Resume Guide

SUNY Westchester Community College • Career Services Resume/Cover Letter Guidelines 2022-2024 13 T IPS F OR A N E FFECTIVE R ESUME  Remember your resume is a Marketing tool to get an interview. Focus on what you bring to the employer not what you want from the job.  Keep the resume to one page unless you have ten or more years of professional experience  The focus is on your skills for the job; evaluate all areas of your background- consider your “job” as a student and the skills developed in that role.  Avoid abbreviations except for words such as Inc. or Corp. States may also be abbreviated, such as NY, CT, NJ  Use bulleted phrases, beginning with action verbs, to describe your responsibilities (see page 10)  Be specific, clear, and concise; do not repeat yourself; Do not use personal pronouns (i.e.: I, we)  Job descriptions should be achievement oriented -quantified if possible. (e.g. Extended customer base from 1,000 to 10,000)  Identify your transferable skills (see page 8)  List your most recent experience, not necessarily your entire employment history  Use indentation, underlining, bold and capitalization for emphasis  If sending via US Mail, use 24 lb. bond white or ivory paper on a laser quality printer  Proof for typos and then proof again! Be sure to have your coun lor proof it also  Write in the present tense for current jobs and past tense (ed) for prior positions  Avoid using extra words like “a”, the”, etc. (Example: Reconciled cash drawer at close of day)  Do not try to cover every inch of the page. Leave some open space for notes to be made  Be sure the phone number listed on your resume has a professional voice message and that your email is professional W HAT N OT T O I NCLUDE O N A R ESUME  The word “resume” at the top of the page; any personal information or a photo  Salary information, references, or the statement “references upon request”  Reasons for leaving a past job; names of past supervisors  Overly wordy objectives that talk about how you will benefit from the job  Any information that could be perceived as negative or con roversial , any false information