Center for Career Success

Resume (French for "summary")

• Most employers request this common style of documenting skills and credentials.
• One page in length (two is acceptable only if you have many years of relevant experience).
• Showcases education and experience.
• Summarizes your skill sets with strong action verbs in a concise manner.
• Resumes should be tailored to each job/industry.

Curriculum Vitae (Latin for "course of life")

• Research-based and academic fields typically use a CV.
• Typically several pages long.
• Showcases research, publications, academic work, awards, teaching, and honors in chronological order.
• Static and doesn’t change according to job description.

Federal Resume Writing Guidelines (PPT) – From the US Office of Personnel Management

• One page only; common font like Times New Roman or Arial.
• Listed in reverse chronological order (most recent information first).
• Concise, well organized, easy to read, with no spelling errors.
• Describes your background as it relates to your career goals.
• Submitted as a PDF (convert here).
• Renamed to match each job you apply for (SallyStudent-CHOPResume).

Your Name: Keep it bold and bigger than other information.
Address: Full address, including zip code.
Phone: Use a private number with area code (be sure your voicemail message is professional).
Email: Use a personal, professional email (college emails can expire) and remove blue hyperlink.

Example:

There are many types of introductory sections for a resume. While this is an optional section, it can help direct the reader's attention to key elements. We recommend using a summary.

Summary: Best for a) highlighting your relevant skills as they apply to a specific industry; b) people who already have experience.

Example: Two years of experience as a Registered Nurse. Provided care for pediatric patients in an acute setting. Experienced in ventilator care, wound care, and family education. CPR and AED certified.

TIPS:

• List in reverse chronological order.
• Include the formal name of the college, city, and state (do not include the street address or zip code), date you graduated (or will graduate), formal name of degree and/or minors obtained, and your course of study.
• List GPA if 3.0 and above (ask a counselor if you have questions about this).
• You may include bullets for study abroad, activities, awards, and/or to highlight the fact that you worked while in college.

Examples:

TIPS:

• Highlight your most relevant experience by listing it first in a separate section.
• Emphasize only those experiences that best relate to your career (clinical rotations, volunteer roles, full-time work experience in your field).
• Condense or remove sections that are not relevant.
• Do not include supervisor names or contact information.
• Headings can include: Clinical Rotations, Healthcare Experience, Work Experience, Additional Experience, Relevant Experience, [Your field here] Experience, and more!

Example A (Listing clinical rotations):

Example B (Including bullets for clinical rotations):

Example C (One-line format):

Example D (Two-line format):

Each of these may be listed as a new section (space permitting), or incorporated as a bullet in another section.

ACTIVITIES/LEADERSHIP
List only those that best relate to your career objective. If you have done a lot with an organization that is very relevant to your goal, use a few bullets to describe your accomplishments and format as you would for work experience.

SKILLS
Common skills you may wish to list include technical skills, laboratory skills, language skills (if fluent), teamwork skills, and organizational skills. Basic computer skills such as Word, Excel, Email, Internet and PowerPoint are not necessary to include.

HONORS/AWARDS
If an award or scholarship is not self-explanatory, include a one-line description.

Example: “CHOP Star Award – Recognized for the most volunteer hours in 2010”

• Certifications
• Licenses
• Professional Memberships
• Leadership Experience
• Community Involvement
• Research Experience
• Volunteer Experience
• Professional Development
• Publications
• Travel
• Language Skills

…and more!

TIPS:

• Always start bullets with an action verb and list in order of importance (most relevant/impressive bullets at the top).
• Do not use periods, pronouns, or informal language.
• Job descriptions should include specific duties and accomplishments.
• Quantifying job descriptions creates a strong resume – use numbers, percentages, statistics.
• Use SAR as a guide as you describe your responsibilities. Always include the situation and action, and include results when applicable.

Situation – Lab tests were coming back late from the testing facilities.
Action – I developed a new system and policy, shared this idea with my supervisor, and we implemented this with the testing facilities.
Result – As a result, the lab work was consistently returned on time.

Example in bullet form:

• Streamlined communication with testing facilities to ensure lab work was returned promptly; increased efficiency by 20%.