Résumé Guidelines
WHY IS YOUR RÉSUMÉ IMPORTANT?
Your résumé is the collective yet specific reflection of your skills and experiences. It can illustrate your initiative and ability to communicate effectively. It’s a marketing tool to persuade an employer to offer you an interview.

WRITING TIPS
These guidelines are provided to assist you in putting together a coherent and impressive document. Make sure to individualize your résumé with a style and layout that you like and that’s a positive reflection of you.

Formatting
• • Use a 10 or 12 point font for the body of your document so it’s easier to read. Create visual appeal by using a minimal amount of font variations (such as font type and case, bold, italics, and underlining). Avoid a cluttered and crowded look by using single-spaced lines, sufficient margins, and space between sections. Print on one side. The maximum length of a résumé is two pages. Include your name and the page number in the header or footer on the second page. • • • • Avoid résumé template such as those provided in MSWord. Use good quality résumé paper that’s conservative in colour. Staple the two pages of your résumé together; do not use a folder or report cover. Use MSWord, RTF, or TXT formats when sending your résumé electronically (via email or an on-line form) because it’s important to both preserve your layout and ensure that the text can be read if your résumé is scanned for key words.

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Résumé Language
• • • • The average résumé is read for less than 30 seconds so write clearly and concisely. There must be no grammar or spelling errors. Have someone proofread your résumé. Twice. Be consistent. Once you’ve chosen a font style, spacing of text, or bullet type, stick with it. Ensure that the dates of events or duration of employment are consistent and use months and years. Make no assumptions: employers may not know the meaning of “MATH 1A03” but will recognize “Calculus”. • Spell abbreviations out in full on first use. Only abbreviations such as CBC or IBM need no such treatment. Except for your Profile, use point form. Highlight skills and accomplishments in each phrase when describing your experiences. Link transferable skills (e.g., organization skills) with examples of how they were developed or used while undertaking a particular duty (e.g., performing experiments). Include in each statement an action verb indicative of the function performed or the skill demonstrated

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WHAT SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED?
Canadian employment laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace also apply to the interview process. As such, questions probing race, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, marital status, family situation, or disabilities are illegitimate, and you therefore should not provide this information on your résumé. (If you are applying to work in another country, however, the requirements may differ.) It is also inappropriate in Canada to include your photo on your résumé. Also be advised that it’s important to research the résumé requirements of the organization to which you are applying and learn the basic résumé conventions of the country before filing your application.

Science Career & Cooperative Education Burke Science Building Room 127

www.science.mcmaster.ca/scce (905) 525-9140 ext. 27898

PUTTING YOUR RÉSUMÉ TOGETHER
There are many different ways to write a résumé, but they usually contain five basic components: Header, Profile, Education, Work and/or Volunteer Experience, and Extracurricular Activities. The version described below is used because it is clear, concise, and the format is easy to read. This is general résumé advice. An employer may ask for a specific format that may be different than what we’ve provided here.

Header
• • • • Either school or permanent contact information (or both) may be included—this is a personal decision. Use bold and a large font size to make your name the most prominent words on the page. Avoid the obvious: don’t label your résumé with “Résumé” and don’t precede your name with “Name”. Use your McMaster or other professional generic email address. Also be aware that many companies have filters that do not accept emails from Hotmail or other public internet accounts.

Your Name
1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1 905-525-9140 namey@mcmaster.ca

Profile
• • The purpose of your profile is to let the employer know who you are, what competencies you possess, and to what position you are applying. Profiles are optional. If you choose to use one, tailor it to the position and the company that you are applying to by selecting the most appropriate skills and experiences to highlight.

Bachelor of Science graduate from McMaster University with a specialization in Environmental Science. Hands-on experience and training in ___, ___, and ___ seeking the opportunity to be employed with ABC Company as a Hydrology Specialist. Team player with solid communication skills and the drive to help your organization succeed.

Education
• List your educational background in reverse chronological order.
EDUCATION Honours Bachelor of Science – Biology McMaster University, Hamilton, ON 2004 – present Class of 2008

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Minor in ___ (if applicable) McMaster Entrance Award Scholarship (2006) for academic achievement in secondary school (state the name and year you received the award, and why it was awarded to you — e.g., for academic excellence) Technical or Lab Skills include ___ Courses of Instruction include ___ (list 3 to 5 of your most senior courses related to the position) * Major Projects (this could be a thesis or project — include the project name and describe your responsibilities) Also include job-relevant seminars, workshops, or training programs if you have not mentioned them elsewhere

Skills
• • • • • This section highlights skills learned through employment or volunteer experience; skills learned only at McMaster in an academic activity should be listed under Education. Include computer skills, language skills, and any other type of skills that are pertinent to the position such as operating certain types of equipment. Be sure to use an adjective to characterize your abilities. Group similar skills into sections such as laboratory techniques or statistical software. Do not list your transferable skills in this section: they are included in the job or volunteer experience bullets. If you have a second language, specify your ability to speak, read, and write (e.g., “fluent” or “conversational”).

