Your resume is the key to opening the door to getting an interview. As an undergrad, you're not expected to have tons of work experience, but you need to make the most of what you have. Here are the 5 basic sections to highlight:
Header
Your header should contain
your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Although this section seems straightforward, don't underestimate the obvious. Make sure the format is clean and professional. Use a standard font and most importantly, do not list an unprofessional email address. If your email address is currently "partyanimal@gmail.com", then create a new one that includes your first and last name. Here is a short video with more tips on How to Format the Address Section.
Education
If you are
a student or recent graduate, place your educational information at
the top of your resume. Your academic experiences should be listed
in chronological order, beginning with the most recent experience. Watch this short clip for more tips on including information relating to: chronology, diploma/degree, GPA,
relevant coursework, studying abroad and high school.
Irrelevant work experiences can clutter
up a resume. It is much more effective to provide more detailed
descriptions around your more concrete work experiences than to just
list every experience you’ve ever had. How can you tell which experiences to
keep? This tutorial illustrates How to Feature Relevant Work Experience on Your Resume.
Activities
Your activities and leadership positions
can tell a lot about your professional and recreational interests.
The purpose of this section of your resume is to illustrate the competencies
you gained from these experiences. Job seekers tend to list too much information in this section. This video shows examples of
How to Format Activities and Leadership Experiences.
Skills / Interests
Listing your skills can help you stand out by adding more keywords to your resume. This can include include a list of various skills, including computer skills,
laboratory skills, foreign language skills, etc.
Although the interest section takes up
the least amount of space on your resume it is valuable because it is one of the few places where
you can show who you are.
Be as detailed as possible when listing your interests and focus on experience that is relevant to the position you are applying for. Don’t just
write that you like “sports”. Be specific and indicate that you like
a particular author or subject. Here's why you should Take the Interests Section on Your Resume Seriously.