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Your resume content should be organized into sections such as Education, Experience, Activities, and Skills. Adjust your section titles to fit your experience and work history. For example, if you have a good deal of student leadership experience in ����̽̽ clubs, you can create a section titled Student Leadership. This video shares ways you can develop the descriptive content in each of your various sections.  

What is a resume?

A resume is a document that provides a concise outline of your work-related experiences and academic background. It tells a story about you - your skills, experiences, responsibilities and accomplishments.  

In a job search, the purpose of a resume is not to get you the job, but an interview. Resumes are a screening device for employers so they can decide whether you are someone they would like to meet and learn more about.

For More In-Depth Advice

Check out the step by step videos and tutorials in our Brightspace organization. From building your first resume to landing your first job, our series of self-paced learning modules to help through every stage!

Ready for feedback?  and get personalized tips within 48 business hours (you do have to enroll in our Brightspace site, but don't worry, it's easy and instantaneous). 

Resume Guidelines

These guidelines are general suggestions, not hard and fast rules. Resume content, format, and style may vary according to individual preferences and career fields (e.g., what is creative in marketing or publishing may not be appropriate for finance or physical therapy).

• Know your audience: Include experiences that are relevant to the work you seek. Use keywords of the field. If you don't know them, do some research.
• Advertise your strengths: Write powerfully, beginning your statements with action verbs. 
• Focus on accomplishments and results: Use numbers and/or percentages when possible to make your examples more specific and impressive.
• Make your resume skimmable: The body and layout should be concise. Write in fragments, not sentences. Put fragments in paragraph form or list them with a bullet point or other symbol preceding.
• Use clear and articulate writing: Proofread multiple times and review for grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Resume Content

Your resume content should be organized into sections such as Education, Experience, Activities, and Skills. Adjust your section titles to fit your experience and work history. For example, if you have a good deal of student leadership experience in ����̽̽ clubs, you can create a section titled Student Leadership. This video shares ways you can develop the descriptive content in each of your various sections.  

Action Verbs

Begin your descriptive statements with action verbs. These have an immediate impact and help a reader envision you in a particular role. Plus, they are easily skimmable. Here's a to help you add more depth to your descriptive statements.

There are many ways to structure your resume. Check out these sample student resumes. 

Sometimes companies will filter out your resume without a human reading it. This AI-powered tool helps you tailor your resume to fit a specific job description to give you a better chance of landing an interview. This is especially useful if you’re applying to a large company or in the tech field.  

About Jobscan

Whether you choose to include your military experience on a resume is a personal choice. The skills gained through service, including leadership, teamwork, communication, work ethic, and more, are highly sought after by employers - highlighting them effectively can help improve your candidacy. If you do choose to include service experience, it's likely that a hiring manager will not be familiar with military terminology or references, so use common language.

Additional Resume Resources

Resume Tips for International Students

As an international student, remember to:

• Exclude your international addresses or any other personal information (e.g. birth date, photo). 
• Include your language skills and fluencies, but do not include English if you are using the document for applying to positions in the US.

A good cover letter: 

• Answers the question: “How will you help the organization meet their goals?”
• Links your accomplishments and skills to the job requirements. Why should they care about the items in your resume? Lay out how and why you would make a difference at this organization.
• Is unique for the particular position. You should not re-use cover letters for multiple positions.
• Should focus on how you will contribute to the organization, not just provide your life story.
• Does not reiterate your resume, but provides context for some of the items on your resume.

Preparation and Organization

• Carefully review the job description and identify key skills and experiences that the employer is looking for.
• Include your address and the employer's address in blocks at the top of the page.
• Whenever possible, address your letter to an individual within the organization rather than "To Whom it May Concern." Review the job description or organization's website, or call the organization to obtain the name and position title of the contact. If you cannot find the information, start your letter with "Dear Search Committee,".
• Your cover letter should be no more than one page and will typically have 3-4 paragraphs. You do not need to indent paragraphs.

Paragraph 1

Explain why you are applying to this particular position and this particular organization. What is interesting, exciting, or unique about the role or company? This could be their culture, size, location, mission, products, constituents, projects, etc. Why are these important to you? Provide the name of the position you are applying to within this paragraph. Optionally, you can mention who referred you to the job or internship.

Paragraph 2

How will you help this organization meet their goals through work in this position? In addition to addressing your experiences and skills, detail why they would matter for this position. Analyze the job description and be specific about how your skills/experiences connect to the position responsibilities. You can use the format: “I have had experience doing ABC, which would enable me to accomplish [these goals] in this position.”

Paragraph 3

Reiterate your interest in the position and thank the reader for their time and consideration. Close by signing your name (typed is fine).

Review examples of cover letters to get an idea of how they can look (but be sure not to copy them -- yours should be unique!). Ask someone (a Career Center or Writing Center staff member) to proofread your letter for its effectiveness, tone, and grammar.

Your online is presence is important because that is often what employers will see first. We recommend you keep your Handshake and LinkedIn profiles complete and updated. Check out some tips below. 

Handshake Profile

Handshake is is the leading college-to-career network for more than 750,000 employers worldwide!

More than just a job/internship database, Handshake helps you discover opportunities you might not have found otherwise. Kind of like Netflix suggesting a RomCom because that was what you watched last Friday.

It's worth taking the time to complete the survey and start your profile. Students with a complete and updated profile are 5 times more likely to be messaged by a recruiter. 

LinkedIn Profile

A resume is a formal and objective list of your experiences and skills. A LinkedIn profile, on the other hand, is less formal and a more complete story of who you are as a professional and a person. 

