Highlighting Your Experience on Your Resume

The area that employers focus the most time reviewing is your experience. Experiences can include paid or unpaid opportunities, part-time or full-time work, internships, volunteer/community service work, significant leadership experience, class projects/relevant coursework, service-learning experiences, teaching/shadowing opportunities, field work, etc. If you are submitting your resume to an employer/program, you will want to tailor your information based on the requirements of the job/program. Ideally, you should focus on your direct experiences that relate to the skills and requirements desired by the employer/program, followed by any transferable skills. It is not required to list all of your experiences on a tailored resume being sent to an employer/program. If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your experiences. For more information on creating a master resume, visit From Master Resume to Tailored Resume.

For your resume, unless you are using a functional resume format, list each experience in reverse chronological order (most recent experience first). Include specific information about your experience such as:

Job Title/Position
Company/Organization Official Full Name
Course name and Institution (if highlighting relevant coursework)
Location (city, state)
Dates of Tenure (start to end date in month and year format)
Responsibilities and Impact
Hard and Soft Skills learned and/or used
Promotions
Awards and Recognitions

Your history of experiences can also be listed/grouped together based on similarities. For your tailored resume, make sure the categories you include on your resume are relevant to the job/program.

The following are examples of how you can group your experiences:

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Relevant Coursework

Having an experience section focused on relevant coursework can be very important for students with limited professional experience. Highlighting what you learned in your relevant courses can show an employer/program that you have the basic skills and/or qualifications they desire or have begun to develop the necessary skills through your education. Sharing your relevant coursework allows an employer/program to imagine the possibilities of how you would be able to apply your skills in real-world applications.

In this section, you will want to avoid simply listing all of your relevant courses. Instead, you will want to provide additional details of a few of your courses with the most relevant experience and applicable skills. Things to list include:

Full name of the course
Date of Tenure (Start and end dates of when you took the course in month/year format)
The hard/technical skills you achieved from taking the course
Any projects, reports, lab experiments, research, real-world applications, knowledge of specialized procedures/theories/processes, analysis of data, speaking engagements, recognition/awards

Projects

Adding projects to your resume can be a great way to share some of your hands-on practical experience. It is especially helpful for those who:

Have limited professional experience, especially students and new professionals
Want to highlight experience outside of their daily role
Are changing or pivoting careers
Have a history of freelance/independent work experience

Examples of projects to list might be associated with courses and/or trainings you have taken, jobs you have held, or even projects you have created on your own. Under each project, include the project title and project dates, highlight the project itself (description), any skills and knowledge you have gained/used, the actions you took, and the results of your projects. Make sure to also acknowledge who you did the project for and with as well as any links to your work when possible.

When deciding which projects to add to your tailored resume, only include those projects that highlight any skills and/or qualifications listed in the job/program description. For your tailored resume, depending on the job/program description, projects can be listed under your education (i.e. thesis or capstone projects), within your relevant experience section, or within a decided projects section.

If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your projects related to your career interest.

Volunteer/Community Service

Listing your volunteer experience is a great way to demonstrate your skills and your commitment to your community. It is especially helpful if you:

Have limited paid professional experience;
Are transitioning careers;
Have relevant volunteer experience;
Need to highlight your leadership skills, etc.

You can list experiences where you volunteered for a day to extended opportunities in which you helped communities or populations with a particular interest. However, more consideration/weight will be directed toward longer term volunteer opportunities.

You will want to use the same formatting as your other work experience and highlight your accomplishments, just as you would with other forms of employment. For a tailored resume, if your volunteer experience is highly relevant to the job/program you are applying to, you will want to include it alongside your relevant experience versus in a dedicated volunteer-work section. If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your experiences.

Leadership Experience

Employers/Programs like candidates who show initiative and are willing to take action to ensure the success of a team, assignment, project, etc. Be specific about what it is that you accomplished. Employers/Programs want to see concrete and specific examples of how you empathize, communicate, solve problems, are creative, work as a team, delegate, manage, etc.

For your resume, these are some of the ways you can demonstrate and/or group your leadership experience:

Volunteer/Community Service Work
Student Government/Student Club Executive Board Experience
College/Club Team Sports
Teaching, Coaching, Mentoring, Training Roles
Internships
Service Learning
Study Abroad
Through individual issues or problems you have taken action to solve via jobs/roles you have held

Relevant Experience

For this section, you can list a variety or mix of jobs, experiences, trainings, projects, leadership roles in clubs and organizations, internships, volunteer work, independent projects, etc., if they are relevant to the job description.

Job Shadowing

Job shadowing is a great way to gain insight into a particular position/career. It can show recruiters:

The practical, on-the-job experience you've gained;
Your dedication and commitment to your future career;
Your readiness for a position; and
Your willingness to learn.

