resumes tips for potential ra candidates
TRANSCRIPT
Resumes Tips For Potential RA Candidates
Why require a resume?
O Helps University Housing & Dining see and
understand your experiences
O Future job opportunities after college will
likely require a resume, so why not start
now?
General Guidelines
O The length of your resume is dependent of
your range of experiences, though 1-2 pages
is fairly standard.
O 10-12 Point font
O Avoid using Microsoft Word templates,
create a format that best fits you
O Tailor your resume to each job you apply to
(in this case, the RA position)
Education
O Place education section first on the resume
(This may change later in your career)
O THE University of Iowa
O If not graduated yet, put expected
graduation date
O High School not required
O Include GPA if it is above 3.0 (If this is your
first semester, you won’t have a GPA)
Education Example
Education
The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
Bachelor of Arts in Biomedical Sciences May, 2019 (Expected)
Experiences
O Just because you didn’t receive a paycheck,
doesn’t mean it isn’t a valuable experience
O You can choose to group your experiences
together, or separate employment, volunteer
work, etc.
O Highlight experiences that you think are
most relevant to the RA position
O Use reverse chronological order (current job
first)
Sample Experiences O Hall Association Executive Board Member
O Hawkeye Guide
O Desk Clerk/Dining Worker
O Babysitter
O Retail/Service Positions
O Volunteer at nonprofit/church event
How do you relate these experiences to the RA
position?
Marketing your experiences
O 3-5 Bullet points for each experience
O Use action verbs
O Use past tense
O Highlight job duties and accomplishments of
your experience
O Tailor you experiences and descriptions to
the RA position
Experience Example
Mayflower Hall Association, The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
President September 2015 to Present
O Presides over organization meetings
O Helps plan programs for residence hall
O Attends ARH meetings
How can this be improved?
Improved! Mayflower Hall Association, The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
President September 2015 to Present
O Led a seven member executive board, acting as the official student government of
the 1000 student residence hall
O Planned, implemented, and assessed monthly social events for the students living
in the residence hall
O Represented the interests of the residence hall on a campus level by participating
in weekly meetings conducted by the Associated Residence Halls (ARH)
• Better action verbs
• Relevant to RA position (leadership, event planning, etc.)
• Experiences are quantified (ex: 1000 student residence hall,
monthly events, weekly meeting)
Awards, Accomplishments, Proficiencies
O Have you received any awards or recognition
either in high school or during college?
O Do you have any relevant certifications or
proficiencies?
Additional Tips
O If you have a LinkedIn Profile, add the URL to your resume
O There is no need to include references on resume, as they will be submitted in a separate part of the application
O Input the job description into a word cloud generator such as Wordle to get an idea of what skills are most used in the RA position so that you can better tailor your resume to show that you possess those skills.
Good Luck! Check out the Sample Resume on the website for
additional guidance!