CAREER AND LEADERSHIP CENTER

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Business Resume Revision Checklist

Prior to submitting your resume to the Business Resume Collection, make sure it stands out.
Use this checklist as a guide.
FORMAT / PRESENTATION
Follow basic resume formatting standards
Margins should be inch or more and resume should not appear cramped
- Use between a 10 and 12 point font and a highly readable, traditional font
style (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, etc.)
- Listings within each section should be in reverse chronological order
- Spacing, tabbing, justification and other formatting should be consistent
Keep your resume concise and easy to read limit it to one page
- Avoid personal pronouns and articles (the, a, an, me, my)
- Use bullets anywhere you have 3 or more sub-points
- Hit the high points; do not mention every activity, job, or award be selective
- Exclude references since business firms do not require these
Recheck your resume to ensure that it is flawless before you submit it
- Scan the resume for grammatical and spelling errors
- Use present tense for ongoing work and past tense for completed work
- Ensure that the resume is easy to comprehend and scan at a glance
- Make sure that you are leading with categories that best present your
experience
- Have someone else review it!
LEADERSHIP / ACHIEVEMENT
Highlight your leadership experience
- Consider creating a leadership experience section in your resume if
appropriate; this can include undergraduate/volunteer activities, jobs,
internships, etc.
- Describe ways in which you took initiative, lead a productive team, innovated
a solution, or managed a project; when possible, include results
Make your resume achievement-oriented!
- Use a variety of action verbs to describe your accomplishments
- Focus on accomplishments, achievements and results, rather than processes,
tasks, and minor responsibilities ; make sure you are addressing how much,
how many, what were the results?
- Be detailed and quantify your accomplishments whenever possible
- Focus on depth over breadth; rather than listing 10 different experiences,
consider highlighting 3-5, but really bringing out your leadership,
accomplishments, and transferable skills
Leverage your Teach For America experience to demonstrate leadership and
achievement
- Highlight quantifiable wins in student achievement and other classroom
gains

RELEVANCE TO TARGET OPPORTUNITY

Tailor your resume to the industry and specific job position
- Research firms websites and/or review the job description to identify the skills
and qualifications that are needed to succeed in the position; make sure your
resume reflects these skills (see below for Skills Checklist)
- Relevant experiences (e.g. previous finance, consulting, or business-related
positions) should be given the most space
- Utilize vocabulary that relates to the industry
- Consider changing category headings or rewording experience for a better fit;
for example, your resume should not have a separate Teaching Experience
category
Include all relevant information related to your education
- Major(s), minor(s), or concentration(s) as well as academic degrees (e.g.
Bachelor of Arts or Master of Education) and graduation date and year
- GPA and SAT scores
- Relevant coursework (typically math, economics, finance, or statistics
anything that demonstrates analytical and quantitative ability)
- High school activities, experience, etc. should be omitted unless they are truly
exceptional/unique
Present your Teach For America experience in a relevant manner
- Frame your experience to fit your target job so business employers can relate
- Highlight transferable skills whenever possible (see skills checklist below for
skills business employers value most)
- Avoid using Teach For America or education-specific jargon
- Keep in mind that employers will view your resume alongside other corps
member resumes. Distinguish yours through including other unique
experiences you have gained prior to joining the corps
OTHER
Make sure your resume has all the necessary contact information
- Day and evening phone numbers (important note: make sure your voicemail
message is professional)
- E-mail address that you check regularly (important note: employers often email candidates to schedule interviews)
Review the following sample resumes to see how other successful candidates have
implemented the best practices listed above:
- Sample One: Before / After
- Sample Two: Before / After

Skills Checklist: Make sure to highlight the following skills in your resume
leadership experience
strong written and oral
ability to achieve desired results
communication
ability to work as a team
critical thinking/problem solving
ability to learn quickly
skills
quantitative/analytical abilities
commitment to excellence