Resumes, CVs & Cover Letters
Resumes
A resume is a snapshot of your professional experiences and skills that will evolve as you focus on your career goals and gain more experience. Check out these top three resources to help build a strong resume:
The average recruiter or hiring manager spends 6 seconds reviewing a resume. Check out this resume guide that goes more in depth into how to meet criteria to make your resume as compelling as possible.
The top 6 factors in determining whether your resume moves to the next step in the process are:
- Formatting – organization and clarity are crucial in communicating your fit for the position
- Appropriateness for Role – study the job description to identify relevant skills and requirements that you can use to convey your strengths
- Evidence of Impact – take the opportunity to present relevant skills through accomplishments aligning to the role and any impactful involvement you have outside of class
- Job History – consider your job history and create a connection of experiences to explain the alignment of your career past with the position
- Content – ensure that content relates to the job and effectively communicates impact
- Complimentary Online Presence – sync your resume with your LinkedIn profile to show engagement and consistency in efforts. Use online presence to share additional content that may not be focused for your paper resume but does demonstrate your abilities.
Source: Glassdoor, August 2, 2017 “This is Exactly What Hiring Managers and Recruiters Look for When Scanning Resumes”
If you do not yet have a resume, or want to start from scratch, we have built out three templates which you may download and personalize to fit your needs and experience:
Industry-specific resumes highlight specific, relevant and tailored content. Here are sample resumes based on industry to help you create your own:
- Art and Design Resume
- Business Resume
- Computer Science Resume
- Creative Arts Resume
- Data Science Resume
- Education Resume
- Environmental Studies Resume
- First-Year Resume
- Government and Politics Resume
- Leadership Resume
- Marketing & Communications Resume
- Media and PR Resume
- Non-Research Science Resume
- Performing Arts Resume
- Pre-Health Resume
- Research Science Resume
These additional resources and tools can help you build strong resumes, cover letters, and CVs:
- Resume Checklist - Provides a brief outline for the construction and content of a resume
- The Reference Page - Need to provide a list of references? This PDF gives a brief guide on creating one.
- Resume Do's and Don'ts - Make your resume strong by avoiding some common mistakes.
- Resume Deep Dive - Use this thorough resume guide to help you construct your resume and build out your content.
- Resume Builder spreadsheet and video tutorial - This is a great resource to begin building a strong resume.
Do you have language skills that you want to include on your resume or CV? View the Interagency Language Roundtable webpage to assess your level of proficiency on the scale used by government agencies, including the Peace Corps, the State Department, and many more. If applicable, use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CERF) webpage to assess your level of proficiency on the scale used by the Council of Europe.
Experience-Specific Examples
From athletics to Greek life to thesis research, if you have had a specific experience that you would like to highlight on your resume, check out these examples. More examples coming soon...
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Fostered inter-team leadership and participation by working as a liaison between athletic administration and team representatives resulting in increased collaboration and communication.
- Collaborated with 5+ team representatives to write a Statement of Impact addressing student-athletes’ concerns, presented findings to school administrators and continued follow-up until actions were taken.
- Engaged community partners to develop weekly athletic programs, including a get-active program for local 4th graders, and hosted 5 large-scale events such as ‘Pink Night’ and ‘It’s on Us’ increasing breast cancer awareness and the fight against sexual assault.
- Coordinated and organized weekly team events that created a trusting and supportive atmosphere between both men’s and women’s teams.
- Addressed and solved problems and conflicts that arose for teammates by using mediation skills and motivational interviewing to help navigate difficult emotional situations.
- Won two athletic awards (Most Improved, New Blue) in 2021 acknowledging work ethic and perseverance in and out of the pool.
- Balanced a full class load with an aggressive training schedule of 20+ hours per week while maintaining 3.820 GPA.
- Collaborated with team members during weekly swim practice to achieve individual and team goals.
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Navigated the program’s transition to remote by adapting to scheduling changes and communicating with both volunteers and program coordinators, resulting in 15 online engagement events with average attendance of 25
- Communicated and cooperated with 7 fellow program leaders to plan 10 joint community events, facilitating inter-community connections with 85 students from different programs
- Held orientation for over 30 new volunteers, including registration process set-up for volunteer roles with Odd-Fellows to successfully pair them with seniors and activities they were interested in
- Facilitated weekly meetings with 4 student program leaders to support them in volunteer coordination, event planning and navigating partnerships with local schools.
