Résumé Sections Part 1

Contact Information

The contact information section is at the top of your résumé and includes your name, mailing address, and phone number(s). If you have an email account, provide that address here. Note that your email address should be professional. In other words, an email address that reads hotchick @ yahoo.com is not acceptable. Here is a sample contact information section:

Karl M. Jones
900 N. 7th St. Apt. 6
Lafayette, IN 47904
765-123-4567
kmjones123 @ gmail.com

Objective

The objective should be short and tailored to the company and the job you want. The objective should include the company name and the job title. The objective should also include any job number in the ad. Here is a sample objective:

Objective: To obtain the welder apprentice position (#46) at A & D Industries

Work Experience

Note: You can reverse the work experience and education sections depending on your situation. The work experience section lists your past jobs beginning with the most recent position. The section also includes:

• Name and address of company or organization
• Employment dates
• Position title
• Responsibilities (remember to list the number of employees you supervised if you have management experience)
• Awards and promotions (employers are very interested in your achievements and success. Awards and promotions show an employer that you have been recognized for your hard work)

Here is a sample work experience section:

Russell’s Collision Service, Lafayette, IN: July 2007-Present

Part Time Auto Body Technician, Welder/Fabricator

• Diagnose, weld, and repair automotive body damage
• Weld metal parts, components using brazing, gas, or arc equipment
• Weld in flat, horizontal, vertical, or overhead positions
• Prepare accurate cost estimates
• Match body parts
• Mix and apply paint from spray primer to final finish work

Village Pantry, Lafayette, IN: June 2006-Present

Full and Part Time Retail Clerk

• Run point of sales register
• Maintain customer relations
• Build merchandise displays
• Track inventory
• Stock shelves
• Won “Employee of the Month” May 2006, April 2008

Village Pantry, Indianapolis, IN: April 2002-June 2006

Full Time Retail Clerk

• Ran point of sales register
• Maintained customer relations
• Built merchandise displays
• Tracked inventory
• Stocked shelves

The verbs you use in your bullet lists should be active and should be specific. The Purdue OWL maintains a list of action verbs you can use to help pick words to describe what you have done. Click here to read the Purdue OWL’s list of action words for résumés.

Also, the tense of verbs in your bullet lists should be past tense for previous jobs: Ran point of sales register. Verbs should be present tense for jobs you currently hold: Run point of sales register. An exception to this is using a verb for something that happened in the past at your current job (from the example above: Won “Employee of the Month” May 2006, April 2008).

Lastly, make sure you use consistent construction in your bullet lists:

Not consistent

• Ran point of sales register
• Customer relations management
• Merchandise displays development
• Tracked inventory
• Shelf stock

Consistent

• Ran point of sales register
• Maintained customer relations
• Built merchandise displays
• Tracked inventory
• Stocked shelves

Click here to download the PDF file containing sample résumés and employment letters.