Build Your Resume

Mini-project

Deliverables

Component Brief Description Due Date
Draft for peer review (optional) It is optional to participate in the peer review of this mini-project. This means it is not counted as an “assignment”. In order to participate, you must meet the deadline listed; Canvas will automatically assign a peer reviewer at 8am on Friday. Sunday, May 26th at 11:59pm
Peer review (optional) Follow the rubric to give your peer feedback about their appearance, professionalism, structure, and bullet point crafting. Tuesday, May 28th at 11:59pm
Final Submission Keep in mind live revisions will happen during finals week, so it may be to your benefit to participate in the peer review process. Should you have questions, please ask! Sunday, June 2nd
Live Revisions Monday, 6/10 & Wednesday, 6/12 – sign up

For this assignment, we’ll be crafting our resumes to a professional state.

Note

While I encourage you to use overleaf/latex, this is not a requirement. It is more my goal that you have a working resume you can upkeep!

Overleaf Template & Appearance

As part of this mini-project, you will be working with Overleaf, a \(\LaTeX\) editor. Visit https://www.overleaf.com/register to register for a FREE account – make sure you remember the email and password you use! You will likley come back to this next fall when applying for internships.

Overleaf provides resume templates; visit https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/cv to select a template. Keep in mind, the template should be simple and organized (there are some bad resume templates on there!). Here are a few of my favorites (you can also make modifications):

While some look snazzy like this and this, they are actually difficult to follow.

Overleaf uses \(\LaTeX\) formatting, which means there are special symbols used to style your document such as indentations, lists, section headers, horizontal lines, etc. Below are some resources to give you guidance:

In particular, \(\LaTeX\) is especially good at formatting math expressions; however, your resume likely does not include any so that is not a concern. Another great resource for math expressions in \(\LaTeX\) is Detexify.

Sections to include

There is some flexibility in making your resume reflect your personal experience. However, I have outlined the sections I would like to see in your resume along with guidelines about how to describe your experiences. See Cal Poly Career Services Resume Review Checklist for additional guidance.

Career services provides additional resources for assisting in crafting your resume:

Examples

See two examples or resumes I have helped edit:

You do not have to take these verbatim as some aspects might not quite align with career services recommendations, but I think they are both decent examples.

See the statistics example from Career services:

Formatting Bullet Points
  • Begin with strong action verbs
  • Quantify results when possible (“increased sales by 10%”)
  • Focus on what you accomplished or contributed, not on day-to-day details of job
  • No complete sentences, no periods

Education (and Relevant Coursework)

  • California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) – if you plan to reference later
  • Degree type (e.g. Bachelor of Science in Statistics)
  • Expected graduation month/year
  • Concentration/Minors (if applicable)
  • GPA or Major GPA (if above 3.0)
  • Any relevant courswork (may decide to include in its own section)
  • Community college if you earned a degree (if applicable)
  • Study abroad
  • Don’t include high school education information.

Work Experience

  • Include in each entry:
    • Employer name
    • Employer location - city and state only
    • Position title
    • Employment start/end date
    • 1-4ish bullet points describing your experience (Action Verb + What You Did + Why It Matters)
Note

I don’t see why you can’t write your bullet points and then have ChatGPT help you refine them, but make sure you read them back and modify as necessary rather than just taking them at face value!

  • List experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
  • May include work experience, summer jobs, internships, and maybe volunteer work.
  • Only include high school experience if highly relevant.
  • If you have different categories of experience, categorize by theme (i.e., Work Experience, Volunteer Experience, Relevant/Statistical Experience).

Projects/Research

Include 1-3 projects. These can include class projects, personal projects, undergraduate research (if not included in work experience), specific leadership in co-curricular activities (might put these in the involvement and leadership).

Include in each entry:

  • Name of project
  • Link to project and/or code if on GitHub (optional)
  • Date of project
  • Supervisor (if relevant; does not need to be listed for class projects)
  • Software/tools used to complete the project
  • 2-3 bullet points describing the project (Action Verb + What You Did + Why It Matters)

Skills

  • Technical (R, SAS, Excel, Tableau, SQL any specific certifications, etc.)
  • Statistical (Data Visualization, Supervised Learning, Experimental Design, etc.)
  • Foreign language

You should demonstrate your soft skills through your experience bullet points.

Optional Sections (if relevant)

The following sections may apply to your personal experiences. Follow good formatting and bullet-point crafting for each entry (Name, Location, Date, bullet-points).

