Once you have a rough draft of a resume you may need help polishing it. The best place to begin is by consulting with a Peer Counselor, available in Career Services on a drop-in basis. Please call X3343 or click here to find out the hours. You may find it helpful to see a Peer Counselor more than once until you are satisfied that your resume represents your qualifications in the best way possible. You may also make an appointment with a counselor and bring your resume with you. This is particularly helpful if you have issues in addition to the resume which you would like to talk about.

Remember: You will never send out a resume without a cover letter!

2. Resume Writing
Where To Start:

Review: Before starting to prepare a resume, take some time to think about who you are, what you have accomplished, and where you are heading.

Read: Literature on career planning is available in the Career Services Library. For instance, What Color is Your Parachute contains a number of excellent exercises to help you assess your skills and interests.

Self Assessment: Try the CHOICES computer program to help clarify your values as they relate to a career. CHOICES is available in the Career Services Library and on Colby's General Server (open the Career Services folder inside the Campus folder).

Career Services: Make an appointment to talk with a Career Counselor.

Focus: Determine where you are heading. While narrowing your focus from careers to specific jobs, you can always write several resumes with different objectives.

Gather Info: Use a data organization form to list and describe your education, jobs you have held, personal interests, and accomplishments.

General Resume Considerations:

Length: One page is preferable for a student or recent graduate. Resumes directed at the education profession (teaching) may be longer.

Employment Objective: Your objective is the position/job for which you are submitting the resume; it is the central and key factor in your resume. It should be reflected in all information you include on that resume. You may want to have more than one resume to emphasize different objectives. If you don't have room for the objective on your resume or if your resume is a general one which you plan to use in applying for a variety of jobs, you may choose to describe your objective in your cover letter rather than on the resume itself.

The objective must be concise and stated in as few words as possible. It should mention the type of organization and position you seek. Whenever possible, use a job title, such as "Assistant Buyer" or "Research Analyst."

Examples:
POOR OBJECTIVE (Too general): "A position which utilizes my skills and abilities in a challenging, team-orientedenvironment."

GOOD OBJECTIVE (Specific): "A management trainee position in a commercial bank."

Descriptions: Like most institutions, Colby has names and acronyms unique to the college, such as Jan Plan, COOT Trip, Stu-A, and Dana Scholar. Instead of these, use words that the reader can easily understand:

POOR: COOT Leader, 2000

GOOD: Leader, Colby Outdoor Orientation Trip.
Led and handled all arrangements for a four-day canoe trip designed to orient a group of nine entering freshmen to Colby and the Maine environment. Fall 2000.

POOR: Jan Plan Internship January 2000
Dangerfield Water Company Dangerfield, ME
Earned academic credit for research project and paper.

GOOD: Dangerfield Water Company, Dangerfield, MA
Research Assistant Conducted month-long independent research for county government. Summarized and reported Environmental Protection Agency's requirements, briefed town officials, assisted in the design of programs for compliance, drafted public relations materials. January 2000

Action Verbs
Descriptions should create vivid word pictures that will keep potential employers interested. Use action verbs to start sentences and paragraphs (avoiding the personal pronoun "I" Describe the results you have produced in the work you have done, rather than merely listing your duties and responsibilities. See attached sample resumes for description examples.

Action verbs reflect skills you have used in a job. Below is a list of action verbs which can be used in descriptions of your experience and extracurricular activities.

References:
Names of references should not be listed individually on a resume. You may include a single statement: References available upon request.If necessary you may include a separate page headed "References for [your name]" listing your references. A reference list should include the name, title, address, and phone number of each person on the list.

3. Producing Your Resume
Some Resume Writing Rules to Keep in Mind:

Don't include personal data such as height, weight, health, age, or marital status. Include only your full name, college and home address, and telephone numbers.

Save space by using standard abbreviations for the names of states (e.g., ME, MA). Do not abbreviate words an employer may not understand.

Don't include any salary information or street addresses of prior employers (city and state are sufficient).

Include high school academic honors when they are of major significance (National Honor Society, Class Valedictorian, National Merit Scholar). Include high school activities and employment only when they relate to your career objective.

Use phrases starting with action verbs, not complete sentences. Keep descriptions concise, but long enough to get across all pertinent information.

Avoid purely subjective statements in your resume ("I am an intelligent, diligent researcher"). These will be more appropriate in your cover letter or interview.

Use quantities, amounts, dollar values whenever they enhance the descriptions of your accomplishments ("grossed over $4000 during first summer managing an independent landscaping service").

Getting It On Paper:
Draft: Don't worry too much about how your rough draft looks at this point; you can polish it up later. Also don't worry about keeping a rough draft on one page -- just get it all typed. A couple of technical pointers:

Tabs: use tabs to line entries up vertically. Using the space bar to indent or line up columns looks correct on the screen but entries will NOT come out lined up when you print it.

Margins: Extend right and left margins to 1" before beginning. Once you have all of the information from your data sheet in the computer you can begin to shape it to fit onto one page and to present your qualifications in the best way possible. Do not right justify the text--it makes it difficult to work with when you update or change your resume.

Font: Choose a font that does not have a city name. We recommend Helvetica, Times, and Palatino for resumes and cover letters. Stick to one font in your resume. Changing fonts does not look professional. If your information doesn't fit on one page, try reducing the font size of everything except your name (leaving it in 12-point will make it stand out). 10-point is fine. 9-point type size is acceptable but not ideal. Different fonts take up different amounts of space and you may find that changing the font (for the whole document), even without changing type size, will make a difference in how your resume fits on the page.   

Headings: Arrange the sections of your resume in order of importance and relevance to the job for which you will be applying. Remember that if you plan to have a heading that uses the words "Related" or "Relevant" (...Coursework, Experience, etc.) you must have an objective for that section to be related to. Headings may be emphasized with bold type, italicized, or all CAPITAL LETTERS. Avoid underlining whenever possible.

Spacing: Be consistent in spacing between entries and between headings and sections. "White space" makes your resume easier to read, so take advantage of space you have left over to separate sections. Conversely, you may need to eliminate spaces to keep your resume on one page.

Style: Utilize bold, italic, or any combination to highlight important information. Be consistent in how you use these flourishes -- if you italicize your job title in one entry, do it for all job titles. If your resume may be scanned by a company you should not use any of these embellishments.

Proofread: And re-proofread, and then have at least one other person proofread your resume. One typo, spelling error, or goof could cost you a chance to be considered for the job you want. A Peer Counselor is available in Career Services to be one of your readers.

Giving Your Resume A Professional Look:
Printer: Use a letter quality or laser printer. When you have perfected your resume, print or duplicate it onto bond or linen paper--paper with some texture and weight to it. It is also best to print your cover letter on matching paper and mail everything in a matching business-size envelope. The best paper color choice is white or cream/ivory, without speckles. These colors allow for the best photocopies to be made of your resume -- something that may happen if a committee is reviewing your application.

How Career Services Can Help You:
Bring your draft or final resume copy to Career Services for a critique. We can give you a professional opinion on the quality of your resume before you put it on the line in a real-world situation. Stop by during our drop-in hours--no appointment needed.