resume advice 2012.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
JSG Career Center
Writing & Improving Your Resume
Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume –what’s the difference?
CV – for professionals like PhD’s, Doctors Unlimited length Purpose: Describe a person’s career in detail
Resume – for job seekers not in academics A ‘quick read’ Length: 1 page undergrad; 2 pages graduate Purpose: A quick read for employer to screen for
qualified applicants The resume gets you the interview The interview gets you the job
The Basics
Name & Contact Information Objective (optional) Education
Relevant Courses
Work and/or Volunteer Experience Skills (optional) Award and Honors Professional Memberships Publications and/or Presentations
Sections of the Resume
Layout: Left Justified Margins: 0.8” - 1.0”
Font Size: 10 or 11 point Font Style Arial Times New Roman
Palatino Linotype
High Quality Paper: 8 1/2” x 11” 20 lb paper White, light cream, or grey
Format & Appearance
Formatting: Bold section titles One pace between each Section
Italics for Thesis or Dissertation titles or emphasis
Bullets for lists only
Vertical list of job duties, accomplishments
Print on laser jet in black ink only Save as Adobe PDF for sending via email Download and use a template in the GeoSource
Resource Library
Format & Appearance
Your name centered, bold, larger font 2-3 points larger than body
Local mailing address Current phone number Professional email address Place contact information either centered, under
name or make two columns at each margin under centered name
Name & Contact Information
A brief phrase that describes the job you are seeking Not a complete sentence Not in first person No “I” or “Me” or “My”
Use third-person language A summer intern as a geologist in the petroleum industry
A full-time geophysicist position in petroleum exploration
An internship as a hydrogeologist with an environmental consulting company
NOTE: No periods at the end of phrases
Objective (optional)
List skills that will be useful in your career or those that match the job description
Geoscience skills Field work Laboratory
Computer skills Computer Languages or Programming
Specialty software fo geosciences
Languages Proficiency levels: Basic, Working, Native Speaking, writing, reading
Skills (optional)
Degrees from JSG are in Geological Sciences Majors: General Geology Geophysics Hydrogeology Environmental Science Teaching
B.A. in Geological Science w/ minor B.S. in Geosystems Engineering &
Hydrogeology (first two years)
Education - Undergraduate
B.S. General Geology May 2011 The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences Current Overall GPA: 3.52/4.0 Honors Thesis: [Title, if applicable] Advisor [name, if applicable]
B.A. with Math Minor May 2011 The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences
Education – Undergraduate Example
Do not include if significantly below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
Include the proper scale if not 4 pt. scale: 8.8/10.0 How many decimal places?
3.25 (not 3.25001258) No more than two places past the decimal Do not round up
Calculate your Major GPA (geoscience courses only) if it is significantly better than your overall
Formula for calculating the Major GPA Next slide =>
About the GPA
• Points earned for a class depend on the total of
the number of points earned ÷ number of credit hours of that course
• A=4 pts, B=3 pts, C=2 pts, D=1 pt, F=0 pt – If you earn an A for a 4-credit hour course, you earn 16
pts; B earns 12 pts; C earns 8 pts, D earns 4 pts – If you earn a A for a 3-credit hour course, you earn 12
pts; B earns 9 pts; C earns 6 pts • Add up the points per course for all courses in your
major only
Calculate your Major GPA
M.S. and Ph.D. Themes & Disciplines are unique to JSG Include your concentration
M.A. or M.S. – Energy & Earth Resources Include your dual degree if applicable
Include thesis title, advisor’s name, GPA
Include your previous degree
Education-Graduate Students
Master of Science, Geophysics December 2012
The University of Texas at Austin
Jackson School of Geosciences
Thesis: 3D Seismic Imaging of a Cretaceous Accretionary Wedge
Advisor: Sean Gulick
GPA: 3.5/4.0
B.S. in Geology, cum laude May 2009
The University of Oklahoma
Education - Graduate Example
Undergraduates: List most relevant and higher-level geoscience courses by name
Graduates: List courses most closely related to your objective or specialty
May list courses outside of major if they are relevant to your major and/or objective (i.e. engineering, math, physics courses)
Outside or special training Software Training
Professional Courses
Relevant Courses
Work Experience REVERSE chronological order always Dates as month & year in a range January 2008 to Present Jan 2009 – Sep 2010 August 2007 – June 2008
Briefly describe duties & accomplishments Use “power” action verbs Best place for bulleted lists Keep language ‘parallel’
Volunteer Experience Community Service Social Sorority or Fraternity work
Experience
Keep verb tenses consistent: Current job-use present tense
All past jobs-use past tense
A Few Key Action Verbs for the geosciences: Utilized, Completed, Analyzed, Evaluated, Revised,
Developed, Advised, Provided, Contributed, Updated, Interpreted, Correlated, Mapped, Gathered, Reported, Modeled, Generated, Designed, Presented, Maintained, Operated, Monitored, Recorded, Examined, Determined, Created, Conducted, Produced, Demonstrated, Described
Describing Experience
List scholarships you have received List academic awards and honors Dates should be Year or Semester + Year Dean’s Honor List
Scholarship or Grant name, year awarded
Example: Jackson School of Geosciences Academic Scholarship, Spring 2010 to Present
Certificates or Licenses
Do NOT include dollar amounts
Awards and Honors
Membership in at least one relevant professional organization is highly recommended
Local Organizations Graduate Student Executive Committee (GSEC)
Undergraduate Geological Society (UGS)
Geosciences Leadership Organization for Women (GLOW) POSSE
National Organizations-a few examples American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)*
Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)*
Geological Society of America (GSA)
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Society of Professional Engineers (SPE)
* Student Chapters in the JSG
Professional Memberships
List poster sessions, technical publications or presentations at conferences Include the title and place of presentation
Format for publications Example Bryant, I., Carr, D., and Thurmond, J., 2000, Use of 3-D
digital analogues as templates in reservoir modeling: Petroleum Geoscience, v. 6, p. 195–201.
Presentations & Publications
The phrase “References Available Upon Request” is outdated
Do not mention references-if the employer wants them, they will ask for them after first interview
However: Prepare a separate page with 3 professional references
Name, title, full contact information ALWAYS ask permission from your reference Tell them the employer name Give them a copy of your updated resume
About References
Keep your resume updated It must be error free or it will go in the ‘No pile’ You are building a professional, technical resume
No colored ink or fancy fonts Paper may be white, cream or gray
Print out several copies for career fairs Take copies with you to an interview For on-campus recruiting, have a copy of your
transcript for the interview Next Step: Write a cover letter (another .PPTX)
Last Words