  • Honors and Awards (list is okay, include measurable amounts for things like scholarships, etc.)
  • Involvement and Leadership (Encouraged)
  • Community Service
  • Interests

Final Submission Rubric

To meet the “satisfactory” requirements for the contract, this project must:

  • be turned in on time (or within the agreed upon time by 24 hour late tokens submitted prior to the due date),

  • include all components described above

  • Meet quality guidelines laid out in the following rubric (all 2s and above for each element and demonstration of additional considerations)

Component 3 - Strong Evidence 2 - Moderate Evidence 1 - Weak Evidence 0 - No Evidence
Header The header includes all required information, stands out, and is well-organized with a professional-looking hyperlink for the email address and/or website links. The header includes most required information and is generally well-organized, but may lack some visual appeal or a hyperlink for the email address. The header is missing some required information or lacks visual appeal, making it less noticeable to recruiters and employers. No header is included, making it difficult for recruiters and employers to identify the candidate’s contact information.
Education (and Relevant Coursework) The education section includes all relevant details, such as the university name, degree type, expected graduation date, and GPA (optional), showcasing strong academic achievements. The education section includes most relevant details, but may be missing some information or lacks specific accomplishments. The education section lacks important details or fails to highlight any notable achievements or coursework. No education section is included, making it difficult for recruiters and employers to assess the candidate’s academic background.
Work Experience Each work experience entry includes all required information, such as employer name, position title, employment dates, and impactful bullet points that clearly describe the candidate’s contributions and their significance. Each work experience entry includes most required information, but may lack depth in describing the candidate’s contributions or their impact. The work experience entries lack some important information or fail to effectively convey the candidate’s accomplishments and their relevance. No work experience section is included, leaving a significant gap in the resume and making it difficult for recruiters and employers to evaluate the candidate’s professional experience.
Projects Each project entry includes all relevant details, such as project name, links to project/code if applicable, date of completion, supervisor (if relevant), and concise bullet points highlighting the candidate’s role and the project’s significance. Each project entry includes most relevant details, but may be missing some information or lacks a clear explanation of the candidate’s contributions and the project’s impact. The project entries lack specific details or fail to effectively communicate the candidate’s role and the significance of the projects. No projects section is included, missing an opportunity to showcase the candidate’s practical skills and achievements.
Skills The skills section includes a comprehensive list of technical and statistical skills, as well as any relevant certifications or foreign languages, demonstrating a strong competency in the field. The skills section includes most relevant skills, but may be missing some key proficiencies. The skills section lacks specific details or fails to provide a comprehensive overview of the candidate’s technical, statistical, and language proficiencies. No skills section is included, making it difficult for recruiters and employers to assess the candidate’s technical and statistical abilities.
Optional Sections (if relevant) The optional sections (Honors and Awards, Involvement and Leadership, Community Service, Interests) are included, well-formatted, and provide meaningful information about the candidate’s achievements, activities, and personal interests. The optional sections are included, but may lack some detail or organization, limiting their impact in showcasing the candidate’s diverse experiences and involvement. The optional sections lack specific information or fail to effectively highlight the candidate’s honors, involvement, community service, or personal interests. No optional sections are included, missing an opportunity to provide a more comprehensive picture of the candidate beyond the essential sections.

Appearance/Consistency

- Balanced margins ½” to 1”

- Clean font style, no more than 2 different fonts - Easy-to-read font size - One page

- Spacing between sections

- Font size

- Alignment of bullet points/text

- Alignment of dates

- Use of bolding, underlining, italics

 The resume demonstrates excellent formatting and consistency, with balanced margins, a clean font style, appropriate font sizes, clear spacing between sections, consistent alignment of bullet points and text, and proper alignment of dates. The resume generally maintains formatting and consistency, but may have minor inconsistencies or lack optimal visual appeal. The resume shows noticeable formatting or consistency issues, such as unbalanced margins, inconsistent font styles or sizes, or misaligned text and dates. The resume lacks proper formatting and consistency, making it visually unappealing and challenging to read.

Professionalism

- Correct grammar

- No misspelled word

- Save as a pdf and include your name in the file name

 The resume demonstrates impeccable grammar, with no misspelled words. It is saved as a PDF file, and the file name includes the candidate’s name. The resume has minor grammar or spelling errors that do not significantly detract from its overall professionalism. It is saved as a PDF file but may lack the candidate’s name in the file name. The resume contains noticeable grammar or spelling errors that compromise its professionalism. It may not be saved as a PDF file or lacks the candidate’s name in the file name. The resume has numerous grammar or spelling errors, making it difficult to read and negatively impacting its overall professionalism. It is not saved as a PDF file or lacks the candidate’s name in the file name.