Building Your Resume

Resumes are a space for you to present related experience, skills and education for a specific position.

Resume Components

Employers want to quickly see why they should hire you. Make sure you include the following items:

• Keywords and skills related to the specific job
• Relevant job titles and companies
• Evidence of your impact and accomplishments
• Your degree and graduate date

Heading

Be sure to include your full name and contact information (phone number and email address). Additional items can include address (city, state, zip code), online portfolio link, and LinkedIn url, if they are up-to-date.

Education

• Degree, major, and date to be awarded
• Institution, city, and state
• G.P.A. if it is high and applicable to industry of interest
• Foreign study (if applicable)
• List course work or projects if indicating it will substitute for lack of work experience
• DO NOT include high school information

Experience

• Position title, month year to month year
• Name of employer, city, state of employer
• Include internships, practicum, and volunteer experiences relevant to targeted position
• Describe relevant experience with bullet points related to the position you are applying for

Skills (Optional)

• Language skills: specify languages and level of fluency
• Computer skills: specific software and level of proficiency
• Additional skills that are relevant to the targeted position

Writing Bullet Points

Bullet points are not for listing tasks and duties but for highlighting accomplishments and skills. Carefully read the job description and desired skills and craft the bullet points that speak to how you fit.

Action Word	+	Task	+	Outcome
Facilitated	+	study groups for 6 students	+	which increased their grades by 30%

• Avoid descriptions with, “I,” “responsible for,” “assisted,” and “duties included”
• Add true quantifiable outcomes to your bullet points when possible. Did you tutor 7 students? Did you reduce an error rate by 25% Concrete numbers give proof of how you've made a difference.

Format Tips

• Keep your format easy to read (accentuate with bold, bullets, etc.)
• Use clear, common font styles and colors
• Customize your resume sections based upon your experiences. For example, if you have published articles or documents you want to highlight, create a "Publications" section

What is a resume bullet point?

Statements that highlight the skills and accomplishments you have attained through your experiences.

Bullet Point Formula

Action Verb		Task		Outcome
Performed necessary cleaning routines	+	including store sweeps, restroom room checks, and spill clean-ups	+	to guarantee a safe and clean environment
Translated	+	a Java program to Javascript	+	to adapt to Chrome's deprecation of NPAPI

Action Verb

• Begin each statement with an action verb
• Using action verbs in the beginning of your statements should help present your skills and achievements more effectively.

Task (with Transferable Skill)

• Clarity: Give further details about what you did in the current position. What does it mean to perform the duties that are being asked for?
• Relevance: Determine how the skills obtained in this position contribute to the job that is being applied for.
• Distinction: Navigate different aspects that distinguish you from others who may be applying for the same job.

Outcome (Purpose)

• Document how your accomplishments turned out through an outcome or purpose.

---

Resources

Download Bullet Point Guide (PDF)

