Creating a Résumé: Structure

There are several acceptable structures or styles to résumés. Select a résumé structure and elements that work for you. A 2-page résumé may be more effective if you have some work experience and add the optional sections/elements.

There are some basic sample résumés in the resources section.

Required Elements

All résumés must contain these basic elements (normally in this sequence):

Optional Elements

Other elements can be considered for your résumé. These include:

Elements of a Résumé Explained

Required: Name, Address and Daytime Contact Information

This information should be easy enough. Specific issues to consider:

Email:

  • Give your personal email address and not your current student or work email because you want access to it over the next several months or longer.
  • If needed, set up an email account that includes your name. No pseudonyms (i.e. don't use “2sexy4u”, “buzzardbait” or “pookiebear99”).
  • Give out only one email address.
  • Check email regularly. If you are at work, returning an email during working hours may not look good to prospective employers so whenever possible wait until break times to respond.

Address:

  • Proximity to the prospective employer may influence their decision. If you are located far from the worksite be prepared to discuss transportation at an interview (employers are always worried about staff arriving to work on time). If you live out-of-town but are planning to move into town, indicate so in the cover letter.

Telephone Number:

  • A daytime contact number may be difficult if you are currently employed. Provide a personal contact number and create a professional sounding voicemail message.
  • Having another person answering the phone, such as a home number, may be acceptable provided this person is aware these types of calls may occur and uses a business-like approach to taking a message. Place a notepad by the phone to record messages and other notes.

Required: The Career Goals Section

This is the area of a resume that is often overlooked by writers and the most read by interviewers. It must captivate and entice the reader to read on and look for the details that support the statement.

Focus your objectives toward the job you are applying for by:

  1. describing the position that you aspire to achieve (which “coincidentally” is the same job you are applying for), and
  2. the industry sector that you want to be in (which “just happens” to be the same sector as the prospective employer).
  3. What position you'd like to achieve (realistically) in 3 to 5 years

Inject key words that will entice the employer to read further. This section should be concise (no more that 3 lines).

This section is difficult for many new grads as the industry is an unknown and there are so many areas in the discipline to choose from. Get key words from the job ads or company web sites and put your words around it.

What not to do: I've read many, many of these objectives that had nothing to do with the advertised position. For instance, when selecting candidates for a technical sales position I read objectives that:

  • spoke of a desire to be a chef (wrong career)
  • desire to eventually have their own business (no commitment or loyalty)
  • desire to become manager of the whole department (that's cute, but not realistic in 3 to 5 years with so little experience)
  • become the president of our company (call us in perhaps 20 to 30 years, and try working in the industry first).

Required: The Formal Education Section

List your educational credentials along with the completion dates and the school.

  • If you have not graduated yet indicate the completion date into the future.
  • Include important formal education even if it's not relevant to the position. This demonstrates your willingness and personal discipline to learn, and fills in any possible date holes.
  • Make the dates clearly stand out in your résumé, and these dates should be in the same format as the work experience in the next section.
  • Include high school if graduation was relatively recent. This will help the interviewer know your age and explain why you have relatively little experience.

Make copies of your certificates and bring the original and the copies with you to the interview in case the employer would like to see them.

On over-qualification: Employers get nervous hiring someone that appears over-qualified for the position from either the educational background or work experience. They wonder if there is something wrong with the candidate, if the candidate will leave at the first better job opportunity or if the candidate will be dissatisfied. Examples of this would be an engineer applying for a technician role, a chef applying to be a waiter or a former business owner applying for a cashier job. If you have advanced experience or education for the position don't lie but downplay your background by not indicating as much detail.

Required: Work Experience Section

A new graduate may feel their work experience is inadequate, but all work experience, paid or not, is important. Almost every job you've held or work you've done has provided valuable experience that you can apply elsewhere. These "transferable skills" are exactly what the interviewer is looking for as experience. It takes a while to think about which skills you learned, which ones to list and how to word them, but these are critical points. They must be worded in a manner that the prospective employer can transfer and use in their business environment.

Avoid defining or describing the job. This is a very common error. State the results you've achieved, the accomplishments of the job, the experience you've earned that you can use elsewhere.

Examples:

If you worked as a janitor, do not state that you mopped floors, replenished the soap and took out the garbage; people can already assume that you did this, and this experience is only relevant if you are applying for another janitorial job. State what business skills you developed: maintained the supplies inventory, met with vendors, assisted customers, trained staff, supervised staff, secured the building, etc.

If you supervised an open lab in school or college, this experience counts. Volunteer work also counts.

It is very important to structure the dates in a manner that they can be viewed easily at a glance. The location and format must match the education section above.

If you have had several short-term jobs that did not contribute to your personal experience you may create an abridged section on "Other Work Experience" and list them. It is a good idea to add a word or two to explain why these were short-term (example: "summer position", "casual position", "Temporary position", "Contract", etc).

Required: The References Section

Do not include your references in the résumé. The only requirement for this section is to state that references are "available on request".

Prepare a page of references in advance and bring it with you to the interview. Follow the same appearance guidelines as the résumé. Make sure your name is in the header.

