The key components of a resume include a header, an education section, a work experience section, a leadership/activities section, an honors/awards section and a skills section.

For any resume, you must tailor what you send to the job you’re applying for. Your objective, your list of experience, all that you include in the resume should match what your potential employer may be seeking. According to Carlyn Crowe who teaches a five-week resume and cover letter course, “You will never have just one resume. You may have a template, but you need to match each resume to what you’re applying for.”
Work experience is the most important part of the resume.

“A resume functions to gain an interview with a company,” said Annette Watson, the career development manager in the School of Business. “If they don’t see that you have the skills or experience you are looking for, you may not get a call for an interview.”

Ways to improve a resume are by making small, formatting changes to the content of your resume. Both Crowe and Watson agree that descriptions of past experience should lead off with a powerful action verb such as coordinated, collaborated, led an effort, etc. This makes the experience section of your resume more propelling.  According to Crowe, another thing to add to a resume is any type of numbers.
“Anything you can quantify will always stand out,” Crowe said.

It is extremely important to have someone proofread your resume prior to sending it out. Grammatical errors and typos are unacceptable. Also make sure to keep a consistent font throughout the entire resume.

“Overall it should be written well, have a good layout, be easy to read and should reflect who you are and your brand,” Crowe said.