Occupational Wellness: Resume Writing Tips

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Occupational WellnessResume Writing Tips

• career.ucsd.edu

wellness.ucsd.edu
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Writing Your Resume

•  Heading  
• Type your name at the top in caps with large,
  bold type. Include your address, phone number,
  and email address. If you plan to move while your
  resume is in use, include your school address and
  your permanent address.
•  Objective
• Get focused on your job objective before writing
  the rest of the resume and tailor the resume to
  the job and the field.
• Clearly state the position you are seeking and
  whether it is a full-time or part-time job or an
  internship. You can also include the industry and
  any skills you want to emphasize. Avoid vague
  phrases that focus on what you will gain from the
  experience. Everything that follows on the resume
  should support the objective.

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Writing Your Resume

• Education
• Identify your degree, major, graduation date, and
  school. 
• Include education abroad and any relevant
  vocational schools, certificates, and job
  training.  
• You may include your GPA if it is 3.0 or higher.
  Employer expectations may vary.
• Course Listings  
• You may include a short list of courses to show
  experience, training, or knowledge in the field
  as long as  they are relevant to the job
  objective.
• Skills  
• Make your skills the selling point of your
  resume. Include specific skills that pertain to
  your objective such as computer languages,
  technical skills, and lab techniques. You may
  also include interpersonal and adaptive skills
  such as communication, leadership, writing
  research, teamwork, etc.
• Be sure to back up each skill on your resume with
  specific and convincing evidence.

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Writing Your Resume, cont.

• Experience
• If you have extensive experience, some of it
  unrelated to your objective, use two subsections
  related and additional.
• Use your most important and relevant experience
  to convince the employer that you have the skills
  necessary to do the job.  Articulate your
  accomplishments clearly and concisely using
  active voice to present evidence of your skills. 
  Career Services has an online list of action
  words to use in resumes.
• Optional information  
• You can include professional and extracurricular
  affiliations and activities, honors and awards,
  and sports.
• Items to avoid
• Keep references on a separate sheet and give to
  the employer when asked.
• Formatting
• Keep your resume to one page unless you have
  extensive related experience.
• Organize headings so that the most important
  points are first.
• Invite the readers' attention by using open
  space, wide margins, and bullets to set off text.
  
• Use good quality white or off-white paper.

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Career Specific Tips

• Arts and Communications occupations
• Most occupations in this field require
  portfolios.  Include a statement at the bottom of
  your resume  "Portfolio available upon request."
  
• You are encouraged to use graphics which will be
  seen as evidence of your creativity.
• Translate your past internships into job titles
  that accurately portray your duties, i.e. Public
  Relations Assistant, Video Production Technician,
  etc.

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Career Specific Tips

• Business occupations
• Avoid using "management" as an objective.  Focus
  instead on a particular business area  finance,
  marketing, human resources, accounting.
• Business employers like results to be sure your
  resume highlights specific accomplishments,
  instances where you exceeded goals, etc.
• Use numbers to give credibility to your
  experience  increased sales by 30
• Human Services occupations
• Employers view past volunteer experience as proof
  of your knowledge and commitment.
• Details of your education are less important than
  your skills or experience so put this section of
  your resume at or near the bottom.
• For teaching jobs, highlight any experience you
  had that involved working with young people.

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Career Specific Tips

• Life Sciences occupations
• List your research/lab techniques.
• Since employers will be looking for certain
  majors, list your education near the top of your
  resume.
• Place a strong emphasis on communication skills
  including bilingual ability for healthcare jobs.
• Technology/Physical Sciences occupations
• Employers in this field prefer objectives that
  are precise, so indicate what particular role or
  emphasis you seek.
• Be sure your resume is scannable and loaded with
  key words emphasizing technical skills.
• When sending a resume by email, convert the
  document to a plain text file, left margin
  justified, and don't allow the lines to exceed 70
  characters.

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Writing Your Cover Letter
Samples online at career.ucsd.edu

• Addressing  
• Always address the letter to a specific person. 
  Call the employer to get the correct name and
  spelling, the title, and address, email, or fax
  number.     

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Writing Your Cover Letter

• Introduction
• Begin with the purpose of your letter, stating
  the specific position or type of work you seek.
• If you were referred to the addressee, indicate
  by whom, using the name of a contact or mutual
  acquaintance.
• Second paragraph
• Tie your qualifications to what you know about
  the position or organization.   
• Tell them why you are interested in this field or
  company.  
• Make the reader aware that you have done your
  homework and know something about the
  organization and how it fits with your skills,
  strengths, objectives, and interests.

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Writing Your Cover Letter

• Closing paragraph
• Request the next step in the employment
  process  an interview.
• Be positive in your attitude expect an
  appointment or a response.
• Format  
• Use business letter format, block style, with
  everything beginning at the left margin.
• If mailing, use the same good quality paper as
  your resume.
• Keep it brief and concise.

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