Texas A&M University Career Center - Resumes & Cover Letters - Career Center resume guide

Sep 13, 2026

A career center resume guide explaining how to structure and write an effective chronological resume that functions as a marketing tool. It emphasizes concise, logical organization, reverse chronological work history, and the clear presentation of achievements by qualifying and quantifying results. Detailed instructions cover resume format requirements, recommended page length, font and margin settings, and which sections to include first. It also lists essential resume content such as name/contact, optional objective, and education details, plus rules on what not to include and how to build strong bullet points.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResumes

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Resumes & Cover Letters

Goals of Your Resume

Chronological Resume

Resume Format

Resume Content

Name/Contact Information

Objective (optional)

Education

Sections May Include

Do Not Include

Building a Bullet

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Career Center Resumes & Cover Letters Your resume serves as a marketing tool to highlight your relevant experience and skills, as well as your accomplishments. Your resume will not get the job for you, but it will, if effective, result in interviews. The goals of your resume should be to: • Show information in a concise, easy to read and logical format • Illustrate your achievements, attributes and expertise. Qualify and quantify results when possible • Provide all relevant information necessary to allow a prospective employer to identify your transferable skills Chronological Resume List your experiences, beginning with the most recent and/or relevant and focus on work history and activities. The content in each section should be organized in reverse chronological order, starting with what you are currently doing and working back in time. Resume Format • One 8. 5” x 11” page using Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman or Courier font • Resumes for graduate students can be two pages • Are you applying for graduate or professional school? If so, your resume can be over one page to fully reflect your experiences • Font size should be no smaller than 10 point font and no larger than 12 point font (excluding your name) • Size of your name should be between 14 point and 16 point font • Margin size will vary between . 5” and 1.0”(all 4 sides) depending on space needed for content • Use resume templates available on [tx.ag/resumes](tx.ag/resumes) • When sending electronically or uploading, save your resume as a PDF Resume Content • Organize the sections on your resume and the bullets within a section in order of relevance, listing the most important, marketable information/categories first • Your name and contact information, an Objective (if appropriate) and Education, in that order, will always be the first three sections of your resume Name/Contact Information • Your name will always be listed first, at the top of the page; it will be the largest piece of information on the page (between 14 point and 16 point font) • Include city and state (current or permanent mailing address is optional) • Include a phone number where you can be reached, preferably your cell phone. Be sure to have a professional voicemail set up • List a professional email address-consider an @[aggienetwork.com](aggienetwork.com) account through The Association • No need to label your information ([e.g. email](e.g. email), phone) Objective (optional) • Tells the reader the purpose of your resume • Should identify the kind of work you want to perform, if known, in no longer than two sentences • If seeking an internship or co-op, include the time period when you are available to start • Example: Seeking a summer 2020 internship in Marketing or Public Relations [hireaggies.com](hireaggies.com) • 209 Koldus • (979) 845-5139 Education • List the institution you most recently attended (most likely will be Texas A&M University) • Include the city and state • Provide the official name of the degree you will receive in addition to your major (ex. Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing) • List your graduation month and year • Include your overall GPR (always!) . You can also include a major GPR and list the highest one first • List any minors or certificates on separate lines below your degree • If you’ve attended other institutions and received 30 credit hours or more, list in reverse chronological order following your most recent institution (include number of credits and GPA at each institution) • Do not include high school information in this section. Exception: Freshmen and Sophomores may include high school experiences on resumes Sections May Include • Experience-categories include Work, Relevant or Volunteer Experience; use bullets to highlight what you learned, accomplished or gained. Include results, the name of the organization and location as well as y

FAQs

What are the main goals of a resume?

The resume should present relevant experience and skills clearly, highlight accomplishments and expertise, and help employers identify transferable skills. It also aims to support interviews by being effective and organized.

How should a chronological resume be organized?

Experiences should be listed in reverse chronological order, starting with what you are currently doing and working back in time. Each section should be organized with the most relevant information first.

What information should not be included in a resume?

Avoid personal items such as photographs, age, or marital status. Do not include abstracts or intangible skills without examples, and exclude references because they are available on a separate page when requested.

Sep 13, 2026

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