Categories	Action Verbs
Helping Skills	Listened, Led, Started, Intervened, Monitored, Advised, Facilitated, Analyzed, Coordinated, Diagnosed, Conducted, Demonstrated, Collaborated, Administered, Provided, Cared for, Referred, Spoke, Directed, Clarified, Evaluated, Performed, Implemented, Treated, Mediated, Liaison, Assessed, Negotiated, Developed
Managerial Skills	Hired, Reported, Trained, Tracked, Supervised, Developed, Organized, Assigned, Coordinated, Prioritized, Recommended, Administered, Produced, Reviewed, Proposed, Planned, Executed, Scheduled, Directed, Analyzed, Delegated, Evaluated, Contracted, Controlled, Determined, Recruited, Established
Creative Skills	Created, Planned, Shaped, Directed, Acted, Published, Designed, Developed, Integrated, Wrote, Fashioned, Performed, Produced, Illustrated, Built, Made, Innovated, Conceptualized, Abstracted
Coaching Skills	Communicated, Briefed, Encouraged, Coached, Taught, Tutored, Clarified, Evaluated, Adapted, Prepared, Authored, Directed, Assisted, Informed, Instructed, Initiated, Coordinated, Developed, Lectured, Supervised, Improved, Interacted, Trained
Detailed Skills	Recorded, Processed, Compiled, Researched, Reviewed. Checked, Approved, Validated, Retained, Executed, Dispatched, Responded, Implemented, Arranged, Collected, Monitored, Inspected, Classified, Scheduled, Examined
Manual Skills	Operated, Controlled, Assembled, Set-up, Bound, Drove, Cut, Moved, Lifted, Pulled, Shipped, Drilled, Handled, Converted, Designed, Build, Sorted, Constructed, Cleaned, Maintained
Research Skills	Clarified Interviewed, Inspected Synthesized, Diagnosed, Organized, Critiqued, Collected, Interpreted, Isolated, Decided, Recognized, Identified, Surveyed, Investigated, Gathered, Gleaned, Examined, Reviewed, Evaluated, Perceived, Wrote, Extrapolated, Extracted
Communication Skills	Influenced, Helped, Led, Sold, Recruited, Negotiated, Arranged, Reconciled, Obtained, Interpreted, Motivated, Persuaded, Directed, Reasoned, Developed, Created, Arbitrated, Mediated, Merged, Wrote, Enlisted, Spoke
Financial Skills	Calculated, Computed, Planned, Managed, Budgeted, Audited, Appraised, Allocated, Administered, Developed, Solved, Prepared, Maintained, Documented Analyzed, Researched, Initiated, Recommended, Sold, Bought, Budgeted, Opened, Closed

Life-Saving Tips

• Receiving recognition for good customer service, or good sales records are good examples of unique accomplishments. Including this in your resume will help you stand out and also give the employer insight on your work ethic.
• Cater to the industry by using key words that the industry is familiar with.
• Use quantifiable information as much as possible to demonstrate scope of responsibility or further highlight an accomplishment (i.e. Oversaw 15 volunteers; increased sales by 15%).

Common Mistakes

• Using the following words or phrases: I, responsible for, assisted/helped/worked/did, duties included, etc.
• Beginning with adjectives or adverbs rather an action verb (i.e. Bad: Sufficiently catered wedding events, Good: Catered wedding events sufficiently).
• Being too vague or using simple job description phrases instead of focusing on specific details within your accomplishments.

When crafting your resume, you may often wonder whether or not to include your extracurricular activities on your resume. Would these experiences be advantageous on a resume? If so, what kinds of extracurricular activities should you include or leave off, and where should you put them on the resume? Here are a few tips that may be helpful:

• Quality over quantity: If you are involved in many clubs on campus, it doesn’t mean that you will necessarily need to include all of them. Only list the ones which can best represent your passion, interest or skills related to the field you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a software engineer position, it would be great to include your involvement with the computer science and engineering clubs.

• Highlight your campus leadership experiences: if you are part of the student government or have a leadership role in which you manage staff, projects, or budget, highlight them on your resume.

• Display your community service involvement: what type of transferable skills did you develop through these community services? Which may be valuable to your targeted employers? Show them on your resume!

• Format: For most of the extracurricular activities, you can list them under the section of OTHER EXPERIENCE /EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES /VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE/ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Examples

Below are some examples of how you can incorporate your extracurricular activities on your resume.

First-Generation Mentor | Biola University, La Mirada, CA | March 2016 – May 2017

• Provided emotional support and mentoring for first generation students to help with their transition into college life
• Helped mentees get familiar with the resources on campus
• Assisted in facilitating college success workshops and hosting community-building events to create networking opportunities

Vice President of Marketing and Communications | Student Government Association La Mirada, CA | March 2015 – May 2016

• Conceptualized and launched discount card program and student scholarship program.
• Co-managed 16 student government staff members to organize campus-wide events
• Collaborated with an executive team to communicate student issues to outside entities and develop solutions to students’ issues.

