Test and refine

Once you have developed a clear and logical structure for your document, as well as crafted bullets that convey the relevance of a particular task convincingly, the third step in building a great résumé is to test and refine yours accordingly.

This requires doing a more detailed analysis of the elements that are most relevant in your document, including evidence on how your skills have developed. and most solid evidence for a particular skill set you’re making a claim about.

This might mean that you reorder bullets under certain role or project headings to ensure the most relevant bullet or most impressive achievement stands out primarily. When you’re completely satisfied with the structure and organization of your document, you will need to make sure that it’s formatted so that it adds to your argument.

Résumé checklist

Take a look at this helpful checklist to verify your document is as effective as possible.

Note: Not everything on this checklist will be relevant to you. Use what is applicable to your situation.

Overall

Analyse:
- Have you analysed the type of job you’re applying for and what would make someone a good candidate?
- Have you analysed how you fit with this type of work?
Design:
- Have you designed a document that showcases how you could contribute to that type of work through your skills, characteristics, and attitude?
Test and refine:
- Have you shown your document to someone who can provide feedback on whether you’re making the right impression and highlighting your strengths?

Format

Is your résumé making a positive first impression within 10 seconds? Is it visually appealing and easy to read? The standard is to set your margins at one inch on all sides to create a well-balanced design; tighten the margins if necessary but avoid losing too much white space.
Did you select a font type and size that is professional? (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, Bookman Old Style in 11-12 point size).
Are you consistent throughout your résumé? Ensure that font (size, style and type), spacing, bullets, highlighting techniques, date format, and capitalization are the same.
Have you ordered your sections and bullet points by relevance to the type of job you are applying to? Remember: you don’t have to follow the structure of the templates. Use a structure/format that highlights your most relevant sections in the most effective way (e.g. if your projects and assignments showcase your skills/characteristics/achievements more than does your work/volunteer experience, then put these first).

Contact

Are you easily reached using the phone number provided and do you have a professional voicemail message? Is your email address professional?
Do you have a professional online portfolio or LinkedIn profile? If so, consider adding these links in this section.
For co-op students: did you remember to state your academic level, plan name, and student number? CCD staff will sometimes use this information to contact you later in the term.

Summary of qualifications

Is this section found toward the top of the résumé so the employer can quickly find it? (i.e., below contact information)
Have you provided clear and accurate statements which collectively summarize your key strengths and achievements in relation to the type of work you are applying for?
Are you elaborating on at least one point to show how it was developed, demonstrated and/or proven?
Are you including industry key words and/or some words directly from the job advertisement?
Did you provide evidence of the skills/qualifications/achievements highlighted in this section throughout the rest of the résumé?

Work/volunteer experience (grouped together or separate sections)

Did you include the title of the position you held, the name of the organization, the location of the organization and the dates you worked/volunteered there? Are your experiences listed in reverse chronological order?
Did you begin each bullet point with a verb that clearly communicates what you did or achieved (e.g., co-designed, organized, or collaborated)?
Did you include relevant duties and skills demonstrated and developed on the job that are relevant to the type of job you want?
Do your bullet points describe what you did plus how you did it and/or the result?
Are your bullet points ordered by relevance?

Projects/assignments

Projects/assignments done through high school/university can be listed under “Education” or can be in a separate section of the résumé.
Do your projects/assignments demonstrate that you have skills/characteristics/achievements relevant to the types of jobs you are applying to? If so, you may want to create a section for projects/assignments separate from “Education”
Did you apply the “Work/volunteer experience” checklist to your “Project/assignments” section?
If applicable, did you include relevant projects/assignments from high school?

Education

Did you double-check the accuracy of these details? Is your degree name listed in full? (Be clear because at another school a B.A.Sc could be an Applied Science degree in Nutrition)
If including high school, is your diploma name listed in full (e.g., Ontario Secondary School Diploma)?
Did you include academic courses that relate to the job you’re applying for? (If applicable, may include relevant high school courses.)

Other sections

Have you considered including other sections to showcase your relevant skills, characteristics, or achievements such as: Professional Memberships, Awards & Scholarships, Certifications, or Academic Competitions?
Have you included an “Activities and Interests” section? This section can be an opportunity to further show that you have the characteristics of a good employee, such as: trustworthiness, reliability, interest in your field, or a positive attitude.
Have you followed a consistent layout design throughout your résumé?

Spelling and grammar

Have you had someone proofread your résumé to ensure that it is free of spelling and grammar errors?

What makes a good vs great résumé?

Navid’s good résumé example (link to PDF version)

Navids great résumé example (link to PDF version)

Good résumé vs great résumé (by section)

Experience

Good résumé:

Navid put the “Education” section immediately following the “Summary of Qualifications” section.

Great résumé:

Navid moved “Education” to the second page of his résumé so that “Relevant Experience” immediately follows “Summary of Qualifications”.

Rationale:

Navid moved “Education” further down on his résumé because the skills he used to earn his degrees are more important to highlight than the actual credentials. Further to this point, although the job description asks for a master’s degree, Navid knows that he is not automatically qualified (or overqualified) for this position just because he has a PhD.

Navid realizes that he needs to provide evidence of the relevant skills he developed throughout his education. This evidence can be found under his role as a doctoral researcher and within his “Relevant Projects” section — both of which appear before the “Education” section.

