Rocket Career Center

Contact Information 

With visual appeal covered, let’s start at the top of the page. Make it easy for the prospective employer or graduate school to contact you with the following information:

• List your first and last name in bold type.
• Immediately under your name, list your UToledo email address.
• Next, list your LinkedIn profile URL portfolio URL, or website URL.
  • Before adding your LinkedIn profile URL, make sure it is complete, up to date, and professional-looking. Be sure to update your sites as you update your resume with new skills and experiences.
• Lastly, list your phone number

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME 

firstname.lastname@rockets.utoledo.edu | 000.000.0000 | www.linkedin.com/customlink/ 

Phone Number Tips:

1. Have a professional voicemail message connected with your phone number
2. Check your voicemails and emails regularly 
3. Answer your phone when you are in the season of job applications.
   • Do not answer your phone when the environment is very noisy, your conversation might be awkwardly interrupted, or in other situations that can seem too personal and unprofessional.

What about your address? 

In today’s virtual world, listing your physical address on your resume is not necessary. However, use your physical address if you live in the city where you wish to be employed or if you are applying for federal positions.

Summary or Professional Statement 

Career objectives are not considered a worthwhile statement on a resume according to recruiters. You should have your objective in mind, (what it is that you wish to achieve) just don’t list it on your resume.

A summary element on a resume is used for an individual who has an extensive resume. It describes your qualifications in 3-5 sentences and convinces the recruiter to read your entire resume.

EDUCATION

Degree

As a college student or recent graduate, your college degree is of foremost importance on your resume. List the full name of the degree you are pursuing, your major, and your expected date of graduation. For graduate degrees, list your dissertation/thesis title, concentration(s), and specialty(ties).

Order your education section in reverse chronological order, i.e., list your most recent degree first, then your next degree, and so forth.

Licensure

Professional programs such as Education, Social Work, and Nursing require licensure to be employed in those fields. You will want to list your licensure directly after your education, so it is easy for an employer to see you are qualified for the position.

Grade Point Average (GPA) 

Include your GPA if it is a 3.0 or above. This is a general rule of thumb. Some competitive majors such as Nursing require higher GPAs for admission so you may decide you do not want to list your GPA even if it is above a 3.0. Your GPA can be listed under your degree.

Resume writing tip: List your major GPA, instead, if it is higher and highlights you better. Be sure to title it as Major GPA.

Relevant Coursework

Resume writing tip: If your resume or CV lacks relevant work experience, you can enhance your resume or CV with the names of key, high-level college courses and unexpected elective coursework you have taken/are taking related to the position you are seeking. Separate your listed courses with commas.

Study Abroad

This is a great place for you to shine. Not everyone has international study experience. List where you studied, courses/topics, and key learnings from these study abroad experiences.

High School Education

For beginner college resumes, you can include your high school education information.

Resume writing tip: By the end of your sophomore year, we recommend that you remove it unless you graduated from a top high school in the city where you are seeking a position.

Work Experience

Relevant skills and competency-building experiences come from many sources including full-time work; clinical rotations; internships and co-ops—both paid and unpaid; and part-time, summer, and work-study positions. You will want to focus not on your duties in these positions but on the skills and competencies you developed in them. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) lists eight Career Readiness Competencies that you will want to consider and highlight in your experience sections.

• Write down all your work experiences.
• Include your most relevant, recent experiences that best showcase how your strengths align with the position’s requirements.
• List positions in reverse chronological order, i.e., begin with your current or most recent position

Writing Bullet Points

Writing effective bullet points for your resume is crucial because they provide a concise and impactful way to showcase your qualifications, achievements, and experiences.  

Using the WHAT-HOW-WHY-RESULT method ensures that your bullet points not only describe your responsibilities but also provide context and emphasize the positive outcomes of your actions. This makes your achievements more compelling and helps potential employers understand the value you can bring to their organization.

What + Why + How + Result = an excellent resume bullet

EXAMPLE OF THE WHAT+HOW+WHY+RESULT METHOD  

What: Created a brochure.  

What + How: Created a brochure using InDesign.  

What + How + Why: Create a brochure using InDesign to generate customer interest in the company’s new line of fall clothing. 

What + How + Why + Result: Created a brochure using InDesign to generate customer interest in the company’s new line of fall clothing, resulting in high praise from the Director of Marketing.  

Campus & Community Involvment 

Employers and graduate schools like to see students active both on- and off-campus because they, too, create and demonstrate skills. List your college-level leadership positions and describe your accomplishments in each role. Also, list any activities that may not have involved leadership but show dedication to a cause if they are related to the position you are seeking.

Rather than stating the purpose of the club or organization, describe the ways in which you specifically impacted its success. 

Technical Skills 

This section is especially helpful for highlighting hard, measurable skills that are relevant to your career goals. 

Include skills such as:

• Specific software programs (e.g., Excel, Adobe Illustrator, Python)

• Technical tools or equipment

• Foreign languages (include your proficiency level)

• Laboratory techniques and procedures