Director of Professional Development | The Crowell Business Association, Biola University, La Mirada, CA | Aug. 2017 – Present

• Lead and direct professional development workshops and presentations to 50+ members
• Create weekly videos to inform members about financial modeling and securities such as, stocks, bonds, CD’s, income statements, balance statements and cash flow statements

Community Engagement Volunteer |Dressember Foundation, La Mirada, CA | September 2017 - February 2018

• Led an advocacy team in wearing dresses for the month of December for the purpose of raising awareness and funds to combat human trafficking worldwide
• Increased community involvement through outreach and campaign awareness events

English Club Volunteer | UC Irvine J-BEST Club Irvine, CA | October 2017 – December 2017

• Facilitated weekly English discussions on American culture and language in groups of 3-5 participants
• Assisted new Japanese international students in transitioning to American culture
• Led students in volunteer opportunities at The Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange, CA

Don’t underestimate the value of both paid and unpaid experiences in ministry and missions! These experiences can equip you with a broad variety of in demand skills.

Make sure to

• Research your target audience! Not everyone may look favorably upon faith-based experiences.
• Use numbers to demonstrate the scope of your work. It’s easy to forget quantifiables when describing service oriented work. Use concrete numbers to give context.
• Use common marketplace language to give context if speaking to a secular audience unfamiliar with religious jargon. It may be best to avoid or translate certain terms into common marketplace language.
  • Example: Rather than using “missions trip” or “discipled,” consider “service trip” or “mentored"

Know what you bring to the table

Led a life group? Taught middle schoolers? Planned a church summer camp? All of these experiences develop in you transferable skills which can make you successful in any job. Below are a few common examples of skills developed through ministry and missions.

• Group management
• Recruiting
• Event planning
• Project management
• Relationship building
• Volunteer management
• Budget management
• Marketing
• Curriculum development
• Interpersonal engagement
• Public speaking
• Fundraising
• Student counseling
• Coaching
• Administration
• Community development
• Mentoring
• Cross-cultural fluency

The following are examples for how you might highlight them on the resume

Event Planning

• Co-ordinated, marketed, and led 3 large scale community events quarterly for over 30 students.

Project Management

• Marketed, recruited, and led a service trip to Mexico, managing a team of 10 student volunteers.

Public Speaking

• Developed and taught weekly curriculum to promote social, emotional, and mental development.

Community Development

• Packaged and delivered over 300 basic needs kits to underprivileged communities.

Fundraising

• Fundraised over $5,000 for Ghana service trip through developing relationships with potential donors.

Budget Management

• Managed a budget of over $5,000 for food, service supplies, and charitable donations to Ghanian partners.

Athletics is a significant part of your Biola experience. As a student-athlete, you have developed transferable skills that employers across a variety of industries will value. It it important to communicate examples of how you’ve used these skills as a student-athlete rather than just stating the skills. Although you have gained many skills employers are looking for, they will still expect you to pursue experiences outside of athletics to be a well rounded employee.

Student Athlete Transferable Skills

Consider giving concrete examples of how you have used these skills. You can mention your examples in resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, e-portfolios, and interviews. It’s also important to note that you have strengths beyond those you have gained through athletics. Time to jot down other experiences and skills you’ve developed through your personal journey. These listed below are simply examples to get you thinking.

• Teamwork: You find ways to collaborate with teammates and coaches to meet goals, uphold team policies, and motivate others.

• Communication: You find ways to adapt your communication style to best collaborate with your teammates and coaches. This helps you solve problems diplomatically. Every employer will expect you to demonstrate this skill with managers, supervisors, and coworkers.

• Competition/Goal-Oriented: Competition helps you to take initiative and risks in order to meet and exceed goals. This will help you to push yourself and coworkers in the workplace to achieve goals set by managers.

• Leadership: You use your style of leadership to either be the person in the front leading the charge or the person behind the scenes pushing others to work in their strengths which leads to motivated teammates that achieve goals. It is important to know when to lead and when to follow. When you learn what style of leadership is needed in your workplace employers will value when you lead and motivate others.

