Resume for Graduate School Admissions
Resume serves as a good supplement to
your statement and other application materials. Here you can
summarize all of your qualifications, honors, education and
interests.
Before preparing your resume, take
some time to evaluate your skills and think about those skills you
will want to highlight . Then make a rough draft. You can edit
later. There is NO one 'right' way to construct a resume. No matter
how you do it, there is bound to be someone who would suggest a
different approach.
In this particular type or Resume the
most reasonable format to use is Chronological Resume, which
presents work experience/education in chronological order by listing
most recent events first. See Sample Resumes.
The following are some general
guidelines, please tailor them to your needs and create a resume
which represents you in the best possible way.
What to Include
Basic Information
-Your name as you want to be referred to professionally (Jon Baker,
Jonathon Edward Baker, Jon E. Baker)
-Current address and phone number with area code (where you can be
reached now!)
-Your e-mail and web-page if you have one
Objective
Including an objective in this type of resume is optional. Career
objective should answer this question, "What do I want to do?"
Some example objectives are:
-Acceptance to graduate program in Physics
-Research position in biochemical laboratory
Educational Background (for
each degree conferring institution)
-Institution
-City, Country
-Dates attended or graduation date
-Degree or certification obtained
-GPA (if proud of it)
-Major/minor/emphasis area
-Relevant coursework
-Specialized instruction
Experience
This part of your resume may include several sections such as work
experience, volunteer experience (internships, community service,
student teaching), campus leadership and any other area in which you
may have significant experience, such as computer knowledge.
Briefly describe for each position:
-Title, dates, organization name, location
-Responsibilities
-Use action words and verbs in active form to describe situations
and achievements
-Include scope of responsibilities
-Concretely outline any outstanding results
Honors/Activities/Leadership/Special Skills
Front load these with those most important or most pertinent to your
objective. You may want to use specific headings such as
professional organizations, computer skills, leadership positions.
Include any honors, scholarships or recognition awards that you've
received. If you were actively involved in any clubs, teams or
committees while in college, those may be included also. The key to
this section is keep it brief. If you feel you need more detail, use
the guidelines for Experience and make it a complete section.
Interests
List some your interest which show you as an interesting and
well-rounded person.
Resume Checklist
Here is a quick and easy way to see if
your resume is ready. Self-rate your resume according to whether
each item is W (Well done), T (needs a Touch up) or N (Needs work).
You may also want a friend to use the same checklist on your resume
in order to get a more objective opinion.
Content
-name, address, and telephone numbers are included
-uses positive statements
-contains all and only objective-related information. Does not
include extraneous information such as marital status, height
-is an advertisement of you, demonstrates your ability to produce
results
-is an accurate reflection of you and your experiences and abilities
Layout
-is limited to one page, unless you have extensive work or
educational experiences
-uses white space consciously and balances words on the page
-is laser printed on quality paper (20# white)
-uses consistent visual elements to attract attention and emphasize
highlights (bold, italics, underlining, font sizes, bullets)
-use standard sans serif typefaces such as Helvetica, Futura,
Optima, Universe, Times (not 10 pt.), Palatino and New Century
Schoolbook, in size 10-14.
Writing quality
-is clear and concise (easy to read and understand)
-is consistent, using similar style throughout
-uses a variety of action verbs which describe situations and
actions
-is perfect! Absolutely no typos, spelling errors, or grammatical
errors
-uses appropriate tense (usually past, unless currently in activity)
-avoids passive voice
Other
-has been critiqued by several people
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