Resumes and Cover Letters

Your resume is a marketing tool, and often your first introduction to a potential employer, so you want to make the best impression possible. Resumes should be tailored to the job you are seeking, and should be a brief overview of your qualifications and experience to highlight particular accomplishments for a prospective employer.

Common elements include: Contact info, Education, Experience, Honors, Activities, & Affiliations, Academic Projects, and Skills.

Quick resources to assist with resume writing:

• Recorded Resume Workshop
• Resume Workshop Slides (including links to resources & resume examples)
• How to write strong bullet points
• Power Verbs
• Health Professions (HP) Resume Tips

Resume reviews and feedback are provided by our professionally trained career peers as well as our career coaches. Our goal is to return your individual review within 7 business days.

Writing your Resume

The sections below offer tips for specific sections of your resume. To get you started, we've created a few documents that you can download and edit - remember, you may have different section headings, more or less sections, etc. Don't forget to use power verbs throughout!

There are common formats for writing a resume: the Chronological Resume, Combination Resume, and the Functional Resume. Remember, even with a common format, layout, and/or structure, your resume will still be unique!

Which Resume Format Should I Use?

• Previous employer/job titles and experiences are relevant to the job you are applying to
• Staying in same/similar field as prior jobs
• Employment history can show career growth and development
• Work experience has minimal time gaps
• Can be helpful if worked for relatively few organizations

• Relevant experiences and work history listed separately
• Gaps in employment
• In order to emphasize skills/abilities prior to formal work experiences
• Held a variety of unrelated jobs
• Combines Chronological and Functional

• Emphasize transferable skills - summarizes skills from all experiences/work history
• Changing career field or changing jobs frequently
• Has a lot of experience in one field
• Held a variety of unrelated jobs
• Re-entering the job market after an absence
• Most experiences have been freelance, volunteer, or temporary

Other Recommended Formatting, Structure, and Layout Tips:

• One-page to two-page resume is most common (two pages for years of relevant experience)
• Use consistent formatting throughout the resume: bolding, italics, font size, font style, date format (mm/yyyy or month year), etc.
• One column format
• Font size: 10-12 point (note: your name will be larger) and using a common font style (Times New Roman, Arial, Garamond)
• Use 0.5-1.0-inch margins
• Avoid using tables, grids, lines, and graphics
• Use templates only if it fits your needs
• Be concise with wording and make sure to proofread– don’t just rely on spell check! (Microsoft Word does not catch ALL CAPITAL misspelled words)

Check the below section to find resume samples.

Headings include how the employer can contact you.

• Name - largest text on the resume (it is all about YOU!)
  • If you go by your middle name/preferred name, consider using an initial (E. Thomas Jones for Eugene Thomas Jones)
  • LinkedIn Customized URL (be sure to keep profile your up to date; more about using LinkedIn on our Networking page)
  • Full Address or City and State
  • Other Websites or Professional Portfolios (specific to your field)

  Your academic credentials are important to an employer, particularly if you are relatively new to the working world or if you are pursuing a job that requires specific training.

  • Express your educational background clearly
  • Avoid abbreviations (except for states). Only abbreviate your degree if it is necessary to fit the space
  • List your institutions in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Be sure to include:
    • The school name, city, and state
    • Type of degree (Ex: Bachelor of Science)
    • Major(s), any minor(s)/concentration(s)
    • Month and year granted or Expected Graduation month and year
    • Optional: Overall GPA or Major GPA if 2.8 and above

    The University of Michigan-Dearborn
    Bachelor of Arts
    Major: Communications Minor: Management GPA: 3.8

    Relevant Coursework: Professional Communication Ethics, Communication Research Methods

    An objective is a brief sentence that clarifies any skills, abilities, or experience that align with the position you are applying for. Use your objective to answer the question "what can I do for the employer?" Consider having an objective statement when you do not have a cover letter or you are attending a recruiting event/career fair.

    A powerful objective can be broken down into three parts:

    1. The title or function desired
    2. The skills that the job seeker brings to the position
    3. The results that the employer can expect
    Experience

    Experiences can be highlighted in one section or broken up in a variety of ways. These sections indicate your value to the employer by highlighting accomplishments and skills you have developed through previous experiences.