• Motivation: You understand that you must overcome hurdles to achieve your goals. You do this by recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and pushing to be productive. This will help you to efficiently complete projects in the workplace. (Strong work ethic)

• Time Management: You balance a class schedule, athletics, and possibly even other activities (part-time work, projects, internships, etc). This shows you are driven.

• Strategic Problem Solving: You think through the most effective way to complete a task and get things done efficiently. This can help you cut through the noise in a workplace and produce great work.

• Teachability: You know the importance of receiving and implementing feedback to make you a better athlete. In any workplace you will need to demonstrate this humility and teachability.

Self-Evaluation

Consider answering these questions to help you write bullet points on your resume.

• How many hours a week do you dedicate to your team?
• What goes into being a student-athlete? What is your time spent on?
• Have you participated in any community service with your team?
• Have you assumed a leadership role on your team? ( ie Captain, Co-Captain)
• Are there ways you have advocated for your team on different committees? (ie SAAC)
• Have you received or been nominated for any awards, honors, or scholarships?

Listing Your Student-Athlete Experience on Your Resume

You can use different resume Header sections to best tell your experiences. In the past, other Biola athletes have used the following. As you continue to gain more experiences directly related to the industry/job you are interested in, or research and understand what your potential employer is looking for,you may choose to begin writing less about your athletic experience. However, as a current student or recent graduate, these headers may be helpful in calling attention to your athletic experiences. Ultimately, you can choose where to list your athletic experience based on all the experiences you want to share with employers on your resume.

• Intercollegiate Athletics
• Athletics & Leadership Experience
• Extracurricular Experience
• Additional Experience
• Achievements & Awards

Examples from Student Athlete Resumes

Showcasing being a valuable team member

NCAA Division II Athlete, Women’s Softball Team | Biola University | La Mirada, CA

• Balanced 15 + hours per week of practice, travel, and competition while maintaining a 3.5 gpa
• Demonstrated the ability to set and achieve individual and team goals at a competitive level
• Competed in over 20 events in a 3 month span

Describing a leadership position

Team Captain, Biola Varsity Women’s Softball | La Mirada, CA | August 2015 – Present

• Leads infield meetings, sets team goals, and mediates conflict using effective communication
• Commits 15 + hours a week to training, competitions and travel
• Oversaw internal team competitions such as creating music videos and commercials for team bonding

Team Captain, Biola University Men’s Varsity Tennis Team | August 2014 - Present

• Leads and inspires a team of 11 members to reach full potential
• Attends events through Special Olympics to encourage community engagement
• Collaborates with Assistant Director of Communications and Game Management in order to promote game attendance and engage student body at all athletic events

Displaying Event Staff experience

Athletic Event Staff, Biola Athletics | La Mirada, CA

• Recorded statistics information systems for over 20 games in various sports
• Recorded team statistics using information system for over 20 games in various NCAA competitions
• Communicated with fans through broadcasting athletic events

Showcasing community service with your team

Biola University Softball Camps | La Mirada, CA

• Facilitates coaching sessions for girls ages 8-18 in basic softball skills and techniques
• Led leadership skill workshops to empower high school girls in developing their unique skill sets

Biola Softball Service Trip | Cuba

• Built cross cultural relationships through competing with the Cuban National Team
• Coordinated day camps for children to experience softball training

Advocating for athletics

SAAC Representative, Biola University | La Mirada, CA | August 2017 - Present

• Advocate for the golf team which resulted in the purchase of 2 new vehicles and push carts
• Inform the committee of challenges faced on the golf team and strategic ways to solve them
• Collaborated with head of compliance to maintain team equipment to meet safety standards

Teaching and Coaching

Teaching Assistant: Tennis, Biola University | La Mirada, CA | January 2017-May 2017

• Created engaging game material for course
• Taught 25 students tennis game strategies in order to better their skills

Highlighting Awards & Honors

Cross Country and Track & Field, Biola University | La Mirada, CA

• NCAA Cross Country Team Captain
• Two time NAIA Academic All-American
• Member, Indoor NAIA All-American 4x8 Relay Team

Your experience in the military has provided you with valuable transferable skills employers are looking for. Translating your experience in terms that civilians understand will be a critical component in marketing yourself to employers. It is important to remember that a resume does not land you a job. It is a tool to tell your professional story and help land an interview.