While your education and work experience are essential components of your LinkedIn profile, it is normal to also include more personal details, such as a profile picture, your hobbies, and posts and comments that reflect your interests and values. 

Each person's profile will be unique, but there a few sections that should be complete:

• Profile photo: Your photo should be appropriate for your field (e.g. a pants suit vs. a lab coat). 
• Headline: If you do not have a job title, include your goal (e.g. “Aspiring Java Software Developer” or “Environmental Studies major interested in sustainable community development.”) 
• About: The About section of a LinkedIn profile is a chance for you to show the world who you are. There is no one right way to do this. If you feel stuck writing this part, .
• Education: Keep it up to date.
• Work experience: Again, keep it up to date and include descriptions of your accomplishments and responsibilities, like you would a resume.  

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Finding Alums ����̽̽ Connect

is an exclusive networking pltaform for Catamounts. 

Alums on ����̽̽ Connect have identified themselves as "Willing to Help", so you should not hesitate to reach out to them for any of your career-related questions.

Build Connections on LinkedIn

This short video shows you how to build your LinkedIn network and provides tips for connecting with other people.

LinkedIn enables you to connect with people from all over the world - so who do you reach out to? Connect to people who you know and trust: friends, family, friends of family, faculty, mentors, coaches, supervisors, etc.  

Pro Tip: definitely connect to fellow ����̽̽ers - classmates, professors and graduates!  Finding alums to connect with: 

• Type "University of Vermont" in the search box to access the official ����̽̽ page.
• Click on the "Alumni" link. 
• Use the 6 filters to find folks you're curious about - you can also use the keyword searches within the tool. 

Pro Tip: 

for reaching out to alums. 

Do Your Research

Spend time on the employer's website getting to know what they're about and discuss the position with people you know who might have insights into the organization. You should be prepared to talk about your knowledge of the organization and what contributions you think you can make to it.

Know What Kind of Interview to Expect

Interviews can take several formats depending on whether it's an initial screening or final interview, and whether it's conducted in person, over video conferencing, or by phone.

Initial screenings are often shorter and involve fewer participants from the company. Many employers conduct only a final interview, which can last anywhere from 30 min to an entire day. These may involve multiple representatives from the organization and sometimes involve giving a presentation or doing some form of assessment.

Tips for virtual interviews: Dress as you would for an in-person, check your device/software/connectivity so you're ready to start on time, and make sure to find an appropriate setting where you'll be free from distractions and noise interference.

Know Yourself

Be prepared to discuss how your strengths and abilities relate to the position. Provide examples from previous employment or activities to highlight your skills. Also, be ready to talk about your challenges or areas of growth. 

Practice, Practice, Practice

The more you think through and prepare appropriate responses, the more confident you will likely feel during the interview. Preparing thoughtful questions to ask your interviewer will also help you focus, reflect your research on the company, and demonstrate your interest. 

Say Thank You

Send a thank you note within 24 hours of the interview. It is a demonstration of your interest, appreciation, and professionalism. Handwritten notes are traditional, but email is often more practical and will arrive quicker. Your note should be professional, concise, genuine, and personalized.

A CV, or curriculum vitae, is a document that provides an extensive record of your academic and professional achievments. "Curriculum vitae" is a Latin phrase that means "course of life", so you can expect your CV to be very detailed.

You will need a CV if you are pursuing a role in research or academia. The purpose is to show your history and qualifications as a researcher, teacher or scholar. 

CV Guidelines

These guidelines are general suggestions, not hard and fast rules. CV content, format, and style may vary according to career fields (e.g., the categories a Mechanical Engineering student includes may differ from the categories a Counseling student includes).

• When to use: When applying to academic and research positions. 
• Purpose: To provide an exhaustive list of not only professional experience but also academic accomplishments, service and associations. 
• Length: Length varies according to field. Your resume will remain 1 or 2 pages, but your CV will continuously grow. 
• Format: Stay consistent in format throughout the entire document (use of bullet points, boldfaced type, italics, etc). 
• Font: Use a standard font and keep your font size 12. 
• What to include: All of your academic accomplishments. See below for suggested content. 

CV Content

• Education - schools, degrees and graduation dates. Recent graduates may included thesis/dissertation title. 
• Teaching Experience - positions held and courses taught. 
• Research Experience - project name, sponsoring organization and dates. 
• Publications - name of journal and article, co-authors if any and publication date. Consult the format of your field. 
• Presentations - name of presentation and conference, co-presenters if any and date. 
• Awards - name of award, who awarded it and date.
• Honors - name of honor, who awarded it and date.
• Professional Associations - membership/roles and dates of membership/service.
• Grants - name of grant, name of granting agency, date received, and title or purpose of research project.
• Academic Service - committees, offices held, academic projects, mentorship and any other academic functions not covered above. 

Tips for Getting Started

1. Make a list of all your academic endeavors (teaching, awards, organization memberships, publications, etc). 
2. Use the examples below as a guide. 
3. Look up your favorite professors at ����̽̽ and check their CVs to see if there are field-specific items that should be included. 
4. A good goal is to . If your CV is not growing, seek advice from professors, the Career Center or other colleagues/mentors in your network.  
5. More advice on CVs from an .

Examples

Below are just a few CV examples from different fields. Check out your favorite professor's ����̽̽ profile page or LinkedIn page to see how they completed their CV.

Applied Linguistics(PDF)

Anthropology(PDF)

Business Administration(PDF)

Electrical Engineering(PDF)

English and American Literature(PDF)

Environmental Studies-Agroecology(PDF)