GETTING YOUR RESUME STARTED

A resume is a concise, informative summary of your abilities, education, and experience. It should highlight your strongest assets and skills, and differentiate you from other candidates seeking similar positions. Although it alone won’t get you a job or internship, a good resume is an important factor in obtaining an interview. Tailor your resume to the type of position you’re seeking. This doesn’t mean that all of your experiences must relate directly, but your resume should reflect the types of skills the employer would value.

• Draft a resume using one of the MCS templates.
• Attend a Resume Workshop to learn the nuts and bolts of getting started. See the MCS events calendar for dates.
• View the recorded MCS Resume Webinar.
• Get advice via drop-ins, Monday-Friday, 1:00-4:00pm. Ask quick career-related questions and have an advisor review your resume.
• Look for industry-specific resume review clinics, listed on our events calendar in employer events.

HARVARD RESUME TIPS

RESUME LANGUAGE SHOULD BE:

• Specific rather than general
• Active rather than passive
• Written to express not impress
• Articulate rather than “flowery”
• Fact-based (quantify and qualify)
• Written for people who scan quickly

TOP SIX RESUME MISTAKES:

1. Spelling and grammar errors
2. Missing email and phone information
3. Using passive language instead of “action” words
4. Not well organized, concise, or easy to skim
5. Not demonstrating results
6. Too long

DON’T:

• Use personal pronouns (such as I)
• Abbreviate
• Use a narrative style
• Use slang or colloquialisms
• Include a picture
• Include age or gender
• List references
• Start each line with a date

DO:

• Be consistent in format and content
• Make it easy to read and follow, balancing white space
• Use consistent spacing, underlining, italics, bold, and capitalization for emphasis
• List headings (such as Experience) in order of importance
• Within headings, list information in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
• Avoid information gaps such as a missing summer
• Be sure that your formatting will translate properly if converted to a .pdf

Harvard Resume and Cover Letter Ideas

USE THESE ACTION VERBS FOR YOUR RESUME

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WRITE AN EFFECTIVE COVER LETTER

Your cover letter is a writing sample and a part of the screening process. By putting your best foot forward, you can increase your

chances of being interviewed. A good way to create a response-producing cover letter is to highlight your skills or experiences

that are most applicable to the job or industry and to tailor the letter to the specific organization to which you’re applying.

(click on sample for pdf)

Some general rules about letters:

• Address your letters to a specific person if you can.
• Tailor your letters to specific situations or organizations by
• doing research before writing your letters.
• Keep letters concise and factual, no more than a single page.
• Avoid flowery language.
• Give examples that support your skills and qualifications.
• Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. What can you write that will
• convince the reader that you are ready and able to do the job?
• Don’t overuse the pronoun “I”.
• Remember that this is a marketing tool. Use plenty of action
• words.
• Have an MCS advisor provide feedback on your letter.
• If converting to a .pdf, check that your formatting translates
• correctly.
• Reference skills or experiences from the job description and
• draw connections to your credentials.
• Make sure your resume and cover letter are prepared with the
• same font type and size.

SAMPLE COVER LETTER

September 1, 2024

Morgan Smith 

Director of Communications Jumpstart 

308 Congress Street, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02110 

Dear Morgan Smith: 

I am a senior at Harvard College studying History and Literature. I am writing to apply for the Marketing and Communications position at Jumpstart posted in Harvard’s Crimson Careers database. I’m very excited about the field of education, and would welcome the opportunity to bring my strong communication skills, creativity, and marketing experience to your growing team. 

Jumpstart’s commitment to early education for every child is of particular interest to me because of my passion for youth development. This past summer, I worked as a senior counselor in the Summer Urban Program, which is dedicated to preventing summer learning loss for children in the Boston and Cambridge area. I designed and taught fun, interactive classes to a group of 10 fifth graders, and planned and led local field trips and workshops daily with a junior counselor. Throughout the summer, I consistently strived to create math, science, and reading lessons and activities that were engaging and tailored to my students’ needs. 

Additionally, in my role as the Director of Marketing for the Social Innovation Collaborative, I led our team in creating a social media strategy to drive our member recruitment efforts and promote our programs and events on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With so many competing events on campus each day, I had to continually be creative in my approach to developing and delivering content that would be compelling and effective. As a result of my efforts, our group experienced a 20% increase in our membership base and a 15% increase in our social media engagement. I’m excited at the prospect of bringing the skills I developed through this experience to the Marketing and Communications role at Jumpstart. 

Thank you for your consideration. I very much look forward to the opportunity to speak with you in person about my interest in this position. 

Sincerely, 

Alex Crimson