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Crafting an Effective Resume

This page is taken directly from my guide on “How to Ace Your Next Internship Hunt!”

If you find it to be helpful, click on the card below for more resume and interview tips, tools, and resources!

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Overview

On average, employeers look at resumes for about “six to seven seconds”.

You have a very small window of time to stand out to the recruiter and showcase your accomplishments, relevant experience, and unique skills/interests.

A strong resume is essential in helping you to obtain an interview.

Your resume should be tailored for the specific type of role you’re applying to. This allows you to communicate your “fit” to the recruiter for this role, as well as who you are, what you want, and what you can bring to the company.

Some General Resume Tips:

Read through job description carefully and draw any relevant experiences that are of “fit” for this role.

Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) method/format to write bullets in communicating your “story” for each experience.

Make use of metrics and numbers to quantify success and impact for the bullets in each experience.

shows that you’re results-oriented and analytical

Keep it concise and make use of white space!!!

Optimize for easy scannability and readibility

List your past experiences in reverse chronological order

Most recent positions at the top

Emphasize relevant hard skills, avoid listing out soft skills and “rating” your skill level (i.e. do not include “beginner”, “intermediate”, etc).

ASK FOR FEEDBACK & Keep Reiterating!! Send your resume to your friends, family, mentors, alumni, etc to look over!

Zooming in

Header

do not include

personal address

objective/summary

do include:

Name, Contact info (phone number, email address, portfolio link, etc).

Education

Name and location of school; expected gradudate; degree & major

GPA is optional

can include relevant coursework, awards, honors, etc.

Other sections generally include: Work Experience, Projects, and/or Skills

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Crafting a Strong Resume - Resources

Source

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Notes

Pitt Computer Science Club: Crafting Your Resume

HIGHLY RECOMMEND (#H2P) - provides a comprehensive overview of how resumes are screened and practical tips on crafting an effective resume

Pitt Computer Science Club: Resume Proofreading Checklist

Follow this checklist to avoid common resume mistakes to stand out to recruiters

Harvard University - Office of Career Services: Resume + Cover Letter

Has a list of strong action verbs you can use for bullets on your resume; sample resume + cover letter

Carnegie Mellon University - School of Computer Science: Sample Resume

Sample Resumes based on Year: Freshman, Undergraduate, Senior, Graduate HCI, Graduate CS

Eugene Hayden: Sample Resume

Google doc resume template

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Note: Feel free to add more to this list for your own reference! Although the above resources are tailored more for tech-oriented internships, but the advice and tips can be generally applied to any type of role you’re applying to (i.e. reusme formatting, what to expect, etc).

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Your Application Materials

Resume

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Cover Letter

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