The Office of Career Services, Macon Campus
Getting Started on a Resume
IMPORTANT: The information presented on this page is meant to help you get started on developing a resume. You are strongly encouraged to meet with a staff member in Career Services to review your resume before you submit it to an employer.
To be competitive, you need to convince someone to interview you. A résumé is an employer’s first look at who you are and what you can do. If it’s done correctly, your résumé can lead to the interview.
Your résumé needs to communicate your potential for the “right fit” for the job.
Employers are interested in recruiting people who have skills and knowledge that fit their hiring needs. The content of your résumé should match the characteristics of the job you are applying for. Read the job posting carefully and use similar wording in your résumé.
Your résumé needs to look professional and have appropriate content.
Format and content are two key characteristics of a great résumé. Your résumé needs to be formatted correctly and organized logically. Some people include things that don’t belong on a résumé while others leave off important information.
What does an employer want to see when reviewing your résumé?
- Who are you? Name and contact information
- What do you want to do? Your goal or objective
- What relevant experience, skills and characteristics would you bring to the position you're applying for?
- Education
- Academic Degree (B.A., B.S., B.B.A., B.M.) and Major/Minor/Concentration
- Relevant coursework
- Demonstrated Experience
- Volunteer work, student organizations, etc.
- Paid work
- Skills
- Organization
- Leadership
- Problem-solving skills
- Communication
- Teamwork
What goes on your résumé?
- Contact Information: Name, address, phone number, e-mail address
- Objective Statement – A brief statement about what you want to do related to the opportunity you’re pursuing. Knowing what you’re applying for will help you create this statement.
- "A part-time position in a marketing or sales environment"
- "An internship in event management"
- "An entry-level position in sales"
- Education – Only your college education, including your expected graduation date
- G.P.A. – Only if it’s a 3.0 or above. Express as 3.9/4.0
- Relevant Coursework – Courses that relate to the opportunity you’re pursuing. Best used when applying for internships or when you have limited work experience in the area of work you're pursuing.
- Study Abroad
- Experience
- Internships
- Part-time or seasonal jobs
- Leadership roles in organizations, athletics, and volunteer activities
- Honors/Activities
What DOES NOT go on your résumé?
Never include this information about yourself:
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Religion
- High school education and activities (some exceptions may apply)
- Every job you’ve ever held - only those that demonstrate “transferable skills”
- Every organization you’ve been a member of - no “laundry list” or “resume fillers”
- Hobbies and interests, unless they directly relate to your objective
Make it brief and concise
One page! Why? You are applying for an opportunity, perhaps hundreds or thousands of other people are applying for. Employers receive so many applications and resumes; they can’t spend a lot of time looking at multiple-page resumes. Keep it short, but give good information.
Take time to have someone in Career Services review your résumé. It's important that it is without error and that it contains relevant information. Call Career Services at 478/301-2863 to make an appointment to meet with a member of the staff.
Sample Resumes - Below are just a few sample resumes. These are in Word document format, so you can download them, modify them and use them as a starting point to create your own resume. More sample resumes and cover letter examples can be found in the documents section of your BEARLink account.
- Internship Sample Resume
- Part-time or Internship Sample Resume
- MAPS Sample Resume
- Liberal Arts Based Sample Resume
- Engineering Based Sample Resume