{"id":762,"date":"2025-03-01T18:46:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T18:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/?page_id=762"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:17:07","slug":"resume-writing-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/teaching\/resume-writing-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Resume Writing Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n  h1 { \n    font-size: 18px;\n    font-weight: bold;  \n   }\n    h2 { \n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-weight: bold;  \n   }\n   div.tip {\n     color: blue;\n     border: 1px solid black; \/* Example border *\/\n     border-radius: 10px; \/* Rounds all corners by 10 pixels *\/\n     padding: 10px; \n   }\n   li {\n   margin-left: 30px;\n   }\n<\/style>\n<h1>Resume Writing for Engineering College Students<\/h1>\n<h2>Overview<\/h2>\n<p>A resume is an organized summary of your qualifications, goals, accomplishments, and interests.<\/p>\n<p>Resumes are used to screen applicants for interviews and determine which candidates have the background that most closely matches with the employer&#8217;s requirements.   Important:    A well-crafted resume will tell the reader what you have accomplished and how these accomplishments have prepared you for what you want to do next.   This is often overlooked by students writing their first resume.   An effective resume shows that you are prepared and qualified for a specific position or career field.   It&#8217;s important to tailor your resume to each specific employment opportunity. <\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 1:<br \/>\nMost successful professionals in engineering are continually working on updating and improving their resume.\n<\/div>\n<h2>Resume Sections<\/h2>\n<p>Resumes are always broken up into resume &#8220;sections.&#8221;   These sections are mostly standard, but there are some optional elements (discussed below).<\/p>\n<p>Typical resume sections:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contact Information\n<li>Objective\n<li>Education\n<li>Honors\n<li>Coursework\n<li>Relevant Experience\n<li>Leadership Experience\n<li>Additional Experience\n<li>Specialized Skills\n<li>Interests\n<\/ul>\n<p>A description of each section is below.  Some sections are required sections for an entry-level resume or for a resume for someone with 1- 5 years experience.   Other sections are optional.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 2:<br \/>\nResumes are like snowflakes.   No two resumes are alike.   They will often have different resume sections that reflect your experiences, skills, and job that you are targeting.   Stylistically, they will also differ because of formatting, fonts and layout. <\/div>\n<h2>Contact Information (required)<\/h2>\n<p>This is the first section of the resume which goes at the top of the page.  It does NOT need a heading.   Some guidelines on this section:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Name includes first and last name\n<li>Address is current and located in the same region as employer\n<li>Phone number is the most direct possible\n<li>E-mail address is professional, including only minor variations of legal name.  Consider using your Manhattan e-mail address.  If you do not have a\n<li>professional e-mail address, then get one!\n<li>Information is properly spaced and centered on page\n<\/ul>\n<p>Below are some examples:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073316.png\" alt=\"Roger Danger contact info\" width=\"550\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073316.png 651w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073316-300x54.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073452.png\" alt=\"Polly Parker contact info\n\" width=\"657\" height=\"112\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073452.png 657w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073452-300x51.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073605.png\" alt=\"Edith Ester contact info\n\" width=\"582\" height=\"41\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-804\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073605.png 582w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073605-300x21.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Objective (optional)<\/h2>\n<p>This section consists of a single &#8220;objective statement&#8221; and is an optional section (some resumes have an objective section and others do not).   This section is helpful particularly for the following reasons:<\/p>\n<p>If you are an undergraduate student looking for part-time employment or an internship.   Stating this in the Objective section is appropriate.<br \/>\nAn objective statement can also be helpful if your resume education or experience does not clearly align with your career goals (for example if you were changing career fields).<\/p>\n<p>Below are some sample objective statements:<\/p>\n<p>To obtain an internship in process chemical engineering beginning summer 2020.<br \/>\nTo obtain a full-time position in chemical engineering following graduation in May 2020.<br \/>\nTo obtain a summer internship related to the development of systems for processing or managing bioresources.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073859.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"28\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073859.png 553w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073859-300x15.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 3:<br \/>\nThere is no \u201cright way\u201d to write a resume.   But, there are several &#8220;wrong ways&#8221; that can turn a potential employer off.    There is room for creativity in preparing a resume, but you should stay within the norms established in this guide.<\/div>\n<h2>Education (required)<\/h2>\n<p>List your post-secondary (i.e. college) education in reverse chronological order.   List the institution first, then the degree.  If you are a graduate student, start with the Master&#8217;s of Science in Chemical Engineering Degree.   You can abbreviate this as M.S. if you like.  If you are an undergraduate, start with Bachelor&#8217;s of Science in Chemical Engineering or B.S. in Chemical Engineering.   You will want to use your expected graduation date for degrees you are working toward.<\/p>\n<p>For example: <br \/>\nManhattan University, Riverdale, NY<br \/>\nB.S. in Chemical Engineering<br \/>\nExpected May 2020<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073849.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"52\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073849.png 598w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-073849-300x26.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Minors should be listed but should be subordinate to the B.S. or M.S. degree.    For example: <\/p>\n<p>B.S. in Chemical Engineering (Chemistry Minor)     or<br \/>\nB.S. in Chemical Engineering \/ Chemistry Minor    or<br \/>\nB.S. in Chemical Engineering with Chemistry Minor <\/p>\n<p>GPA should always be included if it is above 3.00.  Use 3 significant digits.  For example 3.45\/4.00.  <\/p>\n<p>Question:  Should you list a school you transferred from?    Generally, no.  While your coursework from the other schools contributed to your degree, you received your degree from only one school.   You will however, need to include those school in your formal application (online or manual depending on the company), and on your background check forms.   If you got an Associates (2-year degree) from one school and your Bachelors from another it is OK to include both of those.<\/p>\n<h2>Honors (or Honors and Awards, optional)<\/h2>\n<p>This section consists of a list of honors and\/or awards you have received.    This is an optional section.  Examples of honors and awards that should be include (when appropriate):<\/p>\n<p>Dean&#8217;s List (6 semesters)<br \/>\nManhattan College Presidential Scholarship, 2017<br \/>\nJ.W. Jones Construction Company Scholarship, 2017<br \/>\nManhattan College, Prutton Medal for Chemical Engineering (awarded to an outstanding senior), 2018<br \/>\nManhattan College, Omega Chi Epsilon Award (for service to Manhattan College and the Chemical Engineering department), 2018<\/p>\n<p>If you do not have any significant honors yet, it is ok to omit this section.<\/p>\n<h2>Relevant Coursework (optional)<\/h2>\n<p>Use this section to list courses you have taken that are directly relevant to the job you are applying for.   This is one of the sections here you will some variation in your resume.  For example, if you are applying to a pharmaceutical company, highlight coursework relevant to that particular industry.   Courses can be listed on one or two lines, separated by a comma or bullet.   <\/p>\n<p>If you are applying for an internship as an undergraduate, you will probably want to list relevant coursework.   This is because potential employers know you have not finished your degree yet.  It is helpful to see where you are in your academic career by looking at what courses you have taken.  <\/p>\n<p>This section is optional, and can be omitted when you build up a significant level of experience. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074443.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"610\" height=\"66\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-813\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074443.png 610w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074443-300x32.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">Resume Tip 4:<br \/>\nOver time as you advance in your career and complete your most advanced degree, the Relevant Coursework section usually gets dropped from a professional resume.   But, as a student this is an important section.\n<\/div>\n<h2>Professional Experience (optional for internship, required for full-time)<\/h2>\n<p>This section is the place for detailing your previous professional employment information.   This section can be called Work Experience, Work History, Employment History, Employment Experience, or Relevant Experience. <\/p>\n<p>This section typically includes the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Name(s) of the companies you worked for\n<li>City and state for each company\n<li>Titles\/positions you held\n<li>Your employment dates for each job\n<li>Duties you performed (important!)\n<li>This section can also include any promotions you might have gotten while on a job.\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074453.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"145\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-814\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074453.png 597w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074453-300x73.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you do not have any professional experience yet then leave this section off your resume for now.   See Resume Tip 5. <\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">Resume Tip 5:<br \/>\nThe Chicken and the Egg Conundrum:  How do you gain professional experience if you need professional experience to get your first job in engineering?<br \/>\nRemember that we all started with no experience!    If you are applying for an internship, many potential employers understand you will not have experience.   Apply for internships that are known to hire students without professional experience.  Stay away from companies that don&#8217;t (until you gain some).    Also, look for research opportunities within your department at school to gain some experience doing research. <\/div>\n<p>Use &#8220;action statements&#8221; rather than using lengthy sentences or paragraphs to describe your experiences. Each bullet should begin with action verbs. <\/p>\n<p>Short statements are  easier and faster to read and understand.   Also, be sure the grammatical structure of your  statements  is  correct  and  consistent.  Past  tense should be used when describing experiences you have already had.  Present  tense  should  be  used  only  to  describe those activities you are involved in now. <\/p>\n<p>Each experience begins with the employer\u2019s name and location.   For example:<\/p>\n<p>Dow Chemical Corporation (Newark, DE)<br \/>\nDow Chemical Corporation                                                                                                                          Newark, DE<br \/>\nEach experience includes your title and the period you worked there.   For example:<br \/>\nReliability Engineering Intern (May 2013 to August 2013)<br \/>\nReliability Engineering Intern                                                                                     May 2018 to August 2018<\/p>\n<p>Each experience includes concise descriptions of responsibilities and achievements.    Experiences listed should be relatable, applicable or transferable in some way to position you are applying for.   Each bullet should be succinct and begins with an action verb.    <\/p>\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Collaborated with consulting firms and contractors to ensure sustainable design in projects\n<li>Interpreted structural and piping drawings and verified location of transfer line piping throughout the plant\n<li>Analyzed and documented equipment specification information for comparison of best alternatives\n<li>Collected air content samples from various environments and maintained sample traceability\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some additional items to consider for the professional experience section: <\/p>\n<p>Experiences should be in reverse chronological order (i.e. newest comes first).<br \/>\nThe detail for each experience should  increases with recency and relevance of experience<br \/>\nEmployer, location and date information should be differentiated from bullet points by bolding or text size increase (see example resume formatting) <\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">Resume Tip 6:<br \/>\nGetting a full-time entry-level job usually requires at least one significant professional experience (i.e. internship).   Some desirable jobs have so much competition that they require two different professional experiences.    Use the summer break to gain these experiences!<\/div>\n<h2>Leadership Experience (optional)<\/h2>\n<p>This is another optional section that you should consider including if you have a significant example of leadership exeprience.   What is a &#8220;signifcant example&#8221;?   See below: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Engineers Without Borders\n<li>President or Vice-President of a professional society such as Tau Beta Pi, Omega Chi or student chapter of AICHE (membership in this societies would be in the\n<li>Honors section, not Leadership)\n<li>Student Government\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"45\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074614.png 592w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074614-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Additional Experience (optional)<\/h2>\n<p>As your work experience becomes more relevant to your field, you can drop this section until all of your listed work experience is relevant to your field.  Use a similar approach to this section as described above for Professional Experience.  <\/p>\n<p>Volunteerism is sometime listed as a separate resume section, but this would be a logical place to put any volunteer work on your resume.  <\/p>\n<h2>Specialized Skills (optional, but recommended)<\/h2>\n<p>This section allows you to show off what you can immediately &#8220;bring to the table&#8221; if you are hired.   It is optional, but recommended.   Skills can be generally broken up into different subgroups like Computer, Programming, Language, Laboratory and Safety. <\/p>\n<p>Some example computer skills:     Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Mathcad <br \/>\nSome example programming skills:     VBA, Fortran, C++, HTML, PHP, Python, Matlab, R Studio<br \/>\nSome example language skills:  Spanish, French, etc. <br \/>\nSome example laboratory skills:  Gas chromatography, UV-Visible Spectrometry<br \/>\nSome example safety skills:  Certified in first-aid, volunteer fire-fighter<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074601.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"42\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074601.png 573w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-074601-300x22.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Interests (optional, but recommended)<\/h2>\n<p>Potential employers want to see that you are well-rounded.    This section could be an excellent way to show the employer you\u2019re a good fit outside of the professional skills and abilities section.     It also helps to separate you from the crowd.    Interests on a resume fall into a &#8220;good&#8221;, &#8220;better&#8221;, &#8220;best&#8221; classification.  <\/p>\n<p>Best<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;best&#8221; interests to include on your resume show the employer why you\u2019re a good fit for the job and have some level of professional relevance.  Examples of the &#8220;best&#8221; interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Working on Chem-E Car\n<li>Working on Mini-Baha\n<li>Mentoring\n<\/ul>\n<p>Better<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;better&#8221; interests to include on your resume show the employer you are hard-working and unique.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Long-distance running\n<li>American history\n<li>Theater\n<li>Chess\n<li>Traveling\n<\/ul>\n<p>Good<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;good&#8221; interests to include on your resume show the employer you are a well-rounded person and give them a sense that you will fit into their culture. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Archery\n<li>Gardening\n<li>Bike-riding\n<li>Hiking\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stay away from the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Listing irrelevant hobbies \u2013 (i.e. \u2013 sports, cooking, television, movies, video games, etc).\n<li>Anything political\n<li>Controversial issues\n<li>Dangerous activities\n<\/ul>\n<p>Question:   How many hobbies or interests should I list?<br \/>\nKeep this section small and towards the very end of your resume. You can put in 2-3 of the ones you feel are most relevant. Avoid too many words or overcrowding this section. This should be just a small piece that helps the overall message you\u2019re conveying to the employer, that you\u2019re a good fit.<\/p>\n<p>Be Prepared to Answer Questions!<br \/>\nIf you include an interests section, be prepared to answer questions on what you list as your interests! <\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 7:<br \/>\nShould you include an Interests section on your resume?   Ask yourself the following question:  &#8220;Would someone looking at your resume be impressed by what your hobbies or interests are?  Is it relevant in anyway to the position you\u2019re applying for?&#8221;  If the answer to both of these are &#8220;no&#8221;, then leave this section off.   Re-evaluate in six months when you re-visit your resume. <\/div>\n<h2>RESUME FORMATTING<\/h2>\n<p>Fonts<\/p>\n<p>A prospective employer is looking at your resume for a short period of time.   Therefore, a font that is aesthetically pleasing and grabs the employer&#8217;s attention is preferred over a hard to read font.  <\/p>\n<p>Serif versus sans-serif fonts:   The small features on the ends of strokes in some fonts are known as \u201cserifs.\u201d  Some common serif typefaces are Times New Roman, Georgia, Palatino and Garamond.  In contrast, common sans-serif typefaces include Arial, Helvetica and Tahoma.<\/p>\n<p>Some general guidelines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Serif fonts are easily readable at small sizes\n<li>Sans Serif fonts really stand out in large titles.\n<li>Serifs can display on monitors poorly at small sizes.  This is becoming less of an issue with improvements in technologies like retina displays, and 4k resolution, but the vast majority of displays are still low resolution when compared to print.\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stay away from the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Times New Roman &#8211; too common.\n<li>Calibri &#8211; the default Microsoft Word font.   It shows you didn&#8217;t give much thought to fonts in your resume!\n<li>Futura &#8211;  a &#8220;quirky&#8221; looking font.  Best to avoid.\n<li>Courier &#8211; a typewriter font.\n<li>Comic sans (obviously!)\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Safe&#8221; resume fonts: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Arial.  If you want to use a sans-serif font, Arial is a good option.  But, it is very commonly used (a drawback).\n<li>Lato &#8211; a good alternative to Arial, a sans-serif font.\n<li>Gill Sans &#8211; a sans-serif font.\n<li>Garamond &#8211; timeless serif font, a good alternative to Times New Roman.\n<li>Constantia &#8211; a new serif font developed by Microsoft &#8211; part of their ClearType collection.