Resume Writing

ISPOR Student Network

September Education Conference Wednesday,September 19,2007

Insights

• Objective is to win an interview, not a job• It is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less• It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to

be successful in the available position• It needs to be pleasing to the eye so that the reader is

enticed to pick it up & read it• It will entice the hiring manager in meeting you &

learning more about you• It inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone

& ask you to come in for an interview

What to write

• Preferred Format– Career Objective– Profile– Professional Experience– Educational Background– Accepted/Citable Publications– Awards & Honors– Additional information (language skills)

• From recent-to-past order• All within 2 pages

Preferably avoid content related to….

• A history of your past• ‘Manuscript under development’• List of presentations in Graduate Seminars• Experience from a company in home country (for foreign students),

unless you are applying to the same company here• List of accomplishments from home country (for foreign students)• Visa status (for foreign students)• Marital status, DOB, SS#• Availability to start working• Major professor’s name• References (always ‘available upon request’)

About resume language

• Highlight your expertise (i.e. how you are different from others)

• Highlight industry internships• Highlight industry-sponsored projects• Avoid ‘Work in progress’ (except your dissertation)• Keep it in simple language• Grammar & Spelling check (a MUST)• No description of courses taken• Evaluate from the reader’s perspectives• DON’T LIE