Resume, References, Cover Letter Guide

• Your name: Should be larger and bolder than the rest of your resume
• Current or permanent address
• Cell phone number
• Email address: Now is the time to create a new email address outside of “@mcdaniel.edu. Use your email provider of choice (such as Gmail) to create a professional email address to use for job applications. YOURNAME@gmail.com is the best way to go.
• Web page address (if relevant): This can be your personal website, your LinkedIn Profile, or a link to your online Portfolio. 

Required:

• Name of degree-granting institutions with most recent first
• Degree received (such as Bachelor or Arts) and major
• Graduation date with month and year (or dates of attendance if a degree was not completed)
• Overseas academic experience (such as study abroad, dates, name of specific program/university abroad)

Optional:

• Minors, specializations, or focus areas.
• Honors and GPA (only if it enhances your résumé)
• Relevant courses (a maximum of five with specific course name (Professional Communication) and not course code (ENG 2212)
• Senior capstone project title and description
• If seeking particular certification after graduation consider including relevant information. For example, if CPA-bound, include “total credits: 150”

A summary of experience and accomplishments including jobs and internships. List most recent first and include:

• Position title
• Name of company or organization
• Location of company or organization (city and state)
• Dates worked (month and year)
• Descriptions of skills utilized, responsibilities, and accomplishments using Action Verbs. Use present tense for current positions only
• Believable, verifiable, and quantifiable accomplishments. For example, “Managed $100,000 budget”

Click here to learn more about writing accomplishment statements. 

This section should include campus involvement, volunteer work, and athletics. Follow a similar format as the work experience section of your résumé in this section.

Headers can include:

• Skills: use the section for hard skills such as computer programs/software, technical skills, etc.
• Languages: highlight any foreign language skills. Differentiate if you have a basic understanding, are conversant, or are fluent
• Interests: this information primarily serves as a conversation starter between you and an employer. List no more than three interests (such as finance, marketing, and travel)

• Ensure fonts are large enough that they can be read and margins are between 0.5 and 1.0 inches
• Save completed résumés as a PDF to ensure formatting is maintained when submitting electronically