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Action Plans > Résumé Writing Action Plan

Résumé Writing Action Plan

What to Do

Create your résumé online using the Optimal Resume site.
Pick up a copy of the Rutgers Career Services Guide or read it online.Read the section on résumé writing.
Review the sample résumés in the Career Services Guide. Determine which résumé or combination of résumés best reflects your background.
Begin writing your résumé. You are the single best resource on yourself—your coursework, your jobs, your activities, etc. As you write your résumé, refer frequently to the "Resume" section of the Career Services Guide for pointers and also to the model résumé for graphics.
Type out your first draft. Don't worry about formatting, fonts or spacing. Keep it to about one page.
Don't worry about the objective statement at the outset. For many students it's the hardest statement to write. It's probably a good idea to do your objective statement last.
Get some feedback on your résumé. Stop by Career Services during drop-in hours or résumé blitzes. A career counselor will critique your résumé. No appointment is necessary.
Have your résumé also critiqued by a professor or someone working in your field of interest. A second opinion can be beneficial.
Make your "final" revisions. (Keep in mind, though, that your revisions are never really final. Your résumé will keep evolving as your career unfolds.)
Have a good supply of résumés copied. 100 is probably a good start. Use a good white bond or slightly off-white bond paper. Avoid fancy colors and heavy paper.
See our Electronic Résumé Action Plan to create electronic and scannable versions of your résumé.

Putting Your Résumé To Good Use

Submit your résumé to the employers of your choice that will be coming to campus to interview via CareerKnight.
Bring plenty of résumés to career days on campus.
Send your résumé with a cover letter in response to newspaper job ads, Rutgers job listings, or directory entries.
Use your résumé as a networking tool: distribute it to friends, parents of friends, local merchants, relatives, or professors—anyone who will take it.
Send it out as part of a letter-writing campaign to employers in which you have an interest.


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