The references must be of people who know you well enough to describe your personality. One good measure is to ask yourself "does this reference person know me well enough to describe how I'd react to situations" and "does this reference person have enough respect for me to speak positively about me". Employers calling references ask questions that include:

  • "how well do you know this person"
  • "what is the best and the worst quality of this person"
  • "how does this person respond to stressful situations"
  • "does this person get along with everyone"
  • "how reliable is this person"
  • "have you ever given this person a task to complete on their own"
  • "would you hire this person. Why/why not?"

Your three references should contain a variety of relationships to you, including a person:

  • that can speak of your character in general (such as a friend that is employed)
  • who evaluated your work (manager, coach, teacher)
  • you work for or worked with (co-worker, supervisor or client).

Don't use relatives (yes, as incredible as it may seem I have had several résumés that listed the person's mother as a reference!). The exception is if you worked for the family business you may need to list relatives but be aware that these types of references are generally not desired.

You must contact your references in advance to ask for their permission. In your references document Include the person's name, title, company, address, daytime telephone number and their relationship to you (i.e. co-worker, former manager, teacher, etc…). Confirm the contact information, especially the daytime phone number. It's also a good idea to let your references know when they may expect a call, from whom and for what type of position so that they may be prepared for the call. Employers reaching a disconnected number or speaking with someone who claims they don't know you very well is poor planning, and this happens more frequently than one can imagine.

Make sure your references know the personal name you are using to apply for a position. If they only know you by your nickname they may not recognize your real name! This is relatively common for those that use their middle names with their friends but their first name for work, or those from other cultures that adopt an English name.

Optional: Letters of Reference and Testimonial Letters

Do not include your testimonials or letters of reference in the résumé. The only requirement for this section is to state which ones are available and that copies will be provided “on request”.

Reference and testimonial letters are an excellent way to show yourself. If possible, get a reference or testimonial letter from every employer that you've had, from a favorite teacher and/or from your favorite clients. These letters are often as good as a personal reference. Employers love to see these letters because it demonstrates that you view your career as important and that you are willing to make the extra effort to prove it. It makes them feel more comfortable hiring you. It's all about creating good feelings.

Optional: Personal Interests Section

There are differing opinions on the personal interest (or hobbies) section of the résumé. Some feel that it should not be included as it is unprofessional and doesn't fit in a business environment, while others state that it should be included because it addresses character, makes for a more memorable résumé and provides an additional chance to "connect" with the interviewer. My recommendation is simple: add the section if you have the space available. You should have something memorable to state. Often interviewers will lighten up the atmosphere of the interview by addressing this section, and interviewers like to understand the character of a person by assessing this section. Interviews for new graduates tend to be about establishing personality and interpersonal skills.

As with all aspects of a résumé, this section must be considered carefully. An interviewer will use this section to gather some character traits that will match the job or the company. Here is how people look at personal interests:

  • Are the interests team-based or solo activities? (ex.: soccer or photography, playing golf or reading, …)
  • Are they balanced between thinking and doing? (ex.: reading and jogging)
  • Are the activities related to the person's career interests?
  • Is this person introverted or extroverted? (ex.: gardening or traveling)
  • Can any of these activities interfere with employment? (ex.: if a position requires extensive travel or shift work, stating you're the coach of a league team is not compatible with the job expectations)

There is a good chance that you may also state something that you have in common with the interviewer (bonus points if this happens!). A classic example of improving your success is if you know the company sponsors a minor league team or is involved with specific fundraising activities, state any personal interests that are in common and transferable.

Be cautious what you state and consider if it makes sense in light of the position you are applying for.

Optional (but recommended): Consider a Key Accomplishments, Profile or Summary Section

The Key Accomplishments/Profile/Summary section is a summary of your skills and important accomplishments. It is meant to highlight your strongest skills.

This section is often called "Primary Qualifications", "Professional Profile", "Qualifications" or other similar term. It is relatively new to résumés but more and more employers expect this section to be present. It helps the employer with their selection of interview candidates so, if used, this section needs to create a significant impact. Think of what you have done in your past employment or education that is of key interest to the reader.

In this section, list your greatest strengths. These should include a range of technical, interpersonal, motivational and other abilities. You may get specific, but ensure other areas of the résumé includes evidence of where you developed these skills. For instance, if you list a particular piece of software as an area of expertise, there should be evidence of this in your education or experience. If you developed the skill outside of work or formal study make a statement to the effect that it is a skill developed due to personal interest.

The Key Accomplishments should include, where possible, measurable statements. State specific goals achieved, and include numerical values where appropriate. The Key Accomplishments are often included under the specific work experience where it was received but may be placed in a Key Accomplishments section to highlight it.

Examples of Summary or Accomplishments may include:

  • "Perfect attendance record"
  • "Employee of the month award"
  • "Exceeded xx goal by yy%"
  • "Significant experience with WXY Tools"

This section is usually located between the Career Goals and the Education sections.

Optional (but recommended if applicable): Professional Affiliations

Use this section to list the organizations that you are a member of, such as professional organization in your trade, relevant clubs, etc.

If you are not a member of a professional affiliation you should consider joining one, even as a student. Membership rates are usually discounted for students and membership demonstrates a commitment to the trade you are in. Benefits include seminars and other meetings, giving you a chance to learn about the industry and meet people, and improve your chances for finding a good career.

Many professional organizations require a "training" or "apprentice" period before certification because additional experience is required. For instance, for certification with ASET in Alberta, graduates becomes a "TT", or "Technologist in Training" before becoming a CET (Certified Engineering Technologist).

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