    • Common section headings include: Experience, Work History, Work Experience, Relevant Experience, Professional Experience, Experience in [specific field]
    • Other experiences to include (that may be their own section): Volunteer Experience, Practica, Field Experience, Internships, Military Experiences (check out the Other Resources section at the bottom of this page or meet with a career coach for tips on translating your military skills to civilian terms)
    • Within any "Experience" section you create, include the following:
      • List experiences in reverse chronological order
      • Include each job title and employer name (no supervisors or addresses needed)
      • List city, state (or country), and accurate dates for each position
      • Use bullet points with descriptive statements displaying skills, abilities, and professional accomplishments (begin with a power verb)
      • If present work, use present tense, if past use past tense (stay away from active tense)
      • Try to include quantifiable results (number of people on a team, cost reductions, etc.)
      Additional Sections

      Adding additional sections is strongly recommended if you have experience that has not been reflected through the rest of your resume. Some of these items might work well in previously mentioned sections and there may be other sections you include based on your personal experiences.

      • Academic Projects (other common section headings) Class Projects, Projects, or Projects in [Specific Field])
        • Include any presentation, group projects, papers, etc. that highlight your skills related to a specific field (helpful for those with limited to no formal work experiences in their field)
        • List in most relevant order (dates are not important here)
        • Structure these similar to the "Experience" section or with a Project Title and a few descriptive statements
        • Include organizations, clubs, professional memberships, associations, leadership roles, etc.
        • Organization's name and/or positions held (could be a similar design to an "experience" section)
        • Highlight a descriptive statement of accomplishments (using power verbs) rather than stating "member"
        • Employers are more concerned with what rather than when here (dates are not as important)
        • Provide explanations for the names of organizations, if they are not self-evident
        • Include awards, recognitions, scholarships, etc.
        • Consider honors and awards from employment, volunteer experiences, co-curricular activities, and academics
        • Include any specialized knowledge - relevant/industry-related skills (equipment or programming specific to the field/job)
        • Foreign Languages
        • Computer Programs/Software
        • Certifications (these could be listed within another section or in their own section)
        • For specific software or industries (such as SAS, or CPA)
        • State of Michigan (Elementary or Secondary) Provisional teaching
        • Teaching endorsements (find your Michiganendorsement code): Math (EX), Early Childhood (ZA)
        Other Tips

        Applications by Email and Digital Copies

        Applications by Email:

        • Always include a brief note in the body of the email stating what you’re applying for, what materials you have attached, and how to contact you.
        • This can also be a good opportunity to reiterate your excitement for the position.

        Application File Names and Saving Documents:

        • Employers receive dozens of cover letters and resumes a day. Saving your documents with clear and appropriate file names will ensure your materials don’t get lost.
          • Example: JonathanWolverineResume.pdf or JonathanWolverineCoverLetter.docx

          Other Tips:

          Additional tips provided by Career Services, Talent Gateway, ICMC, CASL Internships, and CECS Co-op Staff

          • This is not easy, this can be overwhelming, and you are not alone in this process!
          • Use a template only if it fits your needs (Ex: BA 300)
          • There's no such thing as a “perfect” or “finished” resume
          • Consider all experiences: classes, projects, student orgs, volunteer, leadership, awards, publications, presentations, certifications, special skills, etc.
          • All resumes are different (even if formatting looks similar)
          • POWER VERBS - use them! (seeResume Power VerbsandTransferable Skills)

          Resume Tips for Specific Fields

          Education Degrees

          While similar to the resumes described above, if you're seeking a job in education there are a few additional tips to consider.

          Elements to Consider when Describing Teaching Experience
          When describing your teaching experience, include any teaching experience such as substitute teaching, student teaching and practical/observations as well as your classroom experience. Specify if you have special skills such as

          • Multi-level subjects taught – ex: reading groups, math groups
          • Integrated curriculum/cross-disciplinary teaching/team teaching
          • Special methodologies – ex.: Math Their Way, Hunter Units
          • Special testing, ex: the Iowa Basic
          • Teaching endorsements

          Also include related experiences such as:

          • Tutoring
          • Camp counseling
          • Coaching or other extracurricular activities (plays, fairs, etc.)
          • Aide experience
          • Extra duties (e.g.,) playground, lunch room, study hall, bus duty
          • Internships and assistantship
          • Volunteering
          • Social service work involving youth
          • Supervising field trips

          . or other experiences demonstrating transferable skills or work history.

          Include elements that make your teaching experience unique, such as the populations you've worked with:

          • Students with physical disabilities
          • Students with visual impairments
          • Students with hearing impairments
          • ESL/Bilingual
          • Mainstreamed students
          • Inclusion students
          • Exchange students
          • Gifted students
          • Students with learning disabilities
          • ADD/ADHD