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Resumes: What You Need to Know

The resume is an opportunity to market yourself to a prospective employer. It should be succinct, target an employer's needs, and distinguish you from your competitors. Before you get started, think about your strengths, weaknesses, personal preferences, and motivations. You should also consider the company's needs, who your competition might be, and your unique skill set. The best way to convince employers that you will add value is to show them that you've done it before.

Alumni Resume Book

Our Alumni Resume Book connects you with organizations looking for talent. Visit 12twenty (our recruiting platform) and upload your resume to get started. You should complete your Profile in 12twenty by updating your Background tab which contains information about your career experience, skills, preferences and more. Ensuring your Background tab is complete and accurate will greatly improve your chance of being contacted by an organization. Looking to connect with fellow HBS alumni? Upload your resume to the Alumni Networking Resume Book to kick start those connections.

Resume Makeover Using VMock and Aspire  

Gain instant feedback on your resume and LinkedIn Profile

VMock is a smart career platform that provides instant personalized feedback on your resume and LinkedIn Profile to help improve aspects like presentation, language, and skills.

VMock Smart Editor tool will enable you to:

• Receive an objective score on your resume based on recruiter criteria
• Review line-for-line targeted feedback on your resume
• Re-upload your resume up to 10 times to track improvement

Sign up using your HBS email address. Account requests are granted within 24 business hours. During holidays and winter break (December 24th – January 1st) turnaround time will be delayed until the CPD office reopens. Please note, we recommend you review your resume before considering it final.

Resumes: Sections, Templates & Examples

• Contact details - Let others know who you are and how to get in touch with you. In addition to your name, you should list your mailing address, phone number, and email address. It is expected to be found at the top of the page. No need to include it on additional pages.
• Professional history - Start with your most recent role and list in descending chronology. For each role, provide a sentence or two that describes the scope of your responsibility. Then in bullet format, provide accomplishment statements. To write an accomplishment statement, state the problem you encountered, the action you took and the result or impact of your actions. For example, "Led team in implementing a new general ledger package by providing expertise and encouragement, which contributed to a successful, on-time project completion."
• Education - Spell out your degree so it will stand out better. It is not necessary to include your GPA or GMAT score. Do not list courses. Do list any leadership roles or study abroad experiences.
• Summary/Profile - A great opportunity to tell the reader exactly what you want them to know. It should be 3-4 sentences in paragraph form following your contact information. Be careful not to load up on overused resume jargon and avoid listing previous jobs/education as it is redundant. Instead, focus on your branding statement, unique themes in your career path, and skills.
• Key skills - Listing your skills is a great way for the reader to quickly evaluate your skill set. List skills that are relevant to your next position. For each skill, you will need a proof statement in the form of an accomplishment stated in the professional experience section. A good way to set up this section is in 2 or 3 columns with 3-4 skills in each column. The heading could be "Key Areas of Expertise" or "Core Competencies".
• Personal/Interests - Only include if it helps tell your story.
• Additional roles - If you participate in organizations outside of your professional employment, you may list these in a separate section. Headings are typically "Volunteer Leadership Roles" or "Community Service".
• Licenses and Professional Certifications - If you possess a license or certification, these should be called out in a separate section.
• Objective - No longer in style. Do not include in your resume.
• References available upon request - No longer in style. Do not include in your resume.
• Zip file of all resume templates (login required)

Chronological - This is the most commonly used layout. Recommended for a mostly consistent record of employment showing progression/growth from position to position. Not recommended for gaps in employment dates, those out of job market for some time, or changing careers.

• Template 1 (login required)
• Template 2 (login required)
• Template 3 (login required)
• Template 4 (login required)
• Sample 1: C-Level Resume (login required)
• Sample 2: Consulting to Operating Company Resume (login required)
• Sample 3: VP with Long Tenure Resume (login required)
• Sample 4: C-Level Biotech resume (login required)
• Sample 5: Exec. Ed. with Long Tenure Resume (login required)
• Sample 6: Financial Services Resume (login required)

Streamlined Chronological - This layout also shows progression from one job to the next, but does not include extra sections such as Summary/Profile or Areas of Expertise. Recommended for recent alumni.

• Template: Streamlined Chronological (login required)

Chronological/Functional Hybrid Resume - In this layout, you can highlight your employment history in a straight chronological manner, but also make it immediately clear you have filled a variety of roles that use different but related skill sets. This is useful to provide a few accomplishments in the beginning to show a theme. Each role would also have specific accomplishment statements.

