CAREER SERVICES CENTER
Resume Guide
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
1) Review the job description you are applying for. Notice the skills the job posting is looking for. Highlight on
your resume the skills that you have that correspond to the ones the posting is requesting.
2) Do not need to include every job you have ever had, only include the jobs/job duties that are relevant to
the position you are seeking.
3) Limit your resume to one page.
4) Review your resume for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. Do not rely solely on spell check.
5) Use the jargon of your profession only if you are applying for a job within your field.
6) List your relevant experience chronologically, starting with the most recent experience.
7) When you submit your resume to employers send it in PDF format.
8) Do not: include pictures, weight, height, health or other personal irrelevancies. It is illegal for an employer
to request these details outside of acting and modeling jobs.
RECOMMENDED SECTION TITLES & CONTENT:
1) Contact Information
Your first and last name.
A phone number at which you can be reached (preferably a phone with voicemail set up).
List a professional sounding email address that you check regularly.
The city and state you live in (do not include a street address or zip code).
2) Summary
Including a “summary” is optional and is generally only included if the background is not a clear match
with the position being applied for.
The summary is used to state a couple of key skills you have that are most relevant to the position you
are applying for. You should state your major, if relevant, and your desire to further develop your
existing skills in the industry you are looking to transition to.
This section should be extremely brief, two to three sentences max. The summary is NOT an
opportunity write what the position can do for you, but what you can do for the position.
3) Skills
List the skills you have that are relevant to the job.
Your resume should highlight the required and desired skills that you have that are listed in the job
description you are applying for.
When you list your skills, include your proficiency level such as: “proven” sales skills, “proficient” with
Microsoft Office Suite, etc.
Include skills such as languages and computer software skills, as well as, specific skills relevant to your
field.
Include any honors or awards you have received.
Santa Monica College | Career Services Center | 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Tel: 310.434.4337 | smc.edu/careerservices
4) Education
Include the education section of your resume before the experience section if your education is your
strongest selling point, otherwise it goes towards the bottom.
If your GPA is 3.25 or higher, you may consider including it.
Include the names of schools attended after high school. After 1 year of college you do not need to list
your high school.
List any degrees or certificates you have and include the year they were obtained.
List your major (if relevant to the job) and your expected degree or certificate completion date.
5) Experience
Include your experiences in class as a student, as a club member, as a volunteer, and as an employee.
Include any experience that allowed you to develop the interest and skills you have relevant to the
position you are applying for.
List your most recent experience first and then work backward.
Detail only the experience within the past ten years where you used skills relevant to the job you are
applying for.
Start all bullet points with an action word i.e., resolved, managed etc.
Within each position listed, stress your accomplishments most related to the skills and responsibilities
you will be asked to do in the position you are applying for.
FREE ONLINE RESUME BUILDING AND EVALUTAION TOOLS:
1) Career Coach: https://bit.ly/2Hu5jnR
Register for a free account and use the Career Coach resume builder. This tool will help you describe
your work experience using key words from the specific industry you are applying to.
You can also download your resume template in Microsoft Word so you can edit the resume anytime
you like.
2) Job Scan: https://www.jobscan.co/
Register for a free account and enter the job description you are applying for and the resume you
plan to apply with.
This tool will evaluate your resume for the job you are applying for and let you know if your resume
is a good match for the job you are applying for.
TRACK YOUR RESUME SUBMISSIONS/JOB SEARCH PROGRESS:
If an employer calls for an interview it is because they are interested in learning more about the experience you
have outlined in your resume, therefor it is important to keep track of:
Which companies you are applying to
Which version of you resume you sent
Many people have more than one versions of their resume, as we all have multiple skills and interests but
resumes require us to edit the content of our experience to only the most relevant for the positions we are
applying for.
Trello is a free online dashboard that you can use to easily plan and track your job search, and store copies of
document submitted for each job https://trello.com
Santa Monica College | Career Services Center | 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Tel: 310.434.4337 | smc.edu/careerservices
First Last Name
310.555.1212 | Los Angeles, CA | First&LastName@gmail.com
SUMMARY
Skilled at customer service and sales. Pursuing a degree in business administration. Looking to further develop
existing skills and expand knowledge of banking industry.
SKILLS
Fluent in English and Spanish.
Ability to prioritize in a fast paced environment.
Proven sales skills.
Great at customer service.
Skilled in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.
Problem solving abilities.
EDUCATION
Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA 2015 – Present
Major: Business
EXPERIENCE
McDonald’s, Los Angeles, CA 10/2014 – 7/2015
Cashier
Multi-tasked by processing and filling customer’s orders and payments quickly to maintain happy
customers by keeping long lines moving.
Took customer’s orders and recommended seasonal specialty items as an upsell.
Assisted customers with food allergies in the selection of appropriate items and notify management and
kitchen staff as appropriate.
Resolved customer issues and complaints or referred them to management as necessary.
Maintained proper food safety procedures and cleanliness of all areas at all times.
GAP, Los Angeles, CA 7/2013 – 9/2014
Store Associate
Recommended add on sales items to complement existing customer purchases.
Talked with the customers about where to find various exciting opportunistic buys within the store.
Kept dressing rooms cleared and store organized to ensure product availability and make shopper’s
experience easier.
Saint Ann’s Catholic High School, Los Angeles, CA 7/2013 – 9/2014
Fund Raising Volunteer
Created flyers to promote school fundraiser and request yard sale items be donated for fundraiser.