- Acted as liaison between school leadership and program leaders to communicate tasks and progress, ensuring on-time completion of projects and high-quality programs.
- Planned and executed a Holiday gift drive and gift-wrapping event, supporting 25 local families through food, clothing and gift-card donations.
Mentor Program Volunteer , Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA Jan. 2020 - Present
- Interacted weekly with a first-grade boy at risk for Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) to provide social-emotional support and build trust
- Used motivational interviewing and active listening skills and acted as a role model to increase likelihood for future educational, emotional, and career success
- Provided detailed written and verbal updates to the case social worker on a weekly basis to ensure continuity of care
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
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Recruited over 25 volunteers and trained them on multimedia and presentation technologies to meet the symposium’s technological and organizational needs
- Solicited and reviewed feedback from the campus community in a timely manner using Google surveys to ensure the symposium’s format addressed people’s needs
- Collaborated with a team of 6 student leaders to develop and host a campus-wide, multi-day learning event, serving an audience of over 800
- Collaborated with a team of 8 Residence Life administrators and 3 student staff to ensure a safe living environment for over 100 students
- Mediated conflicts between residents, and engaged in active listening to propose compromise-and-cooperation-based solutions
- Compiled and distributed weekly staff meeting notes using Google files to create programming records for future Residence Life use and increase organizational structure resulting in better communication and follow through
- Facilitated “Gender & Sexuality” and “Race and Equity” workshops for 150 students that addressed complex topics in order to generate a more inclusive college environment
- Led chapter operations of 80 women by executing recruitment, biannual fundraisers, and alumnae events, cultivating chapter morale, and making hard decisions to ensure the chapter’s positive impact on the campus and community
- Instituted a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion position and coordinated monthly DEI programming with Greek and unaffiliated groups to create a more inclusive atmosphere
- Documented and shared minutes from both executive and chapter meetings via email and Google documents to increase transparency, resulting in better communication and organizational structure within the College
- Revitalized shrinking club by formulating new objectives, mission, name, and brand to build a more inclusive and engaging space for all Asian and Asian American students.
- Managed club operations, including leading monthly meetings, securing materials and location, and managing an annual $1200 budget, strengthening the club’s organizational structure and operational processes.
- Created targeted social media posts and visual content using Canva and Instagram increasing average club meeting attendance by 150%.
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Provided one-on-one support and competent outdoor leadership for a group of incoming first-year students of varying outdoor experience levels which created an inclusive learning environment for all participants
- Managed trip logistics through organized documentation and task delegation regarding supplies and distance traveled to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the hikers
- Collaborated with multiple trip leaders to confirm consistency across outdoor techniques and instructions to hikers resulting in better communication and program experience
- Organized Whitman’s climbing competition using event and project management tools to help foster community among over 300 collegiate climbers.
- Secured sponsorship donations from various companies to provide competition winners with prizes and generate enough product for raffles at each of the seven Northwest Collegiate Climbing Circuit schools.
- Reached out to over 500 prospective sponsors via email and phone and procured ~ $8,000 worth of product for the seven participating schools.
- Communicated with 7 other NC3 coordinators via Google documents and weekly calls to review fundraising progress leading to on-time delivery of sponsorship packages.
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Represented fellow peers as a member of the Student Affairs Committee by collaboratively writing and voting on legislation
- Vetted ASWC funding requests for student engagement events hosted by on-campus clubs and groups to ensure regulatory compliance and high-quality programs
- Advocated for change on campus through student interaction and open communication with faculty and administration
- Trained over 30 new ASWC representatives on proper bylaw interpretation through in-person sessions and written guides, ensuring understanding of procedure and effective operation of student government
- Facilitated conflict management through investigation and impeachment proceedings, communicating with multiple parties simultaneously to reach the best solutions for student leaders and organizations
- Collaborated with 3 committee members on election planning and advertisements, increasing Spring 2022 election voter turn-out for ASWC student officials by 100%
- Conducted and transcribed 2-4 weekly interviews, using interpersonal and journalistic skills, to gather topic knowledge and content for weekly articles
- Scheduled a minimum of 3 weekly meetings with different interviewees, using time-management skills and tools, including Google Calendar, to ensure on-time delivery of interview transcripts and article drafts to newspaper editors
- Wrote weekly news articles on local topics ranging from 400-800 words using AP journalistic style while consistently meeting strict submission deadlines
- Negotiated prices with agents of musical artists, using a $50,000+ budget to hire bands for on-campus performances attended by up to 30% of the student body.