However, shadowing experiences will vary from one job to the next. The goal with listing job shadowing experiences is to demonstrate what you've learned and the skills you have acquired. You will also want to include where you did your shadowing and who you shadowed (if applicable).

When deciding which shadowing experiences to add to your tailored resume, only include those experiences that highlight any skills and/or qualifications listed in the job/program description. For your tailored resume, depending on the job/program description, shadowing experiences can be listed under a related section or within its own decided section.

If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your shadowing related to your career interest.

Teaching/Mentoring/Coaching

Highlight your paid as well as unpaid work experiences through which you have gained desired skills and knowledge that are useful for a position that involves teaching/mentoring/coaching of any kind. This may include any tutoring, camp counselor, coaching, mentoring, teaching, proctoring, and/or shadowing experience of the like.

Don't forget to include any:

Specific lesson plans
Teaching styles/methods/theories/techniques
Classroom management skills,
Diversity components, (Age, At Risk, English-Learners, etc.)
Grade range (if applicable)
Curriculum subject matter
Use of assessment tools,
Standardized testing protocols
Parental/guardian and community involvement
After-school activities
Assessment
Use of technology

Lastly, if you are applying for a teaching position at a university/college, the employer/program may ask for your curriculum vitae (CV) versus a resume. Please schedule an appointment with the Career Services Center for further assistance.

Clinical Experience

For those who want to work in healthcare, specifically in a direct patient-facing role, it is common to include clinical experience on your resume. This helps to show potential employers/academic programs you have experience working in a clinical setting.

For this section, make sure to include the area of your clinical experience as well as the skills and responsibilities associated with that clinical experience. Your clinical experience can include formal positions as well as clinical opportunities/rotations during your academic career.

Research

Research is a great way to gain hands-on practical experience in many career fields, not just in science.

In this section, you should highlight the skills and experiences you have gained from conducting research. Share any relevant skills, knowledge, and/or experience by detailing the actions you specifically took (your role) during your research experience as well as any results that came from your research.

If your research is separate from a class, for example in partnership with a faculty/industry professional, make sure to acknowledge the partnership on your resume. Information to list include: name, position, department, university, area of research, etc.

You will also want to highlight information on the specific research/experiment, research methodologies, data collection, equipment usage, lab procedures, any presentations, even poster presentations, funding support, etc. If the research you are conducting will be published and/or you have presented your research, such as at a conference, this information can be included in this section or can be listed under its own “Presentations" and/or "Publications” section.

Lastly, if you are applying for a job in a scientific or academic field, depending on the position, the employer/program may ask for your curriculum vitae (CV) versus a resume. Please schedule an appointment with the Career Services Center for further assistance.

Fieldwork Experience

For some careers, in particular some in science as well as in the arts and social sciences, it is important to gain experience outside, often in a natural area versus within an inside lab setting. If you will be including your fieldwork experience, make sure to highlight the skills and experiences you have gained from conducting fieldwork. Share any relevant skills, knowledge, and/or experience by detailing the actions you specifically took (your role) during your fieldwork experience as well as any results that came from your fieldwork

If your fieldwork is separate from a class, for example in partnership with a faculty/industry professional, make sure to acknowledge the partnership on your resume. Information to list include: name, position, department, university, area of fieldwork, etc.

You will also want to highlight information on the specific field work you conducted, any methodologies, data collected, equipment used, procedures, presentations, poster presentations, funding support, etc. If the field work you are conducting will be published and/or you have presented your work, such as at a conference, this information can be included in this section or can be listed under its own “Presentations" and/or "Publications” section.

Lastly, if you are applying for a job in a scientific or university/college teaching field, depending on the position, the employer/program may ask for your curriculum vitae (CV) versus a resume. Please schedule an appointment with the Career Services Center for further assistance.

Lab Experience

For some careers, knowledge of how to safely and effectively work in a lab is crucial. For you resume, there are several ways to show your lab work experience. Ideally, you first want to highlight your hard/technical skills under the "Skills" section of your resume but you always want to highlight specific real-world examples of where you have applied those skills under your experience.

If you will be including a section on lab experience, make sure to highlight the skills and experiences you have gained from working/being in a lab. Share any relevant skills, knowledge, and/or experience by detailing the actions you specifically took (your role) during your lab experience as well as any results/accomplishments that came from your lab work.

If your lab work is separate from a class, for example in partnership with a faculty/industry professional, make sure to acknowledge the partnership on your resume. Information to list include: name, position, department, university, lab area, etc.

You will also want to highlight information on the specific lab work you conducted, any methodologies, data collected, equipment used, procedures, presentations, poster presentations, funding support, etc. If the lab work you are conducting will be published and/or you have presented your work, such as at a conference, this information can be included in this section or can be listed under its own “Presentations" and/or "Publications” section.

