Alumni Resume Guide

Tips to remember when writing a resume:

Your education section will follow your experience section. The longer you have been out of college the further down your education section will be on your resume.

The resume should be no longer than two pages. You have more experience, professional accomplishments and memberships in professional organizations.

The employment information on your resume should provide more quantitative details. Describe your achievements in terms of revenue dollars. Supervisory positions should give employee numbers.

Utilize a Summary Statement to inform the reader. Summarize your relevant experience to attract the employer's attention.

View Resources

Helpful Hints

  • Sample Resume Headings
  • Margins - Have a good text/white-space balance, and centered on the page. Use ½-inch to 1-inch margins for top, bottom, right, and left.
  • Quantify results when appropriate (e.g., Organized event for 200 people which raised $3000).
  • Style - Highlight important facts and headings by bolding, underlining, indenting, capitalizing and/or using bullet points to attract the reader's eye.
  • Action Verbs - Use action verbs to begin statements describing skills and responsibilities.
  • Length - Be concise; a one-page resume is often adequate unless you have extensive experience that is applicable.
  • Paper - Use white or off-white resume paper only.
  • Errors - Be grammatically perfect and free of typographical errors.
  • Avoid personal pronouns (I, my, we, their).
  • Font - Use standard non-serif fonts such as Courier, Arial, or Times New Roman in a readable font size (no smaller than 10 point and no larger than 12 point).
  • No Personal Data - Do not include height, weight, gender, marital status, sexual preference, age, religion, health, number of children, or organizational affiliations.
  • Create a neat, well organized, and easy to read document.
  • Tailor your resume to each position you apply for.
  • Begin statements describing your skills and experience with action verbs.
  • Use buzz words from your field.
  • Get your resume critiqued by one of the Career Specialists or Peer Advisors.



Site Manager: Kim Teske
Last Updated: August 15 2007 4:34:17 pm
Published by North Dakota State University
306 Ceres Hall, Fargo, ND 58105
Phone: (701)231-7111, Fax: (701)231-8756
Email: ndsu.career.center@ndsu.edu