- Envisioned and set up performance venues, sourced student volunteers, and collaborated with sound technicians to ensure operational efficiency.
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Tutored over 30 students in beginning to intermediate German language classes using a variety of teaching skills to foster understanding of class content and language comprehension
- Assigned additional readings and writing activities to students in their areas of difficulty, and hosted weekly conversation classes which resulted in improved grades and comprehension of the material
- Collaborated with several professors on tutoring assignments to ensure proper understanding of topic area, appropriate use of practice tests for mentees and accurate explanation of class content during tutoring sessions
- Assisted professor in an intro-level CS course focusing on program design and problem-solving using Python by offering tailored advice to students based on their learning styles and content knowledge
- Held weekly office hours for 40 students to review key topics and assignments, assist with test preparation and provide study tips resulting in improved student academic performance
- Adapted to an online system of mentoring over Google Meet, Zoom, and phone; utilized the screen sharing feature to assist students with editing their code
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- Collected over 950 flower-visiting insect specimens, keeping detailed records and following field safety guidelines to ensure minimal impact on habitat and flora
- Collaborated with other student researchers to pin, organize, identify, and label specimens from 4 projects to be used for thesis research project
- Analyzed and compiled numerical and biological data using Excel to be included in undergraduate thesis and to present findings at an Entomological Society of America conference and Whitman Undergraduate Conference (April 2022)
- Collected information on property taxes, land use, and ownership for over 37,000 properties spanning two counties to populate database for future project use
- Organized and integrated datasets using ArcGIS, R Studio, and Structured Query Language to enable variation-finding comparison
- Quantified the loss of property taxes in Darington and Concrete school district using R in order to determine future fund allocation
- Created a demographic comparison of Seattle City Light’s service area using ArcGIS to be used for benchmarking purposes
- Programmed psychological studies using Qualtrics to examine the impact of racial diversity on social cognition, attitudes, and categorization, resulting in successful research trials.
- Utilized Photoshop to create visual stimuli for use in experimental studies to manipulate racial diversity and status.
- Analyzed data using Jamovi, to determine statistical significance and interactions between the variables explored.
- Delegated tasks to Research Assistants to specialize in assignments and communicated effectively with the Research Supervisor leading to successful coordination of in-person research.
- Conducted an independent research study from start to finish by applying critical thinking, writing, and quantitative skills to produce a research manuscript for journal publication.
- Received thesis approval from the Whitman College Institutional Review Board by submitting an extensive proposal to ensure ethical and quality research practice.
- Defended thesis in front of the Psychology Department to demonstrate preparation and readiness for graduation.
Kim , H. J. & Meyers, C. (2022, February). Diversity is good, just not in my backyard: White Americans’ perceptions of racial diversity. Poster to be presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Kim, H. J. (2022, April). Choosing the right college: How students of color perceive diversity statements. Poster presented at the Whitman Undergraduate Conference, Walla Walla, WA.
The examples provided follow a wide variety of formats, for the purpose of your resume remember to stay consistent with formatting.
- 2021 Louis B. Perry Summer Research Award
- Whitman Achievement Scholarship, four years
Cover Letters
A cover letter often serves multiple purposes, mainly to tell your professional story and provide a more detailed explanation of your skills and experiences.
A great cover letter is both informative and interesting to the reader. Do not send one generic cover letter to multiple employers. If you want to catch the attention of their hiring team, you must take the time to tailor your cover letter to each organization you are applying.
Remember: proofread, proofread, proofread. Your cover letter demonstrates your writing skills; make sure it is grammatically sound and free of spelling mistakes. Schedule a Cover Letter review with the CCEC Career team via Handshake.
Here are some helpful resources to help you write a cover letter:
Curriculum Vitae
Also called a CV or vita, in the United States the curriculum vitae is used almost exclusively for academic professions and applying to graduate school. For in-person guidance regarding your CV, make an appointment with a Center staff member via Handshake.
"The most noticeable difference between CVs and most resumes is the length. Entry-level resumes are usually limited to a page. CVs, however, often run to three or more pages. (However... you should try to present your information concisely.)... While the goal of a resume is to establish a professional identity, the goal of a CV is to create a scholarly one. Thus your CV will need to reflect your abilities as a teacher, researcher, and publishing scholar within your discipline."
-Source: Purdue OWL (10.28.2010)
When an employer does request references, include them on a separate piece of paper with current contact information of three to five persons who have agreed to provide recommendations for you. Visit this resource for more information on reference pages.