Resume Formatting and Content

Format

• DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF RESUME TEMPLATE. Templates contain hidden formatting that can sometimes be read by an ATS as a virus. Mimic any format you like, but be sure to create your own document.
• Do not use computer generated headers or footers, columns, icons, design elements, photos, or borders. 
• Use standard margins (.5 inches to 1 inch) and bullets.
• Use a professional font such as Calibri, Arial, Verdana or Gill Sans (or other sans-serif font).
• Your resume content should be all the same font and font size (except for your name, which is largest); it should be simply designed and readable, with consistent spacing throughout.  
• Your name should be at the top on a line by itself. 
• With few exceptions, your resume for internships and entry level jobs should be one page.

Content

• Know your audience and write to your audience. There is no such thing as a general resume. To save time, it is helpful to create a “Menu of Options” that includes all of your experiences, formatted correctly, that you can then pick and choose from. But every time you send out a resume, it needs to be tailored for the job or internship you’re applying to.
• Read the opportunity you are applying for carefully. Print it out and highlight keywords. What are keywords? Re-read the opportunity and notice words repeated more than once, words that seem important, or words that start bullet points. Replace your own language with those keywords where applicable.
• Notice the order the employer has placed their requirements in the Qualifications/Requirements section. The order of your resume headings should follow the order of their requirements (if they list education first, put education at the top of your resume, etc.).
• Descriptions should start with action verbs.
• All the clues you need to tailor your resume are there in the job description, so read it carefully!

Crafting Strong Bullet Points

Starting Tips:
 1. Always start each bullet point with an action verb.
 2. Use past tense for jobs that happened in the past, and present tense for jobs you are currently still employed at.
 3. Include 3-5 bullet points for each experience.

Ask Yourself These Questions:

• What: What were your responsibilities? What did you accomplish? Quantify achievements using numbers, percentages, or dollar amounts.

• How: How did you do it? What methods, skills, or technologies did you use?

• Why: Why was it important?

• When: When did you do it? Quantify by sharing how frequently you did something.

• Who: Who was involved? Be specific about your interactions (coworkers vs. customers, age ranges, group sizes).

Bonus Tip: For bullet point sentences that go over onto the next line by one word, what is commonly referred to as a “cliffhanger”, it is best practice to edit the sentence to fit on one line.

Incorporating Academic Courses and Projects

Academic projects and course experiences can demonstrate valuable skills employers look for, especially when you do not yet have extensive internship or work experience. These can include research, writing, collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving. When including academic work, focus on what you created, accomplished, or contributed, along with the methods and skills you used throughout the process.

Examples of Brief Project Entries:

Dance Senior Project, “Finding Balance” Original Choreographic Work: 
Created and choreographed an original 12-minute performance exploring themes of resilience and personal growth, leading the project from concept development through public performance.

English Rhetorical Analysis Paper: Wrote a 7-page analytical paper examining Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” speech, analyzing how rhetorical choices, audience awareness, and appeals to morality strengthened his argument against slavery.

Examples of Expanded Project or Course Entries:

Course Participant
American Revolution Era, UMass Course, Spring 2025                

• Examined the political, social, and intellectual developments surrounding the American Revolution.
• Developed evidence-based written arguments using historical texts and primary sources. 
• Participated in collaborative class discussions and activities focused on interpreting historical events from multiple perspectives.

Painting Studio Project - “Urban Landscapes: Exploring Memory and Place”
Advanced Painting UMass Course, Spring 2025

• Created series of paintings exploring the relationship between environment and personal experience through composition, color, and visual storytelling.
• Developed concepts through sketches, material experimentation, and revisions.
• Presented completed artwork during a studio critique, incorporating peer feedback to strengthen artistic choices and final work.

Sample Action Verbs

• Accomplished

• Achieved

• Acquired

• Acted

• Administered

• Advertised

• Advised

• Advocated

• Aided

• Analyzed

• Appraised

• Approved

• Arranged

• Assessed

• Assisted

• Attained

• Authored

• Brainstormed

• Briefed

• Budgeted

• Built

• Calculated

• Campaigned

• Chaired

• Classified

• Coached

• Collaborated

• Collected

• Communicated

• Completed

• Complied

• Composed

• Computed

• Conceptualized

• Conducted

• Conserved

• Constructed

• Consulted

• Contributed

• Cooperated

• Coordinated

• Created

• Curated

• Customized

• Decided

• Delegated

• Delivered

• Designed

• Determined

• Developed

• Devised

• Diagramed

• Directed

• Discovered

• Displayed

• Documented

• Drafted

• Edited

• Enabled

• Enacted

• Enhanced

• Enlisted

• Ensured

• Established

• Evaluated

• Examined

• Exceeded

• Excelled

• Expanded

• Expedited

• Explained

• Facilitated

• Finalized

• Fixed

• Formalized

• Formed

• Formulated

• Fostered

• Founded

• Gained

• Gathered

• Generated

• Guided

• Handled

• Headed

• Helped

• Hired

• Identified

• Illustrated

• Implemented

• Improved

• Increased

• Initiated

• Instituted

• Instructed

• Interpreted

• Introduced

• Investigated

• Launched

• Led

• Leveraged

• Maintained

• Managed

• Maximized

• Mediated

• Mentored

• Met

• Monitored

• Motivated

• Narrated

• Negotiated

• Observed

• Obtained

• Operated

• Optimized

• Orchestrated

• Organized

• Originated

• Outperformed

• Overcame

• Overhauled

• Participated

• Perfected

• Performed

• Persuaded

• Planned

• Prepared

• Presented

• Prioritized

• Produced

• Programmed

• Projected

• Proofread

• Proposed

• Provided

• Publicized

• Published

• Purchased

• Ran

• Ranked

• Reached

• Read

• Redesigned

• Refined

• Renovated

• Reorganized

• Reported

• Researched

• Resolved

• Responded

• Restored

• Reviewed

• Rewrote

• Scheduled

• Screened

• Simplified

• Solicited

• Solved

• Specialized

• Spoke

• Storyboarded

• Strategized

• Streamlined

• Strengthened

• Substantiated

• Succeeded

• Summarized

• Supervised

• Supported

• Synthesized

• Taught

• Tested

• Trained

• Transformed

• Translated

• Troubleshot

• Updated

• Upgraded

• Utilized

• Validated

• Verified

• Visualized

• Won

• Wrote

Resume Examples

View all resume examples, or browse examples by major:

• History student resume
• Theater student resume
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality student resume