If academics are your strong suit, you might want to mention a few of the classes you've taken that are particularly relevant to your career objective. Prioritize your list of classes in the order of their relevance to the employer. The first class you list should be the one that really makes the employer take notice.
Stick to listing classes in which you've performed well, and that are not typical requirements for your major. For example, if you're an economics major, everyone knows that you have to take micro and macro, so why bother mentioning them? Instead, you might list the seminar you took. Economies of the Third World. You can take some creative license with the names of the classes you've taken, as the official course names at many universities often shed little light onto their content. For example, you could modify the title "Calculus III" to read "Advanced Calculus." Also, it is best to omit from your list classes in which you acquired hard skills such as programming in COBOL or speaking French, as these skills would be more appropriately listed in your "Skills" section. If you've taken intro, intermediate, and advanced courses in the same subject area, only list the advanced course as it will be assumed that you took the prerequisites. Finally, if you conducted some particularly interesting research for a class, or wrote a paper that you're really proud of, then by all means describe those projects.
Stating your accomplishments on your resume is fine and dandy, but the real test comes when you're asked to discuss them on an interview. Sandy Kapoor, a Senior Technical Consultant at a major financial institution, warns that "if you list a project on your resume, make sure you know extremely well what you did and why. You'll need to tell me in detail why you approached the task a certain way. it's not enough to be good with the buzzwords… you have to answer the why's."
The "Experience" section is the heart and soul of your resume. This section can make or break you. Unfortunately this part is also the most difficult to write, particularly for those of you who prefer not to sing your own praises. The Experience section is a place to sing loudly about your accomplishments and achievements. Fundamentally, you are attempting to answer the employer's question: "If I hire you today, what can you do for me tomorrow?" To answer this adequately you'll need to offer concrete examples of your skills, and how you've used them to solve problems. You'll find that most employers are interested in practical solutions as opposed to theoretical speculation, unless of course they are looking to hire a theoretician.
Before you begin to write, arrange your accomplish ments in the order of their relevancy to the employer. At the same time consider what you would like to be doing in the future. Stress those skills that you most want to use, and play down or omit those that you'd rather leave on the shelf.
They can spice up your prose and give it a little bite. For example, instead of using passive constructions like "Responsibilities included selling raffle tickets," or "Duties consisted of designing logos," you could say "Sold raffle tickets" and "Designed logos." Remember to use the tense that accurately reflects when the activity took place. There is no need to use the " ing" form of a verb when past or present tense suffices. You'll also need a little help from our other friends, the adjectives. When possible and appropriate, try to quantify or qualify your accomplishments and responsibilities. Quantification in particular seems to work well in our numbers oriented society. Instead of saying "Counseled students and alumni," you can say "Counseled over 1,000 students and alumni annually." Or instead of saying "Resolved customer disputes," you can say "Resolved customer disputes in a diplomatic and sensitive manner."
Keep your descriptions brief and to the point. Six lines of text is usually more than enough. There is no need to burden the reader with superfluous details. You can always explain the finer points of the job on your interview.
Activities
For all of you current students and recent graduates, here's your chance to show the prospective employer that college is about more than just books and beer. This is an opportunity to demonstrate that you've had a well rounded college experience, enhanced by involvement in a variety of school and community clubs, organizations, and athletics. By mentioning your extra s, you are attempting to convey that you have developed certain abilities and personal qualities that will make you an asset to any organization. If you've been heavily involved in extra curriculars, but have had limited professional experience, you might want to bump your activities section ahead of your experience section. If your involvement has been moderate to light, it might make more sense to incorporate your activities into either your Education or Experience sections.
If you choose to create a separate Activities section, then you should describe each activity just as you would a job. Focus on accomplishments, results, and the development of new skills. List the name of the club or organization in which you participated, along with your title or affiliation. Dates are really not necessary for activities and only serve to clutter up your resume. If you've held elected office, make sure to mention this. Getting elected implies you've been able to elicit the support and confidence of others not an easy feat. Also note whether you've received any honors, awards, or official commendation as a result of your extracurricular involvement. Your first step in designing the Activities section is to create a prioritized list of all your activities. Begin with those that would be of greatest relevance to your target employer. Positions where you displayed leadership or had significant responsibility should come first (for example, treasurer, president, or founder of an organization). Also high on your list should be any involvement you had in activities related to your target field. For example, if you're interested in becoming a buyer at a department store, then it would be a good idea to stress the student fashion show you organized last year.
Some employers consider service oriented activities extremely important, as they indicate that your heart is in the right place. Another winner is involvement in varsity athletics. Many interviewers, especially men, love to chat about sports, and most have a good sense of the commitment, discipline, and drive required to compete at the college level. Lower on your list would come basic club memberships, particularly if you weren't a very active member. Never list an affiliation if you weren't genuinely involved with the organization. Many people do this because they think it ''looks good," but imagine how bad it will look on the interview when the recruiter grills you about a club in which you never actually participated.
There is some debate as to how employers perceive fraternities and sororities. This probably has a great deal to do with whether the employer was ever involved in a fraternity or sorority, and if so, whether or not they had a positive experience. Their view may also be contingent on the reputation of the particular fraternity or sorority in question. In any case, it is rather unlikely that the employer will hold anything against you just because you were involved with one of these organizations. And if by some stroke of luck the person interviewing you happens to be a brother or sister, then you could have clear sailing. At the very least you’ll certainly have something to talk about.
