COM101 Business Communications
Task:
Writing your Résumé
Complete your contact information. Provide your full contact information at the top of the first page. Include your name, address, telephone number and email address. For resumes more than one page long, place your name in a header on every page. Your email address should be appropriate for a job application.
Consider including an objective. You might include a one-line objective that states you career goal. Employers have mixed opinions on this, but if you do so make it short and closely focused to the position you are applying for.
Outline your education and qualifications. Detail your education qualifications as appropriate. List the institutions and schools you've attended, in reverse chronological order. Give the date you achieved your results. You might include a bullet point or two to provide further information on your specialisation, if it’s appropriate. This section normally comes after your work history unless you're a recent graduate, in which case it will generally precede it. Include any honours or awards you achieved as part of your studying or training here.
Provide details of your work experience. List the positions you have held in reverse chronological order, with the start and end dates (month and year). In a chronological resume, the dates should be listed first, while they can be listed after the position title in a functional resume. Highlight the key tasks and responsibilities you had at each position, your achievements, and what skills you developed there. Use bullet points to make sure it is easy to read or scan through for key words. Include volunteer positions if they relate to the job you are seeking.
Have an extra skills section. Most of your skills will have been covered in your education and experience sections, but it may be useful to have a separate skills section where you can highlight any skills and knowledge you have that are relevant but does not fit in anywhere else. You can title this section as 'Other Relevant Skills', or just 'Skills'. This could include proficiency in foreign languages, knowledge of computer software and programs, and any other specific skills not previously mentioned.
Should you provide references? You should only include named references with contact information if they are specifically required for the application process. Often references will only be taken up later.