• Template: Chronological/Functional Hybrid (login required)
• Sample: Accomplishment Focus Resume (login required)

Cover Letter Writing

It is essential to send a cover letter with your resume to provide a recruiter with insight into your qualifications, experience, and motivation for seeking a position. The letter also conveys your personal communication style, tone, and professionalism. An effective employment letter should:

• Be targeted and personalized
• State why you are interested in the company
• Explain how you can fill a need
• Convey your enthusiasm about the opportunity
• Suggest next steps for communication and action

Guidelines & Examples

Investigate your target company. What is the company's "breaking news?" What drives their business? What are their greatest challenges and opportunities? How can you contribute? eBaker can help with your research.

Outline your objectives using relevant information that attracts the attention of the reader.

• Salutation Address the letter to a specific person. Capture the reader's attention and briefly introduce yourself. Mention the referral/company contact, if applicable. State the purpose of your letter.
• Body Describe relevant information you discovered about the company. Discuss the position offered or the position you are looking for. Detail how your skills will benefit the company.
• Closing Convey your enthusiasm. Anticipate response.

Pay close attention to sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation. Always print your letter to check for typographical errors. Have a friend, colleague, or family member review your letter whenever possible.

Cover letters are the place to briefly and directly address the gap in your career. For example, "I am returning to the workforce after a period of raising children." Then address your strengths, qualifications and goals. Emphasize your excitement and preparedness to re-enter the workforce now.

Response to Identified Advertisement (pdf)

Branding You

Resume writing tips  , creating visual impact.

A concise, visually appealing resume will make a stronger impression than a dense, text-laden document. Respect page margins and properly space the text. Learn to appreciate the value of "white space." Limit a resume to one or two pages but not one and ¼. Ensure content is balanced on both pages. A CV is typically longer because it includes additional sections such as publications and research.

Use Parallel Construction

Select a consistent order of information, format, and spacing. If one experience starts with a brief overview followed by bullet points, subsequent experiences should follow a similar form. Parallel construction—including the use of action verbs (pdf) (login required) to start all phrases—greatly enhances a resume's readability.

Always Proofread

Pay close attention to margin alignment, spelling, punctuation, and dates. Read your resume backward to check for typographical errors. (You will focus on individual words, rather than the meaning of the text.) Better yet, have a friend, colleague, or family member review your resume.

Use Action Verbs

Action Verbs List (login required)

Improve Your Writing

Common questions, past program resources  .

How to Build a Resume that Stands Above the Competition

How Part-Time Senior Leaders Can Help Your Business

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Build a Corporate Culture That Works

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CONVERSATION STARTER

The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received

by David Silverman

David Silverman has been an entrepreneur, an executive, and a business writing teacher. His latest book is Typo: The Last American Typesetter or How I Made and Lost 4 Million Dollars.

Find more content by David Silverman at blogs.hbr.org/silverman

Here's my basic philosophy on cover letters: Don't bother.

That's because the cover letters I see usually fall into one of three categories:

The recap: This is merely a résumé in prose form. It's redundant, harder to read than the résumé, and provides no additional insight.

The form letter: This says, essentially, “Dear Sir or Madam: I saw your ad in the paper and thought you might like me.” And it's clearly a form letter—hopefully ...

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How Part-Time Senior Leaders Can Help Your Business

Bringing on seasoned leaders in “fractional” roles can help companies gain expertise without the expense and commitment of a full-time hire.

The Art of Asking Smarter Questions

These five techniques can drive great strategic decision-making.

Arnaud Chevallier, Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux

How to Get Your Team to Actually Speak Up

Tactics to help managers create a culture of psychological safety, transparency, and trust.

Elaine Lin Hering

3 Steps to Cultivate an Innovator’s Mindset

Darius rucker on resilience and reinvention, research: speed matters when companies respond to social issues.

Sign up for The Daily Alert - Stay on top of our latest content with links to all the digital articles, videos, and podcasts published in the past 24 hours.

How to Structure Customer Service Calls to Boost Satisfaction and Sales

The new rules of marketing across channels, 3 ways to build a culture that lets high performers thrive, ai success depends on tackling “process debt”, how starbucks devalued its own brand, leadership lessons from adventurer and environmentalist rick ridgeway, how arizona is working to bridge the semiconductor workforce gap, how smaller companies can join the circular economy, is your strategy explainable, 3 ways to clearly communicate your company’s strategy, how to make the most of your vacation, set these 5 boundaries before you go on vacation, don’t work on vacation. seriously., stop overworking after vacation, the big idea, corporate advocacy in a time of social outrage, the magazine.

