JSG Career Center

Writing & Improving Your Resume

Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume –what’s the difference?

CV – for professionals like PhD’s, Doctors Unlimited length Purpose: Describe a person’s career in detail

Resume – for job seekers not in academics A ‘quick read’ Length: 1 page undergrad; 2 pages graduate Purpose: A quick read for employer to screen for

qualified applicants The resume gets you the interview The interview gets you the job

The Basics

Name & Contact Information Objective (optional) Education

Relevant Courses

Work and/or Volunteer Experience Skills (optional) Award and Honors Professional Memberships Publications and/or Presentations

Sections of the Resume

Layout: Left Justified Margins: 0.8” - 1.0”

Font Size: 10 or 11 point Font Style Arial Times New Roman

Palatino Linotype

High Quality Paper: 8 1/2” x 11” 20 lb paper White, light cream, or grey

Format & Appearance

Formatting: Bold section titles One pace between each Section

Italics for Thesis or Dissertation titles or emphasis

Bullets for lists only

Vertical list of job duties, accomplishments

Print on laser jet in black ink only Save as Adobe PDF for sending via email Download and use a template in the GeoSource

Resource Library

Format & Appearance

Your name centered, bold, larger font 2-3 points larger than body

Local mailing address Current phone number Professional email address Place contact information either centered, under

name or make two columns at each margin under centered name

Name & Contact Information

A brief phrase that describes the job you are seeking Not a complete sentence Not in first person No “I” or “Me” or “My”

Use third-person language A summer intern as a geologist in the petroleum industry

A full-time geophysicist position in petroleum exploration

An internship as a hydrogeologist with an environmental consulting company

NOTE: No periods at the end of phrases

Objective (optional)

List skills that will be useful in your career or those that match the job description

Geoscience skills Field work Laboratory

Computer skills Computer Languages or Programming

Specialty software fo geosciences

Languages Proficiency levels: Basic, Working, Native Speaking, writing, reading

Skills (optional)

Degrees from JSG are in Geological Sciences Majors: General Geology Geophysics Hydrogeology Environmental Science Teaching

B.A. in Geological Science w/ minor B.S. in Geosystems Engineering &

Hydrogeology (first two years)

Education - Undergraduate

B.S. General Geology May 2011 The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences Current Overall GPA: 3.52/4.0 Honors Thesis: [Title, if applicable] Advisor [name, if applicable]

B.A. with Math Minor May 2011 The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Education – Undergraduate Example

Do not include if significantly below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

Include the proper scale if not 4 pt. scale: 8.8/10.0 How many decimal places?

3.25 (not 3.25001258) No more than two places past the decimal Do not round up

Calculate your Major GPA (geoscience courses only) if it is significantly better than your overall

Formula for calculating the Major GPA Next slide =>

About the GPA

• Points earned for a class depend on the total of

the number of points earned ÷ number of credit hours of that course

• A=4 pts, B=3 pts, C=2 pts, D=1 pt, F=0 pt – If you earn an A for a 4-credit hour course, you earn 16

pts; B earns 12 pts; C earns 8 pts, D earns 4 pts – If you earn a A for a 3-credit hour course, you earn 12

pts; B earns 9 pts; C earns 6 pts • Add up the points per course for all courses in your

major only

Calculate your Major GPA

M.S. and Ph.D. Themes & Disciplines are unique to JSG Include your concentration

M.A. or M.S. – Energy & Earth Resources Include your dual degree if applicable

Include thesis title, advisor’s name, GPA

Include your previous degree

Education-Graduate Students

Master of Science, Geophysics December 2012

The University of Texas at Austin

Jackson School of Geosciences

Thesis: 3D Seismic Imaging of a Cretaceous Accretionary Wedge

Advisor: Sean Gulick

GPA: 3.5/4.0

B.S. in Geology, cum laude May 2009

The University of Oklahoma

Education - Graduate Example

Undergraduates: List most relevant and higher-level geoscience courses by name

Graduates: List courses most closely related to your objective or specialty

May list courses outside of major if they are relevant to your major and/or objective (i.e. engineering, math, physics courses)

Outside or special training Software Training

Professional Courses

Relevant Courses

Work Experience REVERSE chronological order always Dates as month & year in a range January 2008 to Present Jan 2009 – Sep 2010 August 2007 – June 2008

Briefly describe duties & accomplishments Use “power” action verbs Best place for bulleted lists Keep language ‘parallel’

Volunteer Experience Community Service Social Sorority or Fraternity work

Experience

Keep verb tenses consistent: Current job-use present tense

All past jobs-use past tense

A Few Key Action Verbs for the geosciences: Utilized, Completed, Analyzed, Evaluated, Revised,

Developed, Advised, Provided, Contributed, Updated, Interpreted, Correlated, Mapped, Gathered, Reported, Modeled, Generated, Designed, Presented, Maintained, Operated, Monitored, Recorded, Examined, Determined, Created, Conducted, Produced, Demonstrated, Described

Describing Experience

List scholarships you have received List academic awards and honors Dates should be Year or Semester + Year Dean’s Honor List

Scholarship or Grant name, year awarded

Example: Jackson School of Geosciences Academic Scholarship, Spring 2010 to Present

Certificates or Licenses

Do NOT include dollar amounts

Awards and Honors

Membership in at least one relevant professional organization is highly recommended

Local Organizations Graduate Student Executive Committee (GSEC)

Undergraduate Geological Society (UGS)

Geosciences Leadership Organization for Women (GLOW) POSSE

National Organizations-a few examples American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)*

Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)*

Geological Society of America (GSA)

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Society of Professional Engineers (SPE)

* Student Chapters in the JSG

Professional Memberships

List poster sessions, technical publications or presentations at conferences Include the title and place of presentation

Format for publications Example Bryant, I., Carr, D., and Thurmond, J., 2000, Use of 3-D

digital analogues as templates in reservoir modeling: Petroleum Geoscience, v. 6, p. 195–201.

Presentations & Publications

The phrase “References Available Upon Request” is outdated

Do not mention references-if the employer wants them, they will ask for them after first interview

However: Prepare a separate page with 3 professional references

Name, title, full contact information ALWAYS ask permission from your reference Tell them the employer name Give them a copy of your updated resume

About References

Keep your resume updated It must be error free or it will go in the ‘No pile’ You are building a professional, technical resume

No colored ink or fancy fonts Paper may be white, cream or gray

Print out several copies for career fairs Take copies with you to an interview For on-campus recruiting, have a copy of your

transcript for the interview Next Step: Write a cover letter (another .PPTX)

Last Words