1 of 10

WRITING REVIEW!

aka tips for resumes, cover letters, & other professional writing

by your friends Vania & Diya :-)

2 of 10

RESOURCES

Resumes and LinkedIn

Resume Quick Guide (HERE) - How to build your resume and sample resume
Sample Resumes (HERE)
Career Center Writing Page (HERE) - Cover letters & resume general info & tips
LinkedIn (HERE ) - tips to improving your professional LinkedIn for students
LinkedIn Profile Summaries (HERE)- examples, tips, and ideas for how to improve your profile summary and about section on LinkedIn

Cover Letters

Planning worksheet (HERE) - how to brainstorm ideas on planning and writing your cover letter
Sample cover letters (HERE)
Career Center Page (HERE) - how to write cover letters, what to include, what makes a difference?, following up, tips, customization

Application Essays

Internships guide (HERE)
Guide for diversity statements (HERE)
Internship Essay Advice (HERE)- how to format your essay, what your essay should include, and writing tips
More Internship Essay Advice (HERE)- guide to writing a good essay application

3 of 10

Will review your resume, give you general advice about written material, and do practice interviews!

Meet with an advisor HERE.

There is a lot of advice on the internet about what your materials SHOULD be. Take what resonates and leave the rest. Don’t be afraid to reach out to Career Center or NN E-board!

TUFTS CAREER CENTER!

4 of 10

ANATOMY OF A RESUME

List your education first while you’re still a student!

List experiences in reverse chronology (most recent first!)

Don’t be afraid to break convention to show experience relevant to the position

Many people will be applying to the same position. What makes you unique? What are you passionate about?

Follow an (action) to (impact) sentence structure

5 of 10

GENERAL GUIDELINES

keep it to one page
use a conventional font, like Ariel or Times New Roman
keep it simple! many companies use a scanning software, so make sure your resume passes the scan by using text only
edit your materials based on the position you’re applying to
ChatGPT can help you!
your life experiences & interests give you a unique perspective. find a way to make the position fit YOUR narrative.

for example, my film background makes me an interesting candidate for a 3D modeling/engineering company because of my experience with visual design and knowledge of how people experience visuals. true story! ask vania about this if interested.

for cover letters & resumes

6 of 10

CONTENT WRITING ADVICE

I DID (X) TO PRODUCE (Y) RESULT.

I HAVE (X) QUALITY SO I CAN DO (Y) REQUIREMENT.

Unfortunately, we live in a society. Employers are looking at tons of application materials, and rarely are people going to read every last word you painstakingly wrote. Are you getting tired just reading these slides? This is why OPTIMIZATION is important! Employers want to know why YOU are the best candidate for THEIR position. The best answer is the shortest.

Every sentence should have purpose. Keep this general structure in mind:

In other words, understand what the position/company wants from you, and tell them how you can meet what they’re looking for. Think about IMPACT!

7 of 10

I was in a Human Factors Engineering lab, working on a program about iterative product design. How do I write this in my resume?

You would think of something like a mug, and the program would generate 7 different mugs. You would choose your favorite, and the program would generate another 7 different mugs based on the qualities of the one you chose, in hopes the program would generate the mug of your dreams.

Mostly read research papers.. designed some web pages based on what was most intuitive for users to understand.

Cool! Tell me more about the project. What was the main goal?

What did you do?

EXAMPLE

This is an example of how I would think through writing my resume.

8 of 10

OMG! thx.

Based on the goals of the project, and your role, how’s this?

Conducts literature reviews and utilizes cognitive science to develop an iterative design system that generates products based on user desires.

It shows WHAT you did and WHY you did it.

EXAMPLE

This is an example of how I would think through writing my resume.

9 of 10

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE?

No problem! The goal with these written materials is to show people what skills you have, how you attained them, and how they may be applicable to the position you’re applying for.

Try thinking of...

volunteer activities you’ve done
involvement in Tufts clubs or high school clubs/extracurriculars
part time jobs
and more!