Career Management in the Office of Student Services
180 Statler Hall • (607) 255-6376 • Fax (607) 255-9540 • www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/students/careers/
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abroad in this section. High school is usually not included unless it would be positively
recognized in the area where you will be pursuing employment.
Relevant Coursework. List coursework that is pertinent to the positions you are applying for.
If you’re applying for different types of positions, for example: Finance, Real Estate, and Hotel
Operations, you may need to develop several résumés with coursework that matches the
requirements of the different positions. Freshmen might omit this section, if you have taken only
required courses so far.
Experience (or Work Experience, Relevant Experience, Professional Experience). Your
experience, volunteer or paid, is the most important thing you have going for you, and should be
the largest part of your resume. This section need not be limited to permanent or paid
experiences; you may also describe volunteer work, internships, or other positions in greater
detail. Each entry should include the following: name of the organization/company, city and
state where you worked, the dates of employment/involvement, and the position you held. Do
not include superiors’ names or the company’s exact address. Use bold and italics to set items
apart and to help highlight important information.
Using the bullet format (see resume samples), list responsibilities, skills, activities, and challenges
that describe the position. Put the most important and relevant aspects of your job first. Use
action verbs (a list of common action verbs is provided) to begin each point to convey that you
are active and productive. Avoid the first person (I, me, my). Each bullet point should be
concise, yet informative—do not use complete sentences, yet pack your statements with
descriptions and specific accomplishments that will help you to market yourself. Convince
prospective employers that you were an asset in each position you held. Quantify whenever
possible (number of employees you supervised, dollar amount of sales volume increase,
responsible for [dollar amount] cash bank, number of covers served in shift, type of
restaurant/hotel and number of seats or rooms, etc.). Be consistent in formatting and
grammatical phrases, and avoid using vague, generalized statements.
Skills, Activities, Interests. Use this section to list special skills relevant to your career goals.
This section should include foreign language(s), computer expertise, and may include
professional memberships and affiliations, extracurricular activities, interests, and hobbies. Use
the appropriate headings(s) to meet your needs. Decide what information to include based on
space available and its relevance to the position you are seeking. List high school activities only if
they support your objectives—usually include this type of information only in your freshman year
résumé.
References. Do not write “References available upon request.” Have a prepared list of
references with names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails available to give to an
interviewer when requested. Always ask permission from your references before distributing this
information. Provide each reference with a copy of your résumé.
RÉSUMÉ FORMAT
As mentioned above, there is no one correct format for writing a résumé. Two basic styles of
résumés are chronological and functional, and it is your choice whether to be traditional or
creative. Keep in mind that prospective employers are looking for certain qualities and skills to be
expressed in a résumé, so choose the format that will express your accomplishments most
effectively. The type of position, the atmosphere of the company, and the field of interest are
determining factors in deciding which style to use.
Chronological résumés are the most traditional and commonly used format. The layout is in
the order of the sections as previously described, with education and work experience listed in