How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk

Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak and Paul Swartz

Power, Influence, and CEO Succession

Dan Ciampa and Adam Bryant

When Your Employee Feels Angry, Sad, or Dejected

Christina Bradley, Lindy Greer and Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks

Disclosing Downstream Emissions

How your business should tap into the creator economy, research: why people really buy upcycled products, onboarding new employees in a hybrid workplace, what companies get wrong about skills-based hiring, hr’s new role, how organizations are using custom ai to protect data and drive efficiency, how retailers became ad platforms, why the influencer industry needs guardrails, the right way to build your brand, making the time to build your side hustle, you need new skills to make a career pivot. here’s how to find the time to build them., make your workday work for your mental health, ceos, is your business strategy bold enough, 6 strategic concepts that set high-performing companies apart, why playing it safe is the riskiest strategic choice.

Learning to Delegate as a First-Time Manager

3 ways to make a request that doesn’t feel coercive, keep your team motivated when a project goes off the rails, how to rethink your career as an empty nester, working parents, plan for the week with this simple exercise, the research-backed benefits of daily rituals, the most strategic leaders excel in 4 disciplines, 3 exercises to boost your emotional intelligence, according to research, build a corporate culture that works, newsletters, weekly hotlist.

A roundup of Harvard Business Review’s most popular ideas and advice.

Women at Work

Resources, practical advice, and personal stories to lift you up and move you forward.

Early Career

Career and life advice for young professionals.

HBR Subscriber Exclusives

Tesla and elon musk, are you a collaborative leader, building your company's vision, should your business sell on amazon, partner center.

How To Write a Cover Letter in 3 Easy Paragraphs

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Although you might have written a resume before, cover letters can be a bigger mystery. The good news is: by following a simple, three-paragraph process, you can quickly write a cover letter that will get attention and likely lead to a job interview!

What Is a Cover Letter?

Imagine you’re handing your resume to someone in person. Maybe you’re at a job or career fair, going into an employer’s office, or even handing it to an acquaintance so that they can get it to the hiring manager. You wouldn’t just give that person your resume, turn, and walk away without saying a word. You would probably take the time to  introduce yourself  and explain why you’re giving that person your resume, how you found out about the job, and why you think you’re qualified for it.

That’s the  purpose of a cover letter .

The cover letter is a more personalized introduction than your resume. It’s a message that represents what you would otherwise say in person, face-to-face. It should be uniquely written for each company and position, follow a standard; one-page business letter format, and consist of three to four paragraphs. If possible, it should also include the hiring manager’s name.

The cover letter usually accompanies a resume. It allows you to expand on the  information in the resume  or explain something that might appear as a red flag or barrier to employment. However, just as important is that the cover letter allows the recruiter to assess your written communication skills!

Why Do I Need a Cover Letter?

Cover letters aren’t always required for a job application. Often, they’re listed as an optional document. Most applicants  won’t  submit a cover letter because of this (let’s face it, job applications can take a lot of time!). However, this also means that submitting a cover letter is an extra step that will help you to stand out from the other applicants — and show how interested you are in the position!

How Do I Write a Cover Letter?

Here’s how to write a cover letter in three easy paragraphs:

Paragraph 1 (About You)

This is where you briefly introduce yourself, what position you’re interested in, and how you discovered it (i.e., job posting site, flyer, social media). If someone recommended you for the position, drop their name in the very first sentence and include their title and affiliation.

Also be enthusiastic! List three of your most important or impressive qualifications from your resume to explain why you’re applying for the position. You may also wish to include the degree or program you’re currently studying.

Example: I’m applying for your Human Resource Specialist position found on LinkedIn, as recommended by John Smith, your Office of Human Resource Manager. I would be a valuable addition to your team, with my five years of administrative experience, BAS in Organizational Management, and Microsoft Office certification.

Paragraph 2 (About the Company)

Answer the question “Why do you want to work here?” by researching the company and writing about at least one way that you resonate with its culture, values, or mission. You can get great information by visiting the company’s website (check the About Us or Mission/Vision pages) or by looking them up in the news category of your favorite search engine. Emphasize how your experience meets the company’s needs and why it would be a privilege to work for them.

