Résumé & Cover Letters
With so many online job platforms and applications, your résumé and cover letter is often an employer's first glimpse of you, your skills, experience, and professionalism. Even if you've had the opportunity to meet with a potential employer in person, a stellar résumé and cover letter can make that good first impression even better.
Find tips, resources, and samples below, and get personalized assistance from the Vocatio Center team.
Résumé Goals
Tailored
Reflects knowledge of job/field and includes relevant skills and experiences
Visually Appealing
Polished and professional with consistent formatting
Positive and Honest
Accurately and positively describes your skills and experiences
Balanced
Highlights what makes you a good candidate without overemphasizing personal goals
Résumé Guide
Need help on your résumé? Visit Handshake to make an appointment with the Vocatio Center and/or to upload your résumé for feedback.
Step 1: Identify Education, Experiences, & Skills
Start by creating a master list of your education, experiences, and skills, and don't worry about how to format it just yet.
Education:
Institution, city/state location, degree title, graduation date, and GPA. If currently a student, include the "Expected Graduation Date." Include academic certifications here or in their own section.
Work & Volunteer Experiences:
Organization name, city/state location, job title, year to year employed, and a brief list of key contributions made in this job. Think about that role in terms of the skills you utilized and how you made a meaningful contribution. Quantify achievements.
Leadership & Organizations:
Organization name, role title or brief description, and relevant dates.
Skills
Technical skills are competencies, techniques, software, and/or applications related to a particular field. When applicable, these are best listed as bullet points in their own section.
Transferable skills can be applied in various lines of work; skills like communication skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking and analytical skills, leadership, teamwork and collaboration, etc. This type is better demonstrated in bullet points under the work, volunteer, and leadership experiences where they were developed/strengthened.
Step 2: Structure & Format
Draw the employer's eye to your most valuable sections and pieces of information through strategic structuring and formatting.
Format:
Be strategic and consistent, emphasizing the most valuable pieces of information throughout your résumé in a consistent manner. Apply the same styles to the same types of information throughout the résumé (i.e., format job titles one way, organization names another way, etc.) Treat your résumé as though it will be skimmed. Can the employer quickly identify your most valuable information?
Structure:
College students and recent grads benefit from placing Education near the top until more relevant work experience is obtained. In a field where technical skills are required qualifications, placing the skills section near the top can be advantageous, while in other fields, education and work experience will always be the main focus of your résumé.
Step 3: Tailor & Focus
The final step is to tailor your résumé to specific opportunities. When applying to a job, use that job description as a filter through which you evaluate your entire résumé. What are the key skills and qualifications they're looking for? How can you better focus on and demonstrate those through your education and experience?
Cover Letters
How to write a cover letter an employer wants to read
An effective cover letter may make the difference between landing an interview and ending up in the discard pile.
Learn how to make the best first impression and complement your résumé with an exemplary cover letter.