Resume Contents

Personal details (name, address, telephone number, e-mail address)
All your personal information should come first before all other information. If possible, include a latest photo of yourself.

• Avoid nicknames. Use the one on your birth certificate and MyKad.
• Use a permanent address.
• Use a permanent phone number. If you own an answering machine, make sure the message on the answering machine is neutral and cordial.
• Give an email address that sounds formal.

Education qualification
If you are a new graduate with little or no work experience, then it is best to list your educational qualifications after your personal details.

• Start the list with your most recent qualification.
• Include your degree (B.Sc., B.A., etc.), major, institution and your minor as well.
• Include your grade point average (GPA) if it is more than 3.0.
• Include any academic honors received.

• Start off with your last job and work backwards to your first relevant job. Details to include are such as:
  • Title of position
  • Name of organization
  • Location of work (town, state)
  • Dates of employment
  • Description of your responsibilities at work
  • Achievements and specific skills that you have attained in each job
• Use positive language
• Focus on outputs and results
• Be concise
• There is no need to write the reasons for leaving a position, and most importantly, do not bad mouth your previous employers.

• One of them should be your current employer, but if you are a new graduate, one of your referees should be an academic.
• Always ask for permission from your referees before including their names in your resume.
• You may include your referees contact details in your resume but this is not compulsory.

Special skills or competencies
This is an optional section where you 'sell' your individuality or uniqueness. However, be very careful not to over-do it and sound boastful.

• Mention skills or competencies that will be useful and relevant with the position you are applying for.
• You may include your language competencies if you are fluent in any additional language (French, Japanese, Mandarin, etc.).
• Nowadays, computer skills earn additional points. You may wish to list the systems (Windows, Macintosh, Linux, etc), programming languages (Javascript, php, Visual Basics, etc) and applications (Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, etc.) that you are familiar with.

Activities, Volunteer Work and Interest
Make careful considerations before including information about your activities, volunteer work and interest in your resume. Since employers usually spend about 30 seconds reading a resume, you don't want his or her focus to be on the less important and less relevant information.

• Be very selective and include information about your activities, volunteer work and interest that reflect or are relevant with the skills needed for the job you're applying for.
• Activities could include co-curriculum activities but list only the most recent and more relevant ones (in unversity).