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Prepare for your lifetime of opportunity!

More than resumes, the Center for Career and Professional Success supports students in the College of Arts and Sciences as they prepare for a lifetime of opportunity.

Communities and Connections

By joining one or more Career Communities, students have the opportunity to learn about industries, build their networks, and make impactful connections with alumni and other professionals.

Learn from Alumni

Alumni have ample opportunities to support student career development, from participating in intimate Coffee Chats and panel discussions to serving as a mentor, hosting a Career Trek, and more. Alumni are actively invited to share their experiences to help our students grow.

Career Fairs and Expos

Career Success hosts and supports multiple career engagements each year. From large career fairs offering opportunities for any student to smaller career expos focusing on a particular industry, to our intimate Career Connections events, we facilitate opportunities to connect.

Learn from Industry Professionals

The ASC Match Mentor program is a college-wide initiative that matches alumni from the College of Arts and Sciences one-to-one with current Arts and Sciences majors.

Be Prepared

Our highly respected Career Coaching staff assists students through all stages of career preparation. From services like resume and cover letter preparation to more involved aspects, such as internship and job search strategies, elevator pitches, and more.

COME TO THE CAREER STUDIO

Career Success offers the Career Studio , a dynamic drop-in space where all ASC students can stop by without an appointment for on-the-go career guidance from their peers. Student Peer Career Coaches are available to answer questions about resumes, cover letters, job or internship searches, and can even assist in setting up a one-on-one appointment with a professional Career Coach.

GET CAREER READY WITH BIG INTERVIEW

Big Interview is a comprehensive online platform designed to enhance your interviewing skills and boost your confidence through a combination of training and practice. It provides an array of features, including a mock interview practice tool with recording capabilities, an extensive curriculum in both written and video formats, a system for feedback on your practice videos, and an admin dashboard for detailed reporting. Additionally, it offers customization options for questions and assignments, alongside a resume-building tool.

RECRUIT FROM THE COLLEGE OF

Arts and sciences.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college at Ohio State, making up about 40% of the student body. Our majors range from Arts Management to Zoology, encompassing a total of 38 departments and schools. If you're looking to connect with a high-caliber and diverse workforce who are learning to tackle 21st-century challenges, you're in the right place.

APPLY FOR CAF FUNDING

Do you need financial assistance while engaged in an unpaid or minimally paid internship, undergraduate research, or another career-building opportunity? Consider applying for the Career Accelerator Fund (CAF), which offers students awards ranging from $250 to $5,000! The application cycle for the Summer Term has closed.  

FIND YOUR FUTURE!

From the moment you join the College of Arts and Sciences (ASC) , gain access to our dedicated Career Coaches who are experts in guiding students toward fulfilling careers across a spectrum of specialties. Regardless of your major, our Career Coaches are here to support you, offering personalized advice and insights into various industries. Engage with our coaches to explore diverse career pathways, participate in industry-specific events, and build a robust network for future opportunities. Discover the vast array of career possibilities available to ASC students with the guidance of our Career Coaches .

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You're hired!

In an increasingly competitive job market, having a clean, error-free resume or curriculum vitae that shows off your most impressive accomplishments and experience is even more critical to your success than ever. We offer several options to assist you with landing your dream job:

• Seminars: Check out the pre-recorded seminars listed below for advice on cover letter and resume writing!
• Quick Guides:  Just need answers fast? Check out the guides we're constantly adding to on how to spruce up your resume, what order to list education and experience in, and why cover letters are a great way to make your application stand out in a crowd!

Current and Previous Seminars from WCRL:

All videos have been closed-captioned for accessibility.

Work it: How to Transform Your Resume! - a 34 minute presentation on how to make your resume more readable by recruiters and what to include and not include.

Perfect Pitch: Cover Letters that Get the Job Done! - a 29 minute presentation on how to actually break down the parts of a cover letter and write one easily.

Quick Guides and References

Resume Tips, Guides, and Templates:

Business Insider - The Perfect Resume: A quick 3 minute video with closed captions.

Business Insider - Worst Mistakes on Resumes: A quick 2 minute video with closed captions.

Reddit's r/Jobs - Top Recruiter's Advice and Resume Template Part 1 and Part 2 : A free resume template that is well-liked by recruiters, due to how easy it is to read and locate information quickly.

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• Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 1:15 PM
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Senr career services: students, breadcrumb menu, planning your next steps we can help. .

