How to Write a Resume for a Job Application

A resume is essential for your job hunt. Even if you're filling out job applications online or forms provided by an employer, you still need a resume that will market your best skills, experiences and abilities to employers.

Things You'll Need

• Resume paper
• Printer

Instructions

1. Center and bold your name at the top of the page. You want your name and contact information to stand out to the employer. Have professional email address.

2. List your education after the contact information if you're fresh out of college and have little work experience or you have an impressive degree. If you have considerable work experience, your educational information should be listed after your professional experience. Provide information about where you attended school, your graduation date and the degree you earned. Only indicate your GPA if it was over 3.0. Name any academic honors you received and any courses that are relevant to the job for which you're applying. If you don't have a degree, you may skip listing education altogether, but any training or certifications you've received are important to show an employer. List your dates of attendance if you didn't finish your degree.

3. Your work experience is the most crucial part of the resume. List your work experience in reverse chronological order with your most recent job first. Name the employer, the city and your dates of service. Include the month and year for the most accuracy. Go beyond just listing job duties and responsibilities. Write your experiences in terms of accomplishments. Describe what you did, how you did it and the results of your efforts. Employers want employees who are results oriented. If your work experience is limited, consider listing volunteer experiences and community involvement. Many of the things you do as a volunteer are essential skills that employers are looking for.

4. Create a section for special skills and competencies. Consider creating sections tailored to the job for which you're applying. For example, if you're applying for a job that focuses on writing and editing you would create a section for your published works.

5. Keep your resume clear, concise and easy to read. Format your resume so that the reader's eyes will move naturally from left to right. Make use of the white space. Don't write in complete sentences. Hiring managers tend to quickly scan resumes and are generally searching for key words and phrases that fit with the requirements of the job.

6. Proofread your reference and have someone else read it. Resumes should be perfect with no grammatical errors, typos or misspellings.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a separate list for your references and bring the list with you to the interview. Make the reference list to match the style, formatting and fonts you used to create your resume.

References

• Wisconsin Job Center: Resume Writing -- A Basic Guide