Writing a Resume

Sections of a Resume

Header (Contact Information)

Include your name, email address, city/state/ZIP, website or portfolio (if applicable), and phone number. You do not need to provide your full address if you would prefer not to. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can include it with your contact information.

Sample Header Section

personal.email@gmail.com | 123-456-7891| Madison, WI | mylinkedinprofilelink

Education

 Include only your college/university education (leave your high school off). Include:

  • Full title of your degree (example: Bachelor of Arts)
  • Major, Certificate(s)
  • Expected Graduation Month, Year
  • Study Abroad
  • Honors
  • Relevant Coursework (Note: Include the course title (no numbers) and only courses that are specific or relevant to the position. Core-program classes like “Intro to X” or “Foundations of X” won’t set you apart from other students.)

Sample Education Section

University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI
Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies 2023
Certificate in Global Health

Objective

Objectives are typically recommended when you have few relevant professional accomplishments or if you’re switching careers. They are entirely optional — if you choose to include an objective statement, it can help the employer understand where you are coming from and where you want to go. Objective statements are not usually necessary if you are also submitting a cover letter.

Sample Objective Section

To obtain a role utilizing my skills in policy analysis and passion for improving global health systems to promote wellness through literacy.

Skills

Include technical skills like languages you speak, technology or software you are proficient in, or other skills specific to the industry. Avoid listing transferable skills like “leadership” or “attention to detail”; while they are important, it is better to convey those through the bullet points in your experience section(s). This section is optional.

Sample Skills Section

Canvas 
Blackboard
Google Classroom 
InDesign

Related Experience

Include your previous work experience (ex: summer jobs, internships) or volunteer positions. Write all of your experiences in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). You can also have multiple types of experience sections to help categorize your experiences around a “theme” (i.e. “Leadership Experience” or “Research Experience”) When listing your experiences, include:

  • Position title
  • Name of the organization
  • Location
  • Dates of employment

Sample Experience Section

Government Relations Intern May 2022-August 2022
Amplify Remote

  • Gained experience in various education technology platforms included Canvas, Blackboard, and Google Classroom
  • Developed four Government Relations presentations for high ranking city and state officials
  • Collaborated with Associate Director and Legislative Assistant on a variety of responsibilities, including conducting research on new policy

Involvement

Include your involvement in student organizations or volunteering — though you could separate them if you feel you have enough experiences to justify doing so. This is another optional section. 

Sample Involvement Section

Volunteer September 2021-Present
Literacy Network Madison, WI

  • Assisted adults from a variety of backgrounds on reading and comprehension skills
  • Developed activities based lesson plans for children ages 5 to 10 years old
  • Created a cultural sensitive learning environmental by utilizing strong listening skills and cultural communication tactics

Writing Strong Bullet Points

Under each listed work experience, include 3-5 bullet points detailing what you accomplished in the role starting with what is most relevant to the position to which you are applying. When writing your bullet points, avoid vague statements such as “Planned charity events”. Be as specific as possible in your writing and quantify when possible (i.e. “collaborated with three colleagues” or “boosted engagement by 32%

Bullet Point Formula

Using the “Strong Verb + WHAT + HOW + WHY” formula can ensure that you have specific and detailed bullet points. You can find a list of Strong Verbs here

Examples

Okay Bullet Point Great Bullet Point
Directed actors in different productions Directed 5-10 student actors and managed technical team in both short and full-length productions attracting audiences of 100+
Worked on a team of 4 counselors Collaborated with three other counselors to create engaging activities for the 30 students at the camp
Developed interpersonal skills Developed interpersonal skills by facilitating cross-cultural conversations between students of varying identities and backgrounds

Quick Tip: You don’t have to write a great bullet point on the first try. Start by writing out what you did in the position and then use the formula to make them stronger and more detailed.

Resume Formatting

While there is no one “correct” way to create a resume, the Career Center recommends these guidelines to help your resume be organized and  easy-to-read:

  • Consistency: Punctuation, verb tenses and formatting need to be uniform and consistent throughout the document.
  • White space: By spacing information, you can draw attention to important elements of your document. Bullet points, bold print, and indentations can guide the reader’s eyes to the main points of your resume.
  • Font should be between sizes 10-12. Try easy-to-read fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Tahoma, or Bell MT.
  • Have ½ -1” margins on all sides of your resume
  • Right-justify dates in all sections of your document and use Month Abbreviation/Year format
  • Save as a PDF

Tailoring and Proofreading Your Resume

Creating a tailored document for each position is a great way to make sure you’re providing a comprehensive overview of your experiences and skill sets as they relate to the position you’re applying for. For instance, if you are pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree and are interested in both Graphic Design and UI/UX, you will need to highlight different information depending on which role you’re applying for.

You don’t have to start over and create a new resume for similar positions in a field; edit or adjust your resume to make it more relevant. This could be as simple as rewording bullet points or reorganizing your experience sections.

Because tailoring a document means updating it every time you apply for a role, proofreading will be very important. Give each copy of your resume a final review before submitting it to make sure it’s tailored to the right position. Save your document as  PDF before submitting to ensure it looks the way you want it to when the reviewer opens it on their end.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How many pages should my resume be?

A resume should be between 1-2 pages, depending on the amount of experience you can include that is relevant to the position to which you are applying.

Should I make a new resume for every position I apply for?

It’s a good idea to tailor your resume to each position, but that may not mean you have to start over. Reorganizing different sections of your resume or re-wording bullet points to better match the skills and requirements from the job description can be enough. If you’re unsure how to do this, your Career & Internship Advisor can help you!

Should I include my high school information/experiences on my resume?

By the time you are in your second or third year of college, it’s likely that your high school experience is either outdated or irrelevant; so you can probably remove it from your resume. However, if you are still in your first year or if the experience is ongoing or very relevant to the position you are applying for, then you can still leave it in. If you are unsure, check with your Career & Internship Advisor.

Should I use one of the templates from Canva/Google/Word/etc.?

These templates can look very cool or pretty, but they don’t often make the best use of space and can be difficult to edit or add sections. We recommend avoiding these templates and instead using a Google or Word document to build your resume; this way, you have complete control over the formatting. If there is something that you really like about the other template, you can always incorporate it into your version.