HTML Preview Biomedical Engineering Job Resume page number 1.
A resume is a brief, concise document that presents, and effectively sells, your most relevant and positive credentials for
employment, admission to graduate school, consideration for a scholarship or fellowship, or other professional purpose.
An employer will usually spend 15 to 30 seconds reviewing your resume, so the content of your resume must be clear,
concise, and targeted to the type of job for which you are applying.
Preparation
Resumes should highlight skills and accomplishments that meet employer qualifications, excluding irrelevant
information and experiences. Well-designed resumes will be visually appealing and free from any spelling, typographical,
punctuation, or grammatical errors. All resumes should be written concisely in an organized format that presents the
most important information first.
Employers who read individual resumes spend very little time on each resume. Many large employers now use software
programs (Applicant Tracking Systems) to assist them with this initial review.
If your resume has a typo or grammatical error, it will probably jump off the page to an employer, and this is a way to
weed you out of a candidate pool. Your resume may be the only chance you get to make an impression, so make it a
good one.
Constructing Your Resume
Contact information
Begin your resume with your name by capitalizing and using bold type.
Include street address, city, state, and zip code.
Include a phone number(s) where you can be reached.
Include your e-mail address.
Objective (Optional)
The purpose of the objective statement is to inform the employer of your career goals and targeted interests. Objectives
are no longer as widely used as they once were, as employers expect you to cover the same information in more detail
in the cover letter. If you would like to include an objective, review the samples on the last page of this handout.
A career/job objective may be advantageous when:
You want to specify your interests and where you would fit in the organization.
You want to present the impression of a focused, self-confident person.
A career/job objective is not advantageous when it is:
Too broad and meaningless, reflecting indecision.
Too exclusive, eliminating you from jobs for which you might be considered.
Qualifications or Experience Summary (Optional)
A summary of qualifications can condense an extensive background by emphasizing experiences and accomplishments
in brief keyword phrases. The qualifications summary is accomplishment-oriented and provides an overview of your
work experience. It can also serve to summarize relevant academic, volunteer and leadership experience for those who
have limited work experience. A summary is most appropriate for someone with substantial experience, someone who
is changing careers and wants to demonstrate transferable skills, or someone with a varied background. They’re most
often used by graduate students and working professionals.
RESUME WRITING
Tips for resume formatting and content, with samples from alumni