Summary of qualifications: first bullet point 

Good résumé:

Navid wrote the first point of his “Summary of Qualifications” as follows: 

Extensive experience in a university environment, including supporting first year students in transition

Great résumé:

Navid added the amount of experience he has in a university environment to the beginning of this first point. It now reads as follows:

3+ years of experience in a university environment, including supporting first year students in transition

Rationale:

Because the job description states that XYZ University is seeking someone with “2 to 3 years of university (or related) experience” Navid wants to clearly indicate that he meets this key qualification. He recognizes that it’s a good strategy to start with a strong, quantified experience bullet in the “Summary of Qualifications” section and to frame his experience in such a way as to map it onto the job description.

Summary of qualifications: second bullet point

Good résumé:

Navid wrote the second point of his “Summary of Qualifications” as follows: 

Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to actively engage students from various backgrounds

Great résumé:

Navid added additional information to the end of this second bullet in the “Summary of Qualifications” section. The point now reads as follows: 

Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to actively engage students from various backgrounds as evidenced by winning student-nominated Teaching Assistant Award

Rationale:

By adding that he won a student-nominated Teaching Assistant Award, Navid provides the employer with direct evidence that he is well-liked and able to connect with students. This statement also indicates to the employer where he/she can find additional evidence in support of the claim that Navid has exceptional interpersonal skills (i.e., under his Teaching Assistant role). 

Doctoral researcher: first bullet point

Good résumé:

Under his role as a doctoral researcher, Navid put the following bullet point first:

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

Great résumé:

Under his role as a doctoral researcher, Navid reordered his bullet points. “Independently wrote two...” is now the fourth bullet rather than the first.

Rationale:

By moving this point further down under his Doctoral Researcher role, Navid is able to highlight his experience supervising students as well as his collaboration and presentation skills before drawing attention to his written communication skills. Based on the job description, Navid believes these skills are more central to the role than written communication. He also knows that it’s important to strategically organize his résumé, so the most relevant information appears first.

Doctoral researcher: fifth bullet point

Good résumé:

Navid worded the fifth bullet point under Doctoral Researcher as follows:

Presented at an international conference

Great résumé:

Navid added more information to this bullet point to highlight the impact of his actions. It now reads as follows:

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

Rationale:

Rather than simply listing that he presented at a conference, Navid has identified the positive outcome that stemmed from this action. By adding that his presentation resulted in an invitation to present again, Navid provides tangible evidence of his ability to successfully engage an audience.

Relevant projects

Good résumé: 

Under Navid’s first relevant project, he described his data analysis evidence as follows: 

Analyzed the probability of occurrence of extreme events such as floods (~100-year duration), rainfall, etc. using stochastic differential equations for predicting the probability of occurrence of such events .

Great résumé: 

Navid altered this bullet point to make it less technical and content specific. It now reads as follows: 

Analyzed data using quantitative analysis techniques to predict outcomes

Rationale:

Navid removed the specific content information from this bullet point because it is irrelevant to the position. Including extraneous technical details that are not meaningful to the employer distracts from Navid’s argument and makes it weaker. However, by describing his data analysis skills in more general terms (e.g., “quantitative analysis techniques”, “predict outcomes”), Navid focuses on the most applicable aspects of his knowledge for this particular job. 

Activities and interests 

Good résumé:

Under his “Activities and Interests” section, Navid listed his role as a graduate student representative as well as his interest in yoga, chess and trivia. 

Great résumé:

Navid reformatted his “Activities and Interests” section and added more information. He specified his role in the various activities, the name of the organizing body and when he was a part of the activity. 

Rationale:

By adding additional contextual information and reformatting this section, Navid maintains the same professional formatting that appears in the rest of the résumé rather than having a list of activities and interests that appears like a brief afterthought at the end of the document. 

Good résumé vs great résumé (by work experience)

Teaching assistant

Good résumé:

Navid worded the second bullet point under his teaching assistant experience as follows: Gave weekly tutorials to undergraduate students on various engineering topics.

Great résumé:

Navid refined his wording choice for this bullet point and added additional information. It now reads as follows: Presented complex concepts in a clear, concise manner for up to 30 students during weekly tutorials using PowerPoint slides and interactive activities.

Rationale:

Navid changed the verb in this bullet point from “gave” to “presented” because the latter is a strong, action-oriented verb that is clearly associated with a skill set that Navid made claims about in his “Summary of Qualifications” — namely, communication skills. He also explained how he presented the information using PowerPoint slides and interactive activities to refer to his computer proficiency and to highlight his engagement with students.

Orientation facilitator

Good résumé:

Under his international orientation facilitator role, Navid described his experience using the following two bullets: Enthusiastically encouraged student participation and engagement in social activities by facilitating personal connections among participants 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.

Great résumé:

Slightly altering these two bullets, Navid highlighted that he worked specifically with first year students: Enthusiastically encouraged first year student participation and engagement in social activities by facilitating personal connections among participants Facilitated discussions and information sharing (in English and Farsi) with first year students regarding cross-cultural living and learning by establishing a respectful environment for open conversation.

Rationale:

By specifying that he worked with first year students and not just students in general, Navid can show greater alignment between his experience and what the employer is looking for. The job description explicitly states that supporting first year students is a critical component of the Student Success Centre’s programming.