What is a Good Resume?

Home  >  Campus Services  >  Student Services  >  Career Planning & Placement  >  Resume Help  >  What is a Good Resume?  

What is a Good Resume?

The word RESUME is a term used to define a summary of a person's life story. The purpose of this summary is to SUPPORT THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO A CERTAIN JOB. This piece of paper MUST communicate to an employer what you can do for HIM/HER.

A good resume...
  • is a marketing tool ?? not a personnel document. It's primary purpose is to help you land a job interview.
  • is about the job hunter ?? not about the job hunter's work history.
  • focuses on the future ?? not the past.
  • focuses on achievement or accomplishments ?? not on job descriptions.
  • documents and prioritizes skills the job hunter enjoys using ?? not abilities they used in the past just because they had to.
  • will motivate an employer to want to meet with you.
A good resume is not ...
  • informal, lengthy, unfocused, lacking in pertinent detail or overblown.
  • a good job search tool. A resume will never get a job. More often than not, your resume will get you screened out of the interview process.
  • an autobiography or detailed history of your life. Include only the information that tells an employer why they should hire you for the job they are trying to fill.