> Alumni Home > Find a Job > Resume

Resume Guide

The resume is your marketing tool - the first introduction to YOU! It is not intended to be a document that plagues job seekers. It is meant to be a simple record - a personal one - that represents the accomplishments and achievements of the job seeker in a format that makes sense to the reader and makes it easy to know at a glance what the candidate has to offer. It is a process of putting yourself in the mindset of the reader and providing information he or she needs to know in an engaging, attractive, and easy to follow format.

Entry-Level Resumes

Click here to download our .pdf resume guide. Copies are also avaialbe at the Career Center.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this document and the sample resumes. To download it for free, click here.

Sample Resumes

Below are links to sample Duke resumes. Keep in mind that format and content vary from person to person. Use these samples as a guide. Drop-in hour for resume reviews is held in the Career Center Monday through Thursday from 2:00-5:00 and Friday 2:00-4:00.


Back to top

Experienced Resumes

Experienced workers tend to include more material on their resumes than is advisable or necessary. The resume is the "hook!" Together with the cover letter - although each needs to be able to stand on its own - these documents provide a sketch of the candidate, but not the full-featured illustration. You want to provide enough to entice the reader to want to interview you, but not give it all away. And yet, the resume must represent you in the best possible way.

Here are 10 basic tips to resume writing that work especially well for the experienced job-seeker:

  • Begin with a Professional Highlights or Summary section. This introduces you at the outset and includes the most significant accomplishments relevant to the position you seek.
  • Focus on accomplishments/achievements. Refrain from too much detail of duties and responsibilities (and do NOT use the phrases: "Responsible for…." Or "Duties include…")
  • Use functional headings. Categorize experiences by function: "Healthcare Experience" or "Teaching Experience" or "Information Technology Experience." This allows the reader to know immediately what type of experience you bring to the table. Use functional headings rather than a functional resume, and list positions in reverse chronological order within each section.
  • Avoid explanation of the company or organization for which you worked. This information takes up space and is better delineated in the interview.
  • Less is more! Limit your resume to two pages (unless you are an academic.) Limit the details.
  • Use bullet points. Organize the bullets by order of importance - from most to least. Limit the number of bullets to five or six. Yes….this is hard! If you need to pare down the number of bullets, read from the bottom bullet up (ostensibly the least important are at the end!) After reading each bullet point, ask yourself, "So what?" and decide if the reader really needs to know that information (in this format? at this time? or at all?) Remove the statement if it does not meet the criteria.
  • Make use of bold, caps, and other enhancements to highlight sections, names of companies, or titles. Be consistent in the formatting and style. Do not use too many different enhancements. Strive for a streamlined, readable format that engages the reader visually and informationally.
  • Use keywords: Know your target industry and the effective key words that electronic scanners would seek. Use them!
  • Be ABSOLUTELY certain it is error-free! Proofread, proofread, proofread!
  • References: do not list or make reference to them on the resume. If required to submit with the resume, include the list with name, title, and contact information on a separate page.

And one more . . .

Avoid the use of articles (a, an, the), pronouns, sentences, and templates!

The employer makes a decision to interview candidates based on the paperwork submitted. You want to be among the "in" crowd and not discounted for the wrong reasons. Remember….this is your personal document, and therefore, YOU make all final decisions regarding its development, content, and format., and YOU are fully responsible for its veracity. It represents you, your background and experiences honestly and fully, so that you are remembered and selected. Make this document targeted and memorable to get the job done!

Resume Sections

  • Objective: This is optional and may be better articulated in the cover letter. However, recent input from recruiters indicates preference for some statement of intent. Consider a very brief "Targeted Position": Executive Director or Senior Level Executive or Strategy Consultant.
  • Professional Summary or Summary of Qualifications: Include your most relevant achievements.
  • Experience: Use functional headings where possible. There could be two or three such sections of experiences. If functional headings do not work well due to the diversity of your experiences, a straight reverse chronological format will most effectively serve.
  • Skills: Include technical/computer skills and foreign languages if appropriate. Add other skills or interests if relevant.
  • Affiliations: Include memberships and leadership roles in professional associations.
  • Education: Begin with your most recent degree or coursework; work backwards to Duke.
  • Other possible sections: Licenses, Interests , Publications , Community Service/Leadership, Advanced Training , Certifications , Presentations


Back to top

Web Resources for Resume Writing

Back to top

Copyright | Sitemap | Duke.edu | Student Affairs | Career Center