\n<li>Georgia &#8211; a serif font that has letters with thicker strokes that make it easy to read even at small sizes; was created specifically for clarity on computer monitors.<\/ul>\n<p>For more information on fonts:   https:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/5331-best-resume-fonts.html<\/p>\n<p>Additional questions about fonts:<\/p>\n<p>Should you use more than one font on your resume?      No.   It can be distracting!<\/p>\n<p>Should you use more than one size?  Yes.  It is appropriate to use a larger size for headings and a smaller size for the text. <\/p>\n<p>Font size:  try to stay between 14 pt (for headings) and 10 pt.   Never drop below a font size of 9 pt.  The text becomes too small to read. <\/p>\n<p>Font color:  use black.   You can dress-up your resume with one additional color but don&#8217;t over do it.<\/p>\n<p>Margins<\/p>\n<p>Your   resume   margins   serve   two   purposes: <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Contributes  to  the  visual  appeal &#8211;  margins  that are too narrow can  make  your  resume  appear  jumbled,  and  overly  wide  margins  can  project a perception of emptiness.\n<li>For print copies of your resume, provide  your  prospective  employer  with  space  to  make  notes.<br \/>\nRule of thumb:  set your margins at one inch on all sides to create a well-balanced design.   If you desperately need more  space,  decrease  the  top  and  bottom  margins  slightly, but avoid decreasing the side margins.\n<\/ol>\n<p>Number of Pages<\/p>\n<p>One Page vs. Multiple Pages &#8211; which to use?<\/p>\n<p>Rule #1:   Current college students looking for an internship or new college graduates and other entry-level job seekers should have a one-page resume.    Why?\n<\/p>\n<p>The applicant does not have enough relevant experience to fill more than one page<br \/>\nThe situation requires the resume to focus on coursework and\/or other leadership activities that connect you to the job you are seeking<br \/>\nThe resume must meet the potential employer&#8217;s expectations of a one-page resume.<\/p>\n<p>Rule #2:  Expand your resume to multiple pages only when your work experience calls for it, but never before you gain at least 2 to 5 years of full-time experience.<\/p>\n<p>More information can be found here.<\/p>\n<p>Indenting<br \/>\nEnsure all text is all properly indented and the formatting retains continuity throughout entire document. <\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 8:<br \/>\nBe consistent!  Make sure font size, spacing, bullets and capitalization are the same throughout your document.  Did you notice this font was smaller than the previous tip?<\/div>\n<p>Paper Selection &#038; Printing<br \/>\nResume Paper<br \/>\nWhen printing your resume, be sure to use a  professional quality paper.  A bond paper in a solid, conservative color, such as white, ivory or light gray, is ideal.  Dark colored paper and patterned paper should be avoided because your resume may be photocopied for review by more  than one person, and dark or patterned paper does not  copy well.  <\/p>\n<p>Printer<br \/>\nA laser printer should be used to print your resume with the watermark of the stationary right-side up and face forward.  If ink from a laser  printer becomes damp, it will not smear as easily as that from an ink jet printer. <\/p>\n<p>Electronic Version<br \/>\nFile Type &#038; Name<br \/>\nWhen preparing your resume to e-mail to a  prospective employer, be sure you save it as a file type that is commonly used.  The two options are Adobe PDF and Microsoft word docs.   Adobe PDF is the best choice because saving your resume as a PDF file maintains its design and format.   Adobe PDFs also open faster than Microsoft word documents. <\/p>\n<p>Also, be sure to name the file appropriately.   File names such  as \u201cLastname, Firstname Resume.pdf\u201d allow the recipient to  easily save the file to his or her computer and quickly refer to a particular individual\u2019s resume.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\nResume Tip 9:<br \/>\nDon&#8217;t  rely  on  spell  check!   Proofread  your  resume  and  have  several  others  proofread  it.   Spell check will not catch spelling errors that result in actual words.  Grammar checkers will not catch errors like their vs their.<\/div>\n<p>A FINAL CHECKLIST<br \/>\nBelow is a final resume &#8220;checklist&#8221;.   Make sure you have checked your resume for the following:<\/p>\n<p>Is your complete contact information at the top of the resume?<br \/>\nIs it completely, 100% free of spelling mistakes?<br \/>\nIs it completely, 100% grammatically correct?<br \/>\nFor an entry level position, does it fit on a single page?<br \/>\nIs the font size within the acceptable range?<br \/>\nIs the font type one of the acceptable fonts?<br \/>\nDoes the experience section use the appropriate action words?<\/p>\n<p>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n<h2>Examples of Action Verbs<\/h2>\n<p>Use &#8220;action statements&#8221; rather  than  using  lengthy  sentences  or  paragraphs  to  describe  your  experiences.  Each bullet should begin  with  action  verbs:<\/p>\n<p>Administrative Skills<\/p>\n<p>approved, arranged, cataloged, classified, collected, compiled, dispatched, executed, generated, implemented, inspected, monitored, operated, organized, prepared, processed, purchased, recorded, retrieved, screened, specified, systematized, tabulated, validated<\/p>\n<p>Communication Skills<\/p>\n<p>addressed, arbitrated, arranged, authored, corresponded, developed, directed, drafted, edited, enlisted, formulated, influenced, interpreted, lectured, mediated, moderated, motivated, negotiated, persuaded, promoted, publicized, reconciled, recruited, spoke, translated, wrote<\/p>\n<p>Creative Skills<\/p>\n<p>acted, conceptualized, created, designed, developed, directed, established, founded, illustrated, innovated, instituted, integrated, introduced, invented, originated, performed, planned, revitalized, shaped<\/p>\n<p>Financial Skills<\/p>\n<p>administered, allocated, analyzed, appraised,  audited, balanced, budgeted,  calculated, computed, developed , forecasted, managed, marketed,  planned, projected, researched<\/p>\n<p>Helping Skills<\/p>\n<p>assessed, clarified, coached, counseled, demonstrated, diagnosed, educated,  expedited, facilitated, familiarized,  guided, referred, rehabilitated, represented<\/p>\n<p>Management Skills<\/p>\n<p>administered,  analyzed, assigned, attained, chaired, contracted, consolidated, coordinated, delegated, developed, directed, evaluated, executed, improved, increased, produced, scheduled, organized, recommended, strengthened, oversaw, planned, prioritized, reviewed, supervised<\/p>\n<p>Research Skills<\/p>\n<p>clarified collected critiqued diagnosed evaluated examined extracted identified inspected interpreted interviewed investigated organized , reviewed, summarized,  surveyed<\/p>\n<p>Teaching Skills<\/p>\n<p>adapted,  communicated,  encouraged, guided, persuaded, advised, clarified, coached, coordinated, developed, enabled, evaluated, explained, facilitated, informed, initiated, instructed, stimulated<\/p>\n<p>Technical Skills<\/p>\n<p>assembled, built, calculated, computed, designed, devised, engineered, fabricated, maintained, overhauled, operated, programmed, repaired, solved, remodeled, upgraded<\/p>\n<h2>Example Resumes<\/h2>\n<p>Sample 1:   Undergraduate looking for first  internship experience.   The layout of this resume is &#8220;1-column&#8221; where the headings are left-justified and directly above each section&#8217;s content.   Use this format when you don&#8217;t have quite enough material for your resume to fill out a &#8220;2-column&#8221; format (see example 2 below).  Font is Lato (a sans-serif font), with one color, and simple, consistent formatting.   This resume makes the appropriate use of bold and italics. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Roger-E-Danger-resume-sample.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"732\" height=\"892\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Roger-E-Danger-resume-sample.png 732w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Roger-E-Danger-resume-sample-246x300.png 246w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sample 2:   Undergraduate looking for second internship experience.      The layout of this resume is &#8220;2-column&#8221; with the headings for each section in a narrow first column that is left justified.   Font is Constantina (a serif font), with one color, and simple consistent formatting (note how the dates are right-justified).  This resume makes the appropriate use of bold and italics and uses a single horizontal line to separate the contact info section from the rest of the resume. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Polly-Parker-resume-sample.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"697\" height=\"866\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Polly-Parker-resume-sample.png 697w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Polly-Parker-resume-sample-241x300.png 241w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sample 3:   Undergraduate about to graduate, looking for first full-time job.  Edith is almost ready to drop &#8220;Additional Work Experience&#8221; from resume.   Font is Garamond.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Edith-Ester-resume-sample.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"688\" height=\"877\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Edith-Ester-resume-sample.png 688w, https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Edith-Ester-resume-sample-235x300.png 235w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Resume Writing for Engineering College Students Overview A resume is an organized summary of your qualifications, goals, accomplishments, and interests. Resumes are used to screen applicants for interviews and determine which candidates have the background that most closely matches with the employer&#8217;s requirements. Important: A well-crafted resume will tell the reader what you have accomplished &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/teaching\/resume-writing-guide\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Resume Writing Guide&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":6,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":822,"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/762\/revisions\/822"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rich.carbonaro.me\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}