Example: Congratulations on your team participating in a local Habitat for Humanity build. I would love to work for an organization that is so committed to improving our local communities. I’ve personally participated in four Habitat for Humanity builds; the skills I’ve learned, coupled with the knowledge I gained, have inspired me to seek out other, similar volunteer opportunities within our community.

Paragraph 3 (Thank You and Closing)

Be sure to thank the employer/hiring manager, provide contact information, and mention that you look forward to hearing from them. Express enthusiasm about an upcoming interview!

Example: Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to discussing my professional experience in greater detail in an upcoming interview. You can reach me at [phone number] or [email address].

Is There a Cover Letter Template I Can Use?

Microsoft Word has many attractive and pre-formatted cover letter templates you can use. Simply open Microsoft Word, click new, and then search for “cover letter” to browse all the options.

You can also use this cover letter template sample for reference:

Who Can Help Me Write a Cover Letter?

Eastern Florida State College’s Career Services team is here to assist! Did you know you can  schedule meetings with an EFSC Career Services Coordinator  to get help writing a cover letter?

Whether you have questions about your career path, job hunting, or interview preparation, you can contact your campus’ Career Services Center for personalized assistance or  check our our upcoming events . We look forward to helping you succeed this semester and beyond!

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3 Keys to Writing Cover Letters That Stand Out

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3 Keys to Writing Cover Letters That Stand Out was originally published on Vault .

It's a myth that high quality job openings are few and far between thanks to Covid. The truth is, despite the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic, there are many great openings out there. And to get them—or, at least, have a chance at getting them—you first need to capture the attention of hiring managers. And the best way to do that is to write compelling cover letters. So here are the three keys to writing cover letters that stand out.

1. Convey your personality, quirks and all.

Showcasing your uniqueness and allowing your personality to shine through in your cover letters can magnetize hiring managers, sending instant messages that you might be the candidate they're looking for. The secret to achieving this is to use specific details, rather than vague ones.

For example, the following was recently used by an applicant when applying for a Head of Marketing position (shortly after sending this, the candidate was interviewed and then hired):

“I have a passion for data and analytics. I enjoy spending (a little too much time) geeking out in Google analytics, advertising platforms, and BI tools (Tableau and Looker), digging deep into data to identify opportunities that can be leveraged to drive growth and inform testing strategies for campaigns, websites, and products.”

Now compare the above to the below (which has less personality and fewer details, and thus would likely not stand out):

“I am well versed in data analytics, and I am experienced with Google analytics, BI Tools, and other advertising platforms. I have a proven ability to inform testing strategies for campaigns for websites and products.”

Here's another example of cover letter phrasing that captures the attention of hiring managers:

“I'm rather obsessed with personal organization. I read three organizational blogs on my own time, and I've organized my desktop folders into color-coded sub-categories. My friends laugh at me for saying things like, ‘An organized space equals an organized mind,' but I don't like wasting time looking for things.” 

Now compare that to this less specific phrasing:

“I have a proven track record of being organized, and I have a passion for it. I have a proven knack for keeping files organized on an ongoing basis, and I have put organizational processes and procedures in place for my department. The bottom line is organization is always my highest priority.” 

2. Prove your level of dedication to your profession.

Another way to stand out is to illustrate specific things about your dedication to your field. In the following example, a candidate showcases her dedication to her profession, proves that she spends a lot of time thinking about driving results in her field, and shows that she takes concrete steps in order to be a high quality contributor in her field. All of which goes a long way when it comes time for hiring managers to decide which candidates to interview. 

“I believe that a good marketing strategy requires seeking out the latest trends and staying one step ahead of the competition. I've attended the Traction conference two years in a row and completed the 2018 Reforge Growth Series, a highly credible and exclusive course that only accepts 10 percent of applicants and is built by leaders from Hubspot, Uber, and other firms. Through these professional developments, I've opened my mind to uncommon marketing methods, and I pride myself on thinking outside the box to develop strategies that create sustainable, low-cost customer acquisition loops that lead to long-term positive ROI.” 

Now compare the above to the below, which is less detailed and includes less specific phrasing:

“I have the skills and requirements for this position, and I believe I would complete every task asked of me to the highest standard expected. My background and experience make me an excellent fit for this position for many reasons. I am very interested in marketing, and I think I would be a great asset to the team.”

