Your resume is individual to you, your experiences, skills, and education. These sample resumes are not intended to be used as a template. The job/internship description defines the content of the resume; therefore, you will have more than one resume as you apply for various opportunities. Using action verbs, providing context/details, describing transferable skills, and including results/impacts in the bullet points of the experience section are key elements to an effective resume. In addition, it is important to think strategically about who will be reviewing your resume.
The sample resumes below show both strengths and areas for improvement, which are listed to the right of the document. For more information and assistance with writing an effective resume, we recommend that you view the formatting checklist and resume resources below. We also have online resume books connected with career fairs, so be sure to upload yours in advance of the relevant fair. Finally, we encourage you to schedule an advising appointment on our Handshake platform to have your resume reviewed by Career Services.
Here are some general formatting guidelines to get you started with the formatting. Remember to always be consistent throughout the document:
- Your margins are at least 0.65” on all sides and your font size is at least 10pt.
- Your section headers are all spelled correctly (spellcheck does not automatically check words in ALL CAPS).
- You have provided your official degree (e.g. “Candidate for Master of _____”).
- You have included cities and states for each experience and formatted them consistently. (Make sure locations are listed in the same place for each experience and use two-letter state abbreviations).
- All your experiences have dates, including months or seasons, and are formatted consistently. (Be especially mindful of alignment, spacing, how you abbreviate months, and dashes: – versus – ).
Resources:
- How to Write a Resume (Beyond Graduate School platform)
- How to Modify Your Resume for Each Job (Beyond Graduate School platform)
- 5 Resume Tips to Get You Started
- 10 Ways to Improve Your Resume Today
- How to Write Effective Resume Bullet Points
- Making the Most of Targeted Resume to Robot-Proof Your Resume
- Resume Tool Lesson on Big Interview
Also be sure to check out our Career Services YouTube Channel for more videos on resumes!
Resume Sample Type
Master of Environmental StudiesMaster of Public Health
Master of Behavioral & Decision Sciences
Masters in School of Engineering & Applied Science
Master of Architecture
Master of Landscape Architecture
Master of City Planning
Master in Law
Master of Environmental Studies (MES)
Key Features:
- One page with good, consistent formatting
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses good action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Includes result/impact/outcome when possible
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume:
- Include quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible and specific for the reader to understand
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job position/field
- Add a “graduate student” entry to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects, and the specific skills used to do them
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Key Features for MPH resume:
- 2 pages due to extensive experience and background
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses good action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project.
- Includes result/impact/outcome when possible
- Includes Presentations section given the nature of the field and if applicable for a research based role
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this MPH resume:
- Move the dates from the degrees in the Education section to the right side (so that it is consistent alignment with the dates in the other sections)
- Include relevant coursework under the Master’s Program in the Education section
- Include a Summary Profile at top of resume to help give overview and highlights of experience
Master of Behavioral & Decision Sciences (MBDS)
Key Features:
- One page with good, consistent formatting
- Includes result/impact/outcome when possible
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses good action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume:
- Put the Education section above the experience section since student is still enrolled in the master’s program
- Include quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible and specific for the reader to understand
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job position/field
- Add a “graduate student” entry to the professional experience section to highlight key coursework or student projects, and the specific skills used to do them
- Add volunteer, leadership, or extracurricular experience if relevant to the position
School of Engineering & Applied Science
Master of Architecture
Click here for the Design Resume Guide
Key Features:
- One page in length
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Organizes the skills section by category
- Includes Activities (Extracurriculars) section
- Highlights honors/awards
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume:
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job position/field
- Include quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible and specific for the reader to understand
- Include result/impact/outcome when possible
- Use different action verbs in the experience section (the same verbs were used a few times)
Master of Landscape Architecture
Click here for the Design Resume Guide
Key Features
- One page in length
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses good action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Includes result/impact/outcome when possible
- Organizes the skills section by category
- Includes Leadership Experience section
- Highlights competitions/awards
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume:
- Make sure font style is consistent throughout the resume (there are currently two different font styles being used)
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job position/field
- Include quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible and specific for the reader to understand
Master of City Planning
Click here for the Design Resume Guide
Key Features
- One page with good, consistent formatting
- Includes result/impact/outcome when possible
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses good action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience – not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job position/field
- Add volunteer, leadership, or extracurricular experience as a separate section if relevant to the position
Master in Law
Key Features:
- One page in length
- Clear descriptions within the bullets and uses action verbs to describe the skill/responsibility/project
- Include quantifiable elements that help to make the experiences more tangible and specific for the reader
- Includes Leadership Section
- Highlights honors/awards
- Organizes the skills section by category
- Dates placed on the right-hand side to keep the reader’s focus on the position title and experience– not when it was done
Advice we might give for this resume:
- Include relevant coursework under the master’s program if the courses are related to the job
- position/field
- Include result/impact/outcome for each position (when possible)
- Instead of just having descriptions of what was done under the experience section bullet points, describe the transferable skills in action
