Whether you are an entrepreneur, student, or executive, a strong resume is important in telling your story. Great resumes are a form of promotion designed to open doors, win interviews, or impress investors. In this guide from the SDSU Entrepreneurial Management Center, we provide resume templates, best practices and tips to help you create a fantastic professional resume.

Remember, when it comes to resumes there is no single format. There are only guidelines.

Resume Templates

Here are a few sample resumes that we feel can help you:

• Resume 1
• Resume 2
• Resume 3

10 Resume Best Practices

1. Resumes rarely determine final decisions, they should be focused on winning an interview or opening doors.
2. Focus on accomplishments rather than job descriptions.
3. To enhance readibility, break out individual tasks, accomplishments or milestones into bullet points.
4. Provide as many hard numbers (e.g. increased sales 80%) as possible. They are often the best way of making accomplishments stand out.
5. Be conscious of the continuity of your history. Resumes with gaps often end up on the chopping block.
6. Before using your resume, make sure you show it to someone who will give you objective feedback.
7. You should routinely edit your resume to best support your candidacy for a position.
8. Use concise statements rather than complete sentences. Select strong action verbs, concrete nouns and positive modifiers for emphasis.
9. Always send a cover letter with reference to the readers needs and your qualifications. Make an effort to make it as personal as possible.
10. Provide references only on request and maintain a seperate list for this purpose.

Resume Tips

1. Resume readers and interviewers are interested in hiring you to solve their problems. It is important to focus on how you can help them, rather than how you can get a job.
2. Call perspective companies to ask about positions before you apply. This warms up perspective readers and gives you the information you need to customize your resume.
3. Recommended book: What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles.