Sample Resumes and Cover Letters

studentaffairs.stanford.edu/cdc 25

TIPS FOR CREATING A SUCCESSFUL

RESUME

Do’s

• Dodesignyourdescriptionstofocusonyouraccomplishments,

usingactionverbstoclearlyindicatetheskillsyou’veused.See

SampleActionVerblistonthenextpage.

• Dotryquantifyingresultsinyourdescriptions,suchas

“Createdmarketingcampaignthatincreasedclubmembership

by25%.”

• Dokeepyourresumebriefenoughtofitononepage(ortwo

pagesifyourexperienceisextensive).

• Doprintyourresumeongoodqualitybondpaper,eitherwhite

orconservativetones.Ifprintedonplaincomputerpaper,copy

ontogoodqualitybondpaper.

• Doaccompanyyourresumewithacoverletterinmostcases.

• Dohaveotherslookoveryourresumeforcontentand

grammar.CareerCounselorsareavailableattheCDCto

critiqueyourresumeduringsamedayappointments.

Don’ts

• Don’tmakeyourmarginsandfontsizetoosmall:marginsno

smallerthanoneinchandfontsizenosmallerthan10point.

• Don’tincludepersonalpronouns(e.g.I,me,we).

• Don’tincludepersonalinformation,physicalcharacteristics,or

photographsonyourresume.However,individualsfromother

countriesmayincludetheseontheirresumes.

• Don’tincludethelastline:“Referencesavailableupon

request”(seeSampleReferenceListonpage42).

Other Tips

• Itismoreappropriateforfreshmenandsophomorestoinclude

highschoolexperiences.However,importanthighschool

experiencesthathavesomerelevancetoyourjobobjective

maybeappropriateforupperclassmen.

• ForInternationalStudentsitissometimesadisadvantageto

includeyournon-immigrantvisastatusorpermanentaddress

(ifoutsidetheU.S.)onyourresume.Usuallyyourvisastatus

shouldbediscussedlaterduringtheinterview.Ifyouhave

obtainedpermanentresidencyorU.S.citizenship,itmightbe

toyouradvantagetolisttheinformationonyourresume.

RESUME FORMATS

Thereisnosinglewaytoformatyourresume.Theformatyou

chooseshouldpresentyourstrengthsclearly.Seesampleformats

andlayoutsonpages27-41.

Chronological Format

Thisformatismostfamiliartoemployersandmostcommonly

usedbyStanfordstudents.Thisstyleofresumepresentsyour

experienceandeducationinreversechronologicalsequence,

startingwiththemostrecent.Date,jobtitle,organization’sname,

locationandadescriptionofyouractivitiesarelistedaspartof

theexperiencesection.Thisformatissimple,straightforward,

andespeciallyusefulforanyonewithahistoryofdirectlyrelevant

experience.

Functional/Skills Format

Thisformatfocusesonareasofskillandcanbeeffectivein

conveyingyourstrengthstoanemployer,althoughmanyemployers

arenotasfamiliarwiththisformataswiththechronological

orcombinationformat.Thisstyleofresumedrawsattentionto

accomplishmentsandhighlightsyourskillsbyfunctionratherthan

yourworkexperienceandismorecommonlyusedbypeoplewith

verylittleformalworkexperienceorarereturningtotheworkplace

afterbeingawayorotherwiseinvolved.

Combination Format

Thisformatisappropriatewhenyouhaverelevantwork

experienceforeachofseveralskillareasandcombinesboththe

chronologicalandfunctionalformats.Thisstyleallowsyoutogroup

yourexperiencesorkeysellingpointstogetherbyfunctionalareas

(suchasResearchExperienceandTeachingExperience),andthen

listthoseexperiencesinreversechronologicalorderwithineach

section.Itisalsoafamiliarformattoemployers.

SUBMITTING RESUMES

ELECTRONICALLY

Sendyourresumeasanattachedfileandpastethetextintothe

bodyoftheemail.Havingyourresumeinthebodyoftheemailas

wellasanattachmentgivestheemployertheopportunitytosee

yourresumeintheeventtheycannotopenyourattachmentordo

nottakethetime.Useasimpleformatfortheresumeyouputinthe

bodyoftheemail:leftjustified,nobold,noitalics,nounderlines,

notabs.SeeSampleElectronicResumeonpage42.Don’tforgetto

includeacoverletterinthebodyoftheemailtoo.Ifyouhaveyour

resumeinaPDFfile,youcanalsoattachthatwithyouremail.The

PDFversionwillallowtheemployertheopportunitytoseeyour

resumeinanattractiveformat,utilizingboldandunderlines.

Whenemailingresumefiles,namethemsotheemployercan

easilyidentifythemasyourresume.Lastname,followedbyfirst

nameandtheword“resume”ismosthelpful.

Resume Scanning

Companiesreceivinglargequantitiesofresumesmayscaneach

resumeasanimage,andthensorttheimageintorecognizable

letters,words,andsymbols.Thesescannedimagesareentered

intoadatabaseandthensearchedforkeywords,whichindicate

skills,educationandknowledgeareastheemployerisseeking.

Left-justifyalltextandavoidusingunderlining,italics,bullets,bold,

andcolumns.

Everyoccupationandcareerfieldhasitsownjargon,acronyms

andbuzzwords—thesearehelpfulkeywordstouse.Ifyouare

respondingtoajoblisting,usewordsfromthejoblistinginyour

resumeandcoverletter.

CDC RESOURCES

Titles available in the CDC Resource Library:

• Resumes by Stanford Students,aBinderofExamples

• From College to Career: Entry-level Resumes for Any Major,

Asher

• Knock ‘em Dead Resumes: Smart advice to make your online

and paper resumes more productive,Yate

• Resumes for Performing Arts Careers

• The Global Resume and CV Guide,Thompson

• The Smart Women’s Guide to Resumes and Job Hunting,King

• Vault Guide to Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviewing,

Leifman(availableviayourVaultCareerInsideraccountat

studentaffairs.stanford.edu/cdc/services/career-library)

RESUMES/COVER LETTERS

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