Writing Resumes For Scholarship/admission Applications (Page 3 of 6) in pdf

Format Your Resume

After you have determined what information you would like to include in your resume,

you must choose a format in which to present it.

Most students and recent grads use some variation of a chronological format where

experiences are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first). You can list

either your employer or your job title first – typically you will start with whichever is

stronger and be consistent.

You should emphasize experiences that are relevant to your objective or experiences

that demonstrate specific transferable skills that would be needed. If these relevant

experiences are not necessarily your most recent or are volunteer or extracurricular, you

can still feature them first by using a Relevant Experience section. Give a good amount

of detail and be specific in your descriptions. Other experiences can be listed under an

Additional Experience section with much less description.

Other formatting options include functional and combination resumes. In these types of

resumes you describe experiences under specific skill headings (see sample below).

Length:

Your resume should be one page long. Two-page resumes are acceptable only under

certain circumstances. Remember that employers spend very little time scanning your

resume. Good information on the second page might never be seen. It’s best to keep

the resume succinct and leave out unrelated experience. If you must use a two-page

resume, make sure your name is at the top of the second page.

Appearance:

There are many creative ways to design a resume. You want it to be easy to read, so

have a good balance of text and white space. Don’t try to be too creative. Stick to

something that can be read quickly and easily.

Margins:

One-inch is standard, but you can use slightly smaller margins if needed. Make sure

your resume is centered on the page.

Font Size/Style:

An 11-inch font size is standard. Times and Times New Roman are two professional

looking styles. Use only one font style in your resume.

Finalize a Draft

Print your resume on the same paper you will use for your cover letters. Do not use

standard photocopy paper. Choose a conservative color: white, ivory, off-white, light

gray or eggshell.

Proofread, proofread, and proofread!

Even if you use spell-check and grammar-

check, proofread carefully and have your resume critiqued by at least one other person.

The best way to proof your resume is to read it out loud to another person who has a

copy of it.

Writing Resumes For Scholarship/admission Applications Page 3