Building & Organizing Your Resume

Your resume is a marketing tool used to promote YOU! It answers the question “Why should we hire you?”

A resume is a one-page highlight reel of education, skills, experiences, and accomplishments. It is used to showcase your qualifications to potential employers when applying for jobs, internships, or other professional opportunities.

When editing your resume, reflect on the skills, experiences and accomplishments you want an employer to know while evaluating your candidacy!

💡Tip: Only include skills, experiences and accomplishments that you feel confident speaking to in an interview. Anything on your resume is fair game to be asked about!

Click on a section below to learn more, see examples & get started!

  • This section serves as the letterhead of your document and gives your resume a polished, professional feel

  • All modes of contact should be recent and updated!
    • I.e., use an email address that you check frequently and voicemail box should be set up

  • Great place to add keywords, skills, strengths and/or competencies
  • Speak to your career goals, your relevant previous experiences or transferable skills that will make you stand out as a candidate.

– or –

  • List degrees in reverse chronological order – most recent first

  • Include:
    • University Name & School/College Name
    • Location
    • Full Degree (Bachelor, Master + Major)
    • Anticipated Graduation Date
    • Honors (I.e., Dean’s List, Honors Program, Honors Societies)

  • Great opportunity to highlight the skills/knowledge/experience you are gaining at SJU! Include course names NOT numbers
  • 4-8 courses related to your major, industry or transferable skills
  • If you are applying to Finance roles, include any finance or quantitative classes you took or are currently taking

  • Use this section if you do not have relevant, professional experience
  • Include 1-3 class projects related to your career goals or where you fine tuned any hard or transferable skills
  • First Bullet Point: summarize project broadly
  • If you are interested in psychology, speak about the theories you learned in your Childhood Development class

  • Include: Employer, Position Title, Location and Dates of Employment
  • Part-time jobs in retail, hospitality or customer service are excellent opportunities to highlight your soft skills!

  • Personalize your resume with additional sections to highlight ALL your accomplishments
  • Additional sections include, but are not limited to:
    • Volunteer Work
    • Extracurriculars
    • Athletics
    • Awards
    • Clinicals/Field Work/Lab Work
    • Research Experience
    • Creative Projects
    • Certifications

  • Include any hard, technical skills here – no general, transferable skills
  • Skills include, but are not limited to:
    • Technical (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite)
    • Programming Languages/Softwares
    • Lab Skills/Equiptment
    • Social Media Platforms
    • Camera/Video Cameras/Production Equipment
    • Foreign Language Proficiency

  • Optional if you have space!

  • A great way to add a personal touch to your resume and provide insight to who you are