

You may want to write these down so you can refer to them as you begin your resume writing:

1. Examples of when you demonstrated good oral and written communication skills.

2. Your interpersonal skills (i.e., teamwork, initiative, flexibility, creativity) and examples of when you used those skills.

3. A situation where you used problem-solving skills and what the outcome was.

4. Situations where you used leadership ability.

5. A description of one or more times when you did more than what was required of you.

6. Your computer knowledge and experience.

7. How you would answer the question “Why should I hire you?”

8. The Transferable Skills  you possess. (Transferable Skills  are those that could be useful to almost any job.)

1. Personal Info:

Name, address, telephone number(s), e-mail address and URL if you have a personal web site. This should be formatted nicely at the top of your resume. 

2. Objective or Summary:

• The Objective (may also be called Job Objective or Career Objective or Career Goal) states the job for which you are applying (such as Technical Writer or Social Worker) or the area in which you are applying to work (such as Public Relations, or Communications). Tailor your Objective to the job for which you are applying. For example:
  Objective
  To obtain a position in sales with a viable opportunity for advancement.

• The Summary (may also be called Career Profile) briefly describes what you know and quickly grabs the reader’s attention. For example:
  Supermarket Checker
  Excellent reputation with customers as a competent, knowledgeable and helpful professional.

3. Summary of Qualifications:

May also be called Key Accomplishments or Achievements or Summary of Accomplishments or Qualifications. This section provides an overview of your qualifications as they relate to your Objective or Summary. This is where you want the employer to recognize the advantages of hiring you over another person. State the special experience and skills you will bring to the job. If you don’t have relevant experience, emphasize the skills you have developed (see the Transferable Skills  list). In your Summary of Qualifications you might want to include the following five statements (in a bulleted list):

• The first statement summarizes the experience you have related to your job objective, such as 3 years experience in the graphic design.

• The second statement describes your working knowledge of the duties of the position, such as working with customers, creating computer graphics, preparing camera-ready layout.

• The third statement outlines the skills you have to do the work effectively, such as problem solving, time management.

• The fourth statement refers to any education you have that complements your practical experience.

• The fifth statement lists your personal characteristics and attitudes as required on the job, such as reliability, ability to work under pressure.

4. Relevant Skills and Experience (Functional Resume):

In the Functional Resume you would list Relevant Skills after the Summary of Qualifications. These skills should be organized into Skill Areas. Often you would pull these skill areas from the position announcement or advertisement for the job. For example:

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

• Served as company representative for 65 established customers

• First point-of-contact for potential new customers

• Oversaw the distribution of product information to other representatives

ADMINISTRATIVE

• Accurately balances books and deposits

• Courteously answered phones

• Processed returned checks

• Prepared monthly sales report

5. Work Experience:

May also be called Experience or Work History or Employment or Employment History. The Chronological style of resume is the most widely accepted format for outlining work experience. Try the Chronological style of resume first. If you are not getting your best information on the first page of the resume, try the Functional style of resume.

For the Chronological style of resume, you will list your most recent Work Experience first, stating the dates you held the job, the position held and the employer. Then give a brief description of the job duties. Focus more on accomplishments while you were in the job rather than on the specific duties.

For the Functional style of resume, you would list your most recent Work Experience, with only the dates you held the job, the position held and the employer. Job duties are not usually listed in the Functional resume, because skills and accomplishments are listed in the Relevant Skills and Experience section.

For the Combination style of resume, you would group your Work Experience by Skill categories. List job duties and accomplishments with the Work Experience.

6. Education:

If you don’t have much Work Experience and only have Education, put Education before Work Experience in your resume. If the only education you have is high school, list your high school and the year you graduated or will graduate. Once you have taken college courses, it is not necessary to list your high school education. If you have not complete a college degree, state Candidate for_________ (Degree, Discipline), College and the year you began the program. For example:

Candidate for Bachelor of Computer Science, Information Systems
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
September 2000-present

OR

June 2002
Bachelor of Computer Science, Information Systems
Washington State University, Pullman Washington
Relevant Courses:

• Computer Networking

• Information Systems Analysis

When listing additional studies or more than one program, arrange entries with the most recent program first. Relevant courses may be listed as a sub heading of the Education section, as well as any relevant projects.

7. Volunteer Experience:

This can have its own heading and be listed like the Work Experience or it can be included with Activities/Interests.

8. Awards/Honors/Scholarships:

State name of award, name of institution presenting the award, and date. Arrange awards with the most recent first.

9. Activities/Interests:

List volunteer work, elected or appointed positions in organizations or groups, professional memberships and special interests such as physical fitness, hobbies, sports or leisure activities. If these make your resume too long, or they don’t seem relevant to the job, leave them off.

10. References:

Add the name of a reference if that person is known by the employer. Ask any person you would like to use as a reference for permission to do so. If you don’t have a reference known to the employer, simply put “References Available on Request” at the bottom of your resume.

Optional Sections for Your Resume

If the job requires the use of technology, you may want to have a section called “Technology Skills or Technical Skills.” If you have been published, you may want a section called “Publications.” If you speak multiple languages, you could have a section detailing those languages. Remember, however, that you want to try to keep your resume limited to one or two pages, so only include sections that are relevant or interesting to the employer.