Take Time to Reflect & Explore

Take time to reflect on what you enjoyed about the work you did in the military. You may hear suggestions for you to transition into law enforcement or federal agencies. Reflect on the skills and strengths you enjoyed developing, your interests, what you have been recognized by superiors, family, and friends for, and what is important to you. It may be helpful to write these down and use them in researching job titles that may be of interest to you. This will also lead to you understanding what to include on your resume. Scheduling an appointment with a Career Specialist at Biola may also be helpful.

Helpful Reflective Tools:

• O*Net Skills resource: https://www.onetonline.org/skills/

Lynda.com

Biola has given you free access to Lynda.com resources. This website offers skill building webinars as well as job searching tips for veterans.

Verification of Military Experience and Training Document

Obtain your Verification of Military Experience and Training Document. This lists your military job experience and training history, and provides civilian equivalent job titles.

Types of Resumes

Tailor your resume to each job.

Always think about how your experiences relate to the job or industry you are applying to. As you transition to the civilian workforce, this often means honing in on transferable skills that relate to the job you are applying to. Always include your military experience. You should also include any additional experiences outside of the military (Relevant Courses, Projects, Volunteer work, additional jobs) It can also be helpful to think through what resume format can best display your experiences.

Chronological

This is the most common type of resume. A chronological resume begins with your most recent experience going back until the very first experience you have had. This is called reverse chronological order. Some veterans choose to list all their experiences under one entry. Meaning they may list their service branch and then chronologically list each position they have held with descriptive bullet points. Others prefer to list each entry individually. Either approach is acceptable. Make your decision based on what best tells your professional story. See examples below.

Assistant Patrol Leader / Radio Chief (2011-2012)

• Led a team of 13 cross-functional Marines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Partnered with the Patrol Leader to analyze data and make critical decisions in regards to the placement of staff and equipment.
• Mentored and validated team readiness relating to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
• Partnered with cross-functional teams comprised of domestic and international professionals to conduct missions and establish community relations with Afghan civilians.
• Developed and communicated periodic status reports on operational progress and completion.

Intelligence Collector (2010-2011)

• Researched, obtained and analyzed vital information on key individuals in critical areas of national security to include geography, weapons and classified information
• Met with Senior Officials to conduct classified briefings on the data collected

Functional

This type of resume allows you to group together and call attention to specific skills you want to highlight rather than specific job titles like the common chronological resume. For example, you can have “Project Management”, “Leadership”, “Marketing”, “Healthcare”, “Military” as section headers. This allows you to call attention to different experiences you’ve had.

Program Management

• Appointed as acting Communications Manager for a group of 40 personnel ; a position held by individuals more senior
• Led a team of 13 personnel including managed training records, accountability of team’s weapons along with over $50K worth of serialized gear
• Served as Travel Coordinator for sensitive logistics transportation and helicopter flights to gather cryptography for classified radio equipment
• Established and maintained radio communications with NATO forces and relayed secure information from senior leadership to team members

Combination

Perhaps you want employers to know about all the jobs you have help but do not want to go into detail about each of the jobs. A combination resume allows you to group experiences together like a functional resume does. It also still leaves space for you to list your Work History without any bullet point descriptions.

Master Resume

It may be helpful to create a master resume that details all of our experiences. This is a resume you keep as a “database” of everything you have done. When you have everything in one place, it will allow you to pick and choose what to include when targeting a specific job, industry, or employer. This may take more work in the beginning. However, it will be very helpful in your job search process.

Components of a Resume

Be sure to keep your resume consistent with typical resume sections such as: Contact Information, Education, and Professional Experience. You may consider additional sections to best tell your professional narrative. Some of those may include:

Professional Summary

If using a professional summary, it should be a concise statement (2-4 sentences) that gives an overview of your professional background and how you would like to use your transferable skills in a new industry.

