Resume Accessories

Your resume can stand out if you go beyond your skills and experiences. Remember however, that skills and experiences are still the meat of your resume, so don't overdo it with these extras.

Awards and Honours

Honours and recognitions can be written in the body of a resume, along with a professional history. Include only those awards and honours that will show the appropriate character for the job you are applying towards. It is tempting to include awards from only the most prestigious donors. It is more important to include awards that relate to the job opening. A position in sales will be complimented by awards with public involvement rather than academic awards.

Professional and Social Affiliations

Often when you have been working in your field for several years you may belong to a professional association. Membership in professional associations conveys to the employer that not only that you are currently a contributing member of your profession, but also that you have a desire to enhance your knowledge and skills for your own future, and that you are committed to the future of your vocation. Its good to list the associations which you have contributed your time and effort. Avoid including associations in which you have had very little involvement as this will take away from your other associations

Avoid mentioning controversial causes that you are involved with unless you only want to work with people who sympathize with your beliefs. Outlier social groups are not often looked upon favorably by employers and should be included with due consideration.

Technical Expertise/Computer Skills

It is especially useful to include computer skills when applying for positions that require such knowledge. If you have technical skills that haven't been used in a job yet, you might wish to place them here.

Hobbies & Outside Interests

This section is often combined with other sections such as Memberships and Activities. If you include this section, keep it short. One or two lines should be sufficient. Include items that complement the position you are applying for. For instance if you are applying to be a physical education instructor, listing that you enjoy sports is a good idea. Be careful not to tell everything about yourself - save something for the interview.

Teaching Assignments

If you have conducted, facilitated, or taught any courses, seminars, workshops, etc, you should include them on your resume. These experiences illustrate leadership, confidence and interpersonal skills.

Military

Unless Military service or other activities are directly related to the position, you should keep them brief (one or two lines at the most). Ensure that you translate experience related jargon to plain English so that the prospective employer can understand it.

Example

Many of these facts can be placed in one section, like this:

If you've read this far, congratulations! Your resume is well on its way to helping you in your job search. We have more tips for you in the following sections to tidy up your resume, as well as sample resumes that you can compare your own resume to.