Resume Resources

• Include your e-mail, phone number, and LinkedIn profile link if you have one.
• Your physical address is optional – many students may choose to list the city, state of their hometown if they wish to work in that area. 

• Your education should be formatted as follows:
  Virginia Tech, Pamplin College of Business, Blacksburg VA          Expected Graduation:
  B.S. in Major – Concentration
  Minor (Optional)
  GPA

*Do not include your high school education. Recruiters will be interested in college-level education here only. 

• Include Job Title, Organization, Location, Dates of Employment, and bullet points highlighting your accomplishments/contributions.
• Focus on YOU and your specific achievements, rather than a general description of the role.
• Quantify when possible by adding numerical metrics, dates, dollar amounts, percentages, etc. This is one of the best ways to enhance your resume and stand out.
  • Ex. Provided customer service to over 100 guests per day via phone and in person.
  • Ex. Exceeded sales goals by 20% between June and August.
• Use strong action words to describe your achievements – try to begin each bullet point with an action verb. 

• This section can take on a number of different titles, depending on the activities you choose to include (Extracurricular Activities, Leadership, Campus Involvement, etc.). Choose the title that best suits your experiences.
• Include student organizations, clubs, both on and off campus activities.
• Quantify this section when possible – add metrics, results, numbers to demonstrate your accomplishments and contributions.
• Highlight key roles or positions if applicable 

• If you have volunteered with an organization or event (such as Relay for Life, Big Event, etc.) include it here.
• Organizations often have relationships with charitable organizations and will appreciate seeing your effort to give back to the community. Ut prosim!
• Format this section similar to your extracurricular section. 

• If you have achieved certifications via Virginia Tech, LinkedIn Learning, or elsewhere, include them here.
• List out the specific title of the certification, and the date received if relevant. 

• Your skills section should focus on technical/computer skills only. Do not include soft skills here, as your soft skills should be represented in the bullet points of your experiences. 

• If you have completed a significant course project or personal project, include it here.
• If you include projects, format it by giving it a project title, and adding bullet points describing your accomplishments. Be specific here, and focus on metrics, results, and any technical skills applied.
• Course projects are a great way to highlight your relevant skills if you have not yet held a position. 

• This section should only be used when a student has extra space, and should never replace be prioritized over work experience or extracurriculars. 
• We recommend this section only if you have coursework that is different from the standard curriculum of Pamplin students. This may include taking upper level coursework early to demonstrate skills when seeking an internship, or taking additional coursework outside of your major. 

• Scholarships, awards, dean’s list, etc. can be included in this section. 

Your resume will stand out because of the content, not the format. Don’t be tempted to add pictures or color to try and stand out – recruiters appreciate a standardized format so that they can quickly scan your document and know where to find important information. 

• If you are a first or second year student, you can absolutely include your high school activities. We do NOT recommend including your high school in your education experience.
• By your junior year, recruiters will expect that you have gotten involved on campus and potentially held a position. We recommend removing all high school activities by your junior year. If you are looking to get involved, check out the following links for information about available student orgs:
  • GobblerConnect
  • Pamplin Student Organizations

• Part-time work can highlight important soft skills that employers are seeking and should be included on your resume if you have room. A few tips for including part-time positions:
  • Quantifying your experience when possible
  • Explicitly highlighting soft skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork, initiative, etc.
  • Include any training/onboarding that you conducted for other team members 

• We do not recommend including an objective statement, unless you have a unique situation that you want to communicate to recruiters, such as:
  • You are seeking a position that is vastly different than your area of study
  • Your availability is different than one might assume
  • You are seeking a specific location and are only open to that area

Recruiters will typically be able to determine your objective based on your graduation date, major, and/or application.  

• There are a few options for listing a double major or dual degree, and your format will ultimately depend on the space you have available on your resume. Generally, we recommend the following:
  • Double Major:Vir
    ginia Tech, Pamplin College of Business, Blacksburg VA Expected Graduation:
    B.S. in Major – Concentration & Major – Concentration
    Minor (Optional)
    GPA
  • Dual Degree:
    Virginia Tech, Pamplin College of Business, Blacksburg VA Expected Graduation:
    B.S. in Major – Concentration
    B.S. in Major – Concentration
    Minor (Optional)
    GPA 

• This is completely up to you! Some transfer students prefer to include to help tell their whole story, because they received a degree, or because they have space they wish to fill on their resume.
• Some transfer students may choose to omit their previous institution because they did not complete a degree, were there for a short period of time, do not wish to talk to recruiters about their experience, or simply do not have space.
• Remember that anything on your resume is fair game for a recruiter to ask about, so include what you are comfortable discussing! 

• If you are a first year student or transfer student, you will not have a GPA until after your first completed semester – this is completely fine. Recruiters understand that GPA’s are not assigned until after your first semester, and will not expect one.
• If you are a transfer student, you may consider including your previous institution education and GPA, especially if it is a strong GPA.

• Yes! You will include your dates of membership, so a recruiter will be able to see that you are a new member.
• Remember that anything on your resume is fair game for a recruiter to ask for more information. Be prepared to speak to the organization (why you joined, what you hope to accomplish, etc.). 

• Yes! Involvement and campus leadership are some of the most important aspects of your resume. Recruiters appreciate students who demonstrate people skills via campus involvement. 
• Listing a non-business activity may even be a great talking point depending on the activity! You and your recruiter may find a shared interest through the discussion. 

• We do not recommend that undergraduate student resumes or recent graduate resumes be more than one page.
• This may mean that you will need to prioritize certain experiences over others. Think about what you would most like a recruiter to know about you and your experience. Talk to our team if you are unsure what to prioritize! 

• Public accounting firms will want to know that you will be the eligible for the CPA exam, which means that you will be graduating with 150 credit hours.
• We recommend listing “Expected Graduation with 150 Credit Hours: “ 

• This will vary depending on what you have included on your resume. The best rule is to put your most important/impressive information at the top – what do you want a recruiter to know about you first?
• Within each section, your information should be listed from most recent to least recent.