Skills

• List languages known
• Software’s familiar with (Excel: pivot tables)
• Military Clearance

Recognitions & Awards

Consider the industry you are interested in. It may be appropriate to list several certifications you received if they relate to the industry you want to continue pursuing. For example, if you were a Certified Combat Lifesaver Instructor this may be beneficial if you decide to continue in healthcare. When appropriate, elaborate on the award you received if explanation would be beneficial for the employer.

How to list on your resume:

Awards & Achievements

• Earned two Army Commendation Medals for exhibiting dedication to duty while under severe conditions

Certifications

• EMT-B National Certification
• CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer and the Healthcare Provider, American Red Cross

How to include Military Education/Training

You may have attended several different military trainings and courses. If the name of the training is not self explanatory it may be helpful to give a short description of the course or training you went through. This should show the employer why you decided it is relevant to mention. You may choose to list this as a separate section on your resume entitled “Professional Military Training” or simply list the training as a bullet point under the job title you are writing about.

Examples:

Military Education & Training

Primary Leadership and Development Course:

• Three week course that used experiential learning techniques to develop leadership and critical thinking skills

Translating military experience to civilian terms

When in the military you used many acronyms and technical terms. You may have realized your civilian friends and family did not understand the terms you used. This will be the same with employers. It may be confusing on a resume or in an interview if you continue to use technical terms from the military.

Simplify acronyms and abbreviations

• “FOB” or “AFB” can be ‘base’
• “NCO” can be ‘supervisor’

Details regarding specific equipment, weapons, or warfare

Details regarding specific equipment, weapons, or warfare may not be beneficial for civilians to know. Think through what is most valuable about that experience (did you gather intelligence, did you engage in any humanitarian efforts during your deployments, etc.)

Find Civilian Friendly Terms for your Military Occupation Code (MOC) or (MOS)

Some employers may not understand what your rank and military title mean. Therefore, it may be helpful to choose a job title that is similar to what you did. You can also list in parenthesis your rank next to the job title.

Use www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/MOC to translate your skills. You will select your branch of service. This will allow you to choose your MOS/MOC and job description information will be given to you.

Explaining your MOS/MOC as a Job Title

• Military: S-3 Training NCO
  Civilian: Training Specialist
• Military: MOS 0621(Marine Corps)
  Civilian: Communications Manager, Dispatcher
• Military: 1A2X1
  Civilian: Cargo Manager

Writing Descriptive Bullet Points

Use bullet points to give concrete examples of how you used the skills you acquired in the military. Employers understand you have gained skills like strong communication, leadership, teamwork, problem solving, and more! When you provide specific statements on how you used your skills, why you used them, and how they benefited your past employer it gives greater credibility and proof of your strengths.

Bullet point formula: Action word + what you did + why you did it (purpose or outcome)

Security clearance

• Entrusted to maintain various levels of controlled and classified material (Top Secret Clearance 2009-2014)

Logistics

• Managed logistics for over 40 employees by being the main contact for clothing, ammunition, and food
• Coordinated flight logistics for over 100 missions
• Tracked purchase requisitions to meet projects and production requirement

Accommodations

• Meritoriously promoted to ___ and received Certificate of Accommodation for exceptional performance during ___ Course.

Strategic decisions

• Collaborated with a team of 4 analysts to provide intelligence briefs with accurate information for management to make well informed decisions
• Developed detailed plans for over 45 patrols which detailed how to best use resources

Community relations

• Established and maintained relationships with high schools, colleges, and community officials to implement and conduct a variety of Army recruiting and marketing programs

Operated equipment

• Operated military equipment with accuracy in high stress situations
• Supervised maintenance of 10 helicopters worth $200 million
• Performed quality assurance tests with great attention to detail which decreased report error rates
• Managed over $50,000 worth of equipment during deployment with no loss of inventory

