Career Toolkit
Specialized Resumes & Sample Resumes

Resumes are documents that are used to show your unique experiences and qualifications, so they can look quite different from person to person! Below you will find links to sample resumes, examples of specialized resume sections, as well as additional resources for resumes in specific industries (e.g. Federal resumes).

Sample Resumes

Click the button on the right to view sample resumes to get ideas for how to write your own resume, and a template to help get you started!

Sample Resumes

Specialized Resume Sections

Experience Sections

Click through the tabs below to get specialized information on how to speak to experience sections that have unique qualities or focuses compared to other forms of experience.

Projects

Example of a coding class project on a resume, where a student built a digital Sudoku board

The Projects section is a helpful tool to highlight coursework or independent projects that is applicable to the field or position you’re applying for.

Include

Name of the project
The date/semester(s) you worked on the project,
Class you completed the project in (if applicable)

When writing bullet points, consider:

Have your first bullet point describe the reason for and goal of your project and your role, if it was a group project.
Have your next bullet points detail the concrete technical skills you used to complete the project and the outcomes of your work, including any presentations of your work.
showcase information that is relevant to the experience you’re applying for
- Research position: focus on methodologies
- Business-related role: focus on the action you took as a result of your research and how your actions benefited the organization/group

For more details, please see the Resume Project Section guide.

Research

In the 'Research Experience' section, a student uses strong verbs (recruit, collect, investigate) to describe their role

Research Experience, while may fall under the “experience” category, is often separated to highlight laboratory, analysis, or clinical skills. This section is especially helpful for scientific or academically-focused resumes.

Include

Title (e.g., research assistant, research analyst)
Name of institution, department, city and state
Title of project (consider brief description)
Name/title of professor(s), who supervised project
Beginning and ending dates

While your research may be complex, it's important to prioritize information that will help translate your experiences to the other settings you're applying for.

When writing bullet points, consider:

mentors
motivation for your research
software used
data collection process
data analysis approach
presentations at research fairs and symposiums

NOTE: If you are drafting a CV, you may also want to consider detailing why you chose your specific data analysis approach.

Exhibitions & Performances

A student separated their performances by category: Choreography and Selected Performances

If you are in an artistic field, such as visual artists, film, dance, or theatre, you may have experiences that are not well-suited for the traditional experience section. Importantly, these experiences should not include bullet points describing the experience.

Includes

Title of the work
Your role
The organization you worked with
The location.

Optional

Notable people involved in the performance (e.g. director or choreographer)

International/Study Abroad

On a study abroad, a student explains what they studied, and the cultural competence they gained

If you have experience studying, volunteering, or working internationally, they can be great things to include on your resume. If you have at least two international experiences, or if the position you are applying to heavily requires intercultural fluency, you should create a dedicated section for them rather than mixing them into your standard history.

Includes

Your role (e.g. "Study Abroad Student," or "International Intern")
Program Name
Name of institution
Location of program
The timeframe

Optional

Intent or focus of the program
Cultural competencies gained (e.g. intensive language study or cross-cultural collaboration projects)

Caregiving

Under the title "Coordinator and Caregiver," using strong verbs like "coordinated," "oversaw," and "advocated"

If you have stepped out of the traditional workforce or put your studies on hold to care for a loved one, it can feel daunting to figure out how that time translates to a resume. It is completely natural to worry about how employers will view this gap. However, the reality is that personal caregiving requires immense resilience, deep empathy, and an incredible amount of high-stakes project management, which are all skills and qualities that are incredibly helpful in the world of work. This is not required to put on your resume.

If you choose to include this experience, here is how to structure a personal caregiver experience to ensure your dedication and professional skills both shine through:

Job Title: Use a title that reflects the work performed (e.g., Care Coordinator, Health Advocate, or Family Care Liaison).
Organization: If it was for a family member, you can list it as "[Family Name] Household"
Location: List the city and state the work took place in

When writing bullet points for caregiving experiences, here are a few thins to consider:

Focus on the transferable skills such as logistics, documentation, stakeholder communication, and complex problem-solving
Avoid including overly-personal details that may be distracting from your skills and traits in this situation.

Writing about a deeply personal experience in a professional language can be difficult. If you would like support on navigating this decision and delicate process, we encourage you to connect with a Career Coach for support.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Awards/Honors

An Awards & Certification section including Deans list, a U.S. National Guard bravery award, and an ABA Tech certificate

Awards and honors is a helpful section to designate special achievements, including scholarships, grants, graduation honors, special recognitions, etc. This can be part of Education or a separate section.

For each award/honor, include:

The name of the award/honor
The organization that presented the award/honor
The date or timeframe that you received the award

Optional:

You can include a description of why the award was given. This is helpful if the award’s title does not give context to achievements, or you want to highlight a particular skill or quality showcased from the award/honor.

Certifications

In the section "Licenses and Certificates" key certification include Basic Life Support and a Nursing registration

Licenses & Certifications is a section that allows you to show your qualifications for working at a specific job/industry. This is especially important when your industry requires specific certifications/licensure to qualify (e.g. Teaching License, Registered Nurse Certification). If it is a qualification for a position, be sure to put this section on the top half of your resume so it is easily seen.

Organizations Membership

Organization Memberships can include bullet points sharing participation, or left without

If you are involved in any professional associations that are relevant to the opportunity you are applying for, it can be helpful to highlight that on your resume. This can help highlight your interest in, and knowledge of, the industry.

Include:

Name of the organization
Your role in the organization (e.g. Member, treasurer, committee member, etc.)
The dates of your involvement

It is optional to write bullet points for this section, but can be helpful to include if you have a particular action or achievement related to the group.

Federal Resumes

Federal resumes are resumes that are used in applications for positions within the U.S. Federal government, such as working in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Federal resumes have significantly different requirements and norms for the application. They ask for more detail about the location you worked, the hours you worked, what you were paid, along with other detail about the work.

For more information on federal resumes, view the Resume FAQ on USA JobsLinks to an external site..