Resume Resources
General Résumé Guidelines
- Your resume should be visually interesting and easy to read.
- Use a professional email address – avoid something like hotstuff@hotmail.com.
- Use a standard, easy to read font like Arial, Times New Roman or Garamond and stick with it. Use an 11 or 12 point font size.
- Be consistent in your use of capital letters, bullets, boldface, underlining and periods.
- Bold, CAPITALIZE, or underline headings to make them stand out.
- Double space between sections. Single space within sections.
- List job information (company name, city and state, job title, dates) in the same order from one entry to the next.
- List entries in reverse chronological order (most recent experience first).
- Wording should be concise and to the point.
- Be sure there are no errors - typographical, spelling, punctuation, grammar, accuracy of information.
- Use bullet points with short statements to describe experiences. Put the most important information on the first line under each entry. Start each with an action verb.
- Do not include high school information.
- A reference list is not necessary.
- Resumes should be one page in length.
- Spell check your resume. Ask a friend to proofread it for you.
Resume Components
Your résumé should be a snapshot of who you are. As you prepare it for your internship with the Chicago Semester program please include the following sections. Please note that specific resume components apply for Student Teachers.
Personal Information:
Name
Address
Telephone number
E-mail address
Objective:
- A brief statement about the kind of internship that most interests you
Education:
- College or university and its city and state
- Date of degree (or degree expected stating month and year)
- Major field of study
- Minors
- GPA if above a 3.0; use, at most, two decimal places
Relevant coursework and off-campus study:
- List 4 – 6 courses that are relevant to the type of internship you are seeking and any off-campus study in which you have participated.
Experience:
- List work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position.
- Include company name, city and state, job title, and date for each position.
- Add bullet points to highlight skills learned, tasks completed.
- Use action verbs to describe accomplishments (e.g. supervise, coordinate, assisted, planned). Present tense should be used for current work. Past tense action verbs should be used for past experiences.
- Quantify your experience as much as possible - e.g. "Supervised 18 lifeguards" or "Dance Marathon raised $15,000 for charity"
Honors/Awards/Activities:
- List activities and honors, describe skills gained, leadership roles and include dates of involvement
Computer skills:
- List programs with which you are familiar