Resumes and CVs explained
A resume or curriculum vita (CV) is essential to the job search. Your document should highlight your accomplishments, identify your strengths, and be tailored to the position and/or industry. The goal of your resume or CV is to receive an interview offer.
Here is a comparison of a CV and resume. Note the similarities and the differences:
Resume
Length: 1 or 2 full pages
Intended for: Industry jobs and internships
Purpose: Summary document highlighting education, skills, experience
Possible sections: Contact information, Education, Work Experience, Activities, Leadership, Skills, Volunteer Service, Honors
CV
Length: Unlimited
Intended for: Research/academic careers and graduate admissions
Purpose: Comprehensive document listing academic, research, professional, and technical accomplishments.
Possible sections: Includes resume sections, plus Research, Coursework, Publications, Lab/Technical Skills, Grants, Presentations, Professional Memberships
What information do I include?
- Contact Information: Begin your resume by listing your full name, email, phone number, and LinkedIn page or website (optional).
- Education: List your degree name and program(s), university, and the month and year you are graduating. This section is typically located near the top of a resume for new graduates.
- Work Experience: For each experience include consistent headings and use past tense bullet points to outline how you accomplished your duties and the impact you made. Highlight transferable skills that would be valued by a future employer.
- Community and Campus Activities: Feature your involvement and service work in a similar fashion to your work experience. Employers are looking for well-rounded candidates engaged in the campus and community around them.
- Other Sections: You can add any other information relevant to your background and career goals. For example, you could add Skills, Certifications, Honors, Projects, and Leadership.
Tips for success
- Avoid pictures: Companies will discard your resume or digitally remove the image to adhere to federal non-discrimination law.
- Create your design: Templates and AI generators are overused and don’t scan well. Create your own look which best highlights your background.
- Style: Bold, italicize, or underline key text, but skip cursive fonts and bright colors.
- Bullet points: Avoid paragraphs and use concise phrases, starting with high-impact action verbs, to describe your experiences.
- Context and outcomes: Add necessary details and numbers and the impact you made.
- Strengths: Include language that shows how you performed tasks.
- Tailor your content: Highlight the skills and experience that align with the job description using those keywords.
- Page length: A one-page document is preferred for undergraduates, but two pages is acceptable if your experience warrants it. Talk with professionals about industry expectations.
- Arrange by relevance: Organize your resume so the most relevant information and sections are featured first on the page.
- “Running” resume: Develop a multi-page document that includes all your experience, skills, and involvement that you can draw from when you apply for positions.
- Keywords: Use phrases from job descriptions on your resume that will be recognized by Applicant Tracking Systems.
- Simple formatting: Avoid tables, headers/footers, symbols, boxes, columns, and templates that can impact resume scans.
- Generic fonts: Choose common fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
- Headers: Include common words for section headers, i.e. Education, Work Experience, Skills.
- Review: Carefully proofread and check for clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and visual appeal.
- Professional Review: Ask for resume feedback from career services and industry professionals.
- File Type: Save your document as a PDF for application submissions.