Contact Information

• Do use a professional email address, e.g. [email protected]
• Don’t use a college email address, e.g. [email protected]
• Do make it easier for recruiters to contact you, so add a phone number
• You don’t need to put down your full email address
• Do only use one email address for your resume and applications

Summary section

• You don’t need a summary, but it’s ok to add one
• Do use this section to highlight transferrable skills, if you are changing fields
• Don’t fill your summary with descriptors such as: hardworking,

  team player, good communicator

   

Education section

• Do include your major
• You don’t need to include your GPA or graduation date after your first full-time job post

Experience section

• Do focus on your individual contributions, not just a list of job duties
• Do try to keep each bullet point to no more than two lines – be concise
• Don’t fill the section with industry–specific jargon
• Do focus on transferrable skills

Formatting

• Do make sure that your bullet points and dates line up throughout the document
• Don’t start with formatting, these are the final touches once you have the content!
• Do start with your most recent job at the top and work your way back in time as you go down
• Don’t forget to use spell check

General tips

• Do submit your resume in PDF, rather than Word
• Do provide references only when asked
• Don’t misrepresent dates, a background check will reveal this
• Do keep to one page, if you have recently graduated or have less than 5 years’ experience