Our team looks at hundreds of resumes each year and requests input from employers and alumni so that we can offer the most up-to-date advice on how to write a great resume for CICS students. Everyone has different opinions so ask your contacts for feedback and decide for yourself.

We assess resumes in terms of organization, content, and formatting (in that order). The organization is key since recruiters might only spend seconds reading it before they decide. Content is how you convince them to interview you. And proper formatting is essential to show your attention to detail and ability to create quality work.

Start With Our Basic Resume Checklist ⬇️

• [ ] Keep the document to 1 pg and 1 column; see Word, GoogleDoc or LaTeX templates

• [ ] Include sections for Education, Skills, Work Experience, Projects (maybe Leadership, Research, Volunteering, Publications, Interests if space allows)

• [ ] Combine selective coursework in the education section and abbreviate without course numbers; include certifications and online courses. Limit section to 1 or 2 lines max

• [ ] At the top include full preferred name (with personal pronouns), contact info (school or personal email address and phone number without +1) and links to your LinkedIn, GitHub and/or personal website; no labels needed

• [ ] No need for a summary statement, objective, references, professional photo

• [ ] Under work experience header, include employer, role, and dates (location optional)

• [ ] Classify each line of technical skills (ex. Programming Languages: Java, Python); professional “soft” skills are best demonstrated in bullets versus listed

• [ ] Prioritize sections and content within sections based on relevance and importance

• [ ] Use "Expected Graduation: Month Year" instead of a span of time or "present".

• [ ] Include GPA if it is high (i.e., 3.3+) or else use higher major GPA

• [ ] Include higher ed transfer school details or undergraduate details "University of Massachusetts Amherst"

• [ ] Only use acronyms if they are common or first explained

• [ ] For each work experience or project, share 2-5 bullets explaining situation, tasks, actions, results

  STAR Method

  • [ ] S For situation, if the employer or role is not well-known, provide context as part of the first bullet or in the header
  • [ ] T For tasks, convey key responsibilities from your job description or project
  • [ ] A For actions, elaborate on the key steps you took to accomplish the task and be explicit about skills used / learned
  • [ ] R For results, check to make sure your bullets answer the question “so what?” Who did you help and how? Quantify when possible.

• [ ] Omit unnecessary words including: various, etc., basic, simple, a, the, I, we, our and avoid repetition of words except with important keywords and skills

• [ ] Match verb tense to dates (i.e., past tense or present if current role)

• [ ] Spellcheck, read aloud, and have someone else read your resume