Career Center

Duke Career Center • studentaffairs.duke.edu/career • 919-660-1050 • Bay 5, Smith Warehouse, 2nd Floor • 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Box 90950, Durham, NC 27708

Resume TipsStructure

•Usetheactiveratherthanpassivevoice.•Beginwithastrong,activeverbthatbestrepresentswhatyoucontributed.•Usepresenttenseforcurrentactivitiesandpasttenseforpastactivities.•Avoidthephrases“responsiblefor”or“dutiesinclude.”•Prioritizesectionsbasedonmostrelevantinformationfirst.•Writesectionheadingsbasedontailoringthemtotheposition.Forexample,“WorkExperience”becomes“ResearchExperience,”whileanothersectioncouldbe“AdditionalEmploymentExperience.”

•Withinyourbullets,organizethesedescriptorssothatthemostrelevantappearfirst.

Formatting

•Maintainsufficientwhitespacetomakeiteasilyreadableanduncluttered,whilestillincludingthoroughdescriptionsofyourexperiences.

•Beconsistentwithstylingandformattingthroughoutallsectionsoftheresumeasyouusebold,CAPS,italics,andunderlining.

•Placeimportantinformationtowardthetopofthedocument,becauseHRmanagersoftenscanresumesquickly.ThesesectionsincludeEducation,RelevantExperience,and/orLeadershipExperience.

•Eachsectionshouldbeorganizedinreversechronologicalorder.•Usereadablefont,suchasCambria,Calibri,Times New Roman,Garamond,orArial.•Fontshouldbesize10,11,or12pointandeasytoread.•Yournameshouldbe16+fontsize,inbold,andNOTincaps.•Marginsshouldbeintherangeof.5”to1”onallfoursides.•Usenumbersinsteadofwritingthemout,forexample,use5insteadoffive.•Useblackink.•Don’tincludetablestoorganizethedocument.•Avoidpersonalpronounsintheresume.•Don’tusefullsentencesorparagraphstodescribeyourexperiences.

General Tips

•Keepyourresumeto1pageinlength.•Proofreadtoavoidspellingorgrammaticalerrors.• IncludetheGPAifitisa3.0orabove.•Courseworkmustberelevanttotheposition.Irrelevantcoursesorstandardcoursesexpectedofastudentwiththestatedmajorshouldnotbelisted.

•Evaluateyourlanguageskillshonestly,usingwordssuchas“beginner,”“intermediate,”“advanced,”or“nativeproficiency.”Youcanseparateyourexperiencebetweenwrittenandconversationalaptitude.

•Technicalskillsshouldincludeyourlevelofproficiencywithlanguagesuchas“proficientin”and“familiarwith.”

•Aphotoisnotrecommendedonaresume.ForLinkedInprofiles,aphotoofyouinprofessionalattireiscommon.

• Ifprintingthedocument,usewhiteorivoryresumepaper.•Referencesshouldbeonaseparatepage,sodon’tmakethemapartoftheresume.Dorepeatyourcontactinformationatthetopofthereferencepage.

Duke Career Center • studentaffairs.duke.edu/career • 919-660-1050 • Bay 5, Smith Warehouse, 2nd Floor • 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Box 90950, Durham, NC 27708

Improving Your Active Verbs

Good Better Best

Worked Contributed ImprovedDid Performed ProducedResponsiblefor Managed SpearheadedAttended Participated OrchestratedSaw Observed AnalyzedLearned GainedExperience ImplementedTried Tested Developed

Formoreinformationonresumes,seetheDukeCareerCenterSlideShareaccountathttp://www.slideshare.net/DukeCareers/tag/resume