Schedule an appointment: 614-292-2265 OR Book online: go.osu.edu/senrcareeradvising

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Looking to earn academic credit for an upcoming internship? You must get the internship approved for credit  before the start of the internship. 

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Career Advising 

Career development is a continuous process, and advising appointments can help you take a step-by-step approach to your career journey. New first-year students are encouraged to schedule a career advising appointment within their first year in SENR. Transfer students should schedule within their first semester.  Career advising is available to all ENR undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni. Appointments cover a variety of topics, including: exploring strengths and interests, writing resumes and cover letters, searching for internships and jobs, preparing for interviews, and exploring graduate schools. Options are available for both in-person and Zoom (video) appointments. 

Meet Your Career Advisors

Lucia Hadella and Meagan Toohey are the Career Advisors for the School of Environment and Natural Resources. They work with SENR students on many different areas of career development, including writing resumes and cover letters, identifying strengths and interests, networking with professionals, and searching for internships and jobs. SENR students can meet with Lucia and Meagan as often as they need to.  Office: Kottman 210  Emails: [email protected]  &  [email protected]

You may also see other members of the CFAES Career Development Team during class visits, workshops, and walk-in career advising appointments. Get to know them!  

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What can I do with this major? 

Your career success story starts here with a well-polished resume.

Today’s recruiters skim resumes for an average of 7.4 seconds. Here are some tips on how to make your resume stand out!

Create / Polish Your Resume (4-min video)

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Ohio State utilizes a comprehensive, de-centralized career services model. Below is the information for the colleges that support their own career services office. Student Life's Buckeye Careers is available to help all students, regardless of major, on their career journey.

College of Arts and Sciences Center for Career and Professional Success College of Education and Human Ecology Career Services College of Engineering Career Services College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Career Development

College of Nursing Career Services

College of Optometry Career Management 

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College of Social Work Career Services  College of Veterinary Medicine Office of Career Management and Professional Development

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Lhota Office of Alumni Career Management Lima Campus Ohio State Career Services

Mansfield Campus Ohio State Career Services

Marion Campus Ohio State Career Services Moritz College of Law Career Services Newark Campus Ohio State Career Services Student Athlete Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute

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A resume is a summary of your professional and educational experiences. Recruiters spend an average of eight seconds looking at a resume. This means they only collect a small amount of information from a resume before deciding to hold on to it or not. One spelling, grammar, or formatting error can lead to a recruiter disregarding your resume. Always double-check your resume and have someone else read it before applying.  

The basic building blocks of a resume are the format, content, and bullet points, but there are some additional steps to be taken to complete these pieces well. Follow the guide below to have a great foundation in creating your resume. 

Step one: Getting Started

There are many right ways to create a resume, but the most important thing is to demonstrate your specific qualifications for the opportunity you are seeking. Customizing your resume involves critically reviewing the job or internship description and carefully organizing and re-writing the content to demonstrate your qualifications. The goal of writing a great resume is to get an interview – helping remember that it is the starting point of the application can take some pressure off having the perfect design and allow the focus to center on making your experiences specific, relevant, and obvious.  

When you start your first resume, some helpful things to consider:

List your career goals, skills, and experience. It can be helpful to write everything down then focus on formatting. Try using our Resume Treasure Chest Worksheet to help you get started. 

The Ohio University Resume Template . Our templates were created based on industry bests practices and feedback from employers.   

A job description, when applicable. You should align your skills and experience to the qualifications in the job description.   

A resume is a flexible document that can be adapted to highlight your skills or experiences. The content categories you select for your resume will be determined by a number of factors, especially by your strongest “selling points” relative to the type of position you are seeking. You may have several versions of your resume if you are targeting different types of career positions.   

The length of a resume for undergraduate students is one page. Graduate students and individuals with several years of experience after graduation may extend their resume to more pages.   

Curriculum Vitae (or CV) can also be used internationally as a term interchangeable with resume, which can add to existing confusion about the difference between a resume and a CV.

Step two: Resume content

Contact Information – This information allows employers to contact you when they are interested in your resume. This section should always include your full name, phone number, and email address. You may also choose to include your address, your preferred pronouns, a link to a website or online portfolio, and it is common to include your LinkedIn.  

Education – Your academic experience should be listed in reverse chronological order with your most recent degree or experience listed first. List the proper title of your degree and GPA (only if it is above a 3.0). It is common to also include publications, as well as experiences, like study abroad in this section, too.  

