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Résumé sections

The next step is creating a great résumé that demonstrates how your past experiences qualify you for job you’re applying to.

A great résumé includes a combination of your skills, characteristics and attitude. When you are creating your résumé, the central organizing principle is relevance, how you decide what goes on the résumé and where it goes.

Basic information processing in English runs from top to bottom, left to right, with readers processing the information at the top of the page as most important. Knowing this, you want to organize your document, accordingly, arranging your sections in order of relevance to the job. You know what’s most relevant based on the analysis you’ve done of the job posting.

Also at this stage, you want to articulate the experiences you’ve identified that showcase how you demonstrate the skills the employer is seeking. Be sure to do so in an action- and outcome-oriented way.

Looking at the chart you developed in the analyze phase, you will need to describe your experiences thinking through three components of information:

  • WHAT you did

  • HOW you did it

  • WHY you did it

This is because simply stating what you did is often not enough in making the argument why a particular achievement or task is relevant to your argument for why you’re qualified for a particular role.

See the example charts filled out by Navid below:

Experience 

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Two to three years university (or related) experience

  • Experiential background in student life issues/student development

  • Experience as a graduate student and teaching assistant working with students for many years

  • International orientation facilitator volunteer in UW’s Student Success Office

  • Over three years of experience in a university environment, including supporting first year students in transition (claim listed under Summary of Qualifications)

  • Supervision of staff and/or student supervision (preferred)

  • Supervised undergrad RAs in the lab

  • Supervised four undergraduate research assistants by developing project guidelines, delegating responsibilities and monitoring progress and addressing questions during lab meetings and via email 

Education

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s in “appropriate” field of study

  • MSc (Computer Science)

  • PhD (Nanotechnology)

  • Master of Science (Software Engineering), Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (listed under Education)

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Nanotechnology), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON (listed under Education)

Knowledge 

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Strong knowledge of experiential learning, specifically service-learning

  • Familiarity with range of university student services (e.g., student transition and orientation programming)

  • Personal experience as student accessing services  

  • International orientation facilitator volunteer in UW’s Student Success Office

  • Advised first year students on effective strategies for transitioning to university and managing multiple priorities during regular office hours and tutorial sessions

Technical skills

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Some knowledge of quantitative/ qualitative data analysis (i.e., SPSS); ability to interpret basic student research data (preferred)

  • Extensive quantitative data analysis skills obtained through coursework and theses

  • Analyzed data using quantitative analysis techniques to predict outcomes

  • Proficiency with relevant computing applications/general computer literacy

  • PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, website design, programming languages, statistical software, etc.

  • Designed and created content for a functional and effective website that informed international students of the various services and resources available to them at the University of Toronto

Transferable skills 

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Ability to work independently

  • Worked independently as a PhD and MSc student

  • Independently wrote two successful grant applications; awarded $50,000 of research funding

  • Ability to work as part of a team/ collaborate with campus and community partners

  • Collaborated with colleagues as a researcher

  • Worked with industry stakeholders on various projects

  • Collaborated with three colleagues to write a research report which was published in an academic journal

  • Developed relationship with industry stakeholders to clarify expectations and ensure specifications were built into predictive model

  • Ability to relate to students in a manner which builds trust and confidence

  • Interpersonal skills/empathetic

  • Built rapport with students as a teaching assistant; tutorials, office hours, emails, discussion boards (won TA award)

  • As volunteer orientation facilitator, worked directly with international students adjusting to life at UW

  • Won a teaching assistant award for demonstrating teaching excellence within the Faculty of Engineering; nominated by students

  • Facilitated discussions and information sharing (in English and Farsi) with students regarding cross-cultural living and learning by establishing a respectful environment for open conversation

  • Public speaking skills

  • Research presentations in courses, at brown bags, defense, conferences, etc.

  • Tutorials as a TA

  • Presented at an international conference and was subsequently invited by one of the attendees to give a lecture at their institution as part of a guest speaker series

  • Presented complex concepts in a clear, concise manner for up to 30 students during weekly tutorials using PowerPoint slides and interactive activities

  • Oral and written communication skills

  • Successful grant applications

  • Publications in academic journals

  • Independently wrote two successful grant applications; awarded $50,000 of research funding

  • Collaborated with three colleagues to write a research report which was published in an academic journal

  • Problem-solving skills

  • Helped students develop their problem solving skills

  • Mentored co-op student programmer in approaches to problem solving to effectively trouble-shoot and communicate with industry partners

  • Demonstrated initiative in developing new and improved services to meet the challenging needs of students and staff

n/a

n/a

  • Ability to facilitate strong relationships with community partners

  • Built relationships with industry partners on various projects

  • Developed relationship with industry stakeholders to clarify expectations and ensure specifications were built into predictive model

  • Organization and project management 

  • Managed multiple research projects as grad student (balanced this with courses, teaching, extracurricular commitments, etc.)

  • Efficiently managed the design and implementation of multiple research projects by prioritizing tasks and adapting to changes in project timelines as they arose

Personal attributes

What the employer wants:

Evidence I have it:

Bullet point:

  • Self-confident, outgoing, personally engaging

  • Outgoing and enthusiastic personality evident through my interactions with students

  • Enthusiastically encouraged student participation and engagement in social activities by facilitating personal connections among participants

  • No labels