8 Pro Tips for Creating a Winning Resume

We found this delightfully straightforward and valuable list of tips for  resumes from Sara Mohr, Program Manager at Global University. We slightly adapted her tips for students who want to send their resumes to colleges during the application process. You can find Sara on twitter at @slizagna.

Tell a College Who You Are

Many colleges will allow you to submit your resume as part of the Common App. And colleges that don’t explicitly ask for a resume will often accept one submitted by email or through their application update process. A resume is a great way to tell a college a more about your skills, work experience and accomplishments.

Create a concise and modern resume

1. Don’t include  your address or location. No body is going to send you snail mail. 

2. Unless you have a unique objective statement, don’t include one. We know your objective is to highlight your accomplishments. That’s why you’re sending a resume.  

3. Unless your high school GPA is 3.6 or higher, don’t include it. Your GPA is all over your Common App. The only thing including it does is invite comparisons with d higher GPA candidates.

4. Save your resume in PDF FORMAT. If you submit in word format, it WILL get mucked up and be hard to read. Save it as a PDF or don’t waste your time formatting.

5. Don’t include  your job responsibilities.  Focus on what  you’ve accomplished and the things you can quantify. If you worked in retail, don’t write ‘assisted customers,’ instead say something like: “Assisted 60+ customers per day. Praised by management for excellent service.”

6. Include your target graduation date.  No is going to play detective and figure it out.

7.  Save your resume as: Firstname_Lastname_Resume. Don’t send a college an attachment titled ‘resume.’ It will get lost amongst all the other attachments called ‘resume.’

8. Create your resume with an admission’s officer in mind. Be thoughtful about how you construct your job descriptions. Use active verb tenses. Send them a memorable resume that makes them think of you beyond your GPA!   

Bonus Tip:

Don’t waste your time on a professional cover letter-like email. Just send a short and sweet message expressing your excitement about (potentially) being a student there and thank them for accepting your attached resume. 

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