Invited other students to participate in collecting, organizing and putting price tags on the donated items.
Raised $600 for the school’s music program.
Sample General Resume: ( template available for download at www.smc.edu/resume )
Santa Monica College | Career Services Center | 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Tel: 310.434.4337 | smc.edu/careerservices
Sample Class Based Resume:
FIRST LAST
SUMMARY
A self-motivated, organized, dedicated, quick-learning individual, experienced with
lab and data analysis, pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry. Looking to further
develop existing skills and expand knowledge of fieldwork and lab analysis.
EDUCATION
Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA 2013 – Present
General Science
EXPERIENCE
Organic Chemistry, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA 9/2016-Present
Student
In this organic chemistry class, conducted qualitative analysis to identify 2
unknown substances
Ran samples on the OMNIC-IR to identify the structural components and
therefore did many chemical tests to further identify the substance.
Used the Beckman DU-520 to identify what wavelength the colored-samples
absorbed at.
Learned proper sample testing procedures, waste disposal, clean up and safety
protocol.
Purified samples with Hickman Distilling Head in process to identify substance
boiling point.
Public Policy Institute Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA 2/2017 – 5/2017
Intern
Collaborated with four other interns and a faculty advisor to create an on campus
event geared to engage students in discussions about political, environmental
and social issues.
Created welcome activity for event which included a list of questions for the
students to discuss with each other and empower them to be agents of change.
Wrote content for the events directional signage, promotional materials and
informational brochure.
Conducted outreach to departments on campus, asking them to offer credit to
student for participation in event.
Friends of Ballona Wetlands, Los Angeles, CA 3/2016 – 8/2017
Volunteer
Helped with habitat restoration by pulling out invasive, non-native species.
Did creek clean-ups and took photos and videos to spread awareness of pollution
on Facebook and Instagram.
Inorganic Chemistry, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA 12/2014 – 2/2015
Student
Used Microsoft Excel to create a standard curve, determine the relationship
between two variable parameters and use the R-squared value to determine how
well the data fits the equation.
Determined the amount of Manganese cation there was present in a sample using
the best-fit line.
Created a scatter plot of “Cost of antacid per equivalent versus Brand” and
rejected the outliers via the standard deviation.
Santa Monica College | Career Services Center | 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Tel: 310.434.4337 | smc.edu/careerservices
Los Angeles, CA
310-555-1212
last_firstname@student.smc.edu
AWARDS
Dean’s List 2013-2015
PTK 2015
PERSONAL SKILLS
Qualitative analysis.
Familiar with lab safety
protocol.
Preparation of lab apparatus.
Data entry.
Public Policy and
environmental advocacy.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Microsoft Office
Google Suite
Instagram, Facebook and
Snapchat.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
English
Spanish
CLUBS &
INTERESTS
Hiking
Environmental Protection
Volunteer Work
Chemistry Club
Incoming Activities &
Outreach Officer
Santa Monica College
Center for Media & Design
Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design (IxD).
LA Marler Studios
Intern, Santa Monica, CA
Created Social Media campaigns for promoting art show. Help to set-
Worked with
MailChimp and Photoshop to create newsletters.
Freelance Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer, Culver City, CA
Designed a logo for Culver Creates an “arts for all” website. Designed
motion graphics for “Swing Note” golf informercial.
Hulu Accessibility Research
SMC, Design for Community Change Class
Conducted User Experience Research and User Testing with the visually
impaired for Hulu. Our team deployed a participatory prototype in the
form of a creative tool kit, to gain insight into how the community uses
tech
accessibility.
Inspiration Garden
SMC, Product Design Class
To eliminate some of the obstacles to a successful school garden
program our team created a garden system that is modular and
maintained via a hub, and sensors. By using Augmented Reality (AR),
inspiration garden will supplement classroom learning making lessons
exciting and fun.
Pub Hub
SMC, Mobile Design Class
Designed a virtual dog fostering app that will get more dogs in
peoples' homes and adopted. This app would link with local dog
rescues, and shelters to make fostering easier and more
convenient.
Sample Project Based Resume:
First Last Name
Interaction Designer
portfolio.com | email@gmail.com | Phone number
Santa Monica College | Career Services Center | 1900 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Tel: 310.434.4337 | smc.edu/careerservices
EDUCATION
Expected Graduation
June 2019
EXPERIENCE
2017 - 2018
2010 - 2018
PROJECTS
Fall 2018
Spring 2018
Fall 2017
SKILLS
UX Methods
Contextual Interview
Ethnography
Usability Testing
User Journey
Storyboarding
Interaction Flow Chart
Rapid Prototyping
Empathy Mapping
Design
UI Graphics
Prototyping
Concept Sketches
Wireframe & Mock-up Sketches
Mobile
Tools
Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign,
Illustrator, Photoshop, and XD.
Sketch
Fusion 360
Invision & Marvel
Basic HTML & CSS
VOLUNTEER WORK
Alpha Gama Sigma Honor Society
Santa Monica College (2016)
Community & cultural events
volunteer.
La Ballona Elementary School
Culver City, CA (2011-2016)
Volunteer Art and Gardening
Teacher.
American Red Cross
Santa Monica, CA (2005)
Hurricane victims assistance
volunteer.
Independent Writer/Producer
Los Angeles, CA (2012)
Co-collaborated on TV pilot
development and production.
