The basic chronological resume for new grads gives the employer an easy-to-understand timeline. Your educational and work experiences appear in reverse order with feature sections displayed on the right of the page.
Name and Contact Information
Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Email Address
Objective or Summary
If you decide to include this on your resume, make sure to keep it short and tailor it toward a specific position or organization.
Education
Degree, Major, Name of Institution / Location, Graduate Date and Relevant Coursework
Whether or not to include your GPA can be tricky. A rule of thumb is that if your GPA is 3.0 or higher, then include it. If not, discuss your options with one of our staff in Career Services.
Experience
Name of Organization, Title/Experience, Location and dates
Description of the experience (what you did and how you did it - accomplishments). Internships and co-op assignments, volunteer projects, full-time and part-time jobs can all go in this section. Sometimes a new grad resume will feature "Relevant Experience" to highlight experiences that are specifically related to the job you're applying for.
Skills
In general, this section is used to identify specific abilities such as proficiency in computer software, language skills, etc.
Activities
This section is optional but it could be very important to provide evidence of your key skills. Activities like holding an office position for a student organization, taking part in a theatre production, playing on a sports team are all ways to show the employer that you have sought-after skills - leadership, teamwork, communication and more.
Honors/Awards
Include those that are relevant to the job - demonstrating achievement and evidence of your skills.
Imagine putting together a resume that includes:
Recruiters, HR managers and employers are often overwhelmed by large numbers of resumes that cross their desk in response to a job posting. Studies show that hiring managers spend less than 6 seconds reviewing a resume.
A good many of these resumes all look alike with the same buzzwords. In today's 3D world, a flat presentation of the job applicant's skills just doesn't cut it.
Read more about our New Approach to Traditional Resume (PDF)
A resume is an essential tool for any job search. Your resume's job is to prompt the hiring manager to call you for an interview. Since each job and organization is different, the resume that opens the door to an interview with one company may not get you an interview with a different organization.
There is no "perfect'" resume, but you can build an effective one that is customized for each job. Your resume has to showcase what you have to offer, so think about your experiences and identify the skills you used. Then, determine the best way to present them.
Our staff in the Office of Career Services can help you get started and then review your resume before it goes out.
Learn more about how to Build a Resume that Employers Want (PDF)
Hiring managers are flooded with resumes for each job opening. How can you ensure your resume makes the cut? Here's some advice from hiring managers.
Do the Basics
Organize your resume for the employer
Learn more about how to Market your Resume to Employers (PDF)