BOTTOM LINE:
DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE – Who is going to be reading this résumé? What are you applying for? An internship? A specific job? In order to make your résumé work effectively for you, you MUST know your audience. Avoid “generic,” unfocused resumes that list everything you have ever done. Don’t assume your audience will pull out the relevant information: Highlight your skills/experience that most relate to the posting.
CREATE A “WORD BANK.” – The word bank is a compilation of all your experiences: paid, unpaid, volunteer, extracurricular, class work and projects, etc. Write down a brief description of all your duties during this experience. You will not be including everything on your résumé, only relevant information. Office work, customer service and administrative experience should also be included. This is a helpful exercise to determine what you’ve done.
SELECT A FORMAT – a. REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL – Most recent experience first, b. FUNCTIONAL – Experiences grouped by skills, c. COMBINATION OF BOTH OF THESE FORMATS – Tends to be best fit for most communications students; starts with reverse chronological format but then takes relevance into account, “bumping up” those experiences that are most relevant
WHAT TO INCLUDE: All résumé should include contact information (name, email, phone and address) and at least three sections – “Experience”, “Skills” and “Education”.
1) “EXPERIENCE” – The most important part of the résumé: Any time you are building skills that’s experience! Use phrases rather than full sentences (think “sound bites”). Begin each phrase with an action word. List your most relevant experiences first regardless of chronology. QUALIFY experiences: Were you selected from a pool of 100, for example? Convey skill through action words, don’t simply list tasks you completed. QUANTIFY experiences: How many feature articles did you write? How many people did you supervise?
Types of experience are: paid or unpaid work/ internships, relevant course work & projects and extracurricular activities.
PAID OR UNPAID WORK OR INTERNSHIP
EXAMPLE:
Intern, Red Wagon Entertainment Aug. – Dec 2005
Culver City, CA
RELEVANT COURSEWORK & PROJECTS
EXAMPLE:
Producer/Director, Multimedia Production Course Fall 2006
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
EXAMPLE:
Public Relations Director, Society of Professional Journalists Spring 2005
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University
2)“SKILLS” – List computer programs, technical equipment, research skills (LexisNexis, MRI+) and any language skills you have. Specific social media platforms should also be listed.
3)”EDUCATION”– Include Syracuse University, college(s), degree(s), year and major(s) – keep it simple as it won’t be your most compelling selling point. Education is best listed after your experience section, unless you have minimal experience (though this should be a temporary problem!) and education is the most relevant thing on your résumé
OPTIONAL SECTIONS –
HONORS or AWARDS – Keep it short and explain (briefly) what the award is for
EXAMPLE:
ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS – Create a separate “Activities” section for activities that are relevant in topic but in which your role is more passive or observational OR the activite was non-career related
EXAMPLE of activity in Activities section:
SUMMARY – At the top of your resume. MUCH more effective than a vague objective. Summaries or highlights of specific skills, experiences or qualities you have for the reader. A very effective tool (page filler) for those with little experience.
GPA – If over 3.5 or if an application requests it, include it; if not, omit.
DON’T BOTHER WITH –
OBJECTIVE – Usually trite and vague such as “a position in tv/film that will allow me to use my skills.” Doesn’t add value.
“REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST” – Ted Bundy had references, which goes to show that ANYONE can get a reference. Don’t bother with this tired, overused line. Besides, it is assumed that you have references, so to note this is redundant.
SEE ALSO: Résumé Example