Summary of Sections:

• Contact Information (whatever you wish to include of the following)
• Name, address and email address
• Phone number
• Do not give age, gender, martial status, references, hobbies, etc.
• Due to concerns about security, only include contact information that you feel comfortable broadcasting to the public, such as perhaps, your email address.
• Summary of Professional Expertise
• Create a phrase that describes your education, capabilities, and what type of work you want to do.
• Then create a bullet-point list of your skills, abilities and achievements
• It's important to be specific-not general-in such sections.
• Emphasize strongest and most important skills first
• Relevant Professional (work) Experience
• Always list most recent jobs first
• For each job, list projects with most important skills first
• Do not include non-relevant experience.
• Emphasize achievements and special contributions made in each job, targeted to the type of position or work you want to do, not just a list of tasks
• Education
• Highest degree first
• You can include honors or GPA information if high
• Relevant coursework and achievements as appropriate
• Graduate projects: brief description of projects including environment, tools, and skills developed
• List languages you are fluent in
• Honors, awards, volunteer work and student activities showcasing your leadership, organizational, customer service, or other strong capabilities.

Formatting:

• Use 12-point Times or Times New Roman
• Avoid using italics
• Use uppercase (capital letters) only in HEADINGS
• Use bold typeface only for headings or to highlight skills — use sparingly!
• Never use "I" or "me" or "my" anywhere in the resume
• Minimum of 1-inch margins — left, right, top, bottom

References:

• List on a separate page at least three names, current addresses and phone number for recommendations
• Keep your references informed about your current goals and plans
• Give the prospective employer these references when asked for them. Do not include them on the resume.

Other Points:

• Be sure to create a succinct one sentence summary as shown below to be used on the resume listing page
• Make sure that you have a professional sounding message on your answering machine.
• For those with a job now: only include your current work phone number if you don't mind your current employer knowing that you are seeking another job.
• If you are targeting a resume to a particular employer, you should also research the individual/organization to learn about goals, successes, products or services, recent achievements, and organizational culture. Resources include the individual/organization's web site, annual report, and newspaper articles. This way you can target both the résumé and a cover letter more easily to their goals and initiatives.

Sample Resume

Name
Address
Phone
email

Summary

MBA graduate with B.S. in Mathematics and experience in statistical analysis seeks position in marketing research

• Facility with SPSS, Minitab, Microsoft Office Professional
• Professional experience with market research in mid-size companies
• MBA with marketing specialization
• Detail-oriented, yet sees the big picture

Education

• Master of Business Administration, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, graduation June, 2004.
  Relevant Coursework:
• Marketing Management
• Strategic Marketing
• International Marketing
• Marketing Research
• Data Analysis for Managers
• B.S. Mathematics, Maharishi University of Management, 2001.

Relevant Professional Experience

• The Tri-State Manufacturing Group, 2002-2004 (during education)
• Conducted employee satisfaction questionnaires for two branches of company
• Analyzed responses
• Consulting, Market Research, 2000-2003
• Worked with mid-size companies to assess new product feasibility in the Midwest
• Prepared and administered questionnaires for research
• Analyzed data from questionnaire responses

Activities or volunteer work during education

• President of Campus Chess Club 1999-2001
• Delegate to Student Senate, 2000