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 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OR RESUME

The purpose of this document is to show a prospective employer, or an organization that might fund your proposal, that you can do the job. Therefore, it tends to be more effective to organize your resume or biographical sketch specifically for each job application or proposal, so that the critical points are demonstrated and emphasized. Each version typically includes:

 

Education

Work experience

Skills/knowledge

Examples of products

 

Creating your first resume is hard – keep it and build on it. Try to keep as complete a list of products (written work, group projects, presentations), detailed description of educational and training experiences (including any certification), and detailed description of work experience (including internship and volunteer activity). Select from this comprehensive list for a specific job or proposal.

 

There are two general models for organizing information.

Model 1 – Chronology of work experience:

Each job is described, demonstrating your experience. This is often a difficult model to apply early in your career unless you broadly define "work" to include internship and volunteer activities.

 

Model 2 – Demonstration of skills and experience:

The criteria for the job or skills needed for the proposal are listed and experiences that demonstrate ability in each area are described. This is an easier way to bring in course work and is often more effective early in your career when you don't have as much work experience.

 

Additional Resources

Stop in to our Office of Career Development Center or log on to their web site

 

There are numerous books as well as on-line resources available to give you assistance in writing a resume.

 

Some Don'ts

Information that is illegal to ask at an interview and is not a part of a resume or biological sketch, include the following:

 

Age

Marital status

Ethnicity

Religious beliefs

 

© Meers, Savarese, Demers, Barreto, Kakareka, Volety, Everham, Cruz-Alvarez, Loh, Goebel, Fugate, Bovard, Hartley, Mujtaba, & Gunnels 2009.

This is an official FGCU web page.  Florida Gulf Coast University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

For changes, dead-links, or mistakes, contact: ndemers@fgcu.edu