1. Preparing an
Effective Résumé

2. What is a résumé?
• A résumé is a brief document presenting
your qualifications for a particular
position.
• A résumé is one part of a set of tools you
can use to demonstrate to a prospective
employer how your experience, skills, and
accomplishments are well suited to the
job for which you are applying.

3. A résumé is not ...
... a comprehensive statement of who
you are as a person.
... a laundry list of everything you did
at all of the jobs you have ever held.
... a fixed or unchanging document.

4. Common Résumé Styles
Chronological
• The standard résumé style and the approach
typically expected by employers
• Most effectively used when looking for work
in one’s current profession
Functional
• Often used when making a career change
• Focuses on skills and accomplishments more
than on positions held

5. Chronological Résumé
Temp L. Israel
477 Longwood Avenue, Boston MA 02115 ● (617) 566-3960
SUMMARY OR OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
Short statement (no more than 2 to 4 sentences) highlighting your strengths
and immediate career goals.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Organization Name, Location
Position Title, Dates held
● Briefly describe responsibilities and accomplishments for each position
● List in positions in reverse chronological order
● Introduce each point with an action verb
● Use bullet points to help your reader find the important information
OTHER SKILLS OR RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Possible section headings include:
● Relevant volunteer work
● Technical skills; Languages
● Awards
● Professional memberships
EDUCATION
Institution, Location
Degree, Year

6. Functional Résumé
Temp L. Israel
477 Longwood Avenue, Boston MA 02115 ● (617) 566-3960
SUMMARY OR OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
Short statement (no more than 2 to 4 sentences) highlighting your strengths
and immediate career goals.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS & SKILLS GROUPED INTO FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES
● Briefly describe related accomplishments and achievements
● List in order of relevance to the position for which you are applying
● Technical skills or languages might be mentioned here
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
● List details of positions held, in reverse chronological order (include
position title, organization name, location, and dates held)
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Possible section headings include:
● Awards
● Professional memberships
EDUCATION
Institution, Location
Degree, Year

7. Building a Summary Statement
1. Who are you? What do you do? What are your
most noteworthy competencies?
2.What directly relevant experience, skills or
training do you have? Technical skills? People
skills? Significant experience?
3. What other qualifications or notable skills
make you a good candidate for this job?

8. Sample Summary Statements
Results-oriented executive with over 15 years experience
managing people and organizations. Demonstrated ability
to lead successful teams and motivate staff to take on
complex projects and meet aggressive deadlines. Extensive
experience in financial management, contract negotiation,
and strategic planning. Strong interpersonal skills and a
reputation for building trusting and productive working
relationships with staff, colleagues, and clients.
Experienced administrative assistant with strong
organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Imaginative professional able to expertly manage time and
projects to meet organizational goals. Loyal team player
with a demonstrated record of individual achievement.

9. Exercise: Summary Statement
• Think about the qualifications and skills you
most want to communicate to a hiring manager
looking at your résumé.
• Jot down your thoughts. Who are you? What
experience or special skills do you have? What
talents or capabilities do you have that may not
be immediately apparent from your job history
or accomplishments?
• Write a draft summary statement

10. Alternatives to Summaries
• Objective Statement
Objective: To obtain a position as a department
administrator and build on 10 years of experience in
academic administration and grants management.
• Tagline
Educator. Connector. Innovator.
• Nothing

11. Employment History
• Do not describe the position as it might appear
in a job posting. Tell potential employers about
you, not the job.
• Try to show how you made the job your own.
What special mark did you leave?
• Focus on your accomplishments in the
position. Describe your achievements in clear,
active terms.
• Use bullet points, no more than two lines each

12. Sample Accomplishments
Extensively revised and expanded departmental manual
to provide a single complete and authoritative source
for policies and procedures documentation.
Restructured telephone system, creating efficiencies
resulting in an annual savings of $10,000.
Supervised team of 6 programers, managing project
deadlines and workflow.
Planned and successfully led a one year drive to raise
$1.2 million to fund a statewide adult literacy program.

13. Examples of Action Words
Achieved Launched Revised
Corrected Managed Selected
Demonstrated Maximized Simplified
Determined Negotiated Standardized
Established Planned Supervised
Eliminated Persuaded Trained
Improved Recruited Updated

14. Exercise: Accomplishments
• Thinking about your current or most recent
position, write an accomplishment statement
• Use strong action words, express your role
clearly, and make sure to put yourself in the
foreground
• Avoid the passive voice
• Use numbers, quantities, or results to illustrate
the concrete effect of your work and
communicate its importance

15. Formatting Your Résumé
• Use a typeface that is easy to read, at least a 11- or
12-point font
• Use bolding, italics, and other typeface variation
to help your reader understand the structure of
your résumé at a glance
• Make sure there is enough white space
• Use bullet points, no more than two lines each
• No more than two pages (unless a CV or longer
document is specifically requested)

16. Saving Your Résumé
• PDF: Keeps your formatting regardless of the
recipient’s OS and software. PDFs can be
created using Adobe Acrobat, OpenOffice, the
Mac OS X print menu, and online.
• Plain Text: Basic text only, minimal formatting
options. Small file size, good for sending in the
body of an email and uploading to some online
application systems.
• MS Word Document or other word processing
format: Use only if specifically requested.

17. Next Steps
• Look at lots of résumés (samples in books or
online, friends, coworkers, etc.)
• Write a draft résumé
• Show your draft to as many people as you can and
get their feedback
• Compile a master résumé document that you can
use to quickly build targeted résumés designed for
a specific position or purpose
• Get regular input on your résumé from friends,
colleagues, and others. Don’t wait until you are
looking for a job.

18. Good Luck!