RESUME & CV GUIDE

A Resume is a document that provides a summary of your education, work experience, skills, achievements, and other relevant information. The purpose of a resume is to present a concise and organized overview of your qualifications and professional/academic background to potential employers or admissions committees. For college students, this should be limited to one page - however, there may be exceptions based on the industry (i.e. government positions may require a longer resume).

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is similar to a resume in that it includes your skills, experiences, and successes; additionally it can additionally include more sections that highlight research, lab skills, community and volunteer involvement, publications, and much more. These are typically utilized for those pursuing graduate & professional schools, research positions, academia, and more. A CV can be one page, but may also be extended to 2-3 pages as needed for college students based on your experiences.

***Note: If you prefer working in Word instead of Google Docs, open the Resume template and click "File" --> "Download" --> "Microsoft Word" and open in Word to continue.

For additional, industry-specific resume samples, check out Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center (Use your Davidson single sign-on credentials.)

Crafting a professional resume is a process. When creating your first professional résumé, it is crucial to have solid formatting consolidated onto one page (for college students). While templates may vary, we encourage to find a template that is easy to read and clearly separates your experiences in a logical format. See below for our templates to get started!

1) Select a template

2) Brainstorm your past experiences, starting now and working backwards

• Entering your junior year, you should aim to have primarily college experiences on your résumé, however, some exceptions may apply

3) Organize your experiences into clearly labeled sections on your resume

4) Fill in each experience with your responsibilities, transferable skills gained, and any results you attained

5) Schedule an appointment or stop by our drop-ins to review your résumé with a career adviser. From here, work with your adviser to polish your resume until it is ready for approval through Handshake!

Your résumé or CV should be reviewed by a minimum of three individuals before it is submitted to an employer or graduate program. This will ensure that your résumé or CV are free of errors and typos, and that you are promoting yourself effectively to your targeted audience. Take advantage of these options to assist in this area:

Betty and B. Frank Matthews II '49 Center for Career Development Advisers: Provide résumé and CV critiques to hundreds of students each year. Visit the office during drop-in advising hours or schedule an appointment to meet with an adviser.

Davidson Connect: Many friends of Davidson, including alumni and parents have signed up through Davidson Connect to serve as career development mentors. One service option available is to provide students with résumé and CV critiques. This is an excellent way to receive industry and job specific feedback from professionals in career fields of interest to you.

The Betty and B. Frank Matthews II ’49 Center for Career Development welcomes requests for reasonable accommodations related to disability and strives to make this resource accessible to participants. Please contact careers@davidson.edu if you require further accommodations.