Showcased leadership skills

• Fostered the professional development of 45 employees through a comprehensive mentorship program
• Served as divisional training officer for a reserve marine force
• Directed the day to day operations of over 100 personnel and ensured incident free processing of over 7,000 vehicles

Went through training

• Graduated an extremely challenging elite military academy with less than 30% completion rate, and went onto train 5 others to succeed in the same academy

Details and Administration

• Created a database for processing paperwork that increased efficiency by 15%
• Prepared monthly reports that tracked overall organizational training courses
• Streamlined patient intake procedures to assure complete capture of patient demographics
• Inspected all equipment to ensure everything was in proper working order and submitted inventory reports with great efficiency

Deployment

• Served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as part of a team tasked with community building missions
• Worked on a diverse team through 3 successful deployments
• Part of a 20-person team that maintained control of vehicle and personnel entry procedures which ensured the security of Air Force and army assets

Acting as a chaplain

• Coordinated religious services for over 300 service members

Tips

• Focus on your individual contribution rather than the success of your team
• Have a non-military friend read your resume: Ask your civilian friends if they understand your military experience as you’ve written it

Additional Resources

• Military.com — Resume Writing Articles
• Hire a Hero — Resume Toolkit
• Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) — Offers free educational and vocational counseling services
• LinkedIn for Veterans
• Real Warriors provides step-by-step information on translating military experience to civilian employment on a resume.

Participating in research projects as an undergraduate or a graduate student is a valuable experience, which should be showcased on your resume.

• Format: If you are seeking a research-related position, you can add a “Research Experience” section separately before having a “Work Experience” section. If you are seeking a position not directly research-related, you can incorporate your research experience under an “Additional Experience” section, and highlight your research skills related to the position that you are applying for.

• Research Skills: The specific research skills that you should highlight may vary depending on the industries or positions that you apply for. They could be your experiences working with certain equipments or software programs, or the skills that you developed for data collection and analysis. Some transferable research skills may include your critical thinking, problem solving, time management and presentation skills.

• Describe Your Skills: You should describe your research experiences by using some strong action verbs, such as designed; developed; identified; implemented; predicted; gathered information; and created database. For a more comprehensive action verbs list and bullet point writing tips, please check out our action verbs and bullet point formula handouts.

Below are some examples of how you can incorporate your research experiences.

Organic Chemistry Research Assistant, Biola University | La Mirada, CA | February 2016 - December 2016

• Proposed a detailed budget for the project based on the materials needed for the research
• Sought and wrote applications for grants to fund research costs, resulting in the award of two research grants
• Planned reactions and prepare reagents ahead of time to maximize productivity in the laboratory
• Applied knowledge from scientific literature to carry out reactions and separations resulting in the synthesis of intermediates
• Analyzed products with proton NMR to ensure accuracy

Research Assistant University of Southern California – Family Lab | February 2017 – Present

• Analyze raw experimental data of subjects in the USC Family Studies Project to arrange on a scale of affective experiences as well as behavioral/conversational processes
• Ensure accurate recording by transcribing audio from data onto a word processor
• Collaborate with team members to compare accuracy of behavioral codes and draw conclusions from data

Research Assistant, Political Science, Biola University | La Mirada, CA | Jan. 2017 to Present

• Analyze and collect data on the theological discourse surrounding the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement for an academic conference paper

Research Project, Biola University – Experimental Psychology | February 2017 – May 2017

• Designed and conducted 19 in-person association tests through timeslot organization and instructing subjects in specific participation of the study
• Conducted multi-variable ANOVA analyses along with piece-wise comparisons and several paired t-tests in order to find statistical significance and extrapolate conclusions from data
• Extrapolated significant interactions within data in order to draw conclusions about the implications within the data

Flash Presentation – Social Influence, Biola University – Social Psychology | November 2017

• Conducted a literature review on the topic of social influence in order to draw implications and applications to design a pertinent research study
• Presented to an audience of 30 members in order to educate and inform them of the relevant research topic
• Persuaded audience through statistical findings and data facts in order to convey the importance of conducting this research