Experience – Your experience should include not only paid full-time positions but also internship, part-time, volunteer, field, observation, and co-op experience. For each experience, list the organization for whom you worked, the location (city and state), job title, and dates (month/year) of employment. Within the sections, your experience should be listed in reverse chronological order.  You can highlight specific experience by separating it from general work experience in a “Relevant Experience” section of your resume.   

Give a brief description of the skills and responsibilities for each position using short statements.   

Begin each bullet point with an action verb.  

Avoid the use of personal pronouns (I, my, or me).  

Take credit for what you have done – especially for those activities that you initiated, developed, or supervised. Be careful not to exaggerate your responsibilities, but do not undersell yourself either.   

Activities – Your involvement and leadership in clubs, student government, athletics, and social organizations shows an employer you have broadened your education with activities outside the classroom. These activities can also demonstrate important work-related skills and knowledge and the ability to work effectively with others. Be sure to include offices and other leadership positions you have held, as well as describing the positions and related tasks.   

Optional sections to customize your resume – You may list other types of information that relate to your career and/or reflect achievements in which the employer may have interest.  

Special Skills – Technology, Language(s)  

Professional Affiliations  

Research   

Presentations/Publications  

Productions/Shows  

Study Abroad  

Volunteer  

Certifications  

Relevant Courses  

Honors and Awards  

Step three: Writing bullet points

Bullet points are an effective way to highlight your experiences, skills, and accomplishments and make your resume easy to read. Strong bullet points are essential for a competitive resume and include what, how, who, and why/results of what you did. The goal of a bullet point is to help the reader understand how you did the job rather than rewriting your job description.  Check out our Bullet Point Writing Worksheet and our Sample Action Verbs List to help you start writing strong bullet points.

Quick tips   

Every bullet point should start with a strong action verb and avoid repeating action verbs   

Utilize language and keywords from the job description, as well as industry buzzwords   

Quantify your experiences and actions, when possible  

Be specific – mention skills, techniques, and knowledge, especially ones that are specific to role, also technology platforms, tools used, and assessment strategies  

Step four: Check your work

Resume Writing Best Practices  

Resumes use easy to read fronts, such as Arial, Calibri, or Cambria.  

List approximately three to five bullet points for each experience.  

Use past tense for previous positions (e.g. Facilitated) and present tense for current positions (e.g. Facilitate).   

Your margins should be no smaller than 0.5 inches. You can adjust your margins to help your resume fit nicely on one page.  

Text size should be no smaller than size 10 and no larger than size 14. Your name at the top of the page should be the largest text on the page.   

Use abbreviations sparingly. Spell out your degree, the name of the university, and organizations to which you belong.  

Save your resume as a PDF before sending it electronically to employers. It is more professional and prevents any changes from being made to your resume.  

Title electronic copies of your resume with your name, the company and/or position you are applying for, and the date of the application.   

Get your point across quickly and clearly. Use key words and well-written bullet points.  

Consistency is key! The best resumes are consistent, making it easy for a recruiter to read.  

Basic Resume Checklist  

Use these basic tips to make sure your resume meets the minimum requirements to appear professional.  

Resume is at least one full page   

Contact information at the top of the resume includes name, email, and phone   

Make your name the largest text on the resume   

List the university’s name and location in the education section    

Avoid any pronoun use in the document   

Fonts are professional and easy-to-read in 10-12 point font   

All format elements are consistent throughout the document including fonts, bolding, italicizing, and use of capitals   

All work experiences include a description of accomplishments, transferable skills, or relevant job duties  

Begin each bullet point with an action verb in the appropriate tense   

If the experience has concluded, it should be written in the past tense   

All work experiences list the organization name, your title, location, and start and end dates   

List the formal title of your degree (e.g. Bachelor of Arts in History) and the date you did or will graduate (e.g. May 2020). If you’re unsure of this information, check your DARS. 

Enhance Your Resume   

Move from basic to best with these suggestions for strengthening your document.  

Customize your resume to a specific job or internship posting   

Focus on highlighting transferable skills to the job you are seeking   

Put your most relevant content to a job of interest closer to the top of the document    

Quantify accomplishments by including numbers   

Convert your document to a PDF before uploading to prevent an extra blank page   

Remove all high school information from your resume after your first year at OHIO (With the exception of things you are still actively involved in.)  

Do not use periods at the end of bullet points   

List your GPA only if it is above a 3.0  

Create additional or edit headers on resume to demonstrate specific experience (Marketing Experience, Patient Care Experience, Production and Recording Experience)  

List your LinkedIn, Personal Website, Portfolio Link and other digital access points that can demonstrate experience in your contact information.