Please select a page. OWL Home Page Writing Lab and OWL Info Handouts and Materials Workshops and Presentations Internet Resources owl home || writing lab and owl || handouts || workshops and presentations || internet resources

Contents What is an experience section? Why write one? Where should you place this section? Questions to ask Tailoring for your audience Developing your descriptions Using wording to sell yourself Making your descriptions parallel Samples

Writing the Experience Section of Your Resume Many job ads call for individuals with relevant experience, and all employers prefer experienced people to inexperienced ones. Your experience section can be the "heart" of your resume. How can you put your experiences in the best light? Read below for some strategies. What is an Experience section? An experience section emphasizes your past and present employment and/or your participation in relevant activities. Sometimes this section goes under other names such as the following: Work Experience Professional Experience Work History Field Work Volunteer Work Feel free to customize your headings for this section, especially if you are writing a tailored resume. For example, if the job ad calls for someone with editorial experience, you may want to create a section with the heading "Editorial Experience." Even the busiest reader will notice. Also, you may discover you need more than one section to organize your experiences. For instance, you may want a section for volunteer work and another for your work history or one for technical experience and another for supervisory experience. The usual content for an experience section includes company or organization, location position title dates of employment or involvement descriptions of responsibilities and duties  Sample: Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc., Lafayette, Indiana Security Officer, January 1997 to present Assisted with loss prevention, access control, fire prevention, and medical response However, you need not put all this information in this order. For example, if you wish to emphasize the jobs you held rather than the place of employment, you may want to list position titles first. back to top Why Write an Experience Section? to convince employers your experiences will help you do your job more effectively to provide evidence of your qualifications to list and describe your experiences in the most impressive and relevant way possible back to top Where should you place this section? Where on your resume should you place your experience section? Most people put their experience somewhere in the middle of the page, between their objective statement and their activities. If you have significant experiences, you may wish to emphasize them by placing your experience section closer to the top of your page. If your experiences are not obviously relevant, however, you may want to put your experiences beneath, for example, your education section. back to top Questions to Ask About you About the company or organization What past and present experiences do you have--including not only jobs you've held but also positions as a volunteer, intern, student, etc.? What types of experiences are generally desirable in your field or area of interest? Which of your experiences are most related to your career goals? How can you "sell" some of your seemingly irrelevant experiences? Which experiences are most desired by the company (as listed in job ads and position descriptions)? Which experiences would the company likely see as plusses? back to top Tailoring for your audience With some research into the company hiring and the position advertised, you will soon get a sense for what your resume readers will want to see in your experience section. Analyzing company literature as part of your job search, for example, will reveal qualifications, credentials, organizational goals, current projects, technologies, etc. most relevant to the company. The more you know about the company, the easier it will be to tailor--so be sure to profile the company as part of your job search. You may tailor your experience section in three main ways:  Select and include only your most relevant experiences: Based upon your career goals and the qualifications desired by the company, you will likely find that certain experiences are less relevant. For example, if you are applying for civil engineering positions, your part-time work at a fast-food restaurant may not interest your resume's readers. Why waste the space? Place your most relevant experiences first: Since readers are most likely to read information closer to the top of the page, place your most impressive experiences first. If you had an internship at the same company you are applying to for a permanent position, you'll want to make sure your readers know it. Incorporate keywords used (and values appealed to) in company literature and job descriptions: If the company, for example, values problem solving or taking the initiative or being a team player, then you should consider working these words into your descriptions. Paint a picture of yourself, so to speak, with the company's colors. back to top Developing your descriptions As indicated above, the wording of your descriptions should mirror as much as possible that of the job advertisement. You might do this very deliberately by listing or circling all the keywords or phrases used in company literature and then working them one by one into your resume as they apply. Or you may choose to describe only those experiences--or aspects of a given experience--that seem most relevant. Another way to be strategic in your choice of wording is to use action words such as those on the skills list. By describing yourself with action words or verbs, past or present tense, you show yourself in action, thus emphasizing your skills. For example, if your description indicates that you "coordinated funeral arrangements for families," you emphasize that you have the ability to coordinate. back to top Using wording to sell yourself To "sell" your work skills and experiences, you'll want to use wording strategically. Here are two pitfalls to avoid when you write descriptions: being too brief, not including enough detail understating your qualifications, selling yourself short Using select journalistic questions (who?, what?, why?, where?, when?, how?), you can easily expand your descriptions to include enough detail. Consider the following examples: before questions asked after (questions answered) tested equipment how? what kind? conducted compatibility testing and evaluation of mechanical equipment planned activities what kinds? how? when? for whom? planned arts, crafts, activities, and exercises weekly for teenage girls Make sure your descriptions are carrying their weight for you. Sometimes it helps to re-see your experiences as a professional would. Compare the following examples. Which seems more impressive to you? understated seen through professional eyes answered phone acted as liaison between clients and legal staff performed various tasks developed awareness of library operational procedures wiped tables created healthy environment for customers and maintained positive public image back to top Making your descriptions parallel Since resume readers are busy, you'll want to do everything you can to make your their job easier. One way to do this is to use parallel structure in your descriptions. If you set up a pattern and stick with it, your readers will be able to process information more quickly. Notice how the all the verbs in the parallel example below "agree" with one another. Because all descriptions are in past tense, readers don't have to struggle to make sense of them. Similarly, if you use present tense verbs or gerunds (-ing words), try to do so consistently.   not parallel parallel recording OSHA regulated documents material purchasing and expediting prepared weekly field payroll responsible for charge orders recorded OSHA regulated documents conducted material purchasing and expediting prepared weekly field payroll processed charge orders back to top

Created and Designed by Bryan M. Kopp and the Business Writing Consulting/Tutoring Staff.

owl home || writing lab and owl || handouts || workshops and presentations || internet resources This page is located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResumeW/experience.html Receive weekly tips and updates from Purdue's OWL and Writing Lab!         Copyright ©1995-2004 by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use. To contact OWL, please refer to our contact information page so that you email the appropriate person. Requests for help sent to the wrong address may not receive a timely response.