Skip Navigation
Home  |  A-Z Index

Critiquing Your Resume

Resumes
Cover Letters
Thank You Letters
Resources

Look at the resume you have created and ask the following questions:

Visual Appearance

  • Does your name "pop out?"
  • Is the white space balanced and visually appealing?
  • Is your contact information easy to find?
  • Is the font style easy to read and the size appropriate (body between 10 and 12 point)?
  • Have you filled a full page? If you have chosen to use two pages, is your second page at least half full?

Content

  • Are important items prominent?
  • Have you listed the most important points first?
  • Is it free of errors: grammatical, spelling, punctuation and factual?
  • Is your e-mail address appropriate?
  • Is formatting consistent ? for example, are headings, titles, etc., all in same size and style of font?
  • Are dates consistently listed and specific enough for the relatively small range on most college students? resumes? (For example "January 2006 - May 2006" vs. "2006")

Objective

  • Is it specific enough to tell an employer what you want or what you have to offer? For example, "An internship using my laboratory experience and research skills" versus "A challenging internship that allows me to gain experience."

Education

  • Have you listed the University of Missouri-Columbia as your university?
  • Did you list a GPA if above a 3.0?
  • Is your degree listed? What about major/minor programs of study?
  • Is your anticipated graduation date listed?
  • Are international education experiences listed, if appropriate?

Experience

  • Have you quantified and qualified accomplishments?
  • Are bullets used judiciously to draw attention to important tasks and accomplishments?
  • Is your most relevant experience listed first? If not, can you divide experiences into two sections: Relevant and Other?
  • Have you highlighted significant volunteer, club/organization and even class experiences that are relevant?

Activities

  • Are activities organized well with lists of no more than seven entries?
  • Have you mentioned and described leadership positions?

Honors/Awards

  • Are scholarships and awards referred to by their names and defined in terms of why you received them?

Research/Publications/Presentations

  • Have you listed any publications or major research papers or presentations? These can be important for certain positions and definitely a plus for graduate or professional school!

Skills/Qualifications

  • Does this section address abilities relevant to the position not obvious from other parts of the resume?
  • Did you limit these to the top three to five qualifications?

If you are able to answer yes to all of these questions, chances are very good that you have written a strong resume. CAFNR Career Services will happily critique your resume. Schedule an appointment via e-mail or call 573-882-0088.

Back to Top