Resume Guide and Tips
RESUME ESSENTIALS: RULES FOR WRITING YOUR RESUME
The following guidelines have been developed to ensure that your resume is as accurate as possible
OFFICIAL SCHOOL NAMES:
College = College of Arts and Sciences (note: no undergraduate may list Annenberg as their school)
(Communication majors may list “Annenberg School coursework” on their resumes)
Engineering = School of Engineering & Applied Science
Nursing = School of Nursing
Wharton = Wharton School (not Wharton School of Business)
DEGREES:
College: All degrees are Bachelor of Arts. The College does not award a Bachelor of Science.
Wharton: Bachelor of Science in Economics
(note: Wharton Evening students receive a Bachelor of Business Administration)
Engineering: Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Bachelor of Applied Science, Master of Science in
Engineering
Nursing: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
GRADUATION DATE:
List your graduation date by month and year of your graduation (ie. May 2001). Do not use "Class of ____" or inclusive dates
(ie. 1999-2003)
MAJORS/MINORS, etc:
Students in the College and Engineering have majors. Wharton does not have "majors" in its curriculum, it has concentrations. Only students matriculated in Wharton (dual degrees or Wharton only) can list a Wharton concentration (thus, Communication majors in the Communication and Commerce track may not list a Wharton concentration).
Wharton offers NO minors. The Actuarial Mathematics minor must be listed as a "University Minor". The College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Fine Arts, and Nursing all offer minors to students in any school.
LISTING COURSES:
You may include any courses you have completed or are currently taking. If you include current coursework, it must be clearly indicated as such, for example "Current Coursework" or "Fall/Spring Semester Courses".
LISTING GPA:
If you choose to include your GPA on your resume, most employers greatly prefer that you report your overall (cumulative) GPA, though you may include your Major GPA (or some other sub-group). If you list anything other than your overall GPA, you must list the number of courses that have been used to arrive at that GPA, for example: GPA in English 3.63 (10 courses).
Your gpa must be listed exactly as it appears on Penn-in-Touch.
* please note*: Resumes that include a "Major GPA" (or other subset) without indicating the number of courses are not acceptable for any Career Services or On-Campus Recruiting functions.
Transfer students: You may list all the schools you attended, or just Penn. If you are just listing Penn (and opt to include your GPA), the above rules for listing your GPA apply. If you are listing the school(s) from which you transferred, you may include your GPA(s) from that school(s) , or just your Penn GPA. However, if you wish to include a "Combined GPA" which accurately averages both your transfer and your Penn GPAs, then you must list each of the schools you attended and the specific GPA at each.
You should plan to update your resume whenever there are any changes in your GPA, courses, activities, etc.
Please note:
Career Services staff reserves the right to check your resume against your official transcript to verify all information. Falsification of any resume information can result in your loss of recruiting privileges, and/or disciplinary action by your school Dean and/or the Judicial Inquiry Officer.
RESUME TIPS
A resume is a summary of your academic, employment and personal experiences designed to “introduce” you to potential employers, and hopefully interest them in interviewing you. Ideally, you should focus your resume toward a particular career field or industry, and you should concentrate on only the most pertinent information that your reader must know.
1. NAME, ADDRESS(ES), PHONE NUMBERS, E-MAIL ADDRESS
Can be centered or in left or right corners. If appropriate, include both a current address and a permanent address along with your e-mail address.
2. OBJECTIVE
Although inclusion of a job objective is optional, there can be real advantages in letting the reader know “up front” what it is you are looking for. The objective you identify should be specific, such as: “Assistant account executive position at an advertising agency.” Avoid phrases like “seek a challenging and responsible position.” You may want to have several resumes with different objectives and emphases.
3. EDUCATION, and (starting with the most recent) HONORS, AWARDS, AND ACTIVITIES
These categories can be combined or separated, as you prefer. If you were very active in school and can write paragraphs about your extracurricular activities, you are free to select only the three or four most interesting/impressive ones. Commonly known honors (Phi Beta Kappa) need no explanation, though lesser or unknown awards can be explained briefly. Be sure to include all honors, special awards and recognition you’ve received, though seniors should be very selective about what information they include from high school. Include your G.P.A. if it is 3.0 or above. You can list your G.P.A. in your major, provided you list the number of courses you’ve used to determine the average (i.e. G.P.A. in History 3.5 (8 courses), overall G.P.A.: 3.2).
4. EXPERIENCE
The way you structure the “EXPERIENCE” section will depend on what you are looking for, and what you have done. In many cases, one general heading titled “EXPERIENCE” will be appropriate. List what you’ve done in reverse order, from most recent backward. In some instances, however, you may want to divide your experience into sub-sections. For example, if you are seeking a teaching job, and have both a teaching and business background, two separate headings –one “TEACHING EXPERIENCE” one “ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE” –might have more impact than a single “EXPERIENCE” heading. Within each section, organize the information chronologically, from most recent. It is appropriate to include unpaid internships and volunteer work along with paid employment in your “EXPERIENCE” section.
6. PERSONAL (or BACKGROUND, SPECIAL SKILLS AND INTERESTS)
This is the place to put important and/or interesting information that employers may find intriguing but does not fit anywhere else. Such things may be special skills, foreign/computer languages known, travel/living abroad, sports, and personal interests. Be as specific as possible about your interests. Though this section is optional most employers are very interested in what “else” you do.
7. NEW WRINKLES IN THE RESUME BUSINESS
Attached are examples of “designed” resumes, which are printed on top-quality paper. If an employer specifies “scannable resume,” use no fonts smaller than 10 point, no italics, indentations, or horizontal or vertical lines (bold is permissible). While your “designed” resume is limited to one page, scannable resumes have no page limit. For questions about this, see a counselor or consult the homepage.
8. FINAL NOTE
Proofread. A resume with errors will quickly be eliminated by an employer.