3. Include concrete, quantitative results that show your value.

In any written application, you'll need to showcase some form of quantitative results to stand out. Note that even if you don't have a lot of shiny results in your career yet (or even any relevant experience—which is okay!), you can still use words to capture someone's attention with what you have done. And if you do have a record of achieving quantifiable results, then by all means include them, like in the below:

“I developed several Google ad campaigns that were worth more than $500,000 and that resulted in high-level customers. Also, through testing and optimization, I increased newsletter sign-ups by more than 200 percent.”

Now compare that to this bland sentence:

“I have experience in Google ad campaigns, as well as experience in testing and optimization.”

A final note

When trying to convey your personality, get across your dedication, or communicate your value, there's a big difference between saying you're a good fit for the job and actually showing it.

So, when writing your cover letters, try to hold these words in mind: I know you (the hiring managers) don't know me, so let me show you exactly why I'm completely invested, committed, and passionate about doing this specific type of work. And let me show you the specific reasons why hiring me, over all other candidates, would be beneficial to you.

If you hold all this in mind, the right details and words will flow right out of you—and into your cover letters.

Natalie Fisher is best known for helping professionals land their ideal roles and achieve explosive salary growth (even with little experience). If you want to dive deeper on the topic of your career mindset and become a person who knows exactly how to land their dream job offer, listen to her on the podcast Get a Six Figure Job You Love .

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Readers write: Are we desensitized to the war in Gaza?

Letters to the editor for the April 22 & 29 issue of the weekly magazine. Readers discussed the war in Gaza, political evangelicalism, and Portugal’s pull for expats. 

• By Monitor readers

June 29, 2024

Against his core teachings?

David Gushee – quoted in the Jan. 29 cover story “Meet the post-Evangelical Christians. They’re just getting started.” – observed that post-Evangelicals are “following Jesus out of American evangelicalism.” Bravo! Many Christians like me think that the political Evangelicals getting attention today have ignored Jesus for some time. Might that be why their numbers are declining?

Jesus’ core teachings are love, inclusiveness, and social justice. Aren’t many political Evangelicals coming up short on all of these measures?

The kingdom of which Jesus preached was spiritual, not earthbound. Jesus’ Great Commission instructed his disciples to go into all the world, baptizing new disciples and teaching them to observe the commandments. Where did Jesus mention creating nations on earth?

The claim that the United States was intended to be a Christian nation also reveals a lack of knowledge about the personal beliefs of the Founding Fathers. Would they really have made “freedom of religion” the first of a citizen’s rights if they were intending to establish a religion? The post-Evangelicals have recognized the gap between what evangelical Christians have been saying and the words of Jesus. Well done!

Daniel E. White Green Valley, Arizona

Desensitized to Gaza

Palestinians are starving to death, as shown in “My flight over Gaza in a plane dropping food aid” in the March 25 Weekly. People and rights activists around the world are quite frustrated and angry about so many nations’ apparent apathy toward the Palestinians’ worst nightmare.

Yet I find that much of the mainstream news I consume, even the otherwise progressive outlets, are largely replacing the daily death and suffering of Palestinians living in Gaza with trivial domestic news. Sadly, that’s what most of those news outlets’ subscribers or regular patrons likely want (not that it necessarily morally justifies it).

Without doubt, growing Western indifference toward the mass starvation and slaughter of Palestinian civilians will only further inflame Middle Eastern anger toward us. Some countries’ actual provision, mostly by the United States, of weapons used in Israel’s onslaught will likely turn that anger into lasting hatred.

Meanwhile, with each news report of the daily Palestinian death toll from unrelenting Israeli bombardment, I feel greater desensitization and resignation. I’ve noticed this disturbing effect with basically all major protracted international conflicts, including in Ukraine. And I don’t think that I’m alone in feeling this nor that it’s willfully callous.

As a longtime news consumer, I think the value of a life abroad is typically perceived according to the abundance of protracted conditions under which it suffers, especially during wartime, and this effect can be exacerbated when there’s also racial contrast. Therefore, when that life is lost, even violently, it receives lesser coverage.

Frank Sterle Jr.  White Rock, British Columbia

Portugal’s draw for expats

Your article “It’s not just the sunshine: Why Portugal attracts US expats” in the March 11 Weekly brought back to mind a bit of speculation I engaged in some years back: If family and friends were no consideration, in what country would I choose to live? I sought out those nations closest to the middle in per capita income, combined with the lowest disparity in income between their richest and poorest citizens. The winners at the time? Portugal and Hungary. Today, I’d say the political situation in Hungary gives Portugal the clear edge!

Brad Wronski Red Wing, Minnesota

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Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

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