How to Write a Resume for Horticulture
Resume writing can be a difficult task because it is often hard to look at yourself from someone else's point of view. Many individuals hire professional resume writers, but this service can cost hundreds -- and sometimes thousands -- of dollars. Doing it yourself is possible, but keep in mind that resumes for different industries will vary because they require different key words and place emphasis on different aspects of the career. Your horticultural resume will not look similar in style and phrasing to someone in politics. To write a professional horticulturist resume, follow some simple steps to create an accomplishment-driven document that will get you noticed.
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Instructions
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1
Choose a font. The font should be simple, such as Times New Roman or Garamond. Avoid swirly or strange scripts.Your name will be the largest text on the document, so your name may be in 14- to 16-point font while the rest is in 10- or 12-point font.
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2
Start the resume with your name as a heading. Center your name at the top of the page.
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3
Add your contact information after your name. Include your home address, email address and phone number. Make sure your email address is appropriate for a professional environment.
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4
Insert your objective, which should be bold and should be no more than three lines. The strength of your words should clearly convey your objective. Do not begin with "I." Instead, explain your objective while conveying your industry strengths. If you want to obtain a job as a Horticultural Manager, your objective may be "Horticultural Manager leveraging diverse industry experience to build peak performing teams for improving crop cultivation. Excels at protecting environmental assets and developing new transplanting strategies."
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List your career accomplishments after the objective. Label this section with the heading "Career Accomplishments" in a bolded font. Use quantifiable data, if possible, to demonstrate what you can do in terms of numbers. Use bullet points to highlight at least three accomplishments that you feel are the most important or pertinent. For example, if you helped in a major conservation project, you can start with a bullet like "Designed a three-week conservation project, covering 325 acres and protecting 784 species of plants for future generation use. Utilized cost savings strategies to complete project $15,000 under budget."
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6
Explain your educational background next if your degree is in horticulture or if you have horticultural certifications. List your degree, major (such as "B.S. in Horticultural Studies"), graduation year and school. Include any significant honors, awards or industry certifications below your degree. Recent graduates or college seniors may want to include their GPA. If you do not have a horticultural-based degree, insert your professional experience (see Step 7) first and then include your educational information.
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7
Include your work-related experience. Begin with your career history, inserting the most recent position first and then working backward chronologically. Include your job title, the company and the years you were there. Under each job, include bulleted accomplishments and responsibilities that highlight transferable skills and applicable experience. Begin bulleted phrases with actionable verbs as often as possible, such as "Utilized," "Researched," "Implemented," "Wrote" and "Organized."
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you use strong verbs that relate to your industry: you want to showcase your skills and accomplishments.
Try to keep the resume on one page, and, if you must go to two, make sure it is a full two pages. In most cases, if you have been clear and concise you shouldn't need to do this.
Finish by rereading your resume to make sure you use industry buzz words. For horticulture, these are words like cultivate, fertilize, collect, transplant and protect.
Separate major sections, like "Objective," "Career Accomplishments" and "Professional Overview," from one another with a blank space.
Separate information within a section on separate lines, but don't insert full blank lines.
Avoid using "I" throughout your resume. Keep it short, concise and clear.
