Resume Guide

Summary / Objective

Follow your contact information with a brief summary of your aspirations, interests, experience, skills and/or objectives. The summary/objective provides the perfect vehicle for customization and should be, at most, three lines. Include a summary only if you have a clear and meaningful one. Forget "looking for a challenge." Everyone is. Remember that emphasizing your preference for working in a consulting office will eliminate your chance to consider an extraordinary corporate position, especially if the opportunity you are responding to is a corporate one. Have a different summary for different situations and positions.

Professional Experience

List your professional experience in reverse chronological order (current/most recent job first). Include dates of employment (month and year), name of company, a brief description of the company (“furniture manufacturer” or “small brand design consultancy,” for example) location, your title/position, and a description of your responsibilities.

If you have had a lot of experience and several jobs, plan a two-page resume, amplifying the description on the second page, and include the business results of your activities. Be specific about recent positions, but not about the ones held over 15 years ago.

Describe the details of project involvement, i.e., what you did, how many people you supervised, or how many people had responsibilities similar to yours, (one of three design managers, for ex.) and reporting relationships. If describing work in a consulting environment, name clients and the projects you worked on for them. List temporary employment only if it is relevant to the position you seek or in some way enhances your candidacy. Clearly indicate if you have been freelancing or working as a project consultant. Recent graduates should include professional situations such as summer, part-time, freelance and or co-op experiences. Remember that all information you provide is easy to check, and many large companies do. Do not claim a degree you do not have or an employer you did not have. Use accurate dates.

Education

Use reverse chronological order here too. Include the name of the educational institution, location, major/specialization, dates of attendance and/or dates of degrees, plus honors and awards received, if any. Recent graduates may include thesis subject and description, if relevant to their objectives. Do not list courses. Include high school only if it was geared to your professional objective. List any additional courses or training you have had since receiving your degree(s), as well as certificates earned