Presentations

An effective way to showcase your communication skills is to include a section focused on your presentations. Presentations in your field can demonstrate your subject matter knowledge, industry expertise as well as skills and qualifications to a prospective employer/program. Examples of presentations you might want to include are:

Where you volunteered or were asked to educate an audience about a specific topic
Those that position you as an industry leader/expert in your career field
Related to special events such as conferences
Poster Presentations
Connect back to an organization's mission or goals

If creating a separate "Presentations" section, you will want to avoid listing presentations that are typically part of your necessary responsibilities of a role you have held. Instead you can highlight these types experiences under your relevant coursework or the actual roles you have held. Make sure to include the most relevant presentation first, the presentation title in italics, name and date of the presentation, presentation topic, and any related publications associated with the presentation.

When deciding which presentations to add to your tailored resume, only include those presentations that highlight any skills and/or qualifications listed in the job/program description. Do not include any outdated presentations (no longer relevant to your field). If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your presentations related to your career interest.

Publications

Similar to presentation, another effective way to showcase your communication skills is to include a section focused on your publications. Publications in your field can demonstrate your subject matter knowledge, industry expertise as well as skills and qualifications to a prospective employer/program. Examples of presentations you might want to include are:

Where you volunteered or were asked to educate an audience about a specific topic
Those that position you as an industry leader/expert in your career field
Related to special events such as conferences
Connect back to an organization's mission or goals

If creating a separate "Publications" section, you will want to avoid listing publications that are typically part of your necessary responsibilities of a role you have held. Instead you can highlight these types experiences under your relevant coursework or the actual roles you have held. Make sure to cite your work in reverse chronological order and per your field. Fields within humanities follow MLA style, whereas science and engineering follow APA style. If publishing with others, to draw attention to your byline, bold your name.

When deciding which publications to add to your tailored resume, only include those publications that highlight any skills and/or qualifications listed in the job/program description. Do not include any outdated publications (no longer relevant to your field). If you are working on your master resume, you will want to include all of your presentations related to your career interest. Pending work can also be included with publication information omitted.

Military Experience

For those students who are currently active military or have served our country previously, you possess many important skills and impressive knowledge developed as a result of your military experience. For jobs/programs that are specifically asking for your direct military service, you may want to create a separate section focused on your military experience. However, before you list your military experience, it is important to translate your military experience to civilian terminology. For more information, view Military to Civilian Translations. You will also want to confirm whether the job/program requires a federal civilian. For assistance with creating a federal resume, schedule an appointment with the Career Services Center.

Constructing Your Accomplishment Statements

Regardless of what experience you have, employers/programs are drawn to strong and well-written accomplishment statements - also called descriptive statements or action statements. Accomplishment statements highlight the results you have achieved, the skills and competencies you have developed and the contributions you have made that make you ready for a job, internship, or other type of role. For tailored resumes, they show your achievements that are most relevant to the position you are seeking. Hiring managers already have a firm idea of the duties and responsibilities associated with the position being offered. What they want to determine is how well you are able to perform those duties.

When you list your statements, use bullet points versus paragraph format. Use simple, but professional bullets such as circles and squares. Checkmarks, hand symbols or pencils bullet points are distracting and deters employers away from your accomplishments. Eliminate words such as “I,” “my,” and “we” and quantify experiences, whenever possible. Use action verbs that describe your contributions versus your responsibilities. Always use present tense if the experience is current and past tense if the experience is no longer being done. Only use the jargon of a profession/technical language if you are applying for a job within that field. Don’t be humble. This is your opportunity to promote yourself and sell your skills, even transferable skills.

Constructing Accomplishment Statements:

When constructing your accomplishments, try to include statements that explain what you did in the position, how you did it and the results of your actions. You want to set yourself apart from other applicants. Consider the following guidelines to help you guide you in constructing your accomplishment statements:

Focus more on what you actually accomplished versus simply repeating the job duties
Start each accomplishment statement with strong action verbs to show your actions and results as well as to capture your achievements
Emphasize tangible results; Try to quantify/provide measurements when you can. Use concrete numbers and provable statistics to quantify your experiences
Tailor your skills and experiences to the job/program
Include qualitative statements that measure your accomplishments using quality and characteristics. Show concrete examples of your interpersonal/soft skills
Share the project/task/challenge/example + your actions + result/outcome/evidence

Examples:

Created and led 5 preschool aged children in activities, following the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, empowering them to explore their individual interests and learn more
Tutored an 8th grade student in pre-algebra, using teacher’s curriculum to raise student grade from a C to B+ over the course of a year
Managed the daily operations of a clothing store, including opening and closing operations, inventory management and new employee onboarding
Maintained and updated the 100 client business database, records, and distribution lists

Sample Resumes

For example of resumes, view the Career Guides for your Area of Interest.