Résumé Resources
Make Your First Introduction Count
Your résumé is a snapshot of your professional story. It should present your experience, education, skills, and accomplishments clearly while helping employers quickly understand the value you may bring.
Résumé Standards
Start With a Clear, Professional Foundation
Best Practices
- One page preferred for students and early-career candidates
- Experienced professionals: concise, no more than two pages
- Submit as a PDF
- Use a clean, professional font
- 10–12 pt body text; 14–16 pt headings
- Aligned margins and consistent spacing
- Use white space for readability
What to Avoid
- Do not include a photo
- Do not use graphics
- Use color sparingly
- Avoid cluttered layouts and long paragraphs
- Never embellish or include inaccurate information
Résumé Sections
What to Include
Contact Information
- Full name
- Cell phone number with a professional voicemail
- Professional email address (not a school email)
- Custom LinkedIn URL
- Portfolio or website link when relevant
- City and state
Education
- Institution
- Degree and major
- Graduation year or Expected [Year]
- Honors or awards when relevant
- Do not include long coursework lists
Experience
- Reverse chronological order
- Job title, company or organization, location, and dates (month and year)
- Relevant professional, internship, freelance, project, or campus experience
Skills
- Software, tools, systems, and languages relevant to the role
- Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook when applicable
- Role-specific technical or creative skills
- Demonstrate soft skills through experience — avoid listing words like "hardworking" or "good communicator"
Optional Highlights
- Awards
- Leadership roles
- Organizations
- Training or certifications
- Competitive programs
- Scholarships or grants
Writing Your Experience
Show Results, Not Just Responsibilities
- Use three to five concise bullet points for each relevant role
- Begin bullets with strong action verbs
- Focus on results rather than only listing duties
- Include numbers, percentages, volume, rankings, time saved, or other measurable impact when accurate
- Place the most relevant information first
- Remove experience that does not support the target opportunity
- Avoid filler phrases such as "responsible for" and "various"
- Use active voice
Example
Before
"Responsible for managing social media accounts and various content tasks."
After
"Grew Instagram engagement 34% in 90 days by developing a weekly content calendar and launching a student-led video series."
Example is illustrative only and does not represent a real candidate.
Sample Résumés
Explore Résumé Samples
These samples are guides, not turnkey templates. Adjust the order, content, and formatting based on your own experience while following ETN and EICOP résumé standards.
Final Review
Proof, Polish, & Tailor Every Time
- Spellcheck the résumé
- Ask another person to review it
- Use consistent bullet punctuation
- Check names, dates, links, and contact information
- Match relevant keywords from the job description
- Reorder bullets so the most relevant appear first
- Remove unrelated information
- Confirm the résumé prints clearly in black and white
- Confirm there is no blank extra page
- Save the file as Firstname_Lastname_Resume.pdf
- Ask: can someone scan this in eight seconds and understand why I may be a fit?
Video Resource
Résumé and Career Readiness Video
Résumé & Career Readiness
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Careers grow. Organizations evolve. New needs emerge.
ETN connects talented professionals with opportunities to grow their careers while helping employers find the people they need to strengthen their teams, meet changing demands, and move the work forward.