What to include and what to avoid

Contact Information

It may appear obvious to include your contact information on a resume. However, many applicants forget crucial aspects of this when creating their resume. The heading of your resume is just as important as the content as it gives the employer the information necessary to contact you for a potential interview.

What To Include: 

  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address
  • Linked In: With social media being utilized more often you may consider including a link to your LinkedIn profile.

What to Avoid:

  • listing multiple phone numbers: Some potential employees will list both a cell and home phone number that they can be contacted at. Understand that employers may find this confusing as to how best to contact you. Make it easy and simple for the reader to understand how to contact you.
  •  Unprofessional emails: It is recommended to create an email that is strictly for business. This email should be professional and should avoid nicknames, complicated number schemes, and inappropriate language. Utilizing an unprofessional email address can leave employers with a negative first impression. For Example: An employer is more likely to call John Smith for an interview if his email is John.Smith@gmail.com rather than JohnHottie67890@gmail.com.
  • Complicated Fonts and Small Size: Your heading should be large enough that the employer can clearly see the name of the applicant he/she is reviewing. Also avoid fonts that may be difficult to read.

Work History

What to Include:

  • Action Verbs: Utilize action verbs to help pick words that describe what you had done.
  • Name of Business and Location: List the full name of the Business and avoid abbreviations if possible. One should also include the location of the business (city and state is sufficient). 
    • Temp Agency: This can be tricky when working for a temp agency. In this case first list the temp agency in which you worked and then the placement you were at.
  • Job Title: Make sure to include your official job title for each place that you worked. It is recommended that the job title is placed above the name of the business. This is an easy way for an employer to immediately see that you have experience in the field.
  • Employment Dates: Utilizing dates are important. If you are unsure when you began or left employment try contacting human resources or the business to obtain this information.
  • Responsibilities: Think about the duties that you completed while employed. To complete this try writing down every detail of an average day. Start selecting the details of the position that are most relevant to the new job that you are applying for.

What to Avoid: 

  • Inconsistency: Make sure to avoid bullet lists of job duties that are not consistent. Examples of consistent and non consistent are listed below. Notice that the consistent bullets all utilize past tense verbs to describe duties.  
    • Example: Consistent
      • Ran Point of Sales register
      • Maintained customer relations
      • Tracked Inventory
    • Example: Not Consistent
      • Ran point of sales register
      • Customer relations management
      • Merchandise displays development
  •  Tense of Verbs: Remember that the tense of verbs for previous jobs should be past tense. If you are currently employed make sure that your current position is listed with present tense when utilizing verbs

Education

What to Include:

  • Highest degree, training or certificate earned.
  • School or training program name and location
  • graduation or certification date
  • level of degree and grade point average if over 3.0
  • If you did not complete a degree or program still list the dates that you attended school and any credits/coursework that you may have earned.
    • Example: 
      • Midstate Technical College-Stevens Point, WI                           08/24/2010 – 05/30/2011   Coursework in Pharmacy Technician Program

What to Avoid:  

  • If your GPA is below 3.0 or if you have a strong work history in the field avoid including this on a resume.
  • If you have higher education credits remove your high school or GED information.

Skills / Qualifications

What to Include:

  • Customize: Utilize a job posting to customize your skills section.
  • Relevance: Skills listed should be relevant to the position that you are applying for.
    • For Example: do no include child caring skills is you are applying for a position in IT.
  • Separate: If you are applying for a position that has multiple types of skills that are important to the job try including multiple skills list
    • For Example: If you are applying for a call center position you may want to include a skills list for customer service and a separate list for computer skills.
  • Job specific skills and transferable skills
    • Job specific skills: are skills or abilities that show how you can excel in the position. They are usually specific to the job posted and can be attained through training, school, or experience
    • Transferable skills: are skills that can be utilized in every job. They may include terms such as communication, organization, and teamwork.

What to Avoid: 

  • Not updating: Your skills section should be updated to include new skills that you may have acquired since your last position or education.
  • Long narratives: Avoid listing long sentences or short paragraphs in your skills section. The information given should be concise and point hitting.