Resumé

Personal information 

Include your name and contact information as well as other details, such as your LinkedIn profile. 

Content 

Summary of qualifications:

• Level of education and years of experience 

• Job-related skills and abilities 

• Organizations 

• Field of specialization 

• Technical skills 

• Written and spoken languages 

• Education 

• Work experience 

• Volunteer experience 

• Awards 

You can add sections to highlight your volunteer or community involvement, awards and achievements, extracurricular activities, areas of interest, etc. 

Format 

A resumé should be no longer than two pages, so be sure to follow these principles: 

• Clarity: Information is well organized, logical and readable 

• Conciseness: There is no repetition or redundancy 

• Completeness: All relevant information is presented 

• Consistency: Style and form are consistent 

• Up to date: The information is accurate and reflects your current situation 

Tips 

• Repeat your name and contact information in the second page header. 

• Use boldface for your name and phone number, as well as section headings and degrees, positions or job titles. 

• Reduce the left and right margins. 

• Align all dates to the right. 

• Be consistent in your alignment, spacing, font selection, punctuation and bullets. 

• Correct all spelling and grammatical errors. 

Page layout 

• Appropriate, clean and readable font (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman) 

• Font size between 10 and 12 points 

• Maximum of two pages (unless it’s an academic resumé) 

• Contact information in the second page header 

• Concise, simple and evocative style 

• Educational institutions 

• All degrees and diplomas earned, the years they were earned and the institutions are listed

• All awards are specified 

Experience 

• All experience relevant to your job search is listed. 

• You've used action verbs and key words. 

• Each example of experience is described in 3 to 5 lines and refers to a task or group of tasks. 

Grammar and spelling 

• You have read and reread your resumé, and you have had someone else read it to correct errors. 

• You have run it through a proofreading program (Antidote, Grammarly, etc.). 

Other ways to improve your resumé 

• Always tailor your resumé to the position you’re applying for, highlighting your most relevant skills and experience for that position. 

Skill-based 

• Allows you to highlight your skills if you have little to no experience. 

• Helpful if you have gaps in your employment history. 

• Focuses on your transferable or technical skills in research, communication, organization, etc. 

Chronological 

• Useful for highlighting relevant experience. 

• Contains a section describing your experience in reverse chronological order. 

• Allows you to add any other experience in a “volunteer” or “other” section. 

Combined 

• Ideal if you have developed skills outside of work (school, volunteer work, extracurricular activities). 

• Allows you to list the skills you have acquired through your work experience and extracurricular activities. 

Academic 

Perfect if your career goals are related to academia: 

• Research or teaching positions 

• Applications for grants or scholarships 

• Applications to graduate programs

This resumé is often longer as it includes experience, research, publications, awards, conference attendance, etc.