Science Career & Cooperative Education Burke Science Building Room 127

www.science.mcmaster.ca/scce (905) 525-9140 ext. 27898

SKILLS

• Proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel, and working knowledge of PowerPoint • Competent working with statistical software such as MATLAB, Minitab and SAS • Familiar with Reference Manager and Microsoft Access • Successfully completed WHMIS safety training course • Fluent in verbal and written Cantonese, experience in conversational Spanish
• • • List experiences in reverse chronological order and include responsibilities, transferable skills, compliments or commendations, and good evaluations with relevance to the position to which you are applying. Learning to use your résumé bullets effectively is very important because you have only limited space to communicate the value of your experiences to your (hopefully) future employer. Limit your bullets to the most relevant marketable aspects of your experience; mention not only the activity involved (e.g., data entry) but focus on the transferable skill involved (e.g., attention to detail). This is what creates value in the experience, because the skill is a characteristic that you possess and can therefore be transferred from one kind of work (e.g., bank clerk) to another (e.g., research assistant). Here is an example using an experience that many of you have on your résumé: Old • provided customer service New • demonstrated excellent communication skills by attending to more than 50 customers daily • Ensure that bullets are listed with most relevant or impressive accomplishment first.

Work Experience

WORK EXPERIENCE Job Title (if you didn’t have one then create one) Employer, City, Province, (Country if necessary) September 2007 – present (Part-time)

• Use point form • Often start each point with an action verb - past tense “ed” for previous jobs, and “ing” or no ending for present positions (e.g.,

• Quantify, describe, and specify. Give results for each point: it will illustrate your transferable skills. Use facts, figures and statistics in bullets much like these:

coached – coaching – coach. See the SCCE web site for examples of action verbs.) Starting with an adjective is also advisable. Be varied in your language to avoid repetitiveness.

• Demonstrated initiative and organization skills in creating weekly lesson plans for introductory geology course and supervised a class • Excellent communication and presentation skills recognized with a Teaching Assistant of the Year Award, which is voted on by the entire undergraduate population of 100 first-year undergraduates

Volunteer Experience
• • • List your volunteer background in reverse chronological order. Include relevant volunteer experience in professional associations, clubs and societies; include any offices held. Also relevant are campus activities such as club involvement.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE President McMaster Science Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON May 2007 – present (Volunteer)

• Follow same guidelines as work experience • Indicate whether a position was elected or appointed, and any associated noteworthy achievements

Extracurricular Activities (Optional)
• This section lets your potential employer know about your interests outside of work. Be specific when listing your activities, and include examples that indicate well-roundedness but don’t jeopardize professionalism.

Science Career & Cooperative Education Burke Science Building Room 127

www.science.mcmaster.ca/scce (905) 525-9140 ext. 27898

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

• Active fitness hobbies, including marathon running and intermural soccer • Volunteer Stage Manager for Dundas Little Theatre • Enjoy reading science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein
• References can come from past or present employment, volunteer work, and educational experience, and are used primarily to validate information that you provided in your application (such as personal qualities or technical abilities). Personal references may be appropriate, but should be secondary, if used at all. Your references are listed on a separate (third) page that uses the same header as your résumé. (You may state “References available upon request” at the bottom of your résumé.) Display reference information as follows:

References

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Name Job title Name of Company or Organization Full mailing address Telephone number E-mail address Relationship to you (optional)

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Provide references from at least three individuals who will comment favourably on your skills and abilities, and be sure to obtain permission from each person before using doing so. Do not include references with an application unless requested by the employer, and always bring a copy of your references to job interviews. Send your résumé, cover letter, and the job description to your references once you’ve been selected for an interview so they are prepared for the phone call from your potential employer. After the interview, inform your references about the outcome of the interview and send a thank you note or email to them.

MS WORD TIPS

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Do not repeat all of your contact information on the second page. Include only your name and the page number. Use the header function (View menu; Header and Footer). Go to the File menu, choose Page Setup, and on the Layout tab check the box for Different First Page. We recommend the use of Tables to help you organize the information in your résumé. Tables will allow you to more easily add, move, and format text. For example, the Work Experience example above shows “September 2005 – present” and “(Part-time)” aligned on the right margin. You can most easily use Alignment on the Format menu to position that text if it’s within the cell of a table; do not use the space bar to place or align that text. An alternative to Tables is the use of the Tabs function on the Format menu.

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Science Career & Cooperative Education Burke Science Building Room 127

www.science.mcmaster.ca/scce (905) 525-9140 ext. 27898