Resume Pointers and Examples

Resume Pointers - thanks to  /\ 777 Bill Coleman 

One note of caution: resume writing is not an exact science. You'll find different people will give you different and sometimes conflicting advice. This will come in terms of content, presentation, even whether it's ok to have more than one page.  Basically, you'll find that you need to look at the logic behind people's advice and do what makes the most sense to you.

*    The resume is a marketing document, intended to sell you. Make sure it does that.
*    Give the readers (i.e., recruiters) the information they need to be able to make a decision you're someone they want to hire---or at least want to bring in for an interview.
*    Always highlight things you've done; note your achievements in terms of tangible results whenever possible.
*    Always highlight things that differentiate you from others interviewing (presumably other MIT or Ivy undergrads). 
*    Think of adding bullets to your resume that follow this format: I did this thing, which demonstrates these skills, and produced these results. (This is just a guide for helping to think through what to write.  Don't use that exact format for each line item or your resume will look and sound funny.)
*    Your resume does not need to be a complete history---it should be a summary of significant (positive) factors.
*    Always use action verbs.
*    Keep explanations simple and easy to process (most people just skim resumes, so the easier it is for them to catch a key phrase, the better for you).
*    For summer jobs, recruiters are also looking at you for long term potential (i.e., possible full time hire when you graduate).  In general they will look at (in no particular order):

        *    Skills
        *    Coursework
        *    Work ethic
        *    Work experience

*    "Friendly" recruiters (e.g., LCA alums) are mostly interested in making sure you're a smart, good guy who will get the work done.
*    You may need to tweak the resume for different people/companies. That's fine---in fact, it's good. It helps you target your message to what the employer wants to hear and focus on those things the employer will find most valuable.

I generally find it easiest to dump everything you could possibly want into the resume and then edit things out, rather than try to add things over time.  I have pretty much done that to your resume already. Or at least, I started to do that.  

Resume Examples
Resume #1


Cover Letter Examples
Finance Related:
Cover Letter #1

(please add advice or good resume examples, or mail them to me and I'll post them - huson[at]alum.mit.edu)

Resume suggestions (thanks to Sebastian /\1008 for getting us going)

• The resume is a one page presentation of who you are. It is also known as a "CV", curriculum vitae. It should fill up the whole page, but not look busy. Another way to put it is that some of the resumes look empty on the bottom of the page and busy on the top of the page. Try to center it vertically and horizontally.
• You want a natural (and easy to understand) progression. (I. name,contact info; II. School; III. Job Experience; IV. Skills; V. Activities and interests). That said, you do want to stick out, but not for having a strange font or having strange margins or having a strange style.
• I can tell that a lot of hard work was spent on the resumes. They are great. But, that does not mean that they are done. I just recently graduated, so others may feel differently but what I was told when I was going through the house was that 20-30 hours should be put into the resume. Additionally, I personally went through the MIT career service about twice to get my resume and cover letters critiqued. So these first resumes should serve as a starting point. [One thing that I did was go to career fairs and look at the resumes that seniors/juniors were handing out. If I liked one, I asked them for a resume. This served to brighten their day as well as give me a great resume format]
• Have a resume critique as a frosh activity where everybody critiques each other's resumes. This is great because your friends have a better idea of who you are and will therefore be more able to help you have your personality come through.

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Contact - Chris Huson /\725, huson@alum.mit.edu