Resumes, Cover Letters, and Writing Samples

Resume Formatting

The purpose of a resume is to present your experiences as they relate to a particular job description. Refer to our sample resumes for formatting advice and guidance. Your resume should reflect your personality and grab the employer’s attention. Resume standards can differ across industries, so it is important to review industry-specific examples.

Resume Format Tips

One page. Keep your resume to one page. Save it as a PDF or print it on resume paper.
Be concise. Use brief statements in the form of bullets or sentences.
Keep font size between 10 - 12 font throughout the document and set margins to no less than 0.5 inch all around.
Use third person pronouns.
Use past tense in describing past positions and use present tense for your current position(s).
Be consistent in your use of punctuation throughout the document. For instance, either use periods at the end of all your bullets or not.
Use bold, italics and underlining formatting to break up the text and make the document easy to read.

Resume Content

See our action verbs page to find verbs that are more descriptive than common verbs such as “do/did,” “completed,” “responsible for,” etc.
Customize. Tailor your resume to highlight the work and extracurricular experiences that are most relevant to the job you are applying for.
Include multiple titles and responsibilities if you had multiple roles at one organization.
Do not lie, embellish, or include anything you cannot discuss in an interview.
Avoid jargon and acronyms without first spelling them out (e.g., ASNMSU, NAMA, ACT).
Do not include personal data (e.g., birth date, marital status, photograph). If you are applying to a position in another country, find out what the resume expectations are for that country.

Last-Minute Resume Checklist

Stay organized. Create a log of the applications you send. Include position descriptions, dates, contact information, follow-up date (if appropriate), and notes on follow-up communications.
Seek resume review assistance. A resume reviewer can assist with catching formatting, spelling, and punctuation errors. Do not rely on spell-check! Remember — review the names of companies and people.
Save documents as PDFs with appropriate names for easy access. Example: PistolPeteHRRepResume.
Make sure your outgoing voicemail greeting for the phone number you list on your resume is professional .
Is your email address professional? (for instance, no “realhotgirl@gmail.com”)?
Write a relevant email subject line, such as “Application for HR Rep Position #2265”?
Print all documents on neutral resume paper and use a laser printer if you’re delivering it as a hard copy.

Sample Resume Format

Step 1: Header

Your name should be bold and in a larger font than the rest of the resume.
Below your name, list your current mailing address, phone number, and the email address you most frequently use. You may use your permanent mailing address if you wish.

Step 2: Education

List your most recent education first. Indicate your university, your school (e.g., Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences), major, minor(s), and graduation month and year.
Include your GPA on your resume. You may also include the GPA for your major and minor, especially if they are higher than your cumulative GPA. If you are hesitating to include GPA, connect with a member of our staff.

Step 3: Experience

The experience section of your resume is where you list and describe your experiences that are most relevant to the position you’re applying for. Often those experiences will be jobs and internships. But they don’t need to be. They might also be extra-curricular activities or coursework.
List and describe your experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
You might divide your experiences into two different categories if doing so helps you make a stronger case for your candidacy.
For instance, you might devote a section of your resume to your experiences in a particular industry. Instead of one “Experiences” section, you could create a section called “Relevant Experience” and another “Additional Experience.” Or you might get even more specific and call a section something like “International Relations Experience” and another “Additional Experience.” This can help direct an employer’s attention to the experiences you most want them to pay attention to.
If you create multiple experience sections on your resume, list the entries in each section in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

For each entry in your experiences section:

Create a header that includes the name of the organization, the location of the experience, dates, and your position title.
Write three or four sentences describing the work you did. Think about what you accomplished or contributed during the experience. Avoid weak verbs such as “did” or “worked.” Avoid passive constructions, such as “responsibilities include.” If you want help finding strong action verbs to improve the writing in your resume, see our action verbs page .

Step 4: Activities

This is the place to list your extra-curricular activities, such as sports, on-campus involvement, or volunteer experience. You may provide a brief description of accomplishments and responsibilities for each.

Step 5: Skills

Important skills to include are:

Languages–be sure not to overstate (basic, intermediate, advanced or fluent).
Technical skills–list specific and relevant software with which you are familiar (e.g., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, Adobe Photoshop, SPSS).
Any training or certification programs you completed that would be relevant to the job.
Social media and web technologies, if applicable (e.g., Facebook, X, WordPress, Pinterest).
You may list the headings under two separate subtitles (“Extracurricular Activities” and “Skills”) or one (“Skills & Activities”) if you need to save space.

Cover Letters

Writing a Cover Letter

The goal of your cover letter is to complement your resume. Employers use cover letters to determine your interest in the position and company, as well as to assess your written communication skills.

Your cover letter should be clearly structured and answer the following questions:

Who are you?

Introduce yourself. Include your major and year at Georgetown.

Why are you writing?

In the first few sentences, mention the specific job title, if you know it, and how you heard about the position opening. Be concise.

Why are you interested in the position?

Without getting too personal, relate something about the job to your own interests or experiences to show the employer that you have a genuine interest. Do not focus on what this job will do for you unless you are directly asked to answer that question. Instead, focus on what you can contribute to the company.

How are you qualified?

Highlight skills and achievements that demonstrate why you are qualified for the position, and use key terms from the description that are relevant to your background.

What is your next step?

In closing, you should request an interview, with a strong reminder as to why the employer should meet with you. Also, consider adding a statement saying that you will follow up (e.g., within two weeks) to confirm that she has received your resume and cover letter. Skip this step if they’ve requested that you do not contact them.

Cover Letter Tips:

Customize the cover letter for a specific employer and job description. Templates are easy to spot and indicate you don’t really care about this opportunity in particular.
Address the letter to a specific individual. If no name was given in the job announcement, call the organization to learn who is on the hiring team. If all else fails, use “Dear Hiring Manager:” or “Dear Search Committee:” (please note that those are colons, not commas).
Isolate three or four skills that you possess that are relevant to the position and mention concrete examples from your resume that demonstrate these skills.
Be brief! An ideal cover letter will be three to four concise paragraphs and only be one page.

Format:

Align all text on the left margin. Don’t indent your paragraphs.
Match the font style and formatting of your resume to your cover letter.
Proofread several times and ask friends to help!

Cover Letter Formatting

A cover letter should first and foremost represent you and your experiences in an authentic way. This includes writing style and formatting. However, this outline may give you a place to start. Also, be sure to have someone else review your document for content and flow!

Heading (Ensure this matches the heading you use on your resume as it creates a personal brand. This should include your present address, city, state, zip code, phone number, and email address.)

(Align all text on the left margin.)

Date

Employer’s Name (This can also be the name of the recruiter, or director of the department.)

Title

Organization Name

Street Address

City, State Zip Code

Dear Employer’s Name: (It is important to personalize your cover letter by using an actual name. Utilize Handshake, LinkedIn, or call the organization directly to find this information.)

(First paragraph) Introduce yourself. Indicate the reason you are writing, the specific position for which you are applying, and how you heard about the opening. Briefly express why you are interested in the position, or why you are applying to this company in particular. If you are inquiring about jobs in general, and if no specific opening exists, indicate your interest in career opportunities within your desired field. You may also find it helpful to write a “thesis statement” as your final sentence, which will guide the reader through the rest of your document.

(Second paragraph) Highlight your education and/or skills. This could mean including information on your major, research projects, relevant coursework, study abroad, or other Georgetown experiences. Be sure to connect these highlights to the position you are applying for. Keep in mind, these do not have to be content matches but can include skills such as communication, writing, critical analysis, quantitative, etc.

While some students will focus the entirety of this paragraph on education, consider whether or not this is a good fit for you. If it makes more sense to first highlight professional accomplishments or other activities because it will make you a stronger candidate, then it is important to do so.

(Third paragraph) Highlight your professional accomplishments. This could include paid positions, internships, volunteer work, extracurricular activities, athletics, etc. Look at your resume, and choose three or four achievements that demonstrate skills the employer is looking for. Look back at the job description for key terms, and think about where you have demonstrated that qualification or skill.

(Fourth paragraph) The closing. Refer the reader to your resume. Request an interview (if appropriate) and give a final reason or summary statement about why the employer should consider you as a candidate. Thank the employer for considering you for the position.

Sincerely,

Your signature (If submitting your cover letter online, you don’t need to include a signature)

Your typed name

Writing Samples & References

Writing Samples

Some employers will ask you to submit samples of your writing as a part of your application. Writing samples demonstrate your ability to analyze information and display your communication skills. You may be asked for a writing sample if you are applying for a position in a writing-intensive field such as advertising, journalism, public relations, law, media, or research. Approach the writing sample as an opportunity to show employers how well you can express yourself in writing.

If you aren’t sure about the appropriateness of your writing sample, visit The Writing Center to speak with staff and have your writing sample reviewed.

Writing Sample Tips

Do not submit a writing sample unless it is specifically requested. If you are unsure, reach out to the employer and ask.

Follow the application instructions. Most employers will specify how many pages in length they expect the sample to be.

If they do not specify length, submit 2 to 5 pages of writing, double-spaced. You may use an excerpt from a longer document. Mention at the top of the first page that you are submitting only a selection from a longer document. Be sure to specify what the prompt was.
Clearly label each submission with an appropriate title and origin (if necessary).
If providing hard copies, use resume paper and/or put them in a presentation binder.

Focus on quality and edit as necessary.
Whatever writing sample you choose to submit should represent your best writing. Even if you have completed an assignment for a course, re-check your work for style and substance to be sure that it is the best possible representation of your writing.

If you are planning to submit a paper, consider meeting with the professor for whom you wrote the original paper for additional feedback and suggestions.
Remove any privileged or sensitive information.

Consider content.
While some employers may specify the subject matter they wish your writing sample to address, that is not always the case. If they do not, submit something that would be similar to the type of writing you would be expected to do within the position. For example, if you are applying for a position within a public relations firm, something similar to a press release might be most appropriate.

Do not use anything too old.
You want to make sure that you are giving employers a recent example of the quality of your work.

Submit only your own work.
If you incorporate others’ work, cite your sources. (A short bibliography does not usually count towards your total number of pages.)

Reference Page Tips

Ask permission to use individuals as a positive reference prior to submitting their name and contact information to an employer. Ask how they would prefer to be contacted, or if their availability will be limited in any way. Make note of these preferences/limitations on your reference page.
Follow employer instructions as it relates to both the number of references required and the types of individuals they would prefer to contact.
Include a minimum of three professional references, unless the employer indicates otherwise. Note that if a personal connection acted as a direct supervisor for your work experience, consider adding a fourth reference who knew you only in a professional setting.
List references in order of importance or applicability to the position.
Add a “relationship line” for each reference. This helps employers understand the context of your interactions.
Send your resume and a copy of the job description to your references. Consider setting up a brief conversation to share why you are interested in the position. This allows them to prepare thoroughly to speak to your qualifications.

Career Development Resources