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RESUMES

The purpose of the resume is to get an interview. Organize and write your document carefully to best convey your strengths and qualifications in a brief, easily readable format. Employers typically spend anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes reviewing resumes. Make sure yours will hold their attention for a more thorough review.


NEW program for BYU Hawaii students!

Career Services is sponsoring the innovative OptimalResume program for all currently enrolled students. Now, you can create, present and manage your resume all online in one safe and friendly place.

 

  • Easily write high impact resumes using interactive examples
  • Display your resume as a website or an online document
  • Style your Word® resume using a myriad of format options
  • Store it online and never worry about losing it
  • Professional results in minutes

 

You can create up to 5 resumes for different purposes. They can be displayed as traditional Microsoft Word® documents or as personal resume websites in Flash if desired. Or, save the Word® file to your hard drive for later printing or using as an email attachment. This is an extremely innovative, flexible and powerful tool for getting noticed and gaining an advantage!

 

Even if you're not currently on a job hunt, it's never too early to get started building your resume. It's fast, easy and all of the tools are provided to include spell checking, formatting, and LOTS of examples and help.

 



Resume Resources and Tools




Your Resume: the Basic (PowerPoint)

Writing Your Resume:

Content

  • Identifying information: At the top of the resume, include your name, mailing address, telephone number (include area code), and email address.
  • Objective: The objective, which generally follows the identifying information, provides direction and focus for the resume and states your employment goal.
  • Education: For most college students, the education section should be near the top of the document and listed before the experience section. List the full name of the school, major or degree received, and dates of attendance or date degree awarded. Only list courses if they are relevant to the job for which you are applying. GPA is optional. If you attended more than one school, list the most recent one first.
  • Experiences: Describe experiences in terms of accomplishments. Start phrases with action verbs. Do not use personal pronouns in the descriptions. Be specific and emphasize areas that will interest the employer.
  • Skills Summary: Marketable skills relevant to the job objective can be listed. Examples include foreign language proficiency, computer skills, and more.



Brady's "Preparing World Class Resumes" (PowerPoint)

Format and Layout

  • Use boldface, italics, capital letters and underlining sparingly and only to define the organization of the resume.
  • Maintain appropriate margins and adequate white space to add visual appeal.
  • Keep document brief enough to fit on one page (or two pages if experience is more extensive).
  • The three basic formats are
    1. Chronological: lists events in chronological sequence (most recent event first) » See sample chronological resume
    2. Functional: organizes most relevant experiences into skill areas or functions » See sample functional resume
    3. Combination: combines the chronological and functional and list experiences according to themes. » See sample combination resume

For information on COVER LETTERS, click here.