/ EAN / Resource Center

Resume Checklist

The following checklist has been designed to assist you in writing your resume.

1. Overall appearance...

   	makes an immediately favorable impression
   	is inviting to read
   	is easy to read
   	looks professional

   
   
2. Contact information...

   	is clearly presented at the top.
   	includes address information; permanent and temporary
   	includes telephone number(s) where you can be reached from 9am to 5pm

   
   
3. Objective (optional; use if yours is specific)...

   	includes type and level of position sought
   	includes type and size of organization sought
   	emphasizes strongest qualifications and skills pertinent to desired job

   
   
4. Organization...

   	highlights strongest qualifications or credentials
   	uses headings to help establish common ground with employer e.g., Graduate Business Education, Professional Social Work Training, Retailing Experience
   	is brief - usually one page unless you have 5-10 years experience

   
   
5. Content...

   	demonstrates ability to do the job and speaks to employer's needs
   	supports and substantiates objective
   	stresses transferable professional skills, accomplishments, and results
   	contains only that personal data relevant to your objective e.g., language skills, computer skills
   	omits racial, religious, or political affiliations unless a bona fide occupational qualification

   
   
6. Education section includes...

   	most recent degree or program in which you are enrolled; date of graduation or anticipated date
   	list of other degrees or relevant higher education, training certificate programs, licenses, or short courses
   	name and location of university, college, or training institution
   	major, minor, and/or area(s) of concentration or interest
   	relevant coursework, skills, or knowledge acquired through research or projects
   	GPA, honors, and awards
   	percentage of educational expenses earned

   
   
7. Extracurricular activities section (optional) includes...

   	list of most impressive offices held, including title and organization
   	leadership roles and transferable skills
   	pertinent professional memberships

   
   
8. Experience section...

   	Each paid, volunteer, extracurricular, intern, or co-op experience relevant to your objective, includes: title held, organization name, city, state, or country location (if not U.S.)
   	dates position held
   	position description that stresses transferable skills, previous accomplishments, and effectiveness (rather than a mere summary of past duties and responsibilities)
   	specific examples of successes and results supporting your objective
   	examples that quantify results or successes e.g., increased sales by $50,000, reduced turnover by 25%

   
   
9. Language...

   	is expressed in succinct manner
   	uses action verbs to begin phrases
   	has short action-oriented phrases instead of complete sentences
   	is free from grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors
   	is in active rather than passive voice
   	uses vocabulary of working world e.g., Sales and Marketing Employment, Budgeting Experience

   
   
10. Layout and space utilization...

    	is crisp and clean
    	separates sections and incorporates enough blank space for easy reading
    	centers text with adequate margins

    
    
11. Highlighting and emphasis...

    	uses bold type, underlining, different type styles and sizes, to emphasize key words
    	is well balances - does not use highlighting and emphasis too frequently

    
    
12. Printing and production...

    	paper is high quality; heavy weight bond
    	paper is off-white, ivory, light tan, light gray, or other conservative and conventional color
    	reproduction is clear, clean